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Press Releases World News
NGOs in the UN and Religious Leaders Raise Voices against Repression and Discrimination on Specific Religion in Korea
July 12, 2020 spyDa	5 Comments	Christian, church, COVID-19, HWPL, Man Hee Lee, peace NGO, Shincheonji, Shincheonji Church of Jesus, South Korea, victims
NGOs in association with the United Nations and religious communities in the globe are raising their voices on the need to correct inappropriate persecution and human rights violation against a religious group in South Korea named Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
11 NGOs including European Coordination of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Conscience (CAP-LC) submitted a report for "annual report for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights" to the UN Secretary General at the 44th session in the UN Assembly Human Rights Council. The report is titled "scapegoating members of Shincheonji for COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea."
By referring to the report from United States of America Commission of International Religious Freedom, the report to the UN said, "Shincheonji was suffering harassment from the South Korean government and society. Although some government measures appeared to be driven by legitimate public health concerns, others appeared to exaggerate the church's role in the outbreak."
"The government of Seoul locked down Shincheonji churches in the capital, and some mainline Protestant groups have accused the church of deliberately spreading the disease," it continued.
The report stated, "The virus cannot be an excuse to violate human rights and religious liberty of hundreds of thousands of believers. Intolerance, violence, and discrimination against Shincheonji should be put to an end."
Religious communities initiated to issue statements to advocate improvements in the unequal treatment against Shincheonji.
"The news of Chairman Lee and Shincheonji are being singled out and blamed for COVID-19 spread and sued is deeply concerning to all faith leaders who valued freedom of religion and the protection of human rights. This adverse action shall have chilling repercussions through the religious world," said Mr. Sheikh Musa Drammeh, Chairman of Islamic Cultural Center of North America
Swami Vedanand Saraswati, Hindu Spiritual Head of Arya Samaj in South Africa, said "I implore the South Korean Government and other relevant authorities to immediately drop all charges and lawsuits and rather support the efforts of the Shincheonji Church in encouraging other recoverees to donate their plasma. Let us all follow the noble example set by the Chairman and encourage support towards the fight against COVID-19."
Recently, Chairman Lee of Shincheonji Church of Jesus encouraged the members who recovered from the COVID-19 to voluntarily join in donation of plasma. Around 4,000 recovered members said they are willing to donate plasma for research on a new treatment.
He said that there have been political motives in persecution of Shincheonji Church of Jesus and HWPL (a peace NGO) by "using us (Shincheonji), the victims of COVID-19, as their scapegoat in order to hide their own faults." He added, "Persecuting peace organizations, religious organizations, and violating human rights must be stopped in Korea."
Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said from 13th of July, blood plasma donated by 500 Shincheonji church members who have fully recovered from COVID-19 will be used for medicine manufacture after the clinical trials to develop treatments for the virus.
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5 thoughts on "NGOs in the UN and Religious Leaders Raise Voices against Repression and Discrimination on Specific Religion in Korea"
I saw another article saying that 4000 members of this church had donated blood plasma for the research of a cure for Covid19. How come now they are being persecuted by the government? This is absolutely wrong. I hope the truth comes to light!
Injustice and oppression of any kind should be called out, good!
The response by the government seems a little disproportionate and odd. Ive not heard of any other country suing an organization for the spread of a virus. I mean if that were the case then why don't they sue all other groups/organizations/anybody for that matter for the spread of the virus. It really is quite hard to understand the reaction of the state.
Yes, there shouldn't be any double-standards. If they are going to blame some patients simply for getting sick, then to be fair they must blame all the patients. But it's completely illogical to blame any patient just for getting sick. No one wanted to get this virus, and to say otherwise just to hide their own mistakes is immature and irresponsible. The Korean government failed its hard-working, tax-paying, ordinary citizens by not taking the appropriate measures STRONGLY recommended by its own national health agency, and now it's failing its citizens again by saying that the disease is the citizens' fault.
Religious freedom is a basic human right. I'm glad there are people who understand this and support the church which has been discriminated extremely. I hope justice will be served soon.


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sportsCowboys
Cowboys are on the verge of becoming first team in NFL history to start 0-9 vs. the spread
The last team to start the season with eight straight point-spread losses was the Raiders in 2003.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy watches from the sidelines after the Arizona Cardinals intercepted a pass by quarterback Andy Dalton during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game at AT&T Stadium on Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, in Arlington.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
10:44 PM on Nov 2, 2020 CST
The Dallas Cowboys have faced much adversity during their 2-6 start to the season.
Dallas lost star quarterback Dak Prescott to a season-ending ankle injury, anonymous players reportedly called out Mike McCarthy and the coaching staff for being "totally unprepared," and the defense has looked lost through much of the year under defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.
If those reasons weren't enough to not bet on the Cowboys this season, maybe this will be. The Cowboys are 0-8 against the points spread this season.
How rare is that feat?
The Washington Post reports that the last team to start the season with eight straight point-spread losses was the Raiders in 2003. The Cincinnati Bengals did the same in 1991.
The Cowboys have failed to cover the spread this season by an average of 10.3 points per game.
If the Cowboys fail to cover the spread against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday, they will become the first team in modern NFL history to start 0-9 vs. the spread.
The point spread has not yet been set for the Cowboys' home game against the Steelers.
Some good news for the Cowboys is that quarterback Andy Dalton, who sat out Sunday's 23-9 loss to the Eagles with a concussion, is expected to return against Pittsburgh.
Related: Second half of the Cowboys' season is more about survival than turning things around
Find more Cowboys stories from The Dallas Morning News here.
SportsDay Staff
websports@dallasnews.com @SportsDayDFW
Photos: High knees! Le'Darrion Davis runs drills at DFW Unsigned Senior Showcase at North Crowley High School
Be the smartest Cowboys fan. Get the latest news.
Ofrecen boletos gratis para visitar el Dallas Arboretum a los habitantes de la ciudad

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Zithromax belongs to the group of macrolide antibiotics. It interferes with grow of bacteria cell. It is used to treat different kinds of infections such as respiratory infections, skin infections, ear infections, and sexually transmitted diseases. It can be used for treatment of middle ear infection, pneumonia, tonsillitis, and strep throat in children. This medication will not work for viral infections such as common cold, flu .
Zithromax can't be used along with aluminum- or magnesium- based antacids Mylanta or Maalox . There may be an interaction between azithromycin and any of the following: phenytoin, hexobarbital, ergotamine, triazolam, quinidine, etc.


Oregon Vape Insurance. Vaping - smoking e-cigarettes - has become one of the biggest trends across the country in recent years. Due to the rise in popularity of vaping, many entrepreneurs are finding incredible success by opening up vape shops. These shops provide all of the products and accessories that are needed for vaping, including various types of electronic cigarettes and an array of liquids that are infused with nicotine (often referred to as e-liquid or e-juice), batteries, filters, and some even sell traditional cigars, cigarettes, and other tobacco-related products.
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Request a free Oregon Vape insurance quote in Albany, Ashland, Astoria, Aumsville, Baker, Bandon, Beaverton, Bend, Boardman, Brookings, Burns, Canby, Carlton, Central Point, Coos Bay, Coquille, Cornelius, Corvallis, Cottage Grove, Creswell, Dallas, Damascus, Dayton, Dundee, Eagle Point, Estacada, Eugene, Fairview, Florence, Forest Grove, Gervais, Gladstone, Gold Beach, Grants Pass, Gresham, Happy Valley, Harrisburg, Hermiston, Hillsboro, Hood River, Hubbard, Independence, Jacksonville, Jefferson, Junction, Keizer, King, Klamath Falls, La Grande, Lafayette, Lake Oswego, Lakeview town, Lebanon, Lincoln, Madras, McMinnville, Medford, Milton-Freewater, Milwaukie, Molalla, Monmouth, Mount Angel, Myrtle Creek, Myrtle Point, Newberg, Newport, North Bend, Nyssa, Oakridge, Ontario, Oregon, Pendleton, Philomath, Phoenix, Portland, Prineville, Redmond, Reedsport, Rogue River, Roseburg, Salem, Sandy, Scappoose, Seaside, Shady Cove, Sheridan, Sherwood, Silverton, Sisters, Springfield, St. Helens, Stanfield, Stayton, Sublimity, Sutherlin, Sweet Home, Talent, The Dalles, Tigard, Tillamook, Toledo, Troutdale, Tualatin, Umatilla, Union, Veneta, Vernonia, Waldport, Warrenton, West Linn, Willamina, Wilsonville, Winston, Wood Village, Woodburn and all other cities in OR - The Beaver State.


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MMG Business London Ltd (trading as MMG Models)
www.mmgmodels.com is a site operated by MMG Business London Ltd (trading as MMG Models Ltd) ("We"). We are registered in England and Wales under company number 11994650 and have our registered office at 590 Kingston Road, London, SW20 8DN Our main trading address is 13 Radnor Walk, London, SW3 4BP. Our VAT number is 327001840.
BY USING OUR SITE YOU ACCEPT THESE TERMS
By using our site, you confirm that you accept these terms of use and that you agree to comply with them. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not use our site. We recommend that you print a copy of these terms for future reference.
THERE ARE OTHER TERMS THAT MAY APPLY TO YOU
These terms of use refer to the following additional terms, which also apply to your use of our site:http://mmgmodels.com/london/tc-ezp-37.html
WE MAY MAKE CHANGES TO THESE TERMS
We amend these terms from time to time. Every time you wish to use our site, please check these terms to ensure you understand the terms that apply at that time.
HOW YOU MAY USE MATERIAL ON OUR SITE
We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our site, and in the material published on it. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved. You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our site for your personal use and you may draw the attention of others within your organization to content posted on our site. You must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text. Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of content on our site must always be acknowledged. You must not use any part of the content on our site for commercial purposes without obtaining a license to do so from us or our licensors. If you print off, copy or download any part of our site in breach of these terms of use, your right to use our site will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made
We will only use your personal information as set out in our PRIVACY POLICY
WHICH COUNTRY'S LAWS APPLY TO ANY DISPUTES?
If you are a consumer, please note that these terms of use, their subject matter and their formation, are governed by English law. You and we both agree that the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction except that if you are a resident of Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in Northern Ireland, and if you are resident of Scotland, you may also bring proceedings in Scotland. If you are a business, these terms of use, their subject matter and their formation (and any non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by English law. We both agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales
Supply of Services Terms (part of our Terms and Conditions).
1.1 Definitions:
Business Day: a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in England when banks in London are open for business.
Charges: the charges payable by the Customer for the supply of the Services in accordance with clause 5.
Commencement Date: has the meaning set out in clause ii.
Conditions: these terms and conditions as amended from time to time in accordance with clause 10.5.
Contract: the contract between the Supplier and the Customer for the supply of Services in accordance with these Conditions.
Control: shall be as defined in section 1124 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010, and the expression change of Control shall be construed accordingly.
Customer: the person or firm who purchases Services from the Supplier.
Customer Booking form: document that includes details of Customer's order, forming a contractual basis when confirmed by the supplier.
Customer Default : has the meaning set out in clause 4.2.
Deliverables: the deliverables set out in the Booking Order produced by the Supplier for the Customer.
Intellectual Property Rights: patents, rights to inventions, copyright and related rights, trade marks, business names and domain names, rights in get-up, goodwill and the right to sue for passing off, rights in designs, database rights, rights to use, and protect the confidentiality of, confidential information (including know-how), and all other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications and rights to apply for and be granted, renewals or extensions of, and rights to claim priority from, such rights and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection which subsist or will subsist now or in the future in any part of the world.
Order: the Customer's order for Services as set out in the Customer's Booking Form forming part of a contract governed by these terms and conditions.
Services: the services, including the deliverables, supplied by the supplier to the customer as set out in the Customer Booking Form.
Specification: the description or specification of the Services provided in writing by the Supplier to the Customer.
Supplier:MMG Business London Ltd (Trading as MMG Models Ltd) registered in England and Wales with company number 11994650.
Supplier Materials: materials that the supplier uses to perform obligations under this agreement.
1.2 References to statutory provisions and interpretation:
(i) A reference to a statute or statutory provision is a reference to it as amended or re-enacted. A reference to a statute or statutory provision includes any subordinate legislation made under that statute or statutory provision, as amended or re-enacted.
(ii) A reference to writing or written includes email.
2. Contract BASIS
2.1 Customers:
(i) The Order constitutes an offer by the Customer to purchase Services in accordance with these Conditions.
(ii) The Order shall only be deemed to be accepted when the Supplier issues written confirmation of the Order at which point and on which date the Contract shall come into existence (Commencement Date).
(iii) Any samples, drawings, descriptive matter or advertising issued by the Supplier, and any descriptions or illustrations contained in the Supplier's catalogues or brochures, are issued or published for the sole purpose of giving an approximate idea of the Services described in them. They shall not form part of the Contract or have any contractual force.
(iv) These Conditions apply to the Contract to the exclusion of any other terms that the Customer seeks to impose or incorporate, or which are implied by trade, custom, practice or course of dealing.
(v) Any quotation given by the Supplier shall not constitute an offer, and is only valid for a period of 30 Business Days from its date of issue.
3. Supply of Services
3.1 The Supplier shall supply the Services to the Customer in accordance with the Specification.
3.2 The Supplier shall use all reasonable endeavours to meet any performance dates specified in the Booking Form, but any such dates shall be estimates only and time shall not be of the essence for performance of the Services.
3.3 The Supplier shall have the right to make any changes to the Services which are necessary to comply with any applicable law or safety requirement, or which do not materially affect the nature or quality of the Services, and the Supplier shall notify the Customer in any such event.
3.4 The Supplier warrants to the Customer that the Services will be provided using reasonable care and skill.
4. Customer's obligations
4.1 The Customer shall:
(i) ensure that the terms of the Order and any information it provides in the Specification are complete and accurate;
(ii) co-operate with the Supplier in all matters relating to the Services;
(iii) provide the Supplier, its employees, agents, consultants and subcontractors, with access to the Customer's premises, office accommodation and other facilities as reasonably required by the Supplier;
(iv) provide the Supplier with such information and materials as the Supplier may reasonably require in order to supply the Services, and ensure that such information is accurate in all material respects;
(v) prepare the Customer's premises for the supply of the Services;
(vi) obtain and maintain all necessary licences, permissions and consents which may be required before the date on which the Services are to start;
(vii) keep and maintain all materials, equipment, documents and other property of the Supplier (Supplier Materials) at the Customer's premises in safe custody at its own risk, maintain the Supplier Materials in good condition until returned to the Supplier, and not dispose of or use the Supplier Materials other than in accordance with the Supplier's written instructions or authorisation;
(viii) comply with any additional obligations as set out in the Specification;
(ix) comply with obligations relating to other stakeholders including but not limited to models, photographer, stylist, videographer, hair and make-up artist.
4.2 If the Supplier's performance of any of its obligations under the Contract is prevented or delayed by any act or omission by the Customer or failure by the Customer to perform any relevant obligation (Customer Default):
(i) the Supplier shall without limiting its other rights or remedies have the right to suspend performance of the Services until the Customer remedies the Customer Default, and to rely on the Customer Default to relieve it from the performance of any of its obligations to the extent the Customer Default prevents or delays the Supplier's performance of any of its obligations;
(ii) the Supplier shall not be liable for any costs or losses sustained or incurred by the Customer arising directly or indirectly from the Supplier's failure or delay to perform any of its obligations as set out in this clause 4.2; and
(iii) the Customer shall reimburse the Supplier on written demand for any costs or losses sustained or incurred by the Supplier arising directly or indirectly from the Customer Default.
5. Charges, FEES and payment
5.1 The Charges for the Services shall be on a time and materials basis:
(i) the Charges shall be calculated in accordance with the Supplier's standard daily fee rates, as set out in the relevant invoice and/or Specification.
(ii) the Supplier's standard daily fee rates for each individual are calculated on the basis of an eight-hour day from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm worked on Business Days;
(iii) the Supplier shall be entitled to charge an overtime rate in accordance with the Booking Form; and
(iv) the Supplier shall be entitled to charge the Customer for any expenses reasonably incurred by the individuals whom the Supplier engages in connection with the Services including, but not limited to, travelling expenses, hotel costs, subsistence and any associated expenses, and for the cost of services provided by third parties and required by the Supplier for the performance of the Services, and for the cost of any materials.
5.2 The Supplier shall invoice the Customer on completion of the Services.
5.3 The Customer shall pay each invoice submitted by the Supplier:
(i) within 30 days of the date of the invoice; and
(ii) in full and in cleared funds to a bank account nominated in writing by the Supplier, and
time for payment shall be of the essence of the Contract.
5.4 All amounts payable by the Customer under the Contract are exclusive of amounts in respect of value added tax chargeable for the time being (VAT). Where any taxable supply for VAT purposes is made under the Contract by the Supplier to the Customer, the Customer shall, on receipt of a valid VAT invoice from the Supplier, pay to the Supplier such additional amounts in respect of VAT as are chargeable on the supply of the Services at the same time as payment is due for the supply of the Services.
5.5 If the Customer fails to make any payment due to the Supplier under the Contract by the due date for payment , then the Customer shall pay interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 4% per cent per annum above Barclays Bank's base rate from time to time. Such interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. The Customer shall pay the interest together with the overdue amount.
5.6 The Customer shall pay all amounts due under the Contract in full without any set-off, counterclaim, deduction or withholding (except for any deduction or withholding required by law). The Supplier may at any time, without limiting its other rights or remedies, set off any amount owing to it by the Customer against any amount payable by the Supplier to the Customer.
5.7 When a confirmed Customer Booking Form or Shoot Dates are cancelled or postponed not attributable to the Supplier or if the provision of Services or Shoot dates are cancelled or postponed by the Customer, the Supplier reserves the right to charge a cancellation fee at the following rates together with all incurred expenses:
(a) Where cancellation is one day before the Shoot date or Service Start Date, the Supplier reserves the right to claim 100% of the Fees part of Contract Details and any expenses incurred by the Supplier until the date of such cancellation;
(b) Where cancellation is two days before the Shoot date or Service Start Date, the Supplier reserves the right to claim 50% of the Fees and any expenses incurred by the Suppler utill the date of such cancellation.
6.1 All Intellectual Property Rights in or arising out of or in connection with the Services shall be owned by the Supplier.
6.2 The Customer acknowledges that, in respect of any third party Intellectual Property Rights, the Customer's use of any such Intellectual Property Rights is conditional on the Supplier obtaining a written licence from the relevant licensor on such terms as will entitle the Supplier to license such rights to the Customer.
6.3 All Supplier Materials are the exclusive property of the Supplier.
7. Limitation of liability: THE CUSTOMER'S ATTENTION IS PARTICULARLY DRAWN TO THIS CLAUSE
7.1 Nothing in the Contract shall limit or exclude the Supplier's liability for:
(i) death or personal injury caused by its negligence, or the negligence of its employees, agents or subcontractors;
(ii) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
(iii) breach of the terms implied by section 2 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (title and quiet possession) or any other liability which cannot be limited or excluded by applicable law.
7.2 Subject to clause 7.1, the Supplier shall not be liable to the Customer, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), for breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, arising under or in connection with the Contract for:
(i) loss of profits;
(ii) loss of sales or business;
(iii) loss of agreements or contracts;
(iv) loss of anticipated savings;
(v) loss of use or corruption of software, data or information;
(vi) loss of damage to goodwill; and
(vii) any indirect or consequential loss.
7.3 The terms implied by sections 3 to 5 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, excluded from the Contract.
7.4 This clause 7 shall survive termination of the Contract.
8.1 Without limiting its other rights or remedies, either party may terminate the Contract by giving the other party 1 months' written notice.
8.2 Without limiting its other rights or remedies, either party may terminate the Contract with immediate effect by giving written notice to the other party if:
(i) the other party takes any step or action in connection with its entering administration, provisional liquidation or any composition or arrangement with its creditors (other than in relation to a solvent restructuring), being wound up (whether voluntarily or by order of the court, unless for the purpose of a solvent restructuring), having a receiver appointed to any of its assets or ceasing to carry on business [or, if the step or action is taken in another jurisdiction, in connection with any analogous procedure in the relevant jurisdiction];
(ii) the other party suspends, or threatens to suspend, or ceases or threatens to cease to carry on all or a substantial part of its business; or
(iii) the other party's financial position deteriorates to such an extent that in the terminating party's opinion the other party's capability to adequately fulfil its obligations under the Contract has been placed in jeopardy.
8.3 Without limiting its other rights or remedies, the Supplier may terminate the Contract with immediate effect by giving written notice to the Customer if:
(i) the Customer fails to pay any amount due under the Contract on the due date for payment and remains in default not less than 30 days after being notified in writing to make such payment; or
(ii) there is a change of Control of the Customer.
(iii) Customer commits a material breach of any term of the Contract and (if such a breach is remediable) fails to remedy that breach within 30 days of that party being notified in writing to do so;
8.4 Without limiting its other rights or remedies, the Supplier may suspend provision of the Services under the Contract or any other contract between the Customer and the Supplier if the Customer becomes subject to any of the events listed in clause i to clause iii or the Supplier reasonably believes that the Customer is about to become subject to any of them, or if the Customer fails to pay any amount due under this Contract on the due date for payment.
9. Consequences of termination
On termination of the Contract for any reason:
(i) the Customer shall immediately pay to the Supplier all of the Supplier's outstanding unpaid invoices and interest and, in respect of Services supplied but for which no invoice has been submitted, the Supplier shall submit an invoice, which shall be payable by the Customer immediately on receipt;
(ii) the Customer shall return all of the Supplier Materials and any Deliverables which have not been fully paid for. If the Customer fails to do so, then the Supplier may enter the Customer's premises and take possession of them. Until they have been returned, the Customer shall be solely responsible for their safe keeping and will not use them for any purpose not connected with this Contract;
(iii) the accrued rights, remedies, obligations and liabilities of the parties as at expiry or termination shall be unaffected, including the right to claim damages in respect of any breach of the Contract which existed at or before the date of termination or expiry; and
(iv) clauses which expressly or by implication survive termination shall continue in full force and effect.
10.1 Force majeure. Neither party shall be in breach of this Contract nor liable for delay in performing, or failure to perform, any of its obligations under this Contract if such delay or failure result from events, circumstances or causes beyond its reasonable control.
10.2 Assignment and other dealings.
(i) The Supplier may at any time assign, transfer, mortgage, charge, subcontract or deal in any other manner with all or any of its rights under the Contract and may subcontract or delegate in any manner any or all of its obligations under the Contract to any third party or agent.
(ii) The Customer shall not, without the prior written consent of the Supplier, assign, transfer, mortgage, charge, subcontract, declare a trust over or deal in any other manner with any or all of its rights or obligations under the Contract.
10.3 Confidentiality Obligations .
(i) Each party undertakes that it shall not at any time OR at any time during the Contract, and for a period of 2 years after termination of the Contract, disclose to any person any confidential information concerning the business, affairs, customers, clients or suppliers of the other party, except as permitted by clause ii.
(ii) Each party may disclose the other party's confidential information:
(i) to its employees, officers, representatives, subcontractors or advisers who need to know such information for the purposes of carrying out the party's obligations under the Contract. Each party shall ensure that its employees, officers, representatives, subcontractors or advisers to whom it discloses the other party's confidential information comply with this clause 10.3; and
(ii) as may be required by law, a court of competent jurisdiction or any governmental or regulatory authority.
(iii) Neither party shall use the other party's confidential information for any purpose other than to perform its obligations under the Contract.
10.4 Entire agreement clause.
(i) This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes and extinguishes all previous agreements, promises, assurances, warranties, representations and understandings between them, whether written or oral, relating to its subject matter.
(ii) Each party agrees that it shall have no remedies in respect of any statement, representation, assurance or warranty (whether made innocently or negligently) that is not set out in this agreement. Each party agrees that it shall have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation or negligent misstatement based on any statement in this agreement.
10.5 Variation. No variation of the Contract shall be effective unless it is in writing and signed by the parties (or their authorised representatives).
10.6 Waiver. A waiver of any right or remedy is only effective if given in writing and shall not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach or default. A delay or failure to exercise, or the single or partial exercise of, any right or remedy shall not:
(i) waive that or any other right or remedy; or
(ii) prevent or restrict the further exercise of that or any other right or remedy.
10.7 Severance. If any provision or part-provision of the Contract is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, it shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, legal and enforceable. If such modification is not possible, the relevant provision or part-provision shall be deemed deleted. Any modification to or deletion of a provision or part-provision under this clause shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the rest of the Contract.
10.8 Notices.
(i) Any notice or other communication given to a party under or in connection with the Contract shall be in writing, addressed to that party at its registered office or such other address as that party may have specified to the other party in writing in accordance with this clause, and shall be delivered personally, or sent by pre-paid first class post or other next working day delivery service, commercial courier.
(ii) A notice or other communication shall be deemed to have been received: if delivered personally, when left at the address referred to in clause i; if sent by pre-paid first class post or other next working day delivery service, at 9.00 am on the second Business Day after posting; if delivered by commercial courier, on the date and at the time that the courier's delivery receipt is signed;
(iii) The provisions of this clause shall not apply to the service of any proceedings or other documents in any legal action.
10.9 Third parties. No one other than a party to the Contract shall have any right to enforce any of its terms.
10.10 Governing law. The Contract, and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.
10.11 Jurisdiction. Each party irrevocably agrees that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with the Contract or its subject matter or formation.
This is the end of this document.


Abstract: Full 3D particle filtration modeling at low pressures considering slip/transition/free molecular flow regime, particle-fiber interactions, air/particle slip, sieve and homogenous flow field has been performed for the polyurethane nanofiber filter prepared by electrospinning process. The obtained theoretical predictions for the filtration efficiency have been compared with the corresponding experimental data and good agreement between both data sets has been obtained. In order to take all real structure features of the nanofiber filter into account (such as varying fiber diameter, curvature along its length, inhomogeneity and mat defects), a new approach for 3D nanofiber mat model construction from corresponding SEM images has been proposed and utilized.
SAMBAER, Wannes, Martin ZATLOUKAL a Dušan KIMMER. 3D modelling of filtration process through polymeric nanofiber based nonwovens. In: Annual Technical Conference - ANTEC, Conference Proceedings [online]. Boston, MA: 2011, s. 1149-1154. [cit. 2019-04-25]. Dostupné z: http://www.4spe.org/Resources/resource.aspx?ItemNumber=10187.


Using its own network of wireless transmitters attached to church towers and other structures, WiSpire is able to provide broadband services across Norfolk, especially to those communities and businesses underserved by other providers.
Commenting on the appointment, Steve Maine, CEO of WiSpire said: "KISS PR came highly recommended and we felt confident in the agency's strong technology and regional experience.
Our Account Director, Tracy Postill, who has extensive experience across technology and telecoms, will head up the account.
Tracy said: "The Government's broadband policy has been getting a lot of air play and there has been much debate on whether they will reach its stated target of superfast coverage to 95% of homes by 2017.
"While everyone else is discussing the issue, WiSpire is able to offer an alternative and arguably better broadband solution to the people of Norfolk, even those in remote areas.
"We want as many people as possible to know they have options when it comes to getting a quick, reliable broadband service," she said.


text:
Butch Davis agrees to become Florida International's next coach
Dan Wolken
Butch Davis told ESPN on Monday he is leaving his job as a college football analyst immediately to take the Florida International job.
USA TODAY Sports reported last week that FIU was not conducting any coaching search activities and had zeroed in on Davis, with all indications that a deal was likely. Late last week, Davis began talking with candidates to potentially join his coaching staff, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.
Florida International zeroes in on Butch Davis as next head coach
Davis, 64, has wanted to get back into college coaching since he was fired at North Carolina in 2011 in the midst of an NCAA investigation into players receiving improper benefits from agents. Though Davis was never specifically implicated, the cloud of wrongdoing made it difficult for him to gain any traction in coaching searches despite a strong resume that includes a 51-20 record over six seasons at Miami.
He will take over an FIU program that has struggled since firing Mario Cristobal in 2012 and moving up from the Sun Belt to Conference USA. Ron Turner was fired Sept. 25 after an 0-4 start to the season. He went just 10-30 in three-plus seasons.


text:
<?php

namespace Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705;

/**
 * This file was generated from WSDL. DO NOT EDIT.
 */
class ProductTemplateService extends \Google\AdsApi\Common\AdsSoapClient
{

    /**
     * @var array $classmap The defined classes
     */
    private static $classmap = array (
      'ObjectValue' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ObjectValue',
      'ActivateProductTemplates' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ActivateProductTemplates',
      'AdUnitTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\AdUnitTargeting',
      'ApiError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ApiError',
      'ApiException' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ApiException',
      'TechnologyTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\TechnologyTargeting',
      'ApiVersionError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ApiVersionError',
      'ApplicationException' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ApplicationException',
      'AppliedLabel' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\AppliedLabel',
      'ArchiveProductTemplates' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ArchiveProductTemplates',
      'AuthenticationError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\AuthenticationError',
      'BandwidthGroup' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\BandwidthGroup',
      'BandwidthGroupTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\BandwidthGroupTargeting',
      'BaseCustomFieldValue' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\BaseCustomFieldValue',
      'BaseRateError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\BaseRateError',
      'BooleanValue' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\BooleanValue',
      'Browser' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\Browser',
      'BrowserLanguage' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\BrowserLanguage',
      'BrowserLanguageTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\BrowserLanguageTargeting',
      'BrowserTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\BrowserTargeting',
      'CollectionSizeError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CollectionSizeError',
      'CommonError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CommonError',
      'ContentMetadataKeyHierarchyTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ContentMetadataKeyHierarchyTargeting',
      'ContentMetadataTargetingError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ContentMetadataTargetingError',
      'ContentTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ContentTargeting',
      'CreativePlaceholder' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CreativePlaceholder',
      'CustomCriteria' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CustomCriteria',
      'CustomCriteriaSet' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CustomCriteriaSet',
      'CustomFieldValue' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CustomFieldValue',
      'CustomFieldValueError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CustomFieldValueError',
      'CustomTargetingError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CustomTargetingError',
      'CustomCriteriaLeaf' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CustomCriteriaLeaf',
      'CustomCriteriaNode' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CustomCriteriaNode',
      'AudienceSegmentCriteria' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\AudienceSegmentCriteria',
      'CustomizableAttributes' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\CustomizableAttributes',
      'Date' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\Date',
      'DateTime' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DateTime',
      'DateTimeRangeTargetingError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DateTimeRangeTargetingError',
      'DateTimeValue' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DateTimeValue',
      'DateValue' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DateValue',
      'DayPart' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DayPart',
      'DayPartTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DayPartTargeting',
      'DayPartTargetingError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DayPartTargetingError',
      'DeactivateProductTemplates' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DeactivateProductTemplates',
      'DeviceCapability' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DeviceCapability',
      'DeviceCapabilityTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DeviceCapabilityTargeting',
      'DeviceCategory' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DeviceCategory',
      'DeviceCategoryTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DeviceCategoryTargeting',
      'DeviceManufacturer' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DeviceManufacturer',
      'DeviceManufacturerTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DeviceManufacturerTargeting',
      'DropDownCustomFieldValue' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\DropDownCustomFieldValue',
      'EntityChildrenLimitReachedError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\EntityChildrenLimitReachedError',
      'EntityLimitReachedError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\EntityLimitReachedError',
      'FeatureError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\FeatureError',
      'FieldPathElement' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\FieldPathElement',
      'FrequencyCap' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\FrequencyCap',
      'FrequencyCapError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\FrequencyCapError',
      'GenericTargetingError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\GenericTargetingError',
      'GeoTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\GeoTargeting',
      'GeoTargetingError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\GeoTargetingError',
      'InternalApiError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\InternalApiError',
      'InventoryTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\InventoryTargeting',
      'InventoryTargetingError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\InventoryTargetingError',
      'Location' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\Location',
      'MobileApplicationTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\MobileApplicationTargeting',
      'MobileCarrier' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\MobileCarrier',
      'MobileCarrierTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\MobileCarrierTargeting',
      'MobileDevice' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\MobileDevice',
      'MobileDeviceSubmodel' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\MobileDeviceSubmodel',
      'MobileDeviceSubmodelTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\MobileDeviceSubmodelTargeting',
      'MobileDeviceTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\MobileDeviceTargeting',
      'NotNullError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\NotNullError',
      'NullError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\NullError',
      'NumberValue' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\NumberValue',
      'OperatingSystem' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\OperatingSystem',
      'OperatingSystemTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\OperatingSystemTargeting',
      'OperatingSystemVersion' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\OperatingSystemVersion',
      'OperatingSystemVersionTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\OperatingSystemVersionTargeting',
      'ParseError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ParseError',
      'PermissionError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\PermissionError',
      'PlacementTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\PlacementTargeting',
      'ProductTemplateAction' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ProductTemplateAction',
      'ProductTemplateActionError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ProductTemplateActionError',
      'ProductTemplate' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ProductTemplate',
      'ProductTemplateError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ProductTemplateError',
      'ProductTemplateMarketplaceInfo' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ProductTemplateMarketplaceInfo',
      'ProductTemplatePage' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ProductTemplatePage',
      'ProductSegmentation' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ProductSegmentation',
      'ProgrammaticEntitiesError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ProgrammaticEntitiesError',
      'ProgrammaticProductError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ProgrammaticProductError',
      'PublisherQueryLanguageContextError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\PublisherQueryLanguageContextError',
      'PublisherQueryLanguageSyntaxError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\PublisherQueryLanguageSyntaxError',
      'QuotaError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\QuotaError',
      'RangeError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\RangeError',
      'RequiredCollectionError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\RequiredCollectionError',
      'RequiredError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\RequiredError',
      'RequiredNumberError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\RequiredNumberError',
      'ServerError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\ServerError',
      'SetValue' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\SetValue',
      'Size' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\Size',
      'SoapRequestHeader' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\SoapRequestHeader',
      'SoapResponseHeader' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\SoapResponseHeader',
      'Statement' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\Statement',
      'StatementError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\StatementError',
      'StringLengthError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\StringLengthError',
      'String_ValueMapEntry' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\String_ValueMapEntry',
      'Targeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\Targeting',
      'Technology' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\Technology',
      'TechnologyTargetingError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\TechnologyTargetingError',
      'TextValue' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\TextValue',
      'TimeOfDay' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\TimeOfDay',
      'TypeError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\TypeError',
      'UnarchiveProductTemplates' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\UnarchiveProductTemplates',
      'UniqueError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\UniqueError',
      'UpdateResult' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\UpdateResult',
      'UserDomainTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\UserDomainTargeting',
      'UserDomainTargetingError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\UserDomainTargetingError',
      'Value' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\Value',
      'VideoPosition' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\VideoPosition',
      'VideoPositionTargeting' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\VideoPositionTargeting',
      'VideoPositionTargetingError' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\VideoPositionTargetingError',
      'VideoPositionWithinPod' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\VideoPositionWithinPod',
      'VideoPositionTarget' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\VideoPositionTarget',
      'createProductTemplatesResponse' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\createProductTemplatesResponse',
      'getProductTemplatesByStatementResponse' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\getProductTemplatesByStatementResponse',
      'performProductTemplateActionResponse' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\performProductTemplateActionResponse',
      'updateProductTemplatesResponse' => 'Google\\AdsApi\\Dfp\\v201705\\updateProductTemplatesResponse',
    );

    /**
     * @param array $options A array of config values
     * @param string $wsdl The wsdl file to use
     */
    public function __construct(array $options = array(),
                $wsdl = 'https://ads.google.com/apis/ads/publisher/v201705/ProductTemplateService?wsdl')
    {
      foreach (self::$classmap as $key => $value) {
        if (!isset($options['classmap'][$key])) {
          $options['classmap'][$key] = $value;
        }
      }
      $options = array_merge(array (
      'features' => 1,
    ), $options);
      parent::__construct($wsdl, $options);
    }

    /**
     * Creates new {@link ProductTemplate} objects.
     *
     * @param \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ProductTemplate[] $productTemplates
     * @return \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ProductTemplate[]
     * @throws \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ApiException
     */
    public function createProductTemplates(array $productTemplates)
    {
      return $this->__soapCall('createProductTemplates', array(array('productTemplates' => $productTemplates)))->getRval();
    }

    /**
     * Gets a {@link ProductTemplatePage} of {@link ProductTemplate} objects
     * that satisfy the filtering criteria specified by given {@link Statement#query}.
     * The following fields are supported for filtering:
     *
     *

     *

     * PQL Property	 Object Property
     *

     *

     * {@code id}
     * {@link ProductTemplate#id}
     *

     *

     * {@code name}
     * {@link ProductTemplate#name}
     *

     *

     * {@code nameMacro}
     * {@link ProductTemplate#nameMacro}
     *

     *

     * {@code description}
     * {@link ProductTemplate#description}
     *

     *

     * {@code status}
     * {@link ProductTemplate#status}
     *

     *

     * {@code lastModifiedDateTime}
     * {@link ProductTemplate#lastModifiedDateTime}
     *

     *

     * {@code lineItemType}
     * {@link LineItemType}
     *

     *

     * {@code productType}
     * {@link ProductType}
     *

     *

     * {@code rateType}
     * {@link RateType}
     *

     *

     *
     * filtering criteria over productTemplates
     *
     * @param \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\Statement $statement
     * @return \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ProductTemplatePage
     * @throws \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ApiException
     */
    public function getProductTemplatesByStatement(\Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\Statement $statement)
    {
      return $this->__soapCall('getProductTemplatesByStatement', array(array('statement' => $statement)))->getRval();
    }

    /**
     * Performs action on {@link ProductTemplate} objects that satisfy the given
     * {@link Statement#query}.
     *
     * a set of product templates
     *
     * @param \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ProductTemplateAction $action
     * @param \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\Statement $filterStatement
     * @return \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\UpdateResult
     * @throws \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ApiException
     */
    public function performProductTemplateAction(\Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ProductTemplateAction $action, \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\Statement $filterStatement)
    {
      return $this->__soapCall('performProductTemplateAction', array(array('action' => $action, 'filterStatement' => $filterStatement)))->getRval();
    }

    /**
     * Updates the specified {@link ProductTemplate} objects.
     *
     * @param \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ProductTemplate[] $productTemplates
     * @return \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ProductTemplate[]
     * @throws \Google\AdsApi\Dfp\v201705\ApiException
     */
    public function updateProductTemplates(array $productTemplates)
    {
      return $this->__soapCall('updateProductTemplates', array(array('productTemplates' => $productTemplates)))->getRval();
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


15 Can adiabatic quantum computing be faster than Grover's algorithm?
9 How to construct a multi-qubit controlled-Z from elementary gates?
5 What is the matrix for the operator that implements a function to tell the parity of its argument?


text:
Questions about subtitles and language learning
Posted: August 28, 2020 in research, video, vocabulary
Tags: captions, cognitive load, incidental learning, learner differences, listening, reading skills, research, subtitles, translation, vocabulary
As both a language learner and a teacher, I have a number of questions about the value of watching subtitled videos for language learning. My interest is in watching extended videos, rather than short clips for classroom use, so I am concerned with incidental, rather than intentional, learning, mostly of vocabulary. My questions include:
Is it better to watch a video that is subtitled or unsubtitled?
Is it better to watch a video with L1 or L2 subtitles?
If a video is watched more than once, what is the best way to start and proceed? In which order (no subtitles, L1 subtitles and L2 subtitles) is it best to watch?
For help, I turned to three recent books about video and language learning: Ben Goldstein and Paul Driver's Language Learning with Digital Video (CUP, 2015), Kieran Donaghy's Film in Action (Delta, 2015) and Jamie Keddie's Bringing Online Video into the Classroom (OUP, 2014). I was surprised to find no advice, but, as I explored more, I discovered that there may be a good reason for these authors' silence.
There is now a huge literature out there on subtitles and language learning, and I cannot claim to have read it all. But I think I have read enough to understand that I am not going to find clear-cut answers to my questions.
The learning value of subtitles
It has been known for some time that the use of subtitles during extensive viewing of video in another language can help in the acquisition of that language. The main gains are in vocabulary acquisition and the development of listening skills (Montero Perez et al., 2013). This is true of both L1 subtitles (with an L2 audio track), sometimes called interlingual subtitles, (Incalcaterra McLoughlin et al, 2011) and L2 subtitles (with an L2 audio track), sometimes called intralingual subtitles or captions (Vanderplank, 1988). Somewhat more surprisingly, vocabulary gains may also come from what are called reversed subtitles (L2 subtitles and an L1 audio track) (Burczyńska, 2015). Of course, certain conditions apply for subtitled video to be beneficial, and I'll come on to these. But there is general research agreement (an exception is Karakaş & Sariçoban, 2012) that more learning is likely to take place from watching a subtitled video in a target language than an unsubtitled one.
Opposition to the use of subtitles as a tool for language learning has mostly come from three angles. The first of these, which concerns L1 subtitles, is an antipathy to any use at all of L1. Although such an attitude remains entrenched in some quarters, there is no evidence to support it (Hall & Cook, 2012; Kerr, 2016). Researchers and, increasingly, teachers have moved on.
The second reservation that is sometimes expressed is that learners may not attend to either the audio track or the subtitles if they do not need to. They may, for example, ignore the subtitles in the case of reversed subtitles or ignore the L2 audio track when there are L1 subtitles. This can, of course, happen, but it seems that, on the whole, this is not the case. In an eye-tracking study by Bisson et al (2012), for example, it was found that most people followed the subtitles, irrespective of what kind they were. Unsurprisingly, they followed the subtitles more closely when the audio track was in a language that was less familiar. When conditions are right (see below), reading subtitles becomes a very efficient and partly automatized cognitive activity, which does not prevent people from processing the audio track at the same time (d'Ydewalle & Pavakanun, 1997).
Related to the second reservation is the concern that the two sources of information (audio and subtitles), combined with other information (images and music or sound effects), may be in competition and lead to cognitive overload, impacting negatively on both comprehension and learning. Recent research suggests that this concern is ungrounded (Kruger et al, 2014). L1 subtitles generate less cognitive load than L2 subtitles, but overload is not normally reached and mental resources are still available for learning (Baranowska, 2020). The absence of subtitles generates more cognitive load.
Conditions for learning
Before looking at the differences between L1 and L2 subtitles, it's a good idea to look at the conditions under which learning is more likely to take place with subtitles. Some of these are obvious, others less so.
First of all, the video material must be of sufficient intrinsic interest to the learner. Secondly, the subtitles must be of a sufficiently high quality. This is not always the case with automatically generated captions, especially if the speech-to-text software struggles with the audio accent. It is also not always the case with professionally produced L1 subtitles, especially when the 'translations are non-literal and made at the phrase level, making it hard to find connections between the subtitle text and the words in the video' (Kovacs, 2013, cited by Zabalbeascoa et al., 2015: 112). As a minimum, standard subtitling guidelines, such as those produced for the British Channel 4, should be followed. These limit, for example, the number of characters per line to about 40 and a maximum of two lines.
For reasons that I'll come on to, learners should be able to switch easily between L1 and L2 subtitles. They are also likely to benefit if reliably accurate glosses or hyperlinks are 'embedded in the subtitles, making it possible for a learner to simply click for additional verbal, auditory or even pictorial glosses' (Danan, 2015: 49).
At least as important as considerations of the materials or tools, is a consideration of what the learner brings to the activity (Frumuselu, 2019: 104). Vanderplank (2015) describes these different kinds of considerations as the 'effects of' subtitles on a learner and the 'effects with' subtitles on learner behaviour.
In order to learn from subtitles, you need to be able to read fast enough to process them. Anyone with a slow reading speed (e.g. some dyslexics) in their own language is going to struggle. Even with L1 subtitles, Vanderplank (2015: 24) estimates that it is only around the age of 10 that children can do this with confidence. Familarity with both the subject matter and with subtitle use will impact on this ability to read subtitles fast enough.
With L2 subtitles, the language proficiency of the learner related to the level of difficulty (especially lexical difficulty) of the subtitles will clearly be of some significance. It is unlikely that L2 subtitles will be of much benefit to beginners (Taylor, 2005). It also suggests that, at lower levels, materials need to be chosen carefully. On the whole, researchers have found that higher proficiency levels correlate with greater learning gains (Pujadas & Muñoz, 2019; Suárez & Gesa, 2019), but one earlier meta-analysis (Montero Perez et al., 2013) did not find that proficiency levels were significant.
Measures of general language proficiency may be too blunt an instrument to help us all of the time. I can learn more from Portuguese than from Arabic subtitles, even though I am a beginner in both languages. The degree of proximity between two languages, especially the script (Winke et al., 2010), is also likely to be significant.
But a wide range of other individual learner differences will also impact on the learning from subtitles. It is known that learners approach subtitles in varied and idiosyncratic ways (Pujolá, 2002), with some using L2 subtitles only as a 'back-up' and others relying on them more. Vanderplank (2019) grouped learners into three broad categories: minimal users who were focused throughout on enjoying films as they would in their L1, evolving users who showed marked changes in their viewing behaviour over time, and maximal users who tended to be experienced at using films to enhance their language learning.
Categories like these are only the tip of the iceberg. Sensory preferences, personality types, types of motivation, the impact of subtitles on anxiety levels and metacognitive strategy awareness are all likely to be important. For the last of these, Danan (2015: 47) asks whether learners should be taught 'techniques to make better use of subtitles and compensate for weaknesses: techniques such as a quick reading of subtitles before listening, confirmation of word recognition or meaning after listening, as well as focus on form for spelling or grammatical accuracy?'
In short, it is, in practice, virtually impossible to determine optimal conditions for learning from subtitles, because we cannot 'take into account all the psycho-social, cultural and pedagogic parameters' (Gambier, 2015). With that said, it's time to take a closer look at the different potential of L1 and L2 subtitles.
L1 vs L2 subtitles
Since all other things are almost never equal, it is not possible to say that one kind of subtitles offers greater potential for learning than another. As regards gains in vocabulary acquisition and listening comprehension, there is no research consensus (Baranowska, 2020: 107). Research does, however, offer us a number of pointers.
Extensive viewing of subtitled video (both L1 and L2) can offer 'massive quantities of authentic and comprehensible input' (Vanderplank, 1988: 273). With lower level learners, the input is likely to be more comprehensible with L1 subtitles, and, therefore, more enjoyable and motivating. This makes them often more suitable for what Caimi (2015: 11) calls 'leisure viewing'. Vocabulary acquisition may be better served with L2 subtitles, because they can help viewers to recognize the words that are being spoken, increase their interaction with the target language, provide further language context, and increase the redundancy of information, thereby enhancing the possibility of this input being stored in long-term memory (Frumuselu et al., 2015). These effects are much more likely with Vanderplank's (2019) motivated, 'maximal' users than with 'minimal' users.
There is one further area where L2 subtitles may have the edge over L1. One of the values of extended listening in a target language is the improvement in phonetic retuning (see, for example, Reinisch & Holt, 2013), the ability to adjust the phonetic boundaries in your own language to the boundaries that exist in the target language. Learning how to interpret unusual speech-sounds, learning how to deal with unusual mappings between sounds and words and learning how to deal with the acoustic variations of different speakers of the target language are all important parts of acquiring another language. Research by Mitterer and McQueen (2009) suggests that L2 subtitles help in this process, but L1 subtitles hinder it.
Classroom implications?
The literature on subtitles and language learning echoes with the refrain of 'more research needed', but I'm not sure that further research will lead to less ambiguous, practical conclusions. One of my initial questions concerned the optimal order of use of different kinds of subtitles. In most extensive viewing contexts, learners are unlikely to watch something more than twice. If they do (watching a recorded academic lecture, for example), they are likely to be more motivated by a desire to learn from the content than to learn language from the content. L1 subtitles will probably be preferred, and will have the added bonus of facilitating note-taking in the L1. For learners who are more motivated to learn the target language (Vanderplank's 'maximal' users), a sequence of subtitle use, starting with the least cognitively challenging and moving to greater challenge, probably makes sense. Danan (2015: 46) suggests starting with an L1 soundtrack and reversed (L2) subtitles, then moving on to an L2 soundtrack and L2 subtitles, and ending with an L2 soundtrack and no subtitles. I would replace her first stage with an L2 soundtrack and L1 subtitles, but this is based on hunch rather than research.
This sequencing of subtitle use is common practice in language classrooms, but, here, (1) the video clips are usually short, and (2) the aim is often not incidental learning of vocabulary. Typically, the video clip has been selected as a tool for deliberate teaching of language items, so different conditions apply. At least one study has confirmed the value of the common teaching practice of pre-teaching target vocabulary items before viewing (Pujadas & Muñoz, 2019). The drawback is that, by getting learners to focus on particular items, less incidental learning of other language features is likely to take place. Perhaps this doesn't matter too much. In a short clip of a few minutes, the opportunities for incidental learning are limited, anyway. With short clips and a deliberate learning aim, it seems reasonable to use L2 subtitles for a first viewing, and no subtitles thereafter.
An alternative frequent use of short video clips in classrooms is to use them as a springboard for speaking. In these cases, Baranowska (2020: 113) suggests that teachers may opt for L1 subtitles first, and follow up with L2 subtitles. Of course, with personal viewing devices or in online classes, teachers may want to exploit the possibilities of differentiating the subtitle condition for different learners.
Baranowska, K. (2020). Learning most with least effort: subtitles and cognitive load. ELT Journal 74 (2): pp.105 – 115
Bisson, M.-J., Van Heuven, W.J.B., Conklin, K. and Tunney, R.J. (2012). Processing of native and foreign language subtitles in films: An eye tracking study. Applied Psycholingistics, 35 (2): pp. 399 – 418
Burczyńska, P. (2015). Reversed Subtitles as a Powerful Didactic Tool in SLA. In Gambier, Y., Caimi, A. & Mariotti, C. (Eds.), Subtitles and Language Learning. Principles, strategies and practical experiences. Bern: Peter Lang (pp. 221 – 244)
Caimi, A. (2015). Introduction. In Gambier, Y., Caimi, A. & Mariotti, C. (Eds.), Subtitles and Language Learning. Principles, strategies and practical experiences. Bern: Peter Lang (pp. 9 – 18)
Danan, M. (2015). Subtitling as a Language Learning Tool: Past Findings, Current Applications, and Future Paths. In Gambier, Y., Caimi, A. & Mariotti, C. (Eds.), Subtitles and Language Learning. Principles, strategies and practical experiences. Bern: Peter Lang (pp. 41 – 61)
d'Ydewalle, G. & Pavakanun, U. (1997). Could Enjoying a Movie Lead to Language Acquisition?. In: Winterhoff-Spurk, P., van der Voort, T.H.A. (Eds.) New Horizons in Media Psychology. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-10899-3_10
Frumuselu, A.D., de Maeyer, S., Donche, V. & Gutierrez Colon Plana, M. (2015). Television series inside the EFL classroom: bridging the gap between teaching and learning informal language through subtitles. Linguistics and Education, 32: pp. 107 – 17
Frumuselu, A. D. (2019). 'A Friend in Need is a Film Indeed': Teaching Colloquial Expressions with Subtitled Television Series. In Herrero, C. & Vanderschelden, I. (Eds.) Using Film and Media in the Language Classroom. Bristol: Multimedia Matters. pp.92 – 107
Gambier, Y. (2015). Subtitles and Language Learning (SLL): Theoretical background. In Gambier, Y., Caimi, A. & Mariotti, C. (Eds.), Subtitles and Language Learning. Principles, strategies and practical experiences. Bern: Peter Lang (pp. 63 – 82)
Hall, G. & Cook, G. (2012). Own-language Use in Language Teaching and Learning. Language Learning, 45 (3): pp. 271 – 308
Incalcaterra McLoughlin, L., Biscio, M. & Ní Mhainnín, M. A. (Eds.) (2011). Audiovisual Translation, Subtitles and Subtitling. Theory and Practice. Bern: Peter Lang
Karakaş, A. & Sariçoban, A. (2012). The impact of watching subtitled animated cartoons on incidental vocabulary learning of ELT students. Teaching English with Technology, 12 (4): pp. 3 – 15
Kerr, P. (2016). Questioning 'English-only' Classrooms: Own-language Use in ELT. In Hall, G. (Ed.) The Routledge Handbook of English Language Teaching (pp. 513 – 526)
Kruger, J. L., Hefer, E. & Matthew, G. (2014). Attention distribution and cognitive load in a subtitled academic lecture: L1 vs. L2. Journal of Eye Movement Research, 7: pp. 1 – 15
Mitterer, H. & McQueen, J. M. (2009). Foreign Subtitles Help but Native-Language Subtitles Harm Foreign Speech Perception. PLoS ONE 4 (11): e7785.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007785
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Vanderplank, R. (1988). The value of teletext subtitles in language learning. ELT Journal, 42 (4): pp. 272 – 281
Vanderplank, R. (2015). Thirty Years of Research into Captions / Same Language Subtitles and Second / Foreign Language Learning: Distinguishing between 'Effects of' Subtitles and 'Effects with' Subtitles for Future Research. In Gambier, Y., Caimi, A. & Mariotti, C. (Eds.), Subtitles and Language Learning. Principles, strategies and practical experiences. Bern: Peter Lang (pp. 19 – 40)
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Teacher wellbeing: always look on the bright side
Posted: August 23, 2020 in positive psychology, wellbeing
Tags: Bourdieu, COVID, gig economy, MIndfulness, pay and conditions, precarity, research, unions
Precarity
Barely liveable hourly wages, no job security because there is no permanent contract (so employment may be terminated at short or no notice), no social security, paid health care or pension, struggling to meet everyday needs, such as food and accommodation … this is the situation for at least one in five workers in the UK and similar figures exist in many countries (e.g. one in six in New Zealand). As Bourdieu (1998: 81ff.) noted, job insecurity is now everywhere.
Many English language teachers, especially those working for private schools or universities operating like private schools, belong to what has been termed the global educational precariat. In addition to language school and university language teachers, there are hundreds of thousands of teachers, mostly American and British, working in English-medium schools 'international schools' around the world (Bunnell, 2016). Besides financial insecurity, many of these teachers also suffer from a lack of agency and a marginalisation of their professional identities (Poole, 2019). There's a very useful article on 'precarity' in ELT Journal (Walsh, 2019) that I'd recommend.
Even teachers with reasonable pay and job security are facing attacks on their pay and working conditions. A few weeks ago in Jordan, security forces shut down the teachers' union and arrested leading members. Teachers union leaders have also been imprisoned recently in Iran and Cambodia. The pages of the website of Education International , a global federation of teachers' trade unions, catalogue the crises in education and the lives of teachers around the world.
Teacher bashing, in particular attacks on teacher unions, has been relentless. Four years ago, it was reported that teacher bashing had 'reached unprecedented levels' in the US (Saltzman, 2017: 39), where there has been a concerted attempt, over many years, to blame teachers for shortcomings in the educational system (see, for example, Kumashiro, 2012). Although it may have been the US that led the way, closely followed by Australia and the UK, attacks on teachers have become a global phenomenon. Mary Compton and Lois Weiner's book, 'The Global Assault on Teaching, Teachers and their Unions' (Compton & Weiner 2008), gives examples from China to South Africa, from Denmark to Mexico, of how teachers' pay and conditions have been eroded. The reason? Quite simply, it is because teachers have stood in the way of so-called 'reforms' (e.g. pay cuts). It is because they have, as they are doing now in times of COVID-19, stood in the way of what governments have wanted to do. In an earlier post, I wrote in more detail about the ways in which the World Bank has spearheaded the drive towards privatized, lower cost education around the world.
COVID-19 has, of course, made matters worse, much worse. As often as not, the pandemic has been used as an excuse to accelerate attacks on teachers that were well under way long before.
In the circumstances, it is not surprising that teacher wellbeing has recently become a more talked-about topic. Precisely because there is so little of it about.
The publication earlier this year of a book about teacher wellbeing (Mercer & Gregersen, 2020) for language teachers is very timely. The authors acknowledge that real change for wellbeing [must] addresses structural and systemic levels of change and is not just a matter for individual teachers to cope with alone. They acknowledge that teachers should not have to compensate for fundamental flaws in the system as a whole that undermine their wellbeing, and they express concern about the risks associated with discussing teacher wellbeing at the individual level and not acknowledging that the systems in which teachers work may be at fault (Mercer & Gregersen, 2020: 9). But, with these caveats out of the way, the matter is closed, and the whole book is about how individuals can improve their wellbeing. Indeed, the book begins: As you read the title of this chapter, you might have thought how self-seeking or egocentric it sounds: It's all about me? Our response is, 'Yes, you!' Throughout this book, we want you to focus your attention on yourself for a change, without any guilty feelings (Mercer & Gregersen, 2020: 1). Mindfulness techniques, tips for time management, ways of thinking positively and so on – it's a compendium of self-help advice that may be helpful for language teachers. The real ravages of precarity, the real causes of so much lack of wellbeing, these do not get a mention.
Mercer and Gregersen's approach is directly inspired by the work of Martin Seligman, often referred to as the founder of 'positive psychology' (see, for example, Seligman, 2011; 2018). Positive psychology and Seligman's ideas about wellbeing are not uncontested (see, for example, Bache & Reardon, 2016; Bache & Scott, 2018). The nub of the critiques is that positive psychology chooses to focus on happiness or wellbeing, rather than, say, justice, solidarity or loyalty. It articulates an underlying individualism and narrow sense of the social (Cabanas & Illouz, 2019: 68) and it is, therefore, not entirely surprising that much of the funding that made the rapid growth of positive psychology possible came from the ultra-conservative and religious institution, the John Templeton Foundation (Cabanas & Illouz, 2019: 20).
Mercer and Gregersen are not unaware of such critiques (see, for example, MacIntyre et al., 2016: 375). They mention the critiques of Barbara Ehrenreich (Ehrenreich, 2009), but, to the best of my knowledge, they have never troubled to respond to them. They have a very clear agenda – the promotion of positive psychology ideas in language teaching / learning contexts – which is made explicit in MacIntyre and Mercer (2014). A slew of articles, books and conference presentations have followed since then, and 'Teacher Wellbeing' is one of them. Mission seems to have been achieved.
Positive psychology has not only been criticised for its focus on the individual. Others have focused on its foundational assumptions, including decontextualized and ethnocentric claims; theoretical oversimplifications, tautologies and contradictions; methodological shortcomings; severe replicability problems; exaggerated generalizations; and even its therapeutic efficacy and scientific status (Cabanas & Illous, 2019: 29). Probably the most important of these critics was Richard Lazarus, whose work is certainly familiar to Mercer, Gregersen and their collaborators, since Lazarus's criticisms are listed in MacIntyre and Mercer (2014) and elsewhere. These include:
the over-use of crosssectional research designs
a tendency to treat emotion too simplistically as either positive or negative
inadequate attention to both differences among individuals within a group as well as the overlap between groups when discussing statistically significant group differences
poor quality measurement of emotions.
However, as with the critiques of Ehrenreich, I have yet to find any examples of these authors actually addressing the criticisms. Instead, they prefer to talk about how problems such as those listed above need to be avoided in the future. For example, there is no doubt that the future development of the [positive psychology] approach within SLA can learn from these and other criticisms, write MacIntyre and Mercer (2014:161), and they see the future of positive psychology in language learning / teaching as being fundamentally grounded in science.
Empirical science
Acknowledging, but without actually addressing, past criticisms of the scientific shortcomings of positive psychology, MacIntyre and Mercer (2014: 15) insist that positive psychology is the empirical study of how people thrive and flourish […] it represents a form of "rebirth" for humanistic psychology, but with a stronger emphasis on empirical research. The word 'empirical' appears 4 times on this page and another 5 times in the article. In their follow-up book, 'Positive Psychology in SLA' (Macintyre et al., 2016), there is a whole section (over a third of the book) entitled 'Empirical'. In a historical survey of positive psychology in foreign language teaching, written by close collaborators of Mercer, Gregersen and MacIntyre (Dewaele et al.,2019), the same focus on empirical science is chosen, with a description of positive psychology as being underpinned by solid empirical research. The frequency of this word choice is enough to set alarm bells ringing.
A year before the MacIntyre and Mercer article (2014), an article by Brown et al (2013) questioned one of the key empirical foundations of positive psychology, the so-called 'critical positivity ratio' (Fredrickson & Losada, 2005). Wikipedia explains this as the ratio of positive to negative emotions which distinguishes "flourishing" people from "languishing" people, and the ratio was 2.9013. A slightly later article (Brown et al, 2014) further debunked the work of Fredrickson, arguing that her work was full of conceptual difficulties and statistical flaws. Wikipedia now describes the 'critical positivity ratio' as 'a largely discredited concept'. In contrast, Mercer and Gregersen (2020: 14) acknowledge that although the exact ratio (3:1) of positivity has been called into question by some, they reassert the value of Fredrickson's work. They neither cite the criticisms, nor rebut them. In this, they are following a well-established tradition of positive psychology (Rhyff, 2003).
Given growing scepticism about the claims of positive psychology, MacIntyre et al (2016) elected to double-down. Even if empirical evidence for positive psychology was in short supply, it was incumbent on them to provide it. Hence, the section in their book entitled 'Empirical'. Personally, I would have advised against it. The whole point of positive psychology, as outlined by Seligman, is to promote 'wellbeing'. But what, exactly, is this? For some, like Mercer and Gregersen (2020: 3), it's about finding meaning and connection in the world. For others, it's not a 'thing' that needs research to uncover its essential nature, but as a social and cultural construction which is interesting as such, not least for what it can tell us about other social and cultural phenomena (Ereaut & Whiting, 2008). We may agree that it's 'a good thing', but it lacks solidity as a construct. Even Seligman (2011: 15) comes to the conclusion that 'wellbeing' is not 'a real thing. Rather, he says, it is a construct which has several measurable elements, each a real thing, each contributing to well-being, but none defining well-being. This, however, simply raises the question of how much of a 'thing' each of these elements are (Dodge et al., 2012). Seligman's elements (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA)) form the basis of Mercer and Gregersen's book, but none lend themselves to clear, workable definitions. In the absence of construct validity, empirical research evidence will prove hard to find.
How well does the 'Empirical' section of Positive Psychology in SLA (MacIntyre et al., 2016) stand up? I don't have space here to discuss all 7 chapters. However, I've selected the first of these, 'Positive Psychology Exercises Build Social Capital for Language Learners: Preliminary Evidence' (Gregersen et al, 2016) because it includes 'evidence' in the title and because it was written by two of the book's editors. The research reported in this chapter involved five volunteer women, aged 20 -23, in an English program at an American university, who took part in a number of positive psychology exercises (PPEs) which entailed laughter, exercise, interaction with animals, listening to music, expressing gratitude and engaging in altruism. The data collected was self-rating questionnaires and some self-reflection discussion. The results indicated that the PPEs led to more positive emotions, with exercise and laughter leading to the greatest gains (but since the order of the PPEs was not randomized, and since the sample size was so small, this doesn't really tell us anything). Some of the participants doubted the value of some of the PPEs. However, the participants developed better relationships with their partners and this may have led to gains in confidence. The authors conclude that although the present data-set is small, we see preliminary evidence of all three pillars of positive psychology supporting positive outcomes (p.164).
My own view is that this is wishful thinking. The only thing that this study does is to indicate that in this particular context with these particular learners, feeling good about what you are doing may help things along a bit. In addition, this has absolutely nothing to do with 'social capital', which the authors seem to have misunderstood. Citing an article by Nawyn et al (2012), they describe 'social capital' as emerging friendships that provide learners with positive emotional experiences and intangible resources for language acquisition (Gregersen et al, 2016: 147). But this is a misreading of the Nawyn et al article, which adheres fairly closely to Bourdieu's notion of social capital as fundamentally about power relations, but extends it beyond purely economic power relations. Given the connections between the lack of teacher wellbeing and precarity, and given Bourdieu's writings about precarity, the authors' attempt to bring Bourdieu into their justification of positive psychological experiences, best undertaken at the individual level (Gregersen et al., 2016: 149), is really quite extraordinary. And if this is empirical evidence for anything, I'm a positive psychologist!
It may be that some of the exercises suggested in Teacher Wellbeing will be of benefit to some, even many, teachers. Maybe. But the claims of empirical science behind this book are questionable, to say the least. More beneficial to teacher wellbeing would almost certainly be strong teacher unions, but these are only mentioned in passing. There is, incidentally, some recent evidence from the U.S. (Han, 2020), that highly unionized districts have higher average teacher quality and improved educational outcomes. But positive psychologists seem unwilling to explore the role that unions might play in teacher wellbeing. It is not, perhaps, coincidental that the chapter in Teacher Wellbeing that deals with teachers in their workplaces contains three recommendations for further reading, and all three are written for managers. The first on the list is called Build It: The Rebel Playbook for World-class Employee Engagement (Elliott & Corey, 2018).
The problems that teachers are facing, exacerbated by COVID-19, are fundamentally systemic and political. Mercer and Gregersen may be aware that there is a risk associated with discussing teacher wellbeing at the individual level and not acknowledging that the systems in which teachers work may be at fault, but it's a risk they have chosen to take, believing that their self-help ideas are sufficiently valuable to make the risk worthwhile. I agree with a writer on the National Education Association blog, who thinks that self-care is important but argues that it is an insufficient and entirely too passive way to address the problems teachers are encountering today.
There are other ways of conceptualising teacher wellbeing (see, for example, the entries on the Education International website with this tag) and the Mercer / Gregersen book may be viewed as an attempt to 'claim the field'. To return to Paul Walsh, whose article about precarity I recommended earlier, it is useful to see the current interest in teacher wellbeing in context. He writes: Well-being has entered ELT at a time when teachers have been demanding greater visibility and acceptance of issues such as mental health, poor working conditions, non-native speaker and gender equality. Yet to subsume these issues under a catch-all category does them a disservice. Because as soon as we put these issues under the well-being umbrella, they effectively vanish in a cloud of conceptual mist—and lose their sharp edges.
In this sense, a book like Teacher Wellbeing, although well-meaning, may well contribute to the undermining of the very thing it seeks to promote.
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