To view a list of wind research and development projects in Kansas funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies Office, visit the Wind R&D Projects Map and select Kansas from the dropdown menu.
Career training and projects at schools in Kansas.
View current Kansas renewable energy incentives on the DSIRE website.
decision-making, drought monitoring, water resource management, and more. The center's six-state region covers Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota.
This toolkit includes a statewide areas of concern map and individual maps of counties with wind potential.


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Q: Is there any simpler way to make a text editor in python with line counter? I am working on a beta of a program that I will later publish as open source software.
I want to ask you if there is any simple way currently to make a text editor with line counter but loaded in a python tkinter frame. I was looking at this answer from 8 years ago (Tkinter adding line number to text widget), however I'm having a hard time understanding how it works and I'm also having trouble trying to adapt it to my code.
I would greatly appreciate your comments.
This is my GUI

A: A low tech solution is to have a function run once or twice a second that gets the number of lines and updates a label.
For example, assuming you have a text widget named editor and a label named line_count, the function might look something like this:
def update_line_count():
    lines = editor.index("end-1c").split(".")[0]
    line_count.configure(text=f"lines: {lines}")
    root.after(500, update_line_count)

If you call that function once, it will continue to run every 500ms for as long as the program is running. The function itself just takes fractions of a millisecond to run so it doesn't add a noticeable load.
Here's a complete working example:
import tkinter as tk

root = tk.Tk()
editor_frame = tk.Frame(root)
status_frame = tk.Frame(root)

status_frame.pack(side="bottom", fill="x")
editor_frame.pack(side="top", fill="both", expand=True)

scrollbar = tk.Scrollbar(editor_frame, orient="vertical")
editor = tk.Text(editor_frame, yscrollcommand=scrollbar.set, wrap="word")
scrollbar.configure(command=editor.yview)

scrollbar.pack(side="right", fill="y")
editor.pack(side="left", fill="both", expand=True)

line_count = tk.Label(status_frame, width=12, bd=1, relief="sunken")
line_count.pack(side="right")

def update_line_count():
    lines = editor.index("end-1c").split(".")[0]
    line_count.configure(text=f"lines: {lines}")
    editor.after(500, update_line_count)

update_line_count()

root.mainloop()

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Logo of the Central Bank of the Philippines.
No examples of this type were struck in 1993. The date "1993" appears because that's the date when this series of coins was first approved. The real date is located on the other side of the coin.


I promised readers that I will do a simple compilation for Christmas 2015. Here it is with about 45 recipes on selected appetizers, main course, breads, desserts and gift ideas. Hope this will provide readers some home cooked choices and I wish to take this opportunity to wish my readers an advance Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Baked Hassel back Potatoes With Bacon And Mozzarella Cheeses..
Christmas Trifles – Used up your balanced fruit cake making this..
This entry was posted in Christmas, Christmas 2013, Food Preparation Series, Special compilation and tagged 8, Christmas 2014, GUAI SHU SHU, Guaishushu, kenneth goh, postaday. Bookmark the permalink.


Yes. Medical grade 4, FDA approved lasers are safe when used by properly qualified, accredited and trained laser therapists. Our laser emits a wavelength of 755nm which is 'non ionising' or 'non harmful radiation'.
At CleanSkins Laser Clinic we specialise in laser hair removal and as a result our laser therapists are dedicated to hair removal treatments. Our staff are fully qualified, accredited, trained and experienced ensuring correct diagnosis and the safest treatments.
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Are all hair removal devices the same?
No. Devices claiming permanent hair removal can be purchased on the Internet for as little as $600. The industry is flooded with inferior unapproved devices claiming to be lasers. These machines will not give you long term permanent hair removal / reduction and if incorrectly used you are at a high risk of serious side effects. Laser hair removal clinics can operate in Victoria with any device claiming hair removal and their staff don't have to be qualified or accredited to perform the procedures. CleanSkins Laser Clinic recommends you research and choose your hair removal clinic very carefully! More information on choosing your hair removal clinic …..
Is CleanSkins laser hair removal permanent?
Once a hair follicle has been successfully treated, it will not return, however there is no laser or IPL machine that can claim permanent hair removal. Our Laser will provide PERMANENT HAIR REDUCTION. Results are dependant on the individual and may vary due skin type, tanning, hair colour, medications or hormones, varying considerably between people and in each person between areas. Laser and IPL can only target active hair follicles creating heat within the hair follicle damaging the cells that enable hair growth. It cannot be legally claimed to provide PERMANENT HAIR REMOVAL due to unpigmented hair and the possibility that some dormant follicles may become active in a later stage of life.
Will CleanSkins Laser successfully treat me?
CleanSkins GentleMax Pro duel laser system gives optimum results on people of all skin types with dark hair. There are no hair removal devices on the market that will remove hair absent of melanin i.e. white or grey hair. Blonde and red hair can be treated only if there is enough brown pigment in the folicle, however not as successfully as black or brown hair. It is highly likely that treatments on blonde and red hair will only ever give temporary results. Contact Cleanskins for a free consultation to see if our treatments are right for you. We will not waste your time or hard earned money!
Treatment time varies depending on the surface area treated. Usual treatment times range from 5 to 60 minutes (5 minutes for an upper lip to 60 minutes for 1/2legs).
On average 4 to 8 treatments are required. It is impossible to pre-determine the exact number of treatments as they vary from person to person. Generally speaking the thicker and darker the hair the better the results from the treatment. On average 3 to 5 treatments are required in order to see noticeable results, with at least 80% hair reduction. Some patients may require top-up treatments in years to come. Cleanskins provide free, no obligation consultations where an experienced technician will discuss a treatment program suited to your individual requirements.
For facial treatment initially once every 4 to 6 weeks. (On going maintenance treatments are usually required due to the density of follicles on the face, cases of Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, Insulin Resistance and other hormonal imbalances. It will usually take approximately six treatments to control the hair growth. Patients on a maintenance program usually only require approximately 4 treatments per year.
Body treatments once every 8 to 10 weeks.
Lengthy periods between treatments will not achieve optimum results.
All areas of the body excluding close to the eyes and the inner ear can be safely treated. The most common areas treated are upper lip, chin, face, neck, bikini line, legs, chest, underarms, back and abdomen.
The majority of people treated don't experience side effects and return to normal activity immediately without any adverse sign of treatment. Few experience mild redness or mild swelling that on average lasts from an hour to 24 hours. In rare instances redness can last longer and some people have experiences mild grazing which dissipates over a short period of time.
Some people have found the treatment uncomfortable. Most people find it more tolerable than waxing. It is likened to the flick of an elastic band on the skin which dissipates quickly. Approx. 10% of patients require anaesthetic for their treatments. Beware of clinic's that advertise 'pain free' or 'virtually pain free' treatments.Laser and IPL technology both work by damaging the hair follicle. If the intensity is too low you will not get optimum results equaling more treatments (= more cost!).
At CleanSkins we offer hair removal from as little as $55 per treatment. Compared to the frequent ongoing cost of waxing laser is by far the cheaper alternative.


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South Bay History: Chester Washington Golf…
South Bay History: Chester Washington Golf Course played an important role in golf history
Main clubhouse sign at Chester Washington Golf Course in Los Angeles. (July 2019 photo by Sam Gnerre)
By Sam Gnerre | sgnerre@scng.com | Daily Breeze
PUBLISHED: August 5, 2019 at 11:08 am | UPDATED: August 20, 2019 at 12:08 pm
Chester Washington Golf Course opened on 135 acres of land east of Western Avenue and south of 121st Street, in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, March 28, 1928.
Bordered by Hawthorne to the west and Gardena to the south, the 6,465-yard, 18-hole course operated for years under its original name: the Western Avenue Public Golf Course. ("Public" was later dropped from the name.)
Sam Gnerre
Though long enough to qualify as a championship course, it was open to all comers, despite at first being operated by private owners O.T. and A.Z. Johnson.
Over the years, it became one of just a few golf courses in the area that welcomed players of all races as players and members, a policy not that common in the sport at the time.
Torrance Herald ad in advance of golf course's opening, March 22, 1928, Page 41. (Credit: Torrance Historical Newspaper and Directories Archive database, Torrance Public Library)
Bill Spiller lived on 122nd Street in South Los Angeles during the 1940s, just north of the Western Avenue Golf Course. Spiller, an African American, took up the game in 1942, and developed into more than just an avid golfer; he aspired to join the Professional Golf Association tour.
He became one of the standout players at the course, along with his friend Ted Rhodes. Charlie Sifford, the first black regular on the PGA Tour, told the Los Angeles Times in 1997, "He was a great golfer, one of the best ever, black or white."
But Spiller's dream to join the pro tour was stymied when he found out about Article 3, Section 1, of the PGA's constitution while attempting to enter a pro tournament in Richmond, Va., in 1948. The rule, added in 1943, stated that PGA members must be "of the Caucasian race."
Bill Spiller. (Credit: Chester Washington Golf Course, undated photo)
That year, Spiller had finished the second round of the Los Angeles Open tied with Ben Hogan for the lead. (The L.A. Open ignored the PGA's exclusionary rule.) A year earlier, in 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers had broken baseball's color barrier with Jackie Robinson.
Spiller fumed, knowing that he had the talent to play on the tour. He made it his life's work to overturn that ruling, beginning with a 1952 protest at a San Diego tournament that stopped play, and continuing throughout the 1950s.
Finally, in 1960, Spiller's complaint came to the attention of California Attorney General Stanley Mosk, who initiated legal action against the PGA. The PGA dropped the rule in 1961.
Spiller died in 1988. The PGA granted posthumous memberships to Spiller and Rhodes in 2009.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Western Avenue Golf Course became known informally as a place where touring pros could come and hustle up games with local players to supplement their incomes.
PGA players — such as Tommy Jacobs, Doug Sanders and Tommy Bolt — were frequent visitors to the course when the tour made Southern California stops. They would take on prominent local players such as Spiller and Rhodes, and future pros Charlie Sifford and Lee Elder.
Newspaper publisher Chester L. Washington, lower right, with his son, upper left, and Gov. Pat Brown, seated, and his son, Jerry, in 1969. (Credit: UC Berkeley Bancroft Library)
Celebrity athletes also were highly visible regulars at the course, including boxer Joe Louis, running back Jim Brown and Maury Wills of the Dodgers.
The course also hosted tournaments during the era. The Kiwanis Club of Gardena Valley sponsored the most prominent of them, the Gardena Valley Open. This tournament began in 1954, the same year Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn led the successful drive for the county's acquisition of the course.
During its 18-year run, the Gardena Valley Open attracted the cream of the local golfing talent. Sifford won it three times. Other winners included Jimmy Clark, Howie Johnson, Tommy Jacobs and Jerry Barber.
Popular from the first, the course became the second-most heavily played public course in the U.S. in 1961. The course was remodeled several times, and its original dimensions and layout changed over the years. A new clubhouse was built in 1965, and major modifications were made to John Dunn's original design by golf architect William F. Bell in 1970.
One of the Western Avenue course's many community outreach programs was working with the group Minority Associated Golfers, which fostered youth participation in the sport.
Former entertainer and community activist Maggie Hathaway, who helped Spiller and Rhodes in their battle with the PGA, also was closely involved in MAG.
The new clubhouse under construction at the Western Avenue Golf Course (see sign) in 1965. (Credit: County of Los Angeles Public Library)
Together with MAG, the course dedicated its Junior Golfers Green on March 5, 1972. Supervisor Hahn attended, but was upstaged by another group of attendees. The Jackson Five were charter members of MAG, and the group caused a sensation on the Western Avenue course by attending the ceremony in person.
Ten years later, community leaders and the golf course decided to rename the course after Chester L. Washington, publisher of The Wave group of local newspapers, then the largest chain of African American owned papers in the country.
The beloved Washington received the honor on March 18, 1982, when the course was rechristened as the Chester L. Washington Golf Course. According to the Los Angeles Sentinel, Washington told Supervisor Hahn two days before he died on Aug. 31, 1983, that the renaming of the course was the greatest honor he had received in his lifetime.
As for those who played the course?
Elder became the first African American to play in the Masters tournament, in 1975.
Sifford became the first African American member of the PGA in 1961. He would go on to win 22 tournaments on the tour, and be named to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.
A plaque honoring Charlie Sifford in front of the practice putting green at Chester Washington Golf Course. (July 2019 photo by Sam Gnerre)
Sifford died on Feb. 3, 2015. Six months later, on Aug. 16, the portion of 120th Street that includes the entrance to Washington Golf Course was rededicated as Charlie Sifford Drive in his memory.
Sources: "Chester L. Washington," findagrave.com website; Daily Breeze files; Images of America: Gardena, by the Gardena Valley Historical Society, Arcadia Publishing, 2006; Los Angeles Sentinel files; Los Angeles Times files, especially Bill Plaschke's "He Went Down Swinging," Feb. 27, 1997; The Southern California Golf Guide, by Daniel Wexler, MT III Golf Media, 2017; Torrance Herald files; Wikipedia.org.
Sign up for The Localist, our daily email newsletter with handpicked stories relevant to where you live. Subscribe here.
South Bay History
Sam Gnerre has worked for the Daily Breeze in Torrance since 1984. He grew up in Fontana, Calif., and is a graduate of Fontana High School. He earned a B.A. in English literature from the University of California, Riverside, and a Master's degree in library science from UCLA. He was hired at the Daily Breeze in 1984 to help with the conversion of the paper's manual clip file system to an online database of archived stories. Currently, he writes the paper's weekly News Quiz, does a weekly music CD review, and researches and writes local history articles for the South Bay History blog, in addition to his current duties as a night website editor for the Southern California News Group.
Follow Sam Gnerre	@samgnerre
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text:
YOUR FUTURE IS OUT THERE.
IT STARTS HERE.
Be a Bend Beav. Apply Now
THIS IS OSU. IN BEND.
At Oregon State University – Cascades, we're out there at the edge. Of the Deschutes River and the Cascade Range. Of the high desert and the pine forest. And we're inspired by everything around us. You will be, too.
Stories of the Decade
Happens at the Edge
Our next Preview Day is Friday, February 14. Stay and ski Mt. Bachelor — discounted lift tickets available while supplies last!
Revamped Ride Bend service re-upped after attracting more than twice the riders in fall - Jan 21, 2020
Local partners have decided to continue a revamped, on-demand Ride Bend van service that attracted more than double the users this fall over a year ago according to a study by a transportation research lab at Oregon State University - Cascades...
OSU-Cascades Advocacy and Advisory Board to meet - Jan 15, 2020
The Oregon State University - Cascades Advocacy and Advisory Board will meet from 9 to 11 a.m. on Jan. 29 in Tykeson Hall, Room 111 on the OSU-Cascades campus on Chandler Avenue in Bend.
This meeting will cover topics including the...
Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration features livestream of talk by Out Magazine editor Raquel Willis, volunteer opportunities - Jan 15, 2020
Raquel Willis, the executive editor of Out Magazine and a black queer transgender activist and writer, will speak Monday at Oregon State University in Corvallis. The presentation will be livestreamed to OSU-Cascades as part of the Bend campus's...
Science Pub sheds light on bats and bat conservation efforts in the Pacific Northwest - Dec 06, 2019
At Oregon State University – Cascades' upcoming Science Pub, bat ecologist Tom Rodhouse will explore the little known, yet extensive world of bats, including the role they play in natural ecosystems, why some populations are threatened and how...


Join us for Celebrate America! This one day show is the feature of the Hinsdale Independence Day Festival. Located in beautiful Burlington Park, just 1 block North of Downtown Hinsdale. Festival events include parade, live music, food court, and kids area with free activities for the whole family.


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Samsung Adds Bitcoin Support to Blockchain Keystore
Crypto.com Appoints General Manager, Europe
Delaware Begins Online Gambling Service Testing
The US state of Delaware has begun testing of its new online gambling service ahead of its proposed full launch on November 8.
According to the Delawareonline.com website, between 25 and 75 players that have registered on websites maintained by the state's three racetrack casinos will be permitted to play a week of live testing.
If the test period goes well, anybody registered and located in Delaware will be able to access online, real-money versions of poker, blackjack, roulette and slots games from November 8.
In recent weeks, the state opened up the service to allow people to play for fun and this will continue until at least the projected launch date.
Delaware officials said that when fully launched, the service will become the first "full suite" of online gambling in the US.
Officials also hope the move will help revive revenues for an industry that has suffered at the hands of border states.
Casino revenues in Delaware had hit a high of $241 million (€178.5 million) in 2010 but are only expected to amount to $176 million this year.
"This is another chapter in Delaware's history of staying competitive in the gaming industry," Delaware finance secretary Thomas Cook said.
"It is something that has to grow but we're in a fiercely competitive environment here. This is just one more opportunity for entertainment."
Cook also said the goal is to generate new customers, rather than encourage regular visitors to the state's casinos to gamble from home instead.
"Then we have taken a step back because it's taking away business from the bricks and mortar where people are employed," he said.
Delawareonline.com
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Tether (USDT) $ 0.996979 0.31%


I'm surprised at how heartsick I've felt while reading my colleagues' back-to-school statuses on Facebook. My identity as an educator has a significant impact on my way of thinking and being. So it's strange that it is September and I'm not lesson planning and high fiving students as they enter my classroom.
You can imagine then how excited I am to get into New Zealand classrooms, especially since I will get to see how things are taught in a new cultural context.
One of the posters I had made for my classroom. Maybe there will be a day with less late work!
In the spirit of my love of teaching and learning, I'd like to tell you about a book project I'm happy to be a part of. A friend and colleague, Aaron Poldner, the youngest-ever Golden Apple teaching award winner in the state of Illinois, published a book called How Would You Handle It?: Questions For Teachers To Ask Themselves. The book asks introspective teachers to examine their pedagogies and teaching philosophies to see how their beliefs impact their practice.
As a follow-up to this book, Aaron polled teachers on how they would answer the questions, and I got to be one of the teachers. Look out for How We Handle It: Hundreds of Answers from Classroom Teachers on Amazon.com within the month!
I'd thought I'd give you some insight of who I am as a teacher. Below are some of my contributions to the project. Hope you enjoy!
How are you going to take care of your physical and mental health while you teach, especially during the first few years? How often do you go to the doctor? Do you exercise regularly? Do you have a healthy diet? Would you ever consider therapy or psychiatric care? How do you plan on finding a balance between all of your needs and activities?
Gifts given by students after I had suffered illness and loss.
Towards the end of second day in my first year of teaching, I passed out in the women's restroom. It was the last period of the day, and it was my prep period (thank goodness). I woke up on the bathroom floor, and army-crawled down the empty hallway and into an administrator's office (the hall monitor never once noticed a grown woman in a dress slithering down the hall on her belly). Flipping over onto my back, I moaned to the secretary that I needed help. Two hours later, I was standing in a hospital emergency room clad in a see-through hospital gown with SpongeBob Squarepants underwear holding a cup of my own urine. The school's superintendent arrived while I was in this precarious position to see if I was okay. To say I was embarrassed is an understatement.
My first three years went on like this. I made two more trips to the ER for walking pneumonia and extreme vertigo. I suffered from migraines and exhaustion. But, I never rested or slowed down. Finally, I took a good long look at my plate: I was teaching full time, coaching an additional twenty hours a week, taking an improv class at Second City, and starting a master's degree at Northwestern. To make matters worse, I lived across the street from the school, so I would often get home from coaching track at 6:30 p.m., I'd take a nap and eat dinner (which often consisted of hot pockets or a jar of peanut butter), and then I would go back to school to lesson plan and grade until two or three in the morning.
My first few years of teaching were already incredibly, incredibly hard, and my extra commitments added to its difficulty. After looking at my plate, I made some crucial changes. First, I moved a twenty-minute drive away from school so that I wouldn't be tempted to walk back to school in the wee hours of the morning. Second, I quit coaching track. I LOVED coaching, but I needed more balance in my life. Third, I joined a gym and started exercising four times a week. Fourth, I strategized ways to become more efficient in my grading and planning, so I could have more time to hang out with friends and enjoy some downtime.
Now, in my seventh year of teaching, I still sometimes struggle with balance, but I am a very, very happy teacher. I finished my master's degree in literature, and now have time to read books for pleasure. I never take any work related to school home, and I make sure to be really efficient while I'm in my classroom. I always make it to my favorite dance class on Thursday nights, I rarely have to pull out a frozen meal, and I drink coffee for pleasure and not out of necessity. I might not get essays back within twenty-four hours, but I also haven't seen the inside of an emergency room in four years (knock on wood).
It took me illness, hardship, and drowning in medical bills to get my teaching legs, but I hope to never go back to the sea-sickness caused by those first years of teaching. I am heavily considering going back to coaching, but this time I will be much better at advocating for my needs, and knowing when I must give myself a break.
cups of urine in front of my boss' boss; here are the days of toasts to health and cups running over.
Do you agree that it is not enough to just teach a subject; an educator must design her lessons to address social justice issues? For example, how do you feel about a science teacher who organizes a protest against a business because they are polluting a local creek?
Taking English class is not just about reading and writing, it's about thinking critically about global issues. This is one way students exit class: with reflection.
The first thought that came to mind when I read this prompt was, "Why even teach if you aren't going to address social justice?!" I mean, isn't this the essence of why we teach? To ensure that our students can defend, enact, and demand the freedoms given to them by the United States Constitution? To be critical thinkers who see themselves as a part of a global community? To address the inequities in our criminal justice system, economy, and access to opportunity?
I love reading and rhetoric, but I would never teach just because I love those two things. We don't teach in a vacuum, so I do think there is a great purpose for why we get up each morning to beam at our classrooms at 8:00 a.m.
How long do you need to know a student before you have a thorough sense of his or her strengths and weaknesses? Does it depend on the personality of the student?
I also think that student self-reflections are essential. It's as important for them to reflect on their own progress as it is for teachers to reflect on students, and I often learn the most about students' strengths and weaknesses when they are introspective about themselves. Because of this, I often check in with students about their goals, progress, and obstacles along the way to help me better assess where I can help motivate them to succeed.
How will you greet your students each day (or period)? Explain the reason for your choice.
During the passing periods, I stand in the doorway of my high school classroom. I make eye contact and smile at each student, occasionally complimenting new haircuts and cool outfits. If students arrive without their school-issued ID, I will shriek, "HALT!" and dramatically cover the door until they put on their ID. At this point, I will comically bow and let them in. It is commonplace to see students shuffling through their backpacks as they get near my door, knowing they must have one to enter my classroom. It's a positive, non-threatening way to avoid bad habits that can take away class time.
These are the student mailboxes I spent 17 hours constructing one summer. Totally worth the time to stay organized.
Once the bell rings, I'll enter and wait a few seconds for students to get their journals and "mail" out of their mailboxes and shuffle into their seats. Then, I'll scream at the top of my lungs, "HAPPY WEDNESDAY!" or whichever day of the week it is. The students will then scream the same back to me. The first few weeks, several students will jump each time I scream my greeting, and some will even plug their ears. After a few weeks, students will grow concerned if I don't shout it with enough gusto, and in the event that I am absent, I'll get sub notes stating that she was carefully instructed on how to properly begin class, as "they couldn't start class without their greeting." Having a quirky way to start the class sets a good tone, establishes routine, and begins each class positively.
Do you believe that teaching is part performance?
In my experience, too, I find that the more my students like me, the harder and more consistently they will work. Relationship building really is the cornerstone of a great teacher. And part of getting students to like me is to be as dynamic and energetic as possible coupled with some sprinkles of unpredictability. Students often watch me with curious eyes that read, "What is she going to do next?" I would much prefer this to glazed-over eyes.
So yes, especially on days when I am a wee-bit cranky because my car got towed the night before, spilled coffee on the front of my white blouse, and discovered too late that I am wearing two different shoes on accident, I have to put on the performance of a lifetime. Because as much as I am human with the full range of human emotions, I never want to let those moods adversely affect how I interact with my students. So, I will act until the smile on my face is genuine.
Would you rather teach in a classroom that is uncomfortably warm or uncomfortably cold? How would you handle the situation if your classroom was too hot or too cold and you could do nothing to change the temperature?
I would much, much prefer it to be too cold. I bring in home-knit blankets and leopard print snuggies, and students can curl up in them during class. It is a great way for the class to become homier. There is something communal about being cold, and the whole class seems to draw closer to gather warmth from each other. On those soul-sucking hot days where you have the bad fortune to get a classroom without air conditioning, however, students can't seem to get far enough away from each other. They get crabby and irritated, so instead of talking about Gatsby's great dream, students are hissing at each other over the way papers are passed down the rows. In addition, I personally get heat sick, so I suffer along with students when it's too hot. And if I don't have the energy to stay positive, jump around, and beam my smile across the room, my students certainly won't be able to do the same. I have to shout over the buzz of fans and angry whispers, which makes me eventually throw up my hands and resort to cold treats and silent work times. So even though popsicles and quiet reading time can be nice every once in a while, I much prefer to teach in the cold with energy and gusto.
How are you going to find a balance between humor and seriousness in class? Do you think you might be more inclined to be overly-serious or the opposite? Would you try too hard to joke around at the students' level?
I try to have a sense of humor.
When I first started teaching, I was only four years older than my students. I felt like I had to be stiff and serious in order for students to take me seriously. I was worried that students would think of me as an older sister or a friend if I became relaxed and gregarious. However, putting on this façade mainly served to put distance between my students and me. I have discovered that the more I am myself, the more my students respect me and what I have to offer. I definitely have high expectations, and I will become serious if students do not meet those expectations, but for the most part, you might see students standing on desks, learning how to dance the Charleston, or playing a team building game. I may not be conventional, but I certainly am myself.
I think part of my appeal is that I am so out of touch with today's pop culture. I don't have a TV, and I listen to books on tape instead of the radio. Therefore, I don't have a great pulse of what today's youth are watching and listening to. But I am curious, and I'll ask genuine questions. Sometimes, I will comment on things I find ridiculous ("But leggings ARE SO NOT PANTS!"), but I don't consciously try to be "cool" or "on their level." In fact, students find me humorous because I am so far away from their level. One year, students would say, "That's so raw" when something was "cool or awesome." One day, when something happened in class that was the antithesis of "cool," I exclaimed in total seriousness, "that is so cooked." The students roared with laughter. A student laughed, "Man, Ms. S., you are such a nerd." So in a weird way, being so unabashedly myself has made me far funnier than if I were consciously trying to be funny.
Moments like these are priceless, and I treasure them. Plus, students learn that there are times when it is appropriate to joke around.
What sort of parent would you deliberately choose to not call? If a situation arose that would normally warrant a parent call, what would you do?
"Excuse me?" I asked, unsure if I had heard her correctly.
"I really don't feel comfortable giving you a number." I tried to gulp air as I realized I had been holding my breath.
The next day, Ted came into class head down, unwilling to look at me. He picked up his grade and never changed classes. I guess I wasn't hot!
One of the coolest projects I've ever received: the Globe Theater out of legos!
Awkward situations like these have made me weary of calling parents; you really never know what you're going to get. Yet, I really do call homes whenever I can. There have been a few occasions in which a parent phone call resulted in the parent physically punishing the student. This is why I now notify students when I am going to contact their parents due to bad grades or bad behavior. Doing this one courtesy has helped me better approach parents, because students tend to be quite honest about the consequences of their poor decisions. In addition, it leads to good conversations with the student about the disconnect between their behavior and my expectations.
On the rare occasions when I do deem it unsafe to contact home, I call meetings with the student's counselor, dean of discipline, and perhaps other teachers to rally around the student. We can circle around and support the student without the parents' involvement. But other than this very special circumstance, I try to call home as often as I can. The parent not speaking English or having to have conversations about uncomfortable topics are not excuses. Even if I'm asked to qualify my level of hotness, at the end of day, I know that parent involvement is important to my students' success.
Describe a bad dream that you have had about teaching. What sorts of fears or insecurities are expressed in this dream? Are they rational or irrational?
A close up of my favorite mug to drink coffee out of in the morning: handmade by a student!
I've always had terrible nightmares during those fleeting summer nights before school begins. One of my "favorite" dreams is when I dreamt that I covered myself in bubble wrap from head to toe. While blasting the main theme song from "Space Jam," I chest bumped my new students as they walked through the door, making bubble wrap pops in time to the music.
In another dream, I arrived makeup-less, with a food-stained sweat suit, and hair in a ratted hornet's nest sticking out like a horn from my head. I thought it was the day before school started, and I came into school to make copies, unpack my classroom, and generally psyche myself up for the new year. As I walked up to my classroom, I looked inside and, to my horror, noticed that the room was full of students, looking around confused. As I desperately looked at my cell phone, I saw that the date was the first day of school. And here I was, unkempt and grossly unprepared, with the sauce of last night's BBQ ribs decorating the front of my outfit.
These dreams reveal both my fears of not being prepared for the first days of school, as well as making the wrong first impression on my students. Those first days are full of a lot pressure. Every workshop and professional development I attend about best practices claims that the "first impression" is integral to good teaching. I've even been told that the first thing to come out of my mouth is the most crucial sentence I'll utter all year, and that if I give off the wrong impression, it will have a devastating impact on my ability to build relationships.
Now, I don't buy into these warnings too much because I think that students can be incredibly thoughtful and forgiving. However, I do want to adequately express how much I love teaching, how much I am going to care about them in the coming year, and how much they are going to learn in my class. It's important that they know that I am here for them, and will be here for them.So although I might worry about being unprepared or look like a hot mess, it's because I care very much about creating an environment in which every student feels comfortable. I like to think that these dreams are gentle reminders of what I'm all about. Perhaps the year that I don't have the crazy, anxious,back-to-school dream where I suddenly gain a twitch and a South African accent is the year I should retire from teaching.
Sometimes the littlest things make biggest impact.


Monday…not one of my best day of the week!!
Monday…it makes me think about Craig David and this song…so old but still so good…I'm gutted that I haven't met him yet, we could say that we are neighbours in Miami…only 4 blocks between Flamingo and the Mondrian!
Wake up on a Monday morning, it's a trauma that hits me every week! And every Monday, like every other day of the week, I have to fight for a parking space at the station car park…Bless you Thinkerbell (my Smart's name) I always manage to find somewhere to park with your size!
Luckily the day at work is going quick, town is busy with everyone running around the shops for the Christmas shopping….so looking around myself I can update my wish list!
Sony Bloggie Touch camera….it could be great for the blog as well…maybe in pink…let's do silver so even my husband will be able to use it!
It will be a short week this one…Friday we will fly to Venice to celebrate my mother in law's birthday plus my dad's birthday…it's going to be great…and cold!!!


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Home / Games / Action Games
Garena Free Fire MAX APK + OBB 2.56.1 (Special version) Download
No Comments on Garena Free Fire MAX
Name Garena Free Fire MAX
Publisher GARENA
Category Action Games
Latest Version 2.56.1
MOD Features No
The constant innovation of the game market makes publishers constantly updating, or adding new games to meet the needs of the player's experience. And Garena Free Fire MAX APK – It is a powerful upgrade version of Garena Free Fire promises to bring the ultimate experience for players.
Note: You can enjoy some other survival games like Half-Life 2: Episode One or Standoff 2.
About Garena Free Fire MAX
Interact directly with the original version
Survival gameplay
Many game modes
Character system
State-of-the-art equipment
Unlock pet characters
Ultimate 3D graphics
How to install Garena Free Fire MAX
Download Garena Free Fire MAX APK for Android
It is known that Garena Free Fire MAX is still conceptualized and developed by the publisher GARENA. As introduced, this game is essentially a comprehensive upgrade over Garena Free Fire. In particular, the player's graphics experience will have 4K quality, as evidenced by the highest graphics of this game can reach Super Ultra HD.
Garena Free Fire MAX had a good job in terms of images and an improvement in the quality of the experience. But players always want to experience a top-notch product in all aspects. That has forced the publisher GARENA to release Garena Free Fire MAX. The main purpose is to reduce server load and provide a smoother experience. Currently, this game has reached more than 1 million installs on Google Play. And this number will surely increase rapidly in the near future.
As mentioned above, the biggest improvement of the Garena Free Fire MAX compared to the original version lies in the graphics quality. Therefore, the gameplay will not change too much for players to access easily. The special thing is that this game and Garena Free Fire will be connected to the same server, meaning that all players can play together even if they use different versions.
In addition, the publisher also gives priority to old players to use their old accounts to log into Garena Free Fire MAX. Therefore, everything will be directly synchronized and compatible in a short time. Overall, in essence, this game is just a powerful upgrade in terms of graphics to give players the best experience.
In this article, we will not talk too much about the gameplay of Garena Free Fire MAX because survival gameplay has become too familiar at the moment. Begin the game, players will still participate in exciting survival battles with 99 other players. You will have to move reasonably, pick up the right weapons to help the protagonist survive as long as possible.
In addition, the safety circle will narrow continuously over a certain time to bring players closer together. This means that you will have to face more and more enemies as the match goes on over a long period of time. The pace of each battle in Garena Free Fire MAX is quite fast, the average duration will last about 10 – 15 minutes.
In addition to keeping the familiar game modes, Garena Free Fire MAX also adds a lot of different game modes to help players change depending on their preferences. Currently, this game offers 9 different game modes. They include Battle Royale, Clash Squad, Bomb Squad, Capture Points, Collect Cards, Speed War, Master Weapons, and Practice.
Each game mode will own a separate operating, requiring players to grasp the required content if you want to win. Overall, Battle Royale is still the main game mode and receives many choices from the players. However, you should also try to enjoy some other game modes to feel the fun that they bring.
The diverse character system is also the factor that helps Garena Free Fire MAX attract the attention of many players. Specifically, this game is integrating more than 32 different characters for players to choose from. There are some old characters that are still the same as the previous version. But we believe that the new characters in this game are what you care about.
The best point of Garena Free Fire MAX is probably in the weapon system when equipped with a lot of beautiful and powerful new weapons. Not inferior to CSGO Mobile or Fortnite, but even the visuals are much nicer. The gun design is relatively realistic, and the effect is depicted sharply. This is probably a relatively high plus point, helping Garena Free Fire MAX far surpass the original.
Besides, the pets in the game will still act as a true companion of players in a match. The pets not only bring vitality to the player, but it is also a powerful assistant when equipped with unique fighting skills. You can choose one of the pets available in the game such as Ottero, Waggor, Poring, Shiba, to experience easily.
Garena Free Fire MAX was created to target high-end players, so its graphics quality is built extremely beautiful and vivid. The images in the game are smooth, as well as high detail will definitely give you the highest survival battles. In addition, this game also integrates graphics quality up to Ultra HD, thereby providing excellent picture quality and more realistic.
Step 1: Download the (APK + OBB) files of Garena Free Fire MAX from MODDED-1.
Step 2: Extract the file "OBB File". Copy the folder "com.dts.freefiremax" to the folder "Android/Obb".
Step 3: Install the APK file of Garena Free Fire MAX.
Step 4: Wait for the installation to finish, the icon will appear "Garena Free Fire MAX".
In general, in addition to the upgraded graphics, Garena Free Fire Max will not have too many changes. This will help players of both versions still be able to play with each other and not cause problems when operating. If you want to experience a survival game with high-quality graphics, this will definitely be a not bad choice at all at the moment.
Note, to be able to experience this game smoothly and stably, your device needs to own a really high-end configuration.
Garena Free Fire MAX - Original APK v2.56.1
Garena Free Fire MAX - OBB File
DOWNLOAD (840M)
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By improving the understanding of health and health care disparities and differing cultural beliefs and values throughout the United States, stronger and more open communication between health care providers and their patients will form, further assisting the policymakers in tearing down the walls of disparities and providing more effective, efficient, and excellent health care to all individuals. The United States health care system must focus on enhancing the knowledge of cultural diversity and the targeted populations, as well as gain an understanding of the specific social determinants of health that surround them, so that it can be free of such health disparities among its diverse population. Despite the ongoing clinical research, there has been continued growth of disparities in the United States health care system, thus a combination of ideas will need to be pooled in order to minimize these health disparities. Therefore, the authors will discuss heath disparities in the United States, specific health disparities that are among us today, how they affect the U.S. health care system as well as the health care providers, and what initiatives are being put into place to address such disparities.
One of the most unique qualities that the United States possesses is its immense diversity within the population. In many ways, a diverse population is beneficial to the nation as a whole; however, there are a number of challenges that arise when a population is as diverse as the one that exists within the United States today. A major challenge that adversely affects a large portion of the United States' population is the existence of disparities in health care.
To properly analyze the effects of health care disparities, it is essential to have a broad understanding of what defines health care disparities. There is no single definition that encompasses all of what is included in health disparities. The past decade or so has been a time of repeated trial and error when it comes to defining health care disparities in their entirety. Health care is a dynamic industry, and it is vital that the elimination of disparities is one of the next changes to be made. In order for this change to come about, it is essential that the population is presented with and able to firmly grasp the concept of what defines health disparities. In 2012, the Institute of Medicine published an Unequal Treatment Report which defined health care disparities as "all differences except those due to clinical need and preferences" (Cook, McGuire ; Zaslavsky, 2012). This definition is effective in highlighting the fact that disparities equate to differences, but that fact is only part of the full concept that defines health care disparities. This definition is flawed in that it is rather ambiguous; as such, it leaves much of the topic still undefined. The Healthy People 2010 initiative defined health disparities as including "differences that occur by gender, race or ethnicity, education or income, disability, living in rural localities, or sexual orientation (Braveman, et al., 2011). This definition takes a step in the right direction by demonstrating a more expansive perspective regarding what health disparities include. In listing the factors that are the root causes of the disparities that occur, this definition provides a more transparent perspective on how disparities originate. The main flaw in this definition is that it lacks a necessary emphasis on how these disparities affect individuals in a negative manner. The derogatory connotations that these health care disparities stem from is an essential part of what defines the disparities themselves. A more accurate definition would address the negativity that is associated with the differences caused by these factors. In 2015, the United States Department of Health and Human Services defined a health disparity as "a type of difference in health that is closely linked with social or economic disadvantage" (Thomas & Smith, 2017). This is potentially the best definition that has been proposed thus far. This take on defining health disparities is key in addressing both the broadness of concepts and the negative association in a concise manner. Addressing both subjects allows for an accurate definition that gives a clear explanation of exactly what health disparities are. The term "disadvantage" serves to highlight the negative association that comes with the differences in health, and the concise phrasing of "social or economic" provides a simple and efficient explanation of the individuals affected by disparities without the subject being lost in a long list of specifics. Overall, this definition touches on all of the important points of the aspects of the topic and paints a simple and clear picture of what health disparities are.
In addition to finding an accurate definition to display what health disparities are, it is equally as important to express what they are not. It is essential to distinguish disparities from inequities to better understand what disparities are and are not in the field of health care. Inequities in health are "specifically impacted by social, economic, and environmental conditions or influences" (Johnson, 2015). Health disparities are the consequences that appear because of inequities. While these two terms can be confused easily and mistakenly used interchangeably, they have distinct differences that must be acknowledged in order to gain a thorough understanding of disparities. Inequities refer to the actions and influences; disparities are the results that display evidence of inequities. The elimination of disparities requires the acknowledgement of inequities, and discussion about inequities will lead to a massive reduction in disparities. An improved understanding of health care disparities and differing cultural beliefs and values will lead to stronger and more open communication between health care providers and their patients, further assisting policymakers in tearing down the walls of disparities and providing all individuals with more effective, efficient, and higher quality health care.
In the United States today, there has been steady improvements in the quality of care and overall health for most of the population. However, not all Americans are benefiting due to the affects of health and health care disparities. "While individual choices and genetic factors are barriers to achieving the full health potential, the concept of health disparities focuses on the social and political factors surrounding certain groups" (Johnson, 2015, p. 574). These specific groups amongst the population are classified as being underserved, disadvantaged, or underprivileged. "The causes of their vulnerability are largely attributable to unequal social, economic, health and geographic conditions" (Shi & Singh, 2017, p. 269). For the health care community and policy makers to reduce the status of health and health care disparities, it is important for them to recognize the many causes and risk factors. Also, they should know that "vulnerability is determined by a convergence of predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics" (Shi & Singh, 2017, p. 270).
In 2015, the United States population was estimated at a total of 321 million people (NCHS, 2017). This statistic can be further broken down to show the differences in certain populations that better explain the status of health and health care disparities. There are certain predisposing characteristics that increase the vulnerability of these specific groups in the United States population. Some of these characteristics include race and ethnicity, gender and age, and geographic location. The United States rapidly growing population is becoming more and more diverse. It consists of 61.6% white, 12.4% black or African American, 17.6% Hispanic or Latino, 5.4% Asian, and 3.0% of all other races (NCHS, 2017). With the minority populations increasing, it is making health and health care disparities more recognizable. Different minorities and people of color experience greater obstacles to health that is historically linked to discrimination or exclusion (Dubay, 2012, p. 608). Therefore, there are significant differences in health for many of the races and ethnicities. Shi and Singh explain that compared to whites "there is evidence that suggests that racial/ethnic minorities generally have poorer access to health care, receive poorer quality care, and experience worse health outcomes" (2017, p. 272). Overweight and obesity is a negative health outcome that affects racial and ethnic minorities disproportionately, and it is also associated with other chronic conditions. Some examples of these chronic conditions include heart disease and cancer, which are leading causes of death across race and ethnicity as well as gender.
Gender is another predisposing characteristic associated with disparities in health care. Out of the United States population in 2015, there were 158 million people being male and the other 163 million being female (NCHS, 2017). As one may know, there are gender specific disparities that affect men and women differently. It is known that the life expectancy at birth was 81 years for women and 76 years for men because chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are more prevalent in men (NCHS, 2016). Also, men have a higher uninsured rate than women because men haven't historically qualified for Medicaid (NASEM, 2016). However, there are certain mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders and major depression that affect twice as many women as men (Shi & Singh, 2017, p. 276).
The final predisposed characteristic that will need to be addressed in determining the status of health disparities is demographic location. The National Center for Health Statistics estimated that 46 million people lived in rural areas (14.6%) and roughly 275 million people lived in urban areas (85.6%) in 2015. Although a higher amount of individuals live in urban areas currently, rural areas have a higher incidence of disparities because they have not made the same efforts as urban areas in improving population health. Compared to urban areas, rural communities have higher rates of preventable conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, and injury, as well as higher rates of related high-risk health behaviors, such as smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, and limited use of seatbelts (Crosby, 2012). However, urban communities should not be disregarded when addressing health and health care disparities in the United States. In urban areas, there tend to be influences on health outcomes due to poor housing, unhealthy food choices, more pollution, and unclean water. Even though "individuals have little control over these predisposing attributes," these aspects contribute to enabling and need characteristics that determine vulnerability (Shi & Singh, p. 272).
Enabling characteristics and need characteristics also play critical roles in determining the status of health and health care disparities amongst the U.S. population. Enabling characteristics include income status, education level, employment status, and use of health care services (Shi & Singh, 2017, p. 279). These factors play hand in hand with each other. For example, low-income may cause a lack of insurance which will result in barriers to accessing care, poorer quality care, and worse health outcomes. In a study that examined health outcomes, it was explained that "high-income adults were found to be in better health, to engage in healthier behaviors, to have greater use of general health and dental services, and to receive more timely screening for cancer and other health conditions, compared to low-income adults of the same race and ethnicity" (Dubay, 2012, p. 621). An individual's education level and employment status influences health outcomes as well as present barriers in receiving health care. Shi and Singh stated that "the uninsured are likely to be poorer and less educated than insured populations and tend to work in part-time jobs and/or be employed by small firms" as well as "tend to be younger (25 to 40 years old) because most of the elderly (age 65 and older) are covered by Medicare" (p. 279). Even though policymakers have allowed for more people to become insured, they still need to recognize these factors that allow health care disparities to persistently exist in the U.S. health care system.
As explained by Shi and Singh, "need attributes of individuals include their self-perceived or professionally evaluated health status and quality-of-life indicators" (2017, p. 283). A need characteristic that tends be overlooked is the disability status of United States citizens, which is an estimated 18.7% of the population (Brault, 2012). Most disabilities are either acquired at birth or developed later in life. Living with a disability shapes an individual's experiences of the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health, which can "present barriers to accessing health care services and navigating the health care system" (WHO, 2016). Health and health care disparities exist across multiple chronic, acute, and preventable disease processes including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, HIV/Aids, and obesity (Thomas, 2014, p. 7493). "The rise of chronic diseases worldwide has raised concerns not only about the quality of life and life expectancy, but also the overall cost of disease that has been estimated to be over $300 billion per year in the United States alone" (Schiavo, 2015). However, the United States health care system has continued to center the focus on treating acute illnesses. A combination of these predisposing, enabling, and need factors will continue to place limitations on furthering improvement in overall quality of care and population health, which will in turn cause the United States unnecessary costs while widening the equity gap and encouraging the status of disparities.
In order to truly abolish health and health care disparities, there is a necessity for health care policy makers to have a deep understanding of the causes of social inequalities and health disparities (Thurman and Harrison, 2017). Despite ongoing clinical research, there is continued growth of disparities in the United States health care system, thus a combination of ideas will need to be pooled in order to minimize these health disparities. Although evidence is mixed, it has been studied that managed care organizations are more responsible for defined populations; therefore, they are superior for concentrating on disparities, which requires a population approach to health care (Franks & Fiscella, 2008). To truly make successful utilization of all the available resources, it is essential to consider social circumstances and inequalities among individuals. The aim is "to reverse the systemic and personal factors which contribute to the failure of the U.S. health care system to meet the needs of diverse patient groups," resulting in the drastic reduction or, ideally, the elimination of health care disparities (Butler & Freedy, p. 207). By understanding certain relationships, the United States can develop the proper policies to reduce disparities in health care. There is the idea that by improving the knowledge of cultural differences and then communicating and addressing these socioeconomic disparities between the providers and patients, the United States health care system has a greater ability to provide higher quality of care to each and every individual. Betancourt determined that a new health care system was justly needed and within reach, describing the ideal system as one that was "culturally competent, equitable, ethical, and high quality" (2014, p. 147).
Sir William Osler once said, "The good physician treats the disease, the great physician treats the patient with the disease." The United States health care system must be more focused on enhancing our knowledge of cultural diversity and the targeted populations, as well as gain the understanding of the specific social determinants of health that surround them, so that it can be free of such health disparities among its diverse population. The cultural difference between individuals and health care providers increase adverse health outcomes due to misunderstandings from cultural differences and beliefs thus causing "less patient participation and providers viewing those encounters more negatively" (Franks & Fiscella, p. 674).
Studies suggest that effective communication may play a critical role in reducing inequity among the different ethnicities. Warner and Washington explain that policies that allow for better understanding of health care and stronger patient-provider communication will provide minorities with more effective, efficient, and higher quality care (2011). Also, healthcare providers must educate themselves on the beliefs of the patients that they serve and how those cultures could possibly affect their health care and health outcomes. The United States is quite culturally diverse thus requiring the medical education community to revamp their teaching methods to teach how patients with differing cultural backgrounds and how those individuals may require modification in regards to approaching and managing their health concerns (Vaughn et al., 2009). Exposing medical students to the societal implications of health disparities has proven to be successful in altering knowledge.
Along with enhanced communication among health care providers and their patients, the need for higher quality and quantity of health care, primarily preventative care, must come into play. Primary care physicians have been considered the gatekeepers, or the coordinator of an individual's health care. Because of the decrease in availability of primary care physicians, minorities have been at an even greater disadvantage with trying to receive basic health care. The need for an increase in primary care physicians is higher as it was estimated that 32 million individuals, who were previously uninsured, will have health insurance coverage and therefore, be in need of preventative care (Betancourt et al., 2014). Because of the need for improvement in the delivery of preventative care, the Affordable Care Act stepped in and supported several different programs (Hamel et al., 2015). The ACA aimed to cover preventative care and "there is considerable interest in understanding how this enhanced coverage of preventive services will impact the use of preventive care and health outcomes" (Sommers & Wallace, 2016).
Even though there are already health reforms and legislation that try to identify and reduce disparities, it has been proposed that "future efforts should focus on identifying gaps where existing measures and program efforts are insufficient, enhancing implementation of existing measures, and addressing barriers to their development or implementation" (Ng et al., 2017). Because major factors such as cultural beliefs and values, social factors, science and technology, economic forces, and political factors have shaped United States' health care, it is essential then that the U.S. health care system concentrate and invest in the social and environmental factors that contribute to inequality, specifically income inequality, and its impact on the health of the underprivileged. To cancel out the negative effects of such social determinants, Shi and Singh discuss individual level interventions that can be accomplished (2017, p. 48). It was determined that "altering individual behaviors that influence health is often the focus of these-individual-targeted interventions, and numerous theories have been promulgated to identify the complex pathways and barriers to eliciting changes or improvements in behavior" (Shi & Singh, p.48). Such findings have been useful in formatting strategies for combating social-related disparities. Because the self perceptions of a social tier have placed not only a negative social outcome and have lead to a poorer result in one's health, it is important to know the social determinates among the more susceptible groups in order to improve the United States' health system and be able to resolve the disparities.
Efforts to reduce health care disparities and mold such a system have been brought on by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Disparities Action Plan, which desired to provide equal access to each and every American, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which aimed to improve access to health insurance (Gostin et al., p. 19). Although it is a very controversial health care reform and there are many kinks in relation to the ACA, it can also be seen as a step in the process of development versus an end goal to solving the United States health care system (Colander, 2017). The basic issue with the United States health care system is that health care costs an astronomical amount and many do not have appropriate access to it. Although escalating health care costs and the need to reduce such is what drove the U.S. to a health care reform, a major flaw with "the ACA is that it tries to deal with the U.S. health care problem as an insurance problem, when in fact the fundamental problem with the U.S. health care system is a cost and accessibility problem" (Colander, p. 173). Currently, the U.S. health system is a jumbled mess of the following systems that do not mix effectively: "If government pays, experts appointed by government decide what health care will be available to individuals, and how much government will pay for it. If individuals pay, then individuals decide. If insurance companies pay, then insurance companies decide" (Colander, p. 174). The hope for this new health care reform was also to strengthen the quality of health care being distributed among the population, specifically those in need. As stated before, there have been many flaws in the Affordable Care Act but it has also expanding health care coverage to those who did not have access previously. The goal for redesigning the health system is to not only reduce the previously discussed disparities but to mainly improve the quality of care and aptly distribute care based upon need.
As the United States continues to become more diverse, it needs to be understood that each culture brings its own beliefs and values which may differ from our traditional or set ways. It is essential then that the U.S. health care system concentrate and invest in the social and environmental factors that contribute to inequality, specifically income inequality, and its impact on the health of the underprivileged in order to drastically improve the United States health system and have the ability to resolve any gaps in care. Times are changing and our country is now more diverse than ever. The effects of cultural beliefs and social changes have definitely been responsible for molding the U.S. health care system. The differences in the beliefs about health care that are at play have had a direct effect on the health care delivery system, and providing care to the different socioeconomic groups is a necessary plan for reducing health inequalities. Therefore, it is indispensable to create a health system that has the ability to provide high quality care to every patient, regardless of any of the reasons discussed. By improving the understanding of health care disparities and differing cultural beliefs and values, the United States health care system will lead health care providers a their patients to have stronger and more open communication, thus assisting policymakers in obliterating disparities and providing each and every individual with more effective, efficient, and higher quality health care.


I'm Matt, a chemist, musician, artist, and most importantly, a gamer. I've been gaming since I got a Sega Genesis as a kid and haven't stopped since. I've been a lurker on Dtoid for quite a while, but now that I've graduated college(!) I think I can spare the time to write more.
I mainly play games on the PS3 and PC, because that's what I have. My PC isn't that powerful though, so it's mostly just indie titles and older releases. I'm a busy dude, and so lately I've been favoring the games on my PC simply because I'm there. Like, right now. I'm not sure what I'm going to write about in this blog thing, but I'll try to keep it interesting, at the very least.


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Great Fundraising: More Than Good Luck
A News Features Non Profits World — 21 March 2017
By Lori Woehrle
How and under what circumstances is truly great fundraising able to flourish?
Fundraising expert Alan Clayton and his team researched this question and came up with some surprising answers.
The research, conducted as an academic study by Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang, was commissioned and interpreted by Clayton and his researchers. Sargeant and Shang are director and research director (respectively) at the Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy, University of Plymouth in the UK.
First, "great fundraising" was not defined by absolute dollars raised. "Great fundraising" is that which delivers growth that is transformational for the organization and its programs so that the organization can multiply its impact on society, Clayton said.
Second, Clayton found that exceptional fundraisers manage their teams and achieve desired change through a combination of will and personal humility. Also, they devote considerable attention to critical building blocks of success: building exceptional teams, structures and culture.
Beyond Expertise
Those interviewed for the study stressed the importance of having the right team in place. They looked for early success from team members, which led to an improvement in confidence and morale, which became self-sustaining. While technical expertise on the part of team members was important, so too was conscientiousness, a willingness to support others, and a propensity to engage in appropriate risk-taking.
Cooperation, not Competition
Most of the organizations Clayton studied built their structure by function, such as fundraising, finance, marketing, and program management, for example. This type of structure has advantages, such as pooling expertise, but in some cases departments can become competitors for organizational power and resources.
To maximize the success of intra- team or inter-team coordination and cooperation, the fundraising leaders interviewed "managed upward," working with their peers at the director level to rework the organization's reward systems to encourage cooperative efforts rather than competition. They also actively sought out opportunities for enhancing coordination and cooperation by working jointly on projects and seeding expertise as necessary in various institutional initiatives.
Learning Culture
Organizational learning is a complex process that refers to the development of new knowledge that has the potential to change behavior. Organizations that have developed a strong learning culture are typically good at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge, as well as at modifying behavior to reflect new knowledge and insight, Clayton found.
The development of an organizational learning culture was deemed critical to the development of exceptional fundraising.
In all cases, the leaders Clayton and his team interviewed made it clear that the organizational culture when they took up their appointment was far removed from the ideal articulated above. In most cases a fundamental cultural shift needed to occur at the level of the organization (i.e. not just at the level of the fundraising team).
Frequently the CEO or fundraising director and their peers had to challenge and change basic assumptions and norms about how the organization operated. In a number of cases, for example, the organization had been failing to meet its fundraising targets for several years and it was now assumed that the target would not be met and that it was acceptable not to meet it. Such assumptions were unacceptable.
High-Quality Thinking
"In our view, however, what seemed to us to elevate good fundraising to outstanding fundraising was the quality of the thinking each leader was able to generate," Clayton said. "Neither the ideas nor the considerable experience of our directors alone could have given rise to the fundraising success they created. The real difference these leaders were able to make occurred as a consequence of the way in which they understood and coped with the complexities of everyday decision making."
The report "Great Fundraising," is available for download by request.
Clayton, chairman of Alan Clayton Associates, will be the opening keynote speaker at the 2017 Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference Aug. 2-4 in National Harbor, Md. (near Washington, DC). The issue of great fundraising will be the focus of his address.
Lori Woehrle, Former journalist Lori Woehrle, now managing partner of Leapfrog Group, is a fundraising communications consultant to nonprofits.
Alan Clayton, Alan is chairman of Alan Clayton Associates, based in Scotland and Denmark and currently active in Australia, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada and the USA, and working with clients in many more countries, recently Serbia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Spain and Germany.
He is Managing Partner at the Inch Hotel and Inspiration Centre, Loch Ness, Scotland and board chair at Karat Marketing, a telephone fundraising agency in Dunfermline, UK. He has recently launched London based agency Revolutionise FAB and is creative director of RobeJohn in Melbourne, Australia. Alan recently became a director of corporate partnerships consultancy Remarkable Partnerships.
Alan had previously held major fundraising and leadership posts and served as Chief Executive Officer of three fundraising agencies.
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