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Home › Blog › Occupational Therapists Rock!
We spent part of last week at the annual AOTA conference and had a table in their exhibition hall. What an amazing experience. The OT's were so excited about how Myself Belts could help their patients. They were thrilled about the variety of people that could benefit- from children heading off to school, to patients with only the use of one hand, to stroke patients, clients with autism, all could benefit from simplifying dressing. The phrase heard over and over again was "It's so OT!". Many of the people who we talked with had seen our Shark Tank appearance and had wondered why the Occupational Therapy benefits hadn't been mentioned. I told them how disappointed I had been that that segment had been edited out of the airing and how much I wished that the benefits for those with special needs had been explicitly stated. Oh well....the OT's recognized that our innovative belt was "so OT!" Ashley and I had a great time meeting so many incredible professionals who help so many in their daily work. Looking forward to returning to the AOTA conference next year!


According to the non-profit DAKSH, creator of the database, the information has been culled from cause lists, websites of courts, and the e-courts website.
The long pendency of cases and shortage of judges are frequently discussed crises of the Indian judiciary. A first-of-its kind study has now estimated their precise magnitude — and identified, through the analyses of publicly available data, problems specific to particular courts.
According to the non-profit DAKSH, creator of the database, the information has been culled from cause lists, websites of courts, and the e-courts website. Data collection began in December 2014, and as of April 1, 2016, data from 21 High Courts and 475 district courts, with more than 40 lakh case records, were collected.
Pendency: Among the High Courts, pendency in Allahabad is the longest and Sikkim has the shortest pendency of cases. These are simple averages — so while they indicate length of delays, at least 50% of total number of cases are pending for longer. A huge majority of cases have been pending for 10-15 years. The break-up of pendency in 5-year brackets helps understand ageing of cases, and can form the basis for prioritising hearings.
Case types: The survey shows that Jharkhand is the only High Court with more criminal cases than civil cases. The categorisation of cases pending in High Courts are made on the basis of their most basic distinction: civil and criminal cases.
Like judges, litigants and lawyers too have to deal with multiple hearings, in both HCs and lower judiciary. Among the five subordinate courts with the highest number of hearings per case, the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Howrah, leads, followed by Nagpur and Durg.
Earlier, the government had said that no new judges were appointed to the higher judiciary for eight months when the Supreme Court was deciding on the validity of a new law on appointment of judges and pointed out various causes such as increase in sanctioned strength of judges and retirements as reasons behind vacancies.
Minister of State for Law P P Chaudhary told Rajya Sabha that there were vacancies in the Supreme Court and the 24 High Courts and these "mainly occurred" due to increase in the sanctioned strength of judges from 906 in June 2014 to 1079 now, resignation, death and elevation of judges.
"Further, in view of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (Act) case from April, 2015 till the date of pronouncement of judgement on December 16, 2015, only those additional judges whose terms were expiring were given extension of three months as per Supreme Court orders…no other appointments were made," he said in a written reply.


When Paul and Diane Snyder told friends and family they were leaving their modern four-bedroom Colonial house in Carney and moving to an old house in Butchers Hill, in downtown Baltimore, everyone said they were crazy.
"Some of them just sort of stared at me and shook their heads," Ms. Snyder said, sitting in the parlor of their light-filled, three-story townhouse on East Pratt Street. The house, with its carefully sought-out antique furnishings, deep colors and deft touches in the decor, will be one of a dozen in the neighborhood open to the public at the Butchers Hill House Tour from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 15.
It was the last neighborhood house tour two years ago that drew the Snyders from the suburbs. They read about the tour in the newspaper and decided to check it out. "We saw a lot of houses with a lot of charm and a lot of potential," Mr. Snyder said.
"When I walked in the first house, right in the doorway, and saw the wood floors, the high ceilings, the crown molding, I said, 'I want to move here,' " Ms. Snyder said. "It was only half a joke."
The Snyders' house is fairly representative of the east-west streets of the East Baltimore neighborhood, a brick-front, three-story rowhouse with high ceilings, an eccentric interior layout (a combination of big rooms and tiny rooms) and, from at least one window, a harbor view. The neighborhood is bound by the south side of Fayette Street on the north, the south side of Pratt Street on the south, Patterson Park Avenue on the east and the west side of Washington Street on the west.
There's a wide range in the state, style and size of houses on the tour, said Susan Noonan, chairwoman of this year's tour. "One was done by a contractor and has all new wiring and so on, and one still has the original gaslights," Ms. Noonan said. "One was done by an interior decorator, and has some bold, bright colors." And some of the houses are smaller than the Snyders', two-story dwellings typical of those on the north-south axis streets.
Despite the appeal of the neighborhood, the Snyders didn't leap headlong into the new lifestyle.
"Of course, there was the agonizing decision, do we really want to move, and all the concerns that I guess anybody would have, the safety of the city and things like that," Mr. Snyder said. "So we would come up late at night and walk around the neighborhood and get a sense of it. Diane came in one day and walked along with the mailman."
"I didn't plan that, it just sort of happened," Ms. Snyder said. "He was there and I just started talking to him, and he told me about the neighborhood."
"We found that the people we talked to by and large were really friendly," Mr. Snyder said. "And we learned that the community association was active and a viable entity. They had all the right concerns about crime, and the disintegration of houses and keeping the streets clean."
The house was in "good condition" when they moved in in April 1994, Mr. Snyder said. "We saw houses that had to be gutted. This one was almost completely done."
Floors and moldings throughout the house are original, and the curving front staircase is intact to the last baluster. The two biggest changes the Snyders made were to return the doorway from the hall into the parlor to its original expansive size (it had been reduced to one 3-foot-wide doorway), and to tear out a laundry room that took up one corner of the kitchen. There's room in the kitchen for a narrow table with two chairs.
The Snyders have used light colors for most of the walls; the deep peach walls and Chinese red trim of the parlor and front hall extend all the way up the front staircase. In the dining room, gray leaf-patterned paper is set off by a deep chair-rail-height border in rich greens and reds; below that the wall is painted a creamy pale green.
The house is furnished almost entirely in antiques. Some of them, like a carved wood and upholstery settee and chair in the living room, were family pieces, and some, like the gilt pier mirror in the first-floor hall, are serendipitous finds from antiques and consignment shops.
They have done much of the work on the house themselves. Ms. Snyder does the painting, and Mr. Snyder built the bookcases that line the family room. To renovate a closet in the master bedroom, however, they turned to Mr. Snyder's son Mark, a contractor.
Future plans for the house include restoring some antique touches to bathrooms that were extensively modernized by previous owners, exploring getting the house's three fireplaces working again, "and maybe a rooftop deck," Mr. Snyder said. "We both get a kick out of doing things for the house."
They don't miss the suburbs, though Ms. Snyder has a rTC moment's regret for her big yard on behalf of the family's dogs, Alex, the giant schnauzer, and Beau, the Airedale terrier. "We could let the dogs out and let them run. Now we have to walk them in the park." Parking has been less of a problem than friends predicted, and, a surprise benefit, the commute to work in Towson is much easier, because they are traveling against the traffic.
Although Mr. Snyder, a lawyer, still maintains an office in Towson, he's made his move to the city complete by opening an office in a small building just steps from his house. "We met a neighbor who was opening a dog-grooming business in the same building," Mr. Snyder said. I made contact with the building owner, and we hit it off right away. They did some renovation for me, and I moved in in mid-March."
Being in the city has changed the Snyders' outlook on some things. "We both have a higher interest in history, and in Baltimore, than when we lived in the county," Mr. Snyder said. Both have links to the past in the area; both of their mothers lived in Highlandtown at one time, and Mr. Snyder's great-great-grandfather worked in the Shot Tower.
"It's been amazing, the things that have popped out" and made connections for the new city dwellers, Ms. Snyder said.
"The city's a terrific place to be," Mr. Snyder said. "I'd like to see more people make that positive commitment."
Tickets for the 1995 Butchers Hill House Tour are $6 per person in advance; call (410) 522-6773. Tickets will be on sale at Park Fest, from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, in Patterson Park. On the day of the tour, tickets are $8 per person, and can be bought at the White House in Patterson Park, at the corner of Lombard Street and Patterson Park Avenue.


I have been laid off since Oct 2009. My son has had 6 surgeries in Oct 2009. I believe I was laid off for missing work.
My question is can I move from Florida to Massachusetts and still collect my unemployment?
We are moving because we will be close to family to help with my son. Maybe I'm wrong but, I believe I earned the little money I get each week .. So in my eyes I should be able to move to any part of this country and still collect. I know if I move to Mass. and I start working (I hope so) and I get laid off after 2 months I know they will take the last 2 employers to pay your unemployment..So if anybody has any advice or facts please let me know thanks for your time.
I understand completely why you want to move, but I will confine my answer to what I believe is relevant to continue collecting unemployment.
As far as I know Florida does not have a locality provision which could throw a monkey wrench into things or cause you to perform like a circus animal jumping through hoops to be able to keep your benefits should you move.
That's the good news, but there is always a possibility that a state may question or availability and ability to work during the time you move .. so just be aware of this when answering the questions on the claim for continued benefits.
Additionally, you would be wise to check out Florida's unemployment FAQ's with regard to changing your address and what you have to do when you get to Massachusetts.
Moving to another state usually requires registering for work through the new state's unemployment department and adhering to their job search requirements.
I don't think you should have any problems as long as you adhere to the procedures.
Good Luck Scott and I hope your son gets better quickly.


text:
Home Africa Live Madagascar plans to relaunch tourism sector
Madagascar plans to relaunch tourism sector
Sarah Mukabana
Madagascar's outgoing president Andry Rajoelina greets the crowds during a presidential handover ceremony at Iavoloha Presidential Palace in Antananarivo on January 24, 2014. Rajoelina stood down, symbolically handing over power ahead of his elected successor's inauguration, a move designed to steer the Indian Ocean island out of crisis. AFP PHOTO / RIJASOLO (Photo credit should read RIJASOLO/AFP/Getty Images)
Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina planned the partially reopening of tourism sector in October this year, a statement from the presidency said on Friday.
During his meeting with tourism operators from the island of Nosy Be, Rajoelina said that the government will study and deepen the measures which could accompany this partially reopening, including the possibility of the requirement for tourists to take a pre-boarding test of COVID-19 as well as a rapid test on arrival.
In addition, the government intends to promote and support workers in this sector by a training program, he added.
Rajoelina said that negotiations are underway with the Emirates for the link between Dubai and Nosy Be.
Nosy Be could increase the capacity from 80,000 tourists per year up to 100,000 or 200,000 tourists, he added.
In Madagascar, tourism has been hit by COVID-19, according to the Economic and Development Board of Madagascar, which added only about 48 percent of businesses in the tourism sectors remained open during the lockdown and 97 percent of businesses in the sector registered a decline of its turnovers.
Madagascar seeks to relaunch its Lychee sector
Plane crash in Egypt damaging tourism sector
Egypt's Tourism Sector taps into Chinese Market
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Christian Ahlmann (born 17 December 1974 in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German equestrian who competes in the sport of show jumping. He is married to Judy Ann Melchior (head of Zangersheide). He ranks first in the FEI Longines World Ranking List.

Ahlmann won the FEI Show Jumping World Cup with Taloubet Z in 2011. In 2014, he was the CHIO Aachenwinner. He has won several medals with the German team at European Championships, World Championships and Olympic Games since 2003. Christian Ahlmann has been seen as an exceptional talent from an early age, being one of the youngest riders ever to receive the "goldenes Reitabzeichen", at age 14, and is today considered a calm, fine rider with a soft hand.

Doping
During the 2008 Summer Olympics, Ahlmann's horse tested positive for the banned substance capsaicin along with the horses of four other riders, and was subsequently suspended from the Games. Because of the doping charge, the German Olympic Sports Confederation sent a bill to Ahlmann for his travel and accommodation costs at the Games. As a result of the doping offence, he was struck off the German 'A-Kader' list of elite riders for two years
 and returned to the German team in 2011.

International Championship Results

References

External links

 Official website

1974 births
Living people
Doping cases in equestrian
Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics
German male equestrians
German show jumping riders
German sportspeople in doping cases
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for Germany
Olympic equestrians of Germany
Olympic medalists in equestrian
People from Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia
Sportspeople from Münster (region)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Meeting with Emergencies Minister Yevgeny Zinichev
Vladimir Putin met with Minister of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Natural Disaster Relief Yevgeny Zinichev.
Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region
The Emergencies Minister reported on the actions taken by the Ministry in the regions affected by fires and floods as well as measures taken to protect residential areas and restore the social infrastructure.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Zinichev, what is the situation in the regions? I know you are prepared to talk about Amur Region and Trans-Baikal separately.
Minister of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief Yevgeny Zinichev Zinichev Yevgeny : Mr President, the most pressing issue now is wildfires. The affected regions are Krasnoyarsk Territory, and the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia. And there are floods in Trans-Baikal Territory, and Amur Region.
Regarding the wildfires, they cover around 2 million hectares. Although there is no threat to local residential areas, there is a lot of smoke in some places.
As for the floods, the rivers have been rising since July 8 due to torrential rains and snowmelt in the mountains; as a result of this 65 villages (about 800 buildings) and several thousand garden allotments and household plots are flooded in the Trans-Baikal Territory.
The situation is now stabilising; the water level is dropping. At the moment, only two residential buildings and about 900 residential plots remain flooded. In Amur Region, the emergency declaration has been lifted, the water is receding. Meanwhile, our forecast – we have done a simulation – on August 3 and 4, the next wave of flooding will reach Khabarovsk Territory.
Khabarovsk is not threatened, but, according to our forecasts, 3,000–4,000 gardens and household plots may be flooded. We are alerting the population and have prepared water craft so people can leave their summer houses, save their harvests, that is; we are well prepared.
Vladimir Putin: Mr Zinichev, primarily, you need to inform people about a possible natural disaster in a timely manner.
Secondly, you need to concentrate your crews and resources in the most dangerous areas. You have good rapid mobility crews; I hope you will be able to act in time.
Yevgeny Zinichev: Yes, we are directing our main efforts to protecting people.
Vladimir Putin: Good. You also need to evaluate the damage to their houses and plots in a timely manner…
Yevgeny Zinichev: The Government Reserve Fund has allocated 238 million roubles. The regional government allocated another 174 million just to compensate owners.
Vladimir Putin: Where?
Yevgeny Zinichev: In Trans-Baikal Territory.
Vladimir Putin: In Trans-Baikal Territory. But you need to reach people in time. Please keep an eye on this and report back to me.
Yevgeny Zinichev: Yes.
Zinichev Yevgeny
Published in sections: News, Transcripts
Publication date: August 2, 2018, 18:20
Last updated at August 2, 2018, 20:13


text:
Q: Monitor browser tabs with localConnection and sense when a user closes a tab In my application the browser window connect with long polling(comet) with the server.
If the user open several browser tabs, only one of them(called the master) communicate with the server and serves as a proxy for the other tabs. I want to use flash localConnection to exchange data between the tabs.
What happens when a user closes the master tab that holds the comet session?
I can use javascript with the unload event to inform the other tabs that the master tab is closing and then close the localConnection but the unload event is unreliable.
I can use polling to monitor the master tab connection object but it sound dirty.
When the master is closed one of the other tabs need to become the master.
How do I make sure only one of them tries to become the master?
If a user close the tab without flash being able to close the localConnection,
will it cause a memory leak?
Thanks

A: Seeing as LocalConnection uses identifier strings to handle discovery, the following solution should work:
When the master tab closes, it informs one of the slaves that it is doing so. Then it closes its LocalConnection. The slave can now register a new LocalConnection with the same name as the one the master was using. The upshot of this is that the next time any of the other slaves try to contact the old master (using the old string) they will automatically find themselves talking to the 'new' master.
A similar effect could be achieved without resorting to the unload event (if that is undesirable). When the user closes the master tab, any app trying to connect to the LocalConnection it was using will get an exception. Instead of throwing an error, the slave app could instead infer that this exception means that the master has closed. It would then take on the master role and register a new LocalConnection with the same name as the master. The rest follows as above.

A: This is a very interesting problem. I'm half tempted to code something up to see how it would work! (If only I had the time!)
First, as for localConnection causing a leak, I think you will really have to test that, but I think it's possible but I've done a fair bit with LocalConnection in similar situations and have never seen a signficant memory leak (which is also to say, figuring what is a memory leak and what is just the GC being slow is always difficult to figure in non-trivial code in Flash)
As for the larger question on how to build this thing, I can't give a definitive answer, but here are a few ideas.
It seems to me the flow of logic for each SWF has to go something like this:

*

*Check to see if I'm the first one (connect to the control channel)

*If so, start control channel and tell JS to start comet connection via ExternalInterface

*If not, connect to control channel and request two-way connection (at this point each slave SWF would generate a random ID and send that to the master - this ID would be used as the LC name for the data coming from the master to slave)

For handling the self-healing aspect I figure you could do something akin to a chain letter. That is, as each SWF connects to the master it could receive a list of the slaves. If the connection ever died each client would look to see where it was on the list. If it was the first slave on the list it would take over as the master - restart the control channel, and tell JS to start up a new comet connection. Then, each other slave would see that the server was back and would dequeue the now-master from their chain.
To handle holes in the chain from various clients dropping off, the master would coordinate that. Since it would be sending data to the slaves it would see immediately if a client dropped off. If a client did drop off it would simply tell the rest of the clients to remove that client from their chain.
Hope this helps!

A: I also thought of a similar strategy.
The first window will become the master.
Additional windows will become slaves and tell the master of their existance.
Each slave will poll the master every 100ms to verify that it is alive.
If the master is not alive, the slave that is next in the list become the master.
Slaves that are next in the list stay slaves but expect the first slave to be the master.
So in the next 100ms the rest of the slaves will try to poll the next master
and if he is not there the next one will become the master...
It feels so dirty that I think I'll have to take a shower now.
Going to do some coding.
Thanks

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Reduced awareness of cognitive deficits in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with poorer outcomes although little is known about the anatomical correlates of this. We examined the association of insight and grey matter volume using a voxel-based morphometry approach in 65 volunteers with MCI and 55 healthy age-matched controls. Participants with MCI had multiple areas of subtle grey matter volume loss compared with controls, although these did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. These were predominantly in the temporal and anterior portions of the brain. Individuals with MCI did not differ from each other on a number of demographic and cognitive variables according to level of insight. Reduced awareness of cognitive deficits was associated with few differences in grey matter volume apart from a subtle loss of grey matter in the medial frontal gyri. Given the modest nature of these findings, the routine assessment of insight in non-clinical populations of individuals with MCI is therefore not supported. Prospective data in larger samples, however, would be helpful to clarify this further and determine if impaired insight predicts brain atrophy and cognitive decline.
Ford, A. and Almeida, O. and Flicker, L. and Garrido, G. and Greenop, K. and Foster, J. and Etheron-Beer, C. et al. 2014. Grey matter changes associated with deficit awareness in mild cognitive impairment: a voxel-based morphometry study. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 42 (4): pp. 1251-1259.


text:
Commentary: New joint statement strong signal for peace, cooperation in South China Sea
By Wu Liming (Xinhua) 11:17, November 25, 2022
BEIJING, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Earlier this month, China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) issued a joint statement on the South China Sea at the 25th China-ASEAN Summit held in Phnom Penh of Cambodia.
In keeping with the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) that has been in place for 20 years, the joint statement has shown the world not only the common will and determination of China and ASEAN members to make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation, but also their readiness to advance consultations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the sea and confidence in reaching consensus on the COC at an early date.
For a long time, a few countries outside the region have deliberately distorted facts, stirred up tensions and incited confrontation in the region. Washington, in particular, has exerted itself to hype up a so-called threat to the "freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea, a claim purely fabricated.
The fact is while some 100,000 merchant vessels now travel in this busy shipping route annually, not a single ship has ever reported its safety threatened in the South China Sea.
In fact, Washington's claimed threat to the "freedom of navigation" is more accurate when used to describe its own increasing military presence in the region. Under the pretext of navigation freedom, the United States frequently sends its warships and aircraft carriers to the regional waters, and has conducted a multitude of war games. Such a naked show of force is practically heightening tensions in the Asia-Pacific, and undermining peace and stability there.
As clear as it can be, China's sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea have been formed in the course of a long history, and have abundant historical and legal basis. It is also patent and above-board that China advocates maintaining peace, stability and unimpeded shipping lanes in the South China Sea, since the "freedom of navigation" in the sea serves the interests of all parties, including those of China.
Being the world's biggest trader of goods, China has 60 percent of its cargoes shipped through the South China Sea. Seven out of the 10 biggest ports by cargo volume in the world are located in China, from which large amounts of goods are shipped by foreign navigation firms to other parts of the world through the South China Sea. If the "freedom of navigation" was jeopardized, China would be the top victim.
For the United States and other countries outside the region, which have been muddying the waters in the South China Sea in an attempt to sow discord between China and regional countries, they probably have felt a let-down with the release of the joint statement in Phnom Penh, as it would be more difficult for them to sow new discord between China and ASEAN countries.
In fact, the relationship between China and ASEAN has been, and continues to be sound, healthy and robust. ASEAN countries have long been China's close neighbors across the sea, trustworthy friends and partners of common development, and China has vowed to unswervingly treat ASEAN as a high priority in its neighborhood diplomacy.
As the first to forge a strategic partnership with ASEAN, China is also the first to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and the first to start negotiations on a free trade area with the regional bloc.
China and ASEAN became each other's largest trading partner in 2020. In the first 10 months of 2022, ASEAN continued to be China's largest trading partner, whose trade volume with China accounted for 15.2 percent of the country's total foreign trade.
In a push for common development, China and ASEAN have signed and implemented the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and jointly built the world's largest free trade area, upgrading their development to a new level.
As a new effort to strengthen bilateral relationship and cooperation, China and ASEAN countries agreed at the 25th China-ASEAN Summit earlier this month to continue to promote regional economic integration, and jointly announced the official launch of negotiations on a new round of upgrade of their free trade area.
A failed meddling of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has proven again the stability of the China-ASEAN relations.
During her recent trip to the Philippines, Harris brought up "the freedom of navigation" cliche again to drive new wedges into the region. However, with hollow pledges like "the United States stands with the Philippines" and the mentality of zero-sum game and bloc politics, she found herself out of accord with the rhythm and harmony of the region.
All in all, China and ASEAN countries have wisdom and capacity to resolve differences and keep the key in their own hands to handling issues related to the South China Sea. Building the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation is their common goal and determination. It is wise for countries outside the region to stop meddling in the South China Sea.
(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Hongyu)
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Chinese FM expounds on China's stance on South China Sea issue
'Major incident' in S.China Sea could only mean US-made conflict
Chinese FM stresses peace, stability in South China Sea for regional development
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So here we are. A new Government and a 'new' type of politics. For my money, it has been clear from the very start, that Nick would be Dave's stooge, and dance to any tune. It most probably will be different at national level, but Leeds has had a Tory/Lib-Dem coalition for the past few years, and you only have to look at how they handled the refuse dispute to see the way things could go.
Enough of politics. Well enough from me for the time being.
I just noted, in the local press, that a group of 'angry residents' are complaining that a phone company have put a temporary phone mast close to their gardens. I have to ask myself, how many of these people have mobile phones of their own, and how many of their kids have them !!!!
Quiz-night last night. We did quite well for a change. Still no win, but it was our highest score. Eldest is at home with us for a few days. He was supposed to be directing the village play this year, but has been let down by people who say yes then say no. He emailed everyone last week to say he was going to have to cancel the play. Everyone who had committed were disappointed, so a meeting has been arranged to see what can be pulled out of the fire. I have a strong suspicion, that he will not be directing again.
Previous postAn interesting week ….


The school was established in 1997 in the basement of the church building at Kweikuma, a suburb of Takoradi. Don Tarbet of Denison, TX USA and Toby Soechting, who was preaching for the South Haleyville church of Christ in Haleyville, AL USA, provided the funds for its establishment. The school operated at the Kweikuma location for 7 years. In 2005, the students moved into a new administrative and educational building and a story building dmitory located in Ituma which is on the outskirts of Takoradi. The school of preaching is overseen by the Howe church of Christ elders in Howe Texas USA. In 2009, The WCSOP and Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver (BVBID) joined forces in teaching faithful men to preach the gospel of Christ in West Africa. The purpose of our newly combined efforts remains the same for both schools – teaching the whole counsel of God for the glory of Christ and the salvation of men's soul. This new partnership has strengthened the Lord's work in Ghana. Students have access to a rich curriculum and a greater variety of instructors. An average of 8 students each year has graduated from the two-year program during its fifteen years' existence. The majority of students are from Ghana, but some also come from Nigeria and Liberia. We are ready to help prepare you to teach others the will of your Master more perfectly. Are you ready to sacrifice part or all of your life for Christ?
All of the staff at the WCSOP are presently enrolled in the BVBID Master's Degree program.
Matthew Ackah is the Director of WCSOP. He was baptized into Christ in 1982. He obtained a Diploma in Biblical Studies from Ghana Bible College. He has over twenty five years preaching experience with the last 17 years as the preacher of the Asanta church of Christ. Brother Ackah was a full time instructor at the Western School of Biblical Studies from 1990 – 1998, and has been teaching at the West Coast School of Preaching since it began in 1999.
Charles Mensah was baptized into Christ in 1983. He obtained a Diploma in Business Studies from Takoradi Polytechnic Institute. Brother Mensah has over ten years experience as a leader and a preacher in congregations of our Lord's church and is currently the full time pulpit preacher at the Effekuma church of Christ. He is the Secretary of the WCSOP.
Charles King Arthur was baptized into Christ in 1979. He obtained a Diploma in Biblical Studies from Ghana Bible College in 1988 and and Advanced Diploma in Biblical Studies from South Africa in 2000. Brother Arthur has established and preached at many congregations since 1980 and has been the full time preacher at the Funkoe church of Christ since 1997.
Joshua Aidoo was baptized into Christ in 1997. He attended the WCSOP and received a Diploma in Biblical Studies upon graduation. He has about fifteen years leadership and preaching experience and is currently preaching for the Mpintsin church of Christ. He has been an instructor at the WCSOP for the last five years.
Other Instructors – Throughout the year instructors from the USA and West Africa will be brought in to teach at the WCSOP. All of these instructors are well qualified and are either working on their Master's Degrees or have already obtained them.
For more information about the school, you may contact Steven Ashcraft at samtnhome@yahoo.com.
For travel information to Takoradi, please click here.


I'm writing because we are casting a Broadway play in 2017 and we are looking for an actress with a mobility disability or who is a leg amputee to play a leading role. I'd love for you to take a look at a flyer with more information on the project (I've attached it here) and would be so grateful if you wouldn't mind passing it along to anyone you think is right! Or even better, if you work with groups/theatres that would help spread the word as well!
Thanks in advance for taking a look.
And here is a partial of the flyer she attached.
Broadway? A leading role? A person with a mobility disAbility? Is this for real? Are they serious about wanting a person with a mobility disAbility for a leading role in a Broadway play? That's huge. Even though I know very little about Broadway I know it is a big deal. What I do know is that when I found out about the 2010 Broadway revival show, "The Miracle Worker" they did not bother to even audition a person with a disAbility for the role of Helen Keller. I made a point of making a big deal of it a few months before when it was announced that they hired then 13 year old actress, Abigail Breslin without considering any person with a disAbility. As we know Helen Keller had multiple disAbilities. She was deaf, blind, and was unable to communicate until her teacher, Anne Sullivan helped her. This is the basis of the play, "The Miracle Worker." But the producer of the 2010 version of the Broadway show did not even bother to audition a performer with a single disAbility. A blind actress. A deaf actress. Either one would have been great onstage and able to act the part of being blind or visa versa and still be authentically portraying and representing people with a disAbility. After months of backlash from the disAbled community and the press, the producer finally admitted he did not care about the authenticity of "The Miracle Worker", it was all about getting a named recognized actress to sell tickets. I countered that on social media that it was never going to change if someone doesn't help performers with a disAbility get work on stage and have the opportunity to become a recognized name. Now, 17 years later, is this Broadway casting notice for an actress with a mobility disAbility for a Tony award producer(s) for real? I was hopeful and a bit excited that maybe things are changing.
I am a paraplegic filmmaker and advocate for those with a disAbility in the film and television industry. So although I am not a talent agent, I do seem to get the requests from talent agencies and casting agencies when they are looking to audition actors with a disAbility in specific disAbility roles. This has been going on for several years and I want to help in any way possible to get more people with a disAbility represented in entertainment. Even if they are not in my entertainment projects! As I have mentioned in previous blog entries and social media posts that I have had to spend an inordinate amount of time advocating for the use of people with a disAbility in the creative roles in entertainment just to prove that my projects are viable by using a person with a disAbility in the feature role of my films, and that I have the Ability to be the director of my projects despite their misconceptions of the Ability of a person with a disAbility – more specific my paraplegia. So I am glad to help when these casting and talent agencies contact me looking for help. They tell me that they find me through a Google search in which my website's page that merely highlights actors with a disAbility comes up. Often at the top of their search! I meant for that page to just show potential investors to my company, Abilities United Productions and its individual film projects, as well as the general interests of the website's visitors, that there are actors with a disAbility! That web page is old and in fact the entire website is old and I am in the process of a major renovation, but for now it still attracts Google searchers and that is a good thing.
Therefore I did pass on the Broadway show casting notice to actresses that I thought would fit the role. I did make an extra effort for one actress that I felt would fit the role perfectly. And for those who know her, know what I am talking about. The wonderfully talented, Teal Sherer who has done television movies and shows, national television commercials, short films and even her own acclaimed webseries called, "My Gimpy Life" that ran for 2 seasons and in 2013 was nominated by the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) in 4 categories which it won in 2 of them including Best Actress (Comedy) for Teal. I also posted the casting notice info to some social media outlets in hopes to get a large turnout of actresses with a disAbility in order to show the agency the talent pool is larger than they are led to believe, and that they would select an actress with a disAbility for the role.
I just wanted to follow up to let you know that we can now mention that the project is a Broadway revival of GLASS MENAGERIE, and we are looking for the role of LAURA. We're actively starting to audition women who fit the description, so please feel free to follow up with your contacts to let them know!
Of course I did let everyone know and updated every social media post with this new information.
A few weeks later I followed up with Teal who told me that she did get to audition. Not in person, but as you can see from the Casting Notice email attachment that the agent sent me they do not need to be in New York and therefore Teal said that they did ask her to submit her resume, headshot materials and a video audition. I know Teal nailed it because she's that good! But she did not get a call back! If it were me…well, I am bias because I have seen a lot of her work but to be fair I did not see all the applicants for the role. Still I did worry because I have gotten these requests for help in finding performers with a disAbility for a role with a character with a disAbility and they nearly always went with an able bodied actor despite the recommendations or pointing them to places to find performers with a disAbility. In the many conversations I have had with actors with a disAbility over the past two decades, we have concluded that this is just to show that the powers that be – in their entertainment project – did not discriminate. But at least looking for performers with a disAbility is a step in the right direction. Five or ten years ago they would not even audition performers with a disAbility. As I mentioned above with the example of the 2010 Broadway show of "The Miracle Worker." Well this casting notice for auditions are in 2016 and I did not think too much about it again.
Fast forward a year – to this past April when I saw a post on my sister's Facebook page about a New York Times article by Neil Genzlinger, in the "Critic's Notebook" section dated March 24, 2017, making specific commentary on a Broadway show, "The Glass Menagerie". It reminded me of the correspondences I had with the casting agent, Teal, other actresses and the postings I made on some social media spots over a year ago!
Reading the article I knew this was the same Broadway show that I was contacted about last year. And I was so pleased to find out that they did hire an actress with a disAbility! In fact, this is the very first actress who uses a wheelchair to play a leading role on Broadway!
This is a major victory for all of with a disAbility. Especially those with a disAbility working or trying to work in the entertainment industry. Even if you are not an actor but rather another entertainment creator, a writer, director, producer, filmmaker like yours truly! Because this proves again that we can be in the creative roles within the entertainment field. We deserve to be a part of the entertainment media representing ourselves and as major part of the American society – the 20% of the American population that is severely under-represented in movies and television, and in this case the stage – the Broadway stage! Here I go again advocating – but since you are reading this then you probably know all these talking points so I am preaching to the choir – therefore let me get back on track!
This New York Times article focuses on two controversial issues on this production of "The Glass Menagerie." This is unfortunate but not surprising. First let me tell you something that is without controversy. The production stars the fantastic and talented, Oscar winning actress, Sally Field in the role of the mother of the disAbled daughter, Laura. But then we quickly find the controversies.
The actress that is portraying Laura is Madison Ferris who has muscular dystrophy. For the record, I do not know Madison and therefore she was not one whom I told the casting agent about the audition. Unless she followed one of my social media posts? Back to the point is that it seems to be too much of a disAbility for some of the leading Broadway critics. According to the article they are criticizing the play on a couple of issues. And this is the first one. According to them there is the very obvious difference in the character of Laura as was written by the beloved playwright, Tennessee Williams, which is as the article's author describes is merely "a shy girl with a limp", and the one that is portrayed here by Tony Award Winning director, Sam Gold's actress with muscular dystrophy – which they feel is taking it too far from the original written play and therefore way out of the norm for their Broadway standards.
Wow! Let me say two things on this first controversy. First, I have stated many times in many forums from the social media posts to business documents for my company and individual film projects, to my basic advocacy for the use of performers with a disAbility to be authentic. One of my main points in a successful film or television program – in this case a Broadway show, and is most often missing in all of them that feature a character with a disAbility is authenticity. Producers, directors, and actors often cite using locations and/or featured or supporting actors from the locations where their stories take place to give it authenticity in their creative projects. And I have said that is what makes my projects different from nearly all other projects that have a character with a disAbility. Authenticity – by using actors with the same or similar disAbility as the character in the project. All of my projects feature a character with paraplegia. The voice is authentic because I wrote it. The vision is authentic because I direct it. And those two aspects are authentic because I am a paraplegic. And the most visible aspect is that which is in front of the camera, the actor whose performance is authentic because I cast actors with the same or similar disAbility, in this case paraplegics – they don't have to have the exact level of paraplegia as the one I wrote but they can act as one with it – or I adapt some of the action and/or dialogue to make it work. I believe this is what director Sam Gold did in hiring Madison Ferris in the role of Laura in "The Glass Menagerie." So what if it is not exactly as written by Tennessee Williams in 1944 and is a memory play set in the 1930's?
Now I know that the search from the casting agency who contacted me was sincere!
And I applaud and thank Sam Gold and Scott Rudin (a film and stage producer) for taking what seems so obvious and making the decision to cast a performer with a disAbility in a role that is written as a character with a disAbility! To do what many, at least in Hollywood would consider career suicide by casting a performer with a disAbility, especially one as Ms. Ferris who has "never appeared in a professional production." This was a huge risk since there has never been an actress with a mobility disAbility using a wheelchair in a leading role on Broadway! Despite the risk Mr. Gold and Mr. Rudin have now been the first to break the disAbility ceiling. This kind of authentic portrayals of those with a disAbility are the same kind that had broken the "Standard Operating Procedures" during their times when some people were not allowed on the stage to portray themselves. For example, in the early 1900's when Al Jolson appeared in black face because blacks were not allowed to perform on stage or the screen. Going even further back to when women were banned until 1660 when King Charles II "granted a charter to the Drury Lane company, making it the Kings Own Company, and to prevent the moral outrage to his subjects caused by boys dressing up as females the charter required that all female parts must be played by women. So there it was, in a document which exists to this today, the door to the acting profession was opened to women by no less a hand than that of the King himself." And thereby making "the first English woman to 'legally' appear on the stage in England was one Margaret Hughes, who on 8th December 1660, played 'Desdemona' in 'The Moor of Venice' (a reworking of Shakespeare's 'Othello')" (http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-women.html#doorop).
Interesting that that first legal and authentic portrayal of a woman by a woman was in a play that was a reworking of Shakespeare's "Othello", which brings us back to the Broadway's leading critics and elites' issue of the reworking of Tennessee William's character of Laura, a girl with a limp to a woman with muscular dystrophy. They site that Gold's version does not fit the text exactly with William's original play. This is a weak criticism. As I mentioned above, it is typical in the entertainment industry for a director to adapt and rework the script to fit the leading actor. How often do remakes happen or a book is adapted and everyone is okay with changes to fit the medium or the times? They often site dramatic license as the escape clause to explain their changes. And honestly that has been the most often sited escape clause for many who hire able bodied to portray and represent a character with a disAbility in movies and television of the past. In this case of Ms. Ferris having more of a degree of a disAbility than a limp you have to make adjustments. This happens all the time when directors have to make adjustments for their actors. Especially leading actors that are the drawing in audiences. Get over it! This is a slightly different interpretation in order to bring an authentic portrayal on Broadway. That should be refreshing rather than a slam. In my opinion, you should slap yourself, shake it off and enjoy this Tony Award winning director's vision on a classic play fitted for the actress he hired.
Sam Gold said something that really sums it up beautifully.
He also mentioned the moving forward in television and the use of an actor with cerebral palsy to play a character with cerebral palsy in the new hit sitcom on ABC, "Speechless". And the upcoming season of "Sesame Street" introducing a new character that has autism. Is this exploitation or finally getting the authentic portrayals and representation of the 20% of Americans who have been excluded from the entertainment media – by so much and for so long?
I have read some of the Broadway critics' reviews of the play. I was horrified by their comments. The spoke of the physical challenges of Ms. Ferris getting up the stairs and onto the stage in the opening scene that Sam Gold used to introduce the characters. He left the house lights on. The critics said that it was uncomfortable to watch. Took five minutes and to long for them to sit through. But they stayed only to feel it again when Ms. Ferris had gotten out of her wheelchair and was sitting on the floor. This happens in a few scenes. What the critics did not like was the way Madison Ferris had to contort her body to move and to get back in her wheelchair. This is how it is when someone is living with certain mobility disAbilities, namely muscular dystrophy.
Critics and audiences are not used to this kind of performance. But they need to get used to it and they will with more exposure to it. Sam Gold took the leap to make this the first in a leading role on Broadway. I must say that if it were me I would have hired a paraplegic, such as, I don't know, off the top of my head, Teal Sherer! A paraplegic, depending how high the level of paraplegia, can move in and out of their chair, maybe with some help, up the stairs with some challenges but probably a lot quicker than a performer with the level of muscular dystrophy that Madison Ferris has at the time of the play. That might have relieved some of the "uncomfortable" time that these critics had. And it might be a legitimate reason that they the play only lasted for a month. Maybe not. Either way, this is something they, the critics and audiences need to get over and get used to.
In Hollywood I have reached out to some that have personal connection to people with a disAbility in hopes they would help me bring the issue of authentic portrayals forward as Mr. Gold and Mr. Genzlinger have done here on Broadway and their critics respectively. But I have not been able to get anyone in Hollywood to respond and therefore to help. Perhaps it is because I am not a "name" in Hollywood. Yet. And then again maybe it is as I have mentioned above that too many in Hollywood are scared it will kill their careers if they step outside of what the West Coast Entertainment Industry machine considers is okay to portray and represent. Just because I have not been able to do it does not mean someone else can't. I mean look at "Speechless." It is a hit and has been picked up for a second season. And "Sesame Street" adding a character with autism. Not sure if that is a Muppet or a live person so I wonder will it be authentically portrayed? But it does provide a glimpse of hope for those with a disAbility that have been ignored and pushed aside by the entertainment industry. I hope with more television shows and now Broadway shows will accept that those of us with a disAbility are a very large minority that should not be dismissed any longer and that those with a disAbility who have studied and worked in non-professional capacity deserve to be able to portray and represent ourselves as the professional creatives in their entertainment industry.
In one final note, I want to encourage you to visit the People magazine online look at Madison Ferris and her role in "The Glass Menagerie." It includes a short video and article about her journey in acting, living with muscular dystrophy and to the Broadway stage. The Broadway play has closed. But I hope to see her in more creative roles in the entertainment industry very soon.


text:
517 F. 2d 1044 - Davis v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County E Buskey
517 F2d 1044 Davis v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County E Buskey
517 F.2d 1044
Birdie Mae DAVIS et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, United
States of America, Plaintiff-Intervenor, Edwin
Foster, Plaintiff-Intervenor,
BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS OF MOBILE COUNTY et al.,
James E. BUSKEY et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
Birdie Mae DAVIS et al., Plaintiffs, United States of
America, Plaintiff-Intervenor, James E. Buskey,
Plaintiff-Intervenor-Appellant,
Nos. 74-3894, 75-1312, 74-4257 and 75-1827.
Fifth Circuit.
Aug. 21, 1975.
J. U. Blacksher, Mobile, Ala., Jack Greenberg, Norman Chachkin, Charles Stephen Ralston, New York City, for Birdie Mae Davis, James E. Buskey and others.
J. Stanley Pottinger, Asst. Atty. Gen., Brian K. Landsberg, Walter K. Barnett, Judith E. Wolf, Attys., Civil Rights Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., amicus curiae.
Victor T. Hudson, Abram L. Philips, Jr., Mobile, Ala., for defendants-appellees.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.
Before BELL, AINSWORTH and GODBOLD, Circuit Judges.
BELL, Circuit Judge:
This is the thirteenth appeal in the Mobile school case (Mobile XIII), which case began in 1963.1 The questions presented are illustrative of problems encountered in winding down a school case. Some are important to the administration of final school desegregation decree. One centers on an effort to disqualify the district judge. The questions arise out of four separate appeals which we have consolidated.
The district court entered a consent order on July 9, 1971 adopting a "Comprehensive Plan for a Unitary School System" as formulated by the parties. That plan, and the district court consent order thereon, adopted the following requirement of Singleton v. Jackson Municipal Separate School District, 5 Cir. (en banc), 1970, 419 F.2d 1211:
"Staff members who work directly with children, and professional staff who work on the administrative level will be hired, assigned, promoted, paid, demoted, dismissed, and otherwise treated without regard to race, color, or national origin."
See also Carter v. West Feliciana Parish School Board, 5 Cir., 1970, 432 F.2d 875.
Jurisdiction of the district court continued over the matter as a class action. Meanwhile, this court held that the proper and orderly procedure to be followed by third parties in seeking to question deficiencies in the implementation of desegregation orders or for further relief in ongoing school cases is by petition to intervene. See Hines v. Rapides Parish School Board, 5 Cir., 1973, 479 F.2d 762; Lee v. Macon County Board of Education (Conecuh County), 5 Cir., 1973, 482 F.2d 1253. Thereafter in Mobile XI, we rejected the effort of the National Education Association to superimpose a class action on behalf of the black school administrators and teachers in the system on the pending class action. National Education Association, supra, n. 1, 483 F.2d 1022 (NEA ). In doing so, we pointed to our prior decisions which required any complaint of discrimination within the scope of a pending school suit to be advanced by petition to intervene in that case.
Undaunted by these decisions, counsel for the plaintiffs here proceeded to file two new class actions. One was filed on behalf of Edwin Foster, a black assistant school principal, and another on behalf of James E. Buskey, also a black assistant school principal. Each claimed discrimination in having been denied promotion to principal. The district court dismissed each suit with leave to intervene in Birdie Mae Davis. Each thereafter intervened but Buskey appeals nevertheless from the order of dismissal. This is No. 74-4257.
Two of the appeals are interlocutory and are brought under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1292(b). These are Nos. 75-1312 and 75-1827.2 The appeals are from orders denying the motions of Foster and Buskey, respectively, to disqualify the district judge for bias under 28 U.S.C.A. § 144.3
The other appeal, No. 74-3894, is by the original class in Birdie Mae Davis from an order of the district court refusing to issue an order to show cause why the defendant school board should not be held in contempt for failure to comply with the desegregation consent order relative to professional promotions.
As will be seen, we find no merit in these appeals and affirm as to each. We do give some direction to the district court with respect to the range of discovery to be allowed in the further proceedings in the Foster and Buskey cases on remand.4 It is to be remembered that only their claims of discrimination in the refusal to promote them to the position of school principal are pending for resolution on the merits. All other matters before us are part of a procedural tangle.
A brief chronology of the procedural events will assist in understanding our disposition of the several issues.
(A) The Foster suit, filed on January 25, 1974 as a "Complaint in Intervention", sought to maintain a class action consisting of "black persons holding degrees in Administration and Supervision who have been passed over for promotion solely by reason of their race and color". This complaint followed an earlier independent suit by Foster, filed October 5, 1973, which had been dismissed on the authority of NEA, supra, with leave being granted for him to intervene in the Birdie Mae Davis case.
(B) Interrogatories were served on March 15, 1974 by Mr. Foster on the school superintendent in an effort to develop detailed facts with respect to principals and assistant principals as well as the entire administrative and supervisory force of the Mobile school system.
(C) The district court set the matter for class action determination on February 22, 1974. No basis for maintaining such an action having been offered, the court entered an order on March 25, 1974 that the matter could not be maintained as a class action.
(D) On July 2, 1974, counsel for Foster moved to compel answers to the earlier filed interrogatories. A magistrate entered an order on July 8, 1974 requiring that the interrogatories be answered. Defendants moved for reconsideration and the district court, on July 15, 1974, entered an order denying the motion to compel answers with leave to Foster to file interrogatories germane to his complaint.
(E) There were two filings on July 19, 1974. The same interrogatories were served on the school superintendent on behalf of the Birdie Mae Davis class in the underlying suit by co-counsel for Foster (who, coincidentally, was one of counsel for the plaintiffs in Birdie Mae Davis and had only recently joined the Foster case as co-counsel for Foster). In addition, Foster moved for reconsideration of the order of July 15, 1974.
(F) On July 31, 1974, defendants moved for a protective order as to the Birdie Mae Davis interrogatories. On the same day, the district court entered an order denying the motion of Foster for reconsideration, and recited, as a basis for the order, that the court had not been made aware to date of any claim of discrimination other than the Foster claim. (It appears that the Buskey suit, hereafter discussed, had been filed on July 12, 1974. It was filed by co-counsel, also as a separate suit rather than as an intervention, and sought to maintain a class action on behalf of "all past, present and future Negro professional employees" of the school system.)
(G) On August 8, 1974, co-counsel for Foster, who is, as stated, one of the lawyers representing the Birdie Mae Davis class, attempted to reopen the Birdie Mae Davis case through the vehicle of a motion for an order to show cause why the defendants, collectively and separately, should not be held in contempt for failure to comply with that part of the earlier consent order of the court requiring appointment of the professional staff without regard to race or color. The motion was based on the Foster and Buskey claims.
(H) On August 16, 1974, the district court granted the motion of defendants for a protective order as to the Birdie Mae Davis interrogatories, and denied the motion for an order to show cause in that case.
(I) On August 23, 1974, counsel moved for reconsideration of the August 16, 1974 order entered in the Birdie Mae Davis phase of the litigation, or in the alternative that it be amended to strike therefrom statements which reflected on counsel with regard to his efforts and motive in seeking to avoid the class action and discovery orders in Foster by his use of the Birdie Mae Davis case.
This motion for reconsideration and to strike was supported by an affidavit from counsel in which he asserted that as attorney for the Birdie Mae Davis class, he had the solemn duty to insure that the consent order was being carried out and that he was, in effect, monitoring compliance with that order. He regarded the Foster and Buskey claims as establishing a need for monitoring.
(J) On September 20, 1974, the district court denied the motion for reconsideration and to strike. Notice of appeal from this order was filed on October 18, 1974. (No. 74-3894.)
(K) On September 27, 1974, the district court denied the motion of the school board for summary judgment in the Foster intervention.
(L) On the same day, Mr. Foster filed a motion under 28 U.S.C.A. § 144, supported by affidavit, to disqualify Judge Hand from his case on the basis that Judge Hand had "a personal bias or prejudice" against Foster and "other black parents, school children and school teachers in the Mobile school system as members of the plaintiff class". A copy of the affidavit is appended to this opinion and marked "A". The affidavit makes it clear that Foster's affidavit is based on his reading, at the request of his counsel, of an opinion of the same district judge rendered on August 29, 1974 in another case in which counsel appeared. Robinson v. Union Carbide Corporation, S.D.Ala., 1974, 380 F.Supp. 731. Judge Hand denied the motion but allowed an interlocutory appeal. (This is No. 75-1312.)(M) The Buskey suit was dismissed on October 3, 1974, with leave to intervene in Birdie Mae Davis. Notice of appeal was filed on November 1, 1974. (This is No. 74-4257.)
(N) On November 20, 1974, Buskey filed a motion and affidavit in haec verba to Foster's, to disqualify the district judge. The order denying this motion gave rise to the interlocutory appeal, No. 75-1827.
As stated, only Buskey has appealed from the order requiring intervention rather than being allowed to proceed with a separate suit. It is apparent, however, that our decisions requiring such a procedural approach were the genesis of the overall controversy which has arisen between counsel and the district court. It will be well, therefore, to consider this particular appeal as a first issue.
Buskey seeks to avoid our holdings of required intervention, supra, on the theory that his claim is asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C.A., § 2000e-5, in addition to being based on 42 U.S.C.A., §§ 1981 and 1983, and the consent decree. This theory is without merit.
Intervention would not result in the loss of substantive or procedural rights under Title VII. It will result in better management of the pending Birdie Mae Davis class action. It will enable the district court to consider Buskey's Title VII rights alone, as well as in conjunction with rights which may be due him under other statutes and under the consent order. Intervention will serve to avoid a proliferation of litigation over the same subject matter, and is within the spirit of Rule 24(b), F.R.Civ.P.5 The same reasoning, which supported our prior decisions requiring intervention, is supportive of requiring that a Title VII plaintiff-school employee likewise intervene. Lastly, our policy of required intervention is analogous to the discretionary power in the court to require consolidation. See Rule 42(a), F.R.Civ.P.6
In the nature of a fallback position, Buskey urges that at least his case should have been consolidated with the Birdie Mae Davis case. The difference between consolidation and intervention in the context of this type proceeding is semantical in nature with any difference being gossamer. As an intervenor, Buskey will be entitled to the full panoply of Title VII law as it has developed since the passage of the Act in 1964.
This means that both the Foster and Buskey suits are pending in intervention and are awaiting trial. This fact points to the importance of disposing of the interlocutory appeals which were allowed to determine the validity of the orders denying disqualification under § 144, supra.
NOS. 75-1312 AND 75-1827
The separate motions of Foster and Buskey to disqualify Judge Hand and the supporting affidavits will be considered as one matter. The affidavits rest on facts brought to the attention of affiants by their counsel. In the main, the claim of bias centers on problems of counsel (Mr. Blacksher), in this litigation, and in Union Carbide Corporation, supra, where Judge Hand was of the opinion that overtones of barratry and champerty were present. An appeal in that case is pending in this court. No. 75-1008 Robinson v. Union Carbide Corporation. That opinion speaks for itself. Whether the district court was in error in its opinion there will be decided on that appeal and the record therein.
Bias and prejudice is also alleged by affiants to rest on Judge Hand's order of August 16 wherein he granted the protective order relative to the Birdie Mae Davis interrogatories and the contempt motion.7
The sequence of lawyers is of importance. The Foster suit was filed by the lawyer for the NEA who appeared in Lee v. Macon County Board of Education (Conecuh County), supra ; and National Education Assn. v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, supra. It was this lawyer who failed to follow these decisions in filing the Foster suit. After dismissal he filed the suit in intervention. He filed the interrogatories and attempted to impose a class action on the Birdie Mae Davis class. He was not a lawyer in the Birdie Mae Davis cause. He was not in the Robinson v. Union Carbide case. The affidavits of Foster and Buskey do not assert bias and prejudice against Judge Hand because of any problem between this lawyer and Judge Hand.
On July 2, 1974, Mr. Blacksher joined as co-counsel in filing the motion to compel answers to the interrogatories, and has taken the lead in the Foster case since that time. He is also counsel for Buskey. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund lawyers joined as counsel only in the Birdie Mae Davis aspects of the litigation and Mr. Blacksher is the lead counsel in that matter. It is Mr. Blacksher who is involved as counsel in the Robinson v. Union Carbide case but Judge Hand included the Legal Defense Fund along with Mr. Blacksher in the barratry and champerty portion of his opinion. We will thus assume that the charge of bias and prejudice is positioned on Judge Hand's references to both Mr. Blacksher and the Legal Defense Fund.
From these events, affiants concluded that Judge Hand was necessarily biased and prejudiced against them because he was biased and prejudiced against their lawyers, and through them, against those represented by them. We find no error in the refusal of Judge Hand to disqualify himself.
Section 144 requires "personal bias or prejudice" against a party.8 No bias or prejudice personal to Foster and Buskey is set out. They seek disqualification on an imputation theory the bias against their lawyer is imputed to them.9 Read broadly, this peremptory challenge type approach would bid fair to decimate the bench. Lawyers, once in controversy with a judge, would have a license under which the judge would serve at their will.
One answer is that "party" as used in § 144 does not include counsel as such. Cf. United States ex rel. Wilson v. Coughlin, 7 Cir., 1973, 472 F.2d 100, 104; Giebe v. Pence, 9 Cir., 1970, 431 F.2d 942, 943. On the other hand, there could be a case where the cause of the controversy with the lawyer would demonstrate bias of such a nature as to amount to a bias against a group of which the party was a member e. g., all Negroes, Jews, Germans, or Baptists. This then would be bias of a continuing and "personal" nature over and above mere bias against a lawyer because of his conduct.
We find no such lawyer-to-client constructive bias in this record. The controversy is not over race but over the employment of the class action device and its ramifications in litigation. Rule 23, F.R.Civ.P. It is true that plaintiffs are Negroes and that their counsel handles civil rights cases, but the connection between the judge and the claim of bias on behalf of the particular parties here is too attenuated to require disqualification.
Once the motion is filed under § 144, the judge must pass on the legal sufficiency of the affidavit, but may not pass on the truth of the matters alleged. See Berger v. United States, 1921, 255 U.S. 22, 41 S.Ct. 230, 65 L.Ed. 481; United States v. Roca-Alvarez, 5 Cir., 1971, 451 F.2d 843, 847-48; United States v. Townsend, 3 Cir., 1973, 478 F.2d 1072. The affidavits were found legally insufficient here and we agree. The truth of the matters alleged was not in issue. These were in substance lawyer motions as distinguished from party motions.
Moreover, aside from the doubtful showing of personal bias by Foster and Buskey, they are foreclosed for another reason. It is settled that the requisite basis of bias and prejudice under § 144 must be extra-judicial. See United States v. Grinnell Corp., 1966, 384 U.S. 563, 583, 86 S.Ct. 1698, 16 L.Ed.2d 778, 793; Berger v. United States, 1921, 255 U.S. 22, 31, 41 S.Ct. 230, 65 L.Ed. 481, 484. The controversy with the lawyers in the present case was not extra-judicial. Rather, it was very much judicial, consisting of language in an order in the very case before the court, and in an opinion in another case before the court. Such statements are not available as grounds for a § 144 affidavit. See United States v. Board of School Commissioners, 7 Cir., 1974, 503 F.2d 68, 81; Hanger v. United States, 8 Cir., 1968, 398 F.2d 91, 101; Mirra v. United States, 2 Cir., 1967, 379 F.2d 782, 787-88; Tynan v. United States, 1967, 126 U.S.App.D.C. 206, 376 F.2d 761, 764-65; In re Union Leader Corp., 1 Cir., 1961, 292 F.2d 381, 388-89.
Here again, however, we think there is an exception where such pervasive bias and prejudice is shown by otherwise judicial conduct as would constitute bias against a party. But, as stated, supra, we find an insufficient basis for such a finding in the circumstances presented here.
But § 144 is not the end of the matter. The recent amendment of 28 U.S.C.A. § 455, to require disqualification of any judge when "his impartiality might reasonably be questioned," also must be considered.10
The office of the procedure under § 144 is to disqualify a judge prior to trial on motion of a party. Section 455 is the statutory standard for disqualification of a judge.11 It is self-enforcing on the part of the judge. It may also be asserted by a party by motion in the trial court, Rapp v. Van Dusen, 3 Cir., 1965, 350 F.2d 806, 809; through assignment of error on appeal, United States v. Seiffert, 5 Cir., 1974, 501 F.2d 974; Shadid v. Oklahoma City, 10 Cir., 1974, 494 F.2d 1267, 1268, by interlocutory appeal, as here, or by mandamus, Texaco, Inc. v. Chandler, 10 Cir., 1965, 354 F.2d 655.
The quoted language, supra, in § 455 is new to the federal law of disqualification and we must determine whether Congress intended to overrule the gloss placed on § 144, and impliedly on § 455, by court decisions that it applies only to conduct which runs against a party and not the lawyer, cf. United States ex rel. Wilson v. Coughlin, supra, at 104; Giebe v. Pence, supra, at 943; see also, Annot., 23 A.L.R.3d 1416; and that disqualification results from extra-judicial conduct rather than from matters arising in a judicial context. See United States v. Grinnell Corp., supra, 384 U.S. at 583, 86 S.Ct. 1698, 16 L.Ed.2d at 793; United States v. Board of School Commissioners, supra, at 81; Hanger v. United States, supra, at 101; Mirra v. United States, supra, at 787-88; Tynan v. United States, supra, at 764-65; In re Union Leader Corp., supra, at 388-89. See generally, Annot. 2 A.L.R. Fed. 917.
We find no suggestion in the legislative history that these decisions were being overruled or in anywise eroded. The new language was designed to substitute the reasonable factual basis reasonable man test in determining disqualification for the subjective "in the opinion of the judge" test in use prior to the amendment. Cf. Kinnear-Weed Corp. v. Humble Oil & Refining Corp., 5 Cir., 1971, 441 F.2d 631, 635. It was also intended to overrule the so-called duty to sit decisions. See Edwards v. United States, 5 Cir., 1964, 334 F.2d 360. The abuse of sound judicial discretion test continues to obtain on appellate review. H.Rep.No.93-1453, 1974 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News pp. 6351, 6355.
Construing §§ 144 and 455 in pari materia we believe that the test is the same under both. We thus hold that an appellate court, in passing on questions of disqualification of the type here presented, should determine the disqualification on the basis of conduct which shows bias or prejudice or lack of impartiality by focusing on a party rather than counsel. The determination should also be made on the basis of conduct extra-judicial in nature as distinguished from conduct within a judicial context. This means that we give §§ 144 and 455 the same meaning legally for these purposes, whether for purposes of bias and prejudice or when the impartiality of the judge might reasonably be questioned.
Here, we have judicial activity toward lawyers without more and the result under §§ 144 and 455, considered separately and together, is that we find no error.
This is the appeal from the order denying the motion of the Birdie Mae Davis plaintiffs for an order requiring the defendants to show cause why they should not be held in contempt for violating the July 9, 1971 consent decree. This is an appealable order. Gilbert v. Johnson, 5 Cir., 1974, 490 F.2d 827.
The motion rested for cause on the allegations contained in the Foster and Buskey claims. These claims are pending and will be processed on remand. The appertaining facts will be developed. Once developed, they may or may not be sufficient to support a show cause order in the underlying cause. In any event, the motion was decidedly premature when made. The district court did not err in refusing to reopen the Birdie Mae Davis case on the bare claims of Foster and Buskey, either for purposes of contempt or discovery.
The claim of the right to monitor by discovery or more appropriately, to have the court monitor, the 1971 decree was, for the same reason, premature. (We are not told if monitoring is being accomplished in the form of reporting. See, e. g., the report required in United States v. Hinds County School Board, 5 Cir., 1970, 433 F.2d 611, 618-19.)
DISCOVERY ON REMAND
The Buskey case has not reached the discovery stage but we can assume that it is in the same posture as Foster's. In the early days of Foster's case, the district court ordered that discovery be limited to matters germane to his claim. No further effort was made to discover on his behalf.
It would have been and will now be only a slight task to modify the interrogatories which were filed so that they may be used on behalf of Foster and Buskey. They are assistant principals. They contend that they were denied promotions to requested principalships. They will be entitled to full discovery with respect to the category of position or positions sought in an effort to establish all statistical, policy and practice data of relevance to their claims. The teaching of McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 1973, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668, should be the district court's guide in allowing full discovery.
Edwin Foster, being first duly sworn, deposes and says as follows:
I am a plaintiff-intervenor in the above-styled cause and am filing this Affidavit pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 144 to request that the Honorable W. Brevard Hand disqualify himself from presiding over any and all proceedings in this action on the grounds that he has a personal bias or prejudice against me and other black parents, school children and school teachers in the Mobile school system as members of the plaintiff class.
This action was commenced in 1963 through the filing of a complaint seeking the desegregation of the public schools in the City of Mobile. Until 1971, the case was presided over by the Honorable Daniel Thomas, who subsequently retired. Following a remand of this case from the Supreme Court of the United States in June of 1971, a consent decree was entered instituting a plan for the desegregation of the schools in the city of Mobile. Subsequent to the entry of that decree a variety of other matters have arisen in the case. There is presently pending before the Court a motion for summary judgment relating to the complaint in intervention filed by Edwin Foster, a motion for reconsideration of an order awarding attorney's fees and other matters regarding implementation and evaluation of the desegregation plan.
On September 26, 1974, at the request of my counsel, J. U. Blacksher, Esq., I read for the first time the opinion of Judge Hand rendered on August 29, 1974, in Robinson v. Union Carbide Corp., Civil Action No. 7583-73-H. a copy of which is attached hereto. At the same time, my counsel also called my attention to the Order entered by Judge Hand in the present case on August 16, 1974, relating to a Motion for Protective Order and a Motion to Show Cause. In that order various allegations were made concerning said counsel and concerning the wishes of members of the class and the parties to this litigation. On September 20, 1974, Judge Hand denied our motion to strike these allegations. On information and belief, and based upon a reading of the above-mentioned opinion and order, Judge Hand is biased and prejudiced against me personally because I am a person seeking redress of violations of my civil rights through an action in Federal Court. In particular, Judge Hand is biased and prejudiced against anyone or any group of persons including myself, presenting such claims through attorneys employed by and/or associated with the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., in that Judge Hand believes and has in fact formed the opinions through extra-judicial sources:
1. that persons who are plaintiffs in such actions do not have valid grievances but have been solicited to present unwarranted claims;
2. that claims are not presented by the above attorneys in good faith but rather for invalid and unconscionable purposes; and
3. that I and other black persons assisted by the above attorneys should be watched with suspicion as being capable of causing other black people in the community to engage in "concerted efforts," such as the manipulation of employment applications.
The result of these firmly held opinions by Judge Hand is that he cannot and will not judge my claims on the merits and according to the law but will decide them adversely regardless of the facts adduced at trial and regardless of the law. These opinions that he has formed concerning such claims and concerning the actions and motives of the attorneys presenting such claims do not allow him to have impartiality of judgment.
This Affidavit was not filed earlier because until the date set out above I had not read the decision in the Robinson case.
See Davis v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, 430 F.2d 883, 885 n. 1 (5th Cir. 1970) (Mobile IX ) for citations to earlier appeals. See also Davis v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, 483 F.2d 1017 (5th Cir. 1973) (Mobile X ); National Education Assn. v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, 483 F.2d 1022 (5th Cir. 1973) (Mobile XI ); Davis v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, 496 F.2d 1181 (5th Cir. 1974) (Mobile XII )
No. 75-1312 was numbered as No. 74-8484 prior to our allowing the interlocutory appeal. No. 75-1827 was No. 75-8063 before being allowed
Buskey filed an identical motion but has not appealed. In the circumstances, one appeal will suffice to settle the question presented
The discovery problem came up as a part of the Foster interlocutory appeal allowed from the denial of the motion to disqualify the district judge
Rule 24(b):
Upon timely application anyone may be permitted to intervene in an action: . . . when an applicant's claim or defense and the main action have a question of law or fact in common. . . .
Rule 42(a):
When actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before the court, it may order a joint hearing or trial of any or all the matters in issue in the actions; it may order all the actions consolidated; and it may make such orders concerning proceedings therein as may tend to avoid unnecessary costs or delay.
One portion of the order reflects on original counsel in his effort to create a class action. The portion of the order which reflects on Mr. Blacksher is as follows:
" . . . In a not too veiled effort to circumvent this Court's ruling thereon, (the Foster case) plaintiff's counsel has now, through the aegis of Birdie Mae Davis, attempted to propound the same set of interrogatories in an effort to elicit the same information and try to build a case on behalf of unknown others whom this Court has not been shown exist. Such subterfuge borders on the edges of contempt."
§ 144:
Whenever a party to any proceeding in a district court makes and files a timely and sufficient affidavit that the judge before whom the matter is pending has a personal bias or prejudice either against him or in favor of any adverse party, such judge shall proceed no further therein, but another judge shall be assigned to hear such proceeding.
The affidavit shall state the facts and the reasons for the belief that bias or prejudice exists, and shall be filed not less than ten days before the beginning of the term at which the proceeding is to be heard, or good cause shall be shown for failure to file it within such time. A party may file only one such affidavit in any case. It shall be accompanied by a certificate of counsel of record stating that it is made in good faith.
No. 75-1779, Jones v. Callaway, pending in this court on interlocutory appeal, involves a like challenge
Pub.L. 93-512, § 1, 88 Stat. 1609. § 455 provides, in pertinent part:
(a) Any justice, judge, magistrate, or referee in bankruptcy of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
(b) He shall also disqualify himself in the following circumstances:
(1) Where he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, . . .
Compare American Bar Assn., 1972, Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3C


text:
Q: Divisible by 11 How many divisors of $11$ are in a $9$ digit number containing distinct digits from $\{1,2,...9\}$ (no repetitition)
My attempt : Let $e$, $o$ denote sum of digits at even and odd places.
$e+o=1+2...9=45$
$|e-o|=0,11,22,33...$
Also,
$10\leqslant e\leqslant 30$
$15\leqslant o\leqslant 35$
As $e$ and $o$ are natural numbers, we see that only possible case is :
$|e-o|=11$
Either $e=28,o=17$ OR $e=17,o=28$
Let $e=a_2+a_4+a_6+a_8$
$o=a_1+a_3+a_5+a_7+a_9$
The total number of divisors are $(\alpha+\beta) 5! 4!$ where those two variables are solutions for two conditions obtained earlier.
What is the best strategy to find their number of solutions manually? I tried to related it with multinomial but that is too long.

A: Because $e$ is so close to the limit in both cases, enumerating by hand is not too hard.  The highest $e$ can be is $30$ and for the first case you need it to be $28$.  Starting with $9876$, we need to subtract $2$, and the only choices are $9874$ and $9865$.  In the other case, the minimum $e$ can be is $10$ and you need $17$.  There are more possibilities, but still within hand work being systematic.  I find $1259,1268,1349,1358,1367,1457,2348,2357,2456$ for nine.
You could do this with stars and bars, but the numbers are small enough that hand work is easier.


Fife Science Festival is once again preparing to conduct a whole circuit of exciting family fun!
Launched by Emma Dixon, Dundee Science Centre's very own in-house robotics engineer today, the festival will run from Saturday 12 May until Saturday 9 June 2018. Highlights include free, all-day 'Science Adventure' events at the Lomond Centre, Glenrothes and Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre.
Bringing together experts from across Scotland including the Universities of St Andrews and Dundee, the festival will deliver activities on everything from physics and psychology to health and chemistry. Come along and build bridges with the British Science Association, test your strength, endurance, agility and coordination with Glasgow Science Centre's FitLab, and explore other planets with GeoBus.
Dundee Science Centre, who will once again coordinate the festival, will also be on hand with their brand new science boxes, packed with a host of fun activities ranging from medicine and health to rockets and science you can do at home!
The festival will kick off with the 'Design Extravaganza! Meet the Expert' event at Dundee Science Centre at 10am on Saturday 12 May, featuring British Science Association's tower building activities, exhibit design workshops with Mairi Collins of Makerspace and the chance to design and build structures with the team from STEMs: Bend the Mind. Visitors can also learn about the creation puzzles and challenges used in psychology and neuroscience experiments from University of St Andrews engineers.
For more information, please contact festivals@dundeesciencecentre.org.uk, phone 01382 868606 or visit www.fifesciencefestival.org.uk.


Liz Scrine produces hand-built ceramic pieces, ranging from large coil pots to architectural light boxes to flat pieces that go on the wall. Characterised by richly coloured slips and glazes and a love of ancient architecture, the work conveys a sense of discovery – of having been unearthed after being buried for centuries.
Liz spends most of her time working on commissions, but when she has nothing else on she works on her own ideas. An ongoing interest in glaze testing and experimenting with different techniques has resulted in hundreds of little samples of different colours and textures. These are her resource library, and worth taking a look at if you are thinking of commissioning something.
If you'd like to get in touch please do, she is always looking for new work and new commissions. Or you can join the mailing list to be informed of exhibitions.


text:
Wolgograd vor der FIFA Fussball-WM 2018™
ADV MREC
A photo shows the interior of the Volgograd Arena
A photo taken on August 22, 2017 shows the interior of the Volgograd Arena in Volgograd. Volgograd Arena will host several games of the FIFA World Cup 2018. / AFP / Mladen ANTONOV
A general view of the construction site of the Volgograd Arena
VOLGOGRAD, RUSSIA - AUGUST 22: A general view of the construction site of the Volgograd Arena on August 22, 2017 in Volgograd, Russia. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
An aerial picture taken with a drone shows the Volgograd Arena
An aerial picture taken with a drone on June 20, 2017 shows the Volgograd Arena football stadium under construction for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in Volgograd. / AFP / Ruslan SHAMUKOV
An aerial picture taken with a drone on June 20, 2017 shows the Volgograd Arena football stadium under construction for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with the statue of Mother Homeland seen in the background, in Volgograd. / AFP / Ruslan SHAMUKOV
The Motherland Calls statue is seen in Volgograd
VOGOGRAD, RUSSIA - AUGUST 22: on August 21, 2017 in Volgograd, Russia. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)
VOLGOGRAD, RUSSIA - AUGUST 22: The Motherland Calls statue is seen on August 22, 2017 in Volgograd, Russia. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
A general view of the city in Volgograd
VOLGOGRAD, RUSSIA - AUGUST 22: A general view of the city on August 22, 2017 in Volgograd, Russia. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
A couple passes in front of a giant sign reading "Volgograd"
A couple passes in front of a giant sign reading "Volgograd" with the FIFA World Cup 2018 logo in Volgograd on August 21, 2017. Volgograd Arena will host several cames of the FIFA World Cup 2018. / AFP / Mladen ANTONOV
The Volgograd Arena is seen on August 21
VOLGOGRAD, RUSSIA - AUGUST 21: The Volgograd Arena is seen on August 21, 2017 in Volgograd, Russia. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
The Volgograd Arena seen on August 21


Private lessons are a great way to learn or advance your skills while sailing individually, with a friend, or with the whole family. Private lessons allow coaches to give personalized feedback and teach to your particular skill level. During our private lessons the coach will either be in the boat with you or along side in a powerboat. Lessons last three hours and are available by appointment through the office. Private lessons can be taught in your privately owned boat or one of the club's 420s, Lasers, Lidos, or Optis. Call the office to schedule a Private Lesson 503-246-5345.


At the London Women's Clinic, we have some wonderful stories about how we have helped people on their fertility journey.
We help over 1000 women and couples each year to have babies, and many people are helping others to experience the wonders of parenthood. Here we share some of these amazing stories.
What is IUI and how does it work? In this short post, Dr Janet Evans, Consultant Gynaecologist and Fertility Specialist at our LWC Cardiff clinic explains what you need to know.
April is Stress Awareness Month 2019, when health care professionals and health promotion experts across the country join forces to increase public awareness about the causes and possible cures for our modern stress epidemic.


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Management Bulletin
Suitability of NDVI and OSAVI as estimators of green biomass and coverage in a semi-arid rangeland
Author(s): Rachel R. Fern, Elliott A. Foxley, Andrea Bruno, Michael L. Morrison
Rangelands are often too large and inaccessible to determine biomass accumulation and vegetation cover by ground surveys alone, particularly in semi-arid regions where productivity per unit area is typically low and highly variable. Thus, the development of remote sensing derived spectral indices have been of particular interest to rangeland managers as a more cost-effective means of measuring the characteristics, biomass, and extent of vegetation. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is the most widely used spectral vegetationindex (VI) by ecologists and agriculturalists today. However, regions with sparse vegetation or soils that generate high reflectance values (e.g., dry sandy soils) can severely hinder the reliability of the NDVI as an accurate estimator of green biomass, saturate remote sensors or produce biased estimates of green biomass and vegetative cover. The Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (OSAVI) is a newly formed alternative that can accommodate greater variability due to high soil background values. We evaluated the suitability of the NDV and OSAVI as potential estimators of green biomass and vegetative coverage in a semi-arid rangeland in south Texas. We compared coverage estimates of herbaceous, bare-ground, and woody vegetation calculated from classified satellite images stacked with either an NDVI or OSAVI band to those from traditional ground surveys. OSAVI-derived coverage estimates of herbaceous and woody vegetation did not significantly differ from those produced by ground surveys in 2015. However, NDVI-based estimates for woody vegetation, as well as bare ground, did differ significantly from estimates generated from ground surveys (p=0.012, 0.018). In 2016, the OSAVI-derived estimates for all three land cover classes were not significantly different than those produced by ground surveys. Our results suggest the OSAVI to be the most appropriate VI-based estimator of green biomass and vegetative coverage in the semi-arid regions of southern Texas.
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