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Seeking Jewels, Not Boulders: Learning to Value Small, Well-Justified Effect Sizes
Robert Slavin's Blog	Best practices, Effect sizes, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Evidence Standards, Policy, Randomized evaluation, Research use	 April 28, 2016 March 6, 2018 4 Minutes
One of the most popular exhibits in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History is the Hope Diamond, one of the largest and most valuable in the world. It's always fun to see all the kids flow past it saying how wonderful it would be to own the Hope Diamond, how beautiful it is, and how such a small thing could make you rich and powerful.
The diamonds are at the end of the Hall of Minerals, which is crammed full of exotic minerals from all over the world. These are beautiful, rare, and amazing in themselves, yet most kids rush past them to get to the diamonds. But no one, ever, evaluates the minerals against one another according to their size. No one ever says, "you can have your Hope Diamond, but I'd rather have this giant malachite or feldspar." Just getting into the Smithsonian, kids go by boulders on the National Mall far larger than anything in the Hall of Minerals, perhaps climbing on them but otherwise ignoring them completely.
Yet in educational research, we often focus on the size of study effects without considering their value. In a recent blog, I presented data from a paper with my colleague Alan Cheung analyzing effect sizes from 611 studies evaluating reading, math, and science programs, K-12, that met the inclusion standards of our Best Evidence Encyclopedia. One major finding was that in randomized evaluations with sample sizes of 250 students (10 classes) or more, the average effect size across 87 studies was only +0.11. Smaller randomized studies had effect sizes averaging +0.22, large matched quasi-experiments +0.17, and small quasi-experiments, +0.32. In this blog, I want to say more about how these findings should make us think differently about effect sizes as we increasingly apply evidence to policy and practice.
Large randomized experiments (RCTs) with significant positive outcomes are the diamonds of educational research: rare, often flawed, but incredibly valuable. The reason they are so valuable is that such studies are the closest indication of what will happen when a given program goes out into the real world of replication. Randomization removes the possibility that self-selection may account for program effects. The larger the sample size, the less likely it is that the experimenter or developer could closely monitor each class and mentor each teacher beyond what would be feasible in real-life scale up. Most large-scale RCTs use clustering, which usually means that the treatment and randomization take place at the level of the whole school. A cluster randomized experiment at the school level might require recruiting 40 to 50 schools, perhaps serving 20,000 to 25,000 students. Yet such studies might nevertheless be too "small" to detect an effect size of, say, 0.15, because it is the number of clusters, not the number of students, that matters most!
The problem is that we have been looking for much larger effect sizes, and all too often not finding them. Traditionally, researchers recruit enough schools or classes to reliably detect an effect size as small as +0.20. This means that many studies report effect sizes that turn out to be larger than average for large RCTs, but are not statistically significant (at p<.05), because they are less than +0.20. If researchers did recruit samples of schools large enough to detect an effect size of +0.15, this would greatly increase the costs of such studies. Large RCTs are already very expensive, so substantially increasing sample sizes could end up requiring resources far beyond what educational research is likely to see any time in the near future or greatly reducing the number of studies that are funded.
These issues have taken on greater importance recently due to the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, which encourages use of programs that meet strong, moderate, or promising levels of evidence. The "strong" category requires that a program have at least one randomized experiment that found a significant positive effect. Such programs are rare.
If educational researchers were mineralogists, we'd be pretty good at finding really big diamonds, but the little, million-dollar diamonds, not so much. This makes no sense in diamonds, and no sense in educational research.
So what do we do? I'm glad you asked. Here are several ways we could proceed to increase the number of programs successfully evaluated in RCTs.
1. For cluster randomized experiments at the school level, something has to give. I'd suggest that for such studies, the p value should be increased to .10 or even .20. A p value of .05 is a long-established convention, indicating that there is only one chance in 20 that the outcomes are due to luck. Yet one chance in 10 (p=.10) may be sufficient in studies likely to have tens of thousands of students.
2. For studies in the past, as well as in the future, replication should be considered the same as large sample size. For example, imagine that two studies of Program X each have 30 schools. Each gets a respectable effect size of +0.20, which would not be significant in either case. Put the two studies together, however, and voila! The combined study of 60 schools would be highly significant, even at p=.05.
3. Government or foundation funders might fund evaluations in stages. The first stage might involve a cluster randomized experiment of, say, 20 schools, which is very unlikely to produce a significant difference. But if the effect size were perhaps 0.20 or more, the funders might fund a second stage of 30 schools. The two samples together, 50 schools, would be enough to detect a small but important effect.
One might well ask why we should be interested in programs that only produce effect sizes of 0.15? Aren't these effects too small to matter?
The answer is that they are not. Over time, I hope we will learn how to routinely produce better outcomes. Already, we know that much larger impacts are found in studies of certain approaches emphasizing professional development (e.g., cooperative learning, meta cognitive skills) and certain forms of technology. I hope and expect that over time, more studies will evaluate programs using methods like those that have been proven to work, and fewer will evaluate those that do not, thereby raising the average effects we find. But even as they are, small but reliable effect sizes are making meaningful differences in the lives of children, and will make much more meaningful differences as we learn from efforts at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the Investing in Innovation (i3)/Education Innovation and Research (EIR) programs.
Small effect sizes from large randomized experiments are the Hope Diamonds of our profession. They also are the best hope for evidence-based improvements for all students.
Published April 28, 2016 March 6, 2018
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We are a tokenized VC that focuses on blockchain-enabled startups & ICO and building decentralized 1) E-commerce, 2) Global Logistics, 3) Biotech and genetic, 4) AI, Machine Learning, Smart Transportation, 5) Social Value i.e. Food Distribution toward "Zero Hunger" and Renewable Energy.
What problem does JWC Blockchain Ventures solve, and how exactly does it do so?
The ongoing trends of blockchain technology applications impact many small to large corporations and are disrupting various industries. At the frontier, JWC Blockchain Ventures Corporation (JWC) establishes the first decentralized platform for tokenization service with two missions: 1) connecting the two worlds of Crowdfunding and blockchain to other advanced technologies i.e. Artificial Intelligent (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Big Data and 2) offering crypto-contributors of any size a potential high return of investment through a transparent mechanism of investing in a pipeline of new disruptive opportunities in token investments.
JWC aims to be one of the most active tokenization service provider dedicated to unique blockchain solution for tech innovators that answer the needs of crypto communities and can deliver positive changes to specific industries. JWC can assist our portfolio companies to drive growth inflection in the defined markets, to deliver strategic partnerships and operational high-growth support, and to enable high value M&A, IPOs and TGEs in EMEA, APAC and US regions. JWC searches for early-stage ventures with a focus on a set of vertical industries.
We provide finance, advisory and advanced technology support to help companies reach their highest potential. For our contributors, transparency is no longer a myth with JWC ecosystem, thanks to the blockchain technology.


For our trip, we purchased kyat (pronounced chat) in Thailand. We only used USD twice – to purchase our ferry tickets in Bagan at a favorable rate and for our final dinner at our hotel in Mandalay to avoid having to withdraw additional kyat from an ATM.
Tourist attractions that specify the price only in USD accepted kyat at the unfavorable rate of 1 USD / 1400 MMK. The rate that we purchased our kyat was 1 MMK / .0245 THB – approximately 1 USD / 1350 MMK.
In addition to our standard first aid kit, we add a syringe and suture kit, an emergency dental kit, and an Israeli bandage to our emergency supplies for trips where we will be in remote areas where emergency medical care may be unavailable. We also always carry headlamps and extra batteries with us in our day pack. There are frequent power outages throughout Myanmar, so a simple evening walk can turn into quite an adventure if you are not prepared.
We like to read books about our destination before, during, and after we travel. For this trip we read Burmese Days, Finding George Orwell in Burma, and The Glass Palace. Of the three, my favorite was the historical novel, The Glass Palace.
Click to read about Yangon!
Click to read about Nyaungshwe (Inle Lake)!
Click to read about Bagan!
Click to read about the Bagan to Mandalay Riverboat!
Click to read about Mandalay!
We had a fantastic time visiting Myanmar. Generally, we do not like a trip with so many transitions. It makes it seem like you are always packing and unpacking. You never get a chance to settle or to explore deeply. This trip did not feel that way. The flights were very short, and the ferry ride was an adventure unto itself. The trip felt well-paced, and we were never bored or rushed.
I look forward to visiting Myanmar again! The people are wonderful, the food is delicious, and the history is intriguing.
International Airfare – International airfare is not included because fares vary depending on your starting location. Internal flights are included.
Travel Health Insurance – Travel health insurance is not included because we have an international policy.


A recent spate of storms has increased the snowpack in the Big Wood Basin, but not enough to assuage concerns about this summer's water supply.
Snowpack in the basin, which includes the Wood River Valley, is up to 72 percent of average, a significant increase from the 63 percent calculated at the beginning of March.
"Late March storms brought a glimmer of hope to Idaho's water supply outlook," stated the Idaho Water Supply Outlook Report, released on April 1 by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. "If it weren't for the March precipitation, many more record low April 1 snow levels would have been set."
The report notes that the storms, which combined to drop more than 2 feet of snow in most of Idaho's mountain ranges, including those throughout the valley, increased precipitation to nearly 80 percent of normal for March.
Still, with the snow season almost over, forecasters are painting a less than perfect picture for this summer's water supply.
"The majority of streams in Idaho are forecast in the 40-65 percent of average range," the conservation service report stated. "A wet and cool spring would reduce and delay irrigation demand and extend our limited water supply."
The current forecast is dire enough to cause the Blaine County Commission to request that the state make an emergency drought declaration for the area.
At a meeting at the Old County Courthouse in Hailey on Tuesday, the commissioners authorized a drought declaration request, which needs approval from both Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and the Idaho Department of Water Resources to be enacted.
If approved, the declaration would provide surface water irrigators with some relief during a difficult water year.
Kevin Lakey, water master for the Big Wood River Basin, said the declaration would allow irrigators to process requests to transfer water uses, such as switching irrigation rights from one field to another or even to a neighbor, much more quickly. He said that whereas it could normally take up to three months for a rancher to be able to make such a transfer, with the declaration it would take only days.
According to the report, the Mackay and Little Wood reservoirs are near capacity, while Magic Reservoir south of Bellevue is about half full.
"Water managers are storing as much water in Idaho reservoirs as they can because of the limited amount of snow in the mountains," the report stated. "Unfortunately, water supply shortages will likely still occur and some reservoirs that typically fill will be challenged to reach their capacity without abundant spring precipitation."
In an interview last month, Ron Abramovich, a water supply specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, said spring's impact on the water supply remains uncertain.
"We can't forecast spring precipitation like we can monitor the snowpack," he said. "Not all the cards are dealt yet, but we're going to need it. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees."


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Georgia basketball loses by one point on senior night to Texas A&M
By Henry Fletcher
With the SEC and NCAA tournament on the line, the Georgia Bulldogs (16-13, 7-10) were defeated by one point on senior night after allowing the Texas A&M Aggies (19-11, 8-9) to go on a 5-o run to close out the game.
The final score of the game was 61-60 on a night where seniors such as Yante Maten were celebrated for their basketball careers at Georgia. Maten finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds while fellow senior Juwan Parker contributed with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3assists.
Georgia held a four point lead with 2:28 to go, which seemed to be leading to a win on a night that senior players would remember forever.
The turning point in the final stretch came from an unfortunate turnover by freshman Teshaun Hightower when he threw the ball out of bounds with 1:09 to play. This led to the game winning floater hit by Aggies freshman guard T.J. Starks.
"He feels terrible about the turnover late," Georgia head coach Mark Fox said. "But he really had a good ball game. He got to the rim. He made some 3s. He just made a little bit of a young play."
Hightower came up with 11 points in the second half which was vital for the Bulldogs to be in a potential winning situation.
Despite the turnover and the game winning floater, this was not the end for the Bulldogs. With 12 seconds left and with the ball, Georgia had the opportunity to make a game winning shot but faltered because of questionable coaching.
With 12 seconds left Georgia had three timeouts remaining but Fox decided not to use them and played on. The Aggies ended up trapping Parker in the corner and forced a heavily contested shot which did not go in.
"We felt we could play from a miss without them setting their defense," Fox said regarding his decision not to call a timeout.
After the game, Fox told the player that they could abandon their media responsibilities and go home.
"I made that decision, so I apologize to you guys," Fox told reporters after the game. "They're obviously very disappointed in the loss."
The Bulldogs will finish below .500 in regular season play for the first time since the 2011-12 season. An NCAA appearance is pretty much out of the picture.
Although heartbreaking, the Bulldogs have one game remaining on the regular season schedule at Tennessee on Saturday.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The same sequence of polygons surrounds each vertex.
It may be shown that there are just five convex regular polyhedra. These are known as the Platonic Solids. If star faces and/or vertices are permitted, then four more regular polyhedra can be added to this total. These four, which were unknown to the ancient world, are known as the Kepler-Poinsot Star Polyhedra.


our oldest boy, Canaan, will graduate on the 18th.
how can that happen so fast and yet it just at times seems to take so long then BAM it's just here and you're going "whaaaaa?!"
we're so proud of him. proud of them all actually. he's set a good example (mostly LOL) for his siblings.


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Le royaume du Kénédougou autour de Sikasso (Mali).
 La province du Kénédougou au Burkina Faso.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I am analyzing my ddRADseq data from a diploid organism using Freebayes. In my case, fragments 450-550bp were sequenced with 300bp paired-end reads. My goal is to figure out the two haplotypes of each sample.
I tried to follow the method below (From BioStars provided by Erik). But I did't quite understand what "--max-complex-gap" does. It seems "--max-complex-gap" is limited by the length of the reads, does that mean I can set it as high as 300 in my case? Also I was wondering what "--haplotype-length" does?
Since ddRADseq does not provide the information across whole genome, I also wonder how Freebayes calls a haplotype across whole genome or across different chromosomes?
Hope someone could help me out. I would really appreciate it. Thank you in advance!


And I'm not even sure if we can manage it. We can't make it go forward or backward. We can't make it go faster or slower. We can't turn back the clock.
24 hours a day — that's what we got to work with. And goodness knows your days are jam-packed. Eating, sleeping, caring, laughing, writing, talking, creating, and (bleh!) even folding laundry.
Even though we can't control time, we can decide how we spend our time. And from the results of yesterday's poll, it looks like a lot of you choose to spend part of your time blogging.
Great! Blogging is a fab way to connect with people and learn new things. It can be good for your business, and it can even be good for your health!
But blogging takes time. A big old chunk o' time.
And if you'd rather spend your time creating in the studio than punching the keyboard in front of the computer, we need to figure out a way to make blogging more efficient.
Lay waste to your time-wasters.
I interrupt my writing by spending time on the "extras" (like adding pictures, links, and metadata).
But I'm working on breaking down these barriers. And I want to share with you what has been working for me.
This seemingly simple question is a major time-waster for me. Trying to write a quality post and publish it on the same day is draining. When I'm put on the spot, staring at an empty computer screen, I have trouble coming up with the right words. How about you?
The Fix: Brainstorm your topics when the inspiration strikes you, then plot them out on an editorial calendar. Once you choose a topic, and then schedule it, you'll have a much easier time producing top-quality content.
For example, one of my not-that-secret weapons in laying waste to time-wasters is a simple notebook I keep on my computer desk. (It is also my mouse-pad, lol.) I keep it open during the day, and anytime I think of an idea for a blog post, I jot it down. Usually it's just a headline and a few supporting details, but it's much easier to make a quick outline when the idea is fresh.
When are you going to blog? In the morning, before everyone else wakes up? Or at night, after they've gone to bed? Do you write in one long marathon stretch, or do you scatter your blogging in little bits throughout the day?
I'm not here to tell you when the "The Perfect Time" for blogging is. What I will suggest, though, is once you find a particularly productive time for you, commit to it. If you self-identify as an "early bird," you might find you write best while drinking your morning coffee. On the other hand, you might find that you are most productive in the evening, after you've watched Glee and had a glass of wine.
The Fix: Capitalize on those times when your fingers really fly across the keyboard. Once you find a time that works for you, stick with it. Schedule it in your day-planner, if it helps. See if you can make blogging a habit.
Another note about "when." I want to be clear that your daily (or weekly) blogging appointment doesn't have to be the only time you think about your posts. One of the ways that I make blogging more efficient is by taking advantage of those periods of "down time" throughout the day. If I find myself waiting in an exceptionally long line at the post office, I might try to sketch out the first paragraph of a post I'm scheduled to write later that night.
Figuring out how to start a blog post is one of my biggest hurdles. So if I can get the opening sentences out of the way first, I can make the rest of my blog-writing more efficient.
Sometimes, the things about blogging that take the most time are not related to the writing itself. I can spend more time searching for that "Perfect Picture" than I do writing the actual post! Does that happen to you? Finding images, coding links, and adding metadata can be time consuming. And if you let them, those "extras" can be a way to procrastinate finishing your post.
The Fix: As tempting as it is to spend your blogging appointment browsing through the gorgeous pictures on Pinterest or FFFFound, try to leave it to the end. Write your "naked" post first, and add the extra stuff later. This way, you'll limit distracting time-waters, and make blogging more efficient.
So that's all for me. What are some ways you've found to limit time-wasters and make blogging work for you?


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Guitarists, Musicians, People
T-Bone Walker was one of the first guitarists to front a band. The blues style we now call Jump Blues started with horn players who also sang as being the featured artist leading the band – out front, such as Louis Jordan. We take lead guitarists for granted but T-Bone Walker was a first.
T-bone also influenced generations of guitarists. Chuck Berry, B.B. King and Jimmy Hendrix all claim T-Bone Walker as an influence on their styles.
YouTube has a great selection of videos with T-Bone playing with some of the best jazz and blues artists of all times.
T-Bone Walker w/ Jazz At The Philharmonic – Live in UK 1966 w/ Dizzy Gillespie, Teddy Wilson, Louis Bellson, Clark Terry, Coleman Hawkins, Zoot Sims, Jimmy Moody, Benny Carter and Bob Cranshaw.
With Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry, Brownie Mcghee, …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0q_EEugHw8
Amazon.com Widgets
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Why wont my iPhone 6 turn back on?
Hi ifixit family , my iphone won't turn back on. It died and it showed the dead battery logo. When i put it on the charger it didn't turn back on. I let it sit on the charger overnight and still won't turn on. I tried to hard reset and it still didn't work. Help !!!
first thing id try is to check if the lightning cable goes all the way in and sits flush inside the phone, if its sticking out a little, cleaning out the lightning dock will likely solve this problem.
next id try changing the battery, then the lightning port, if neither of these solve the problem then its likely a logic board issue..
there are guides available on here to replace the lightning dock and battery.
Justin Vicente 가/이 대단히 고마워 할 것입니다.


text:
Allsvenskan i handboll för damer 2017/2018 var den åttondede upplagan av Sveriges näst högsta rikstäckande division i handboll för damer säsongen 2017/2018. Den innehöll 12 lag som spelade mot varandra två gånger (en gång hemma och en gång borta).

Säsongen inleddes den 29 september 2018 och avslutas den 18 mars 2018. Kungälvs HK vann serien och spelar i Svensk HandbollsElit hösten 2018.

Serietabell

Kvalspel

Kvalspel till SHE
Kvalspel till Elitserien går till följande sätt.

 Tvåan i Allsvenskan  möter elvan i Elitserien
 Trean i Allsvenskan möter tian i Elitserien
 Fyran i Allsvenskan möter nian i Elitserien.

Matcherna spelas i bäst av tre matcher.

Tyresö Handboll -Skara HF

Bjurslätt/Torslanda HK- BK Heid

Eskilstuna GUIF - Skövde HF

Referenser

Sport i Sverige 2018
Sport i Sverige 2017
Handbollssäsongen 2017/2018
2017/2018


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Another Wild Rose Dairy manure spill kills trout in Otter Creek
TO CROSS THE VALLEY, Wild Rose Dairy inserted their manure-transport hoses into a spillway un-derlying County Highway D, where a spring-fed freshet draining water into the creek crossed under the highway.
LA FARGE - It didn't seem possible the morning of Thursday, May 16 when the news of another manure spill from the Wild Rose Dairy started to bubble up on social media. However, the sight that greeted my eyes upon arrival on the scene, of DNR Fisheries Biologist Kirk Olson with a bucket of dead trout, confirmed that it had indeed happened again.
DNR FISHERIES BIOLO-GIST for Vernon and Crawford counties, Kirk Olson, is on the scene of the latest Wild Rose Dairy manure spill into Otter Creek, collecting dead fish.
The most recent incident occurred only 19 months after the October 2017 spill that put an estimated 30,000 gallons of manure into the Otter Creek Watershed in rural LaFarge, and left 1,300 trout dead. The dairy did not report that incident until 24 hours after the spill.
Although the DNR released their final report on that incident and turned it over to the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) on November 14, 2017, the DOJ still has taken no enforcement action regarding the incident. Further, the dairy's Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit (WPDES) has been expired since 2015.
This time, an estimated 10,000 gallons of manure spilled out of a split hose. An alarm system in the tractor alerted the manure application operator that there was a leak, and pumping was shut off. The dairy notified the DNR of the spill at the spill hotline within 10 minutes of the incident, according to DNR Spill Coordinator Patrick Collins. Dairy staff immediately began operations to prevent the manure from reaching the creek. Preliminary reports indicate that the spill killed at least 400 fish.
"Because of the large rainfall that fell overnight on Wednesday, May 15 in to Thursday, May 16, the stream was muddy and our team was having difficulty seeing the fish," Collins said. "The team has gone out several times, and we will have a final count soon."
Miles of hoses
Both times, Wild Rose Dairy had contracted with K&D Manure Handling of Sparta. In the October 2017 incident, the manure spilled as a result of the failure of a hose coupling. The manure travelled down a dry wash running along Kirking Road, which intersects County D just above where Otter Creek begins to run above ground. This time, the manure was being pumped through large black hoses called "drag lines" for five miles or more in an area further south on the ridge.
The hoses began up on Buckeye Ridge where the dairy's manure storage facility is located; travelled south along the top through their contour-stripped fields to a draw, which runs west down into the Otter Creek Valley, and enters the valley near Allen Lane.
WILDROSE DAIRY does a wonderful job with land management, employing contour strips on their farmland on Buckeye Ridge, where manure is applied. Manure applica-tion hoses are run out over the ridgetop to transport manure to application locations.
The hose then continues south along the east bank of the creek to an area where there was a pump on a trailer used to push the manure in the hose along the creek bottom and then up to ridge top fields on the west side of the creek. Just in front of the pumping unit is the area where a dam was constructed to attempt to prevent the manure from entering the creek.
PUMPING OPERATIONS, as well as a temporary dam, were employed by Wild Rose Dairy, to prevent manure from their latest spill in reaching Otter Creek.
From where the pump is located, the hose continues further south along the east side of the creek before being lain in the creek to cross it.
TO CROSS OTTER CREEK, Wild Rose Dairy laid their hose pumping manure to an opposing hilltop in the creek to transport it to fields on the opposite side of the valley where it would be applied.
From there, the hose was run a short distance uphill to a concrete spillway under County Highway D where a spring fed tributary travelled to the creek.
After exiting from the spillway, the hose then continued to run uphill on a grassed field road to fields on the top of the ridge where it would be applied.
According to Vernon Reporter Tim Hundt, one of the co-owners of the dairy, Attorney David Abt, indicated that the dairy will likely make changes in how their manure is transported to the field for spreading.
"We're no longer going to use the same kind of system to transport our manure," Abt told Hundt. "It is just not worth the risk to run those hoses near the stream."
Abt also told Hundt, that if the DNR approves, the dairy would like to re-stock Otter Creek with trout.
According to DNR Conservation Warden for Vernon County Shawna Stringham, the hose that failed was a "healthy hose" that was less than two years old.
"No one knows why the hose split," Stringham said. "And no one is more upset about the spill than the owners of the dairy."
DNR Spill Enforcement Coordinator Patrick Collins, who is overseeing the spill recovery and investigation process, was aware that this was the second spill in less than two years.
"The DOJ still has not ruled on the last spill, and their WPDES permit is still not renewed," Collins said. "I think that with this second spill, we're going to see some action on those issues."
Previous articles that appeared in the Crawford County Independent & Kickapoo Scout about spills from the Wild Rose Dairy can be found at:
http://www.swnews4u.com/section/1/article/36151/
and at


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A view from the Center
Deloitte's Life Sciences & Health Care Blog
Could changes to funding streams put biomedical innovation at risk?
by Margaret Anderson, Managing Director, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Funding and other support from private organizations and philanthropists has helped keep many medical researchers at the forefront of their fields, which has resulted in some cases in longer life expectancies and a higher quality of life for people affected by certain diseases. To help ensure science funding pipelines continue to be robust—and to help train the next generation of researchers—nonprofit biomedical funding organizations should pay close attention to the changing nature of giving.
Keeping the funding pipelines full is critically important to many life sciences companies. Nonprofit biomedical funding organizations often serve as an engine of discovery and are singularly focused on advancing science. The role they play can help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies push new innovations through the research and development (R&D) pipeline.
Nonprofit organizations that provide funding to biomedical research, or impact the research ecosystem, typically fall into three types:
National organizations: These groups often have broad mandates that cover access to care, research, patient services, and policy. They typically have local affiliates or chapters and can also have complex governance.
Venture philanthropy groups: Typically, these organizations are born out of a need identified by an individual directly affected by a disease. Sometimes it is a group of impacted people. These groups are often willing to fund high-risk, high-reward research. Venture philanthropy groups tend to see themselves as de-risking the science to get to a better pipeline of opportunity to be discovered, researched, and commercialized.
Advocacy groups: These groups might work at a national level to create a public-policy environment that leads to better conditions for people who are impacted by a disease.
People are giving more, but their motives may be changing
In 2017—driven by a thriving economy, Americans gave more than $400 billion to charities—up 5.2 percent from 2016, according to Giving USA's Annual Report on Philanthropy. Individuals made up 70 percent of the overall giving, which outpaced giving by both foundations and corporations. The report also identified a drop in bequests from estates. Some people have called this a democratization of philanthropy. It's important to note that although donations are on the rise, the funding sources appear to be shifting.
Biomedical nonprofits are likely going to have to calibrate future income forecasts based on these changing dynamics. Corporate giving also appears to be undergoing a transition, which can impact nonprofit biomedical funders. Many organizations that contribute funding are increasingly interested in transparency and the organizational principles that influence a nonprofit's agenda. These changing giving trends may be particularly relevant to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and device manufacturers. The National Health Council, for example, posts its policy on corporate relationships on its website and this is widely expected from nonprofits. The organization's Standards of Excellence provides a checklist of 35 standards for their member organizations to pursue including the transparency of donors.
Philanthropists are placing bigger bets
There appears to be a trend among philanthropists of placing bigger and broader bets on science. This trend began decades ago with the creation of entities such as the Ford Foundation, the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, and more recently the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Even more recent endeavors include the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Parker Foundation. These two entities are examples of a new generation of philanthropists. Both groups have an orientation toward technological disruption and have clear perspectives about how new models in science are warranted.
Financial resources are also being aggregated into larger funding vehicles (e.g., the Stand Up to Cancer Foundation model of funding). Stand Up to Cancer was set up a decade ago to fund collaborative, multidisciplinary, and multi-institutional efforts to fight cancer. The organization has pledged $480 million, so far. It can be challenging for a nonprofit biomedical group to become a part of these large-scale enterprises, or their work just might not fit into that landscape. Additionally, to avoid creating financial dependence, some philanthropists provide seed funding rather than creating traditional funding streams that they think might breed over-reliance.
These trends in philanthropy help illustrate why nonprofit biomedical research groups should plan ahead and why life science companies should pay close attention. The more philanthropic capital that is put toward discovering the mechanisms of diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer's disease, the more opportunity there will likely be to develop new therapies. We are likely to see further shifts in the philanthropic sector.
Generational changes could impact giving
In addition to shifts in philanthropy, we are witnessing demographic changes in our population. Millennials (i.e., people born between 1981 and 1996) now make up about one-third of the workforce, according to an analysis of US Census Bureau data conducted by the Pew Research Center. The influence of the Baby Boomer generation could be waning as they retire, and Generation X may not be far behind.
Nonprofit biomedical funding organizations should understand the giving patterns of millennials, and how that generation views science and their role in advancing it. Companies might need to change the way they reach out to potential donors given that many people no longer have a home telephone or interest in opening direct mail. What about Generation Z (i.e., people born between 1997 and 2010)? A recent Wall Street Journal article cites a profound impact the financial crisis had on this generation's view of income and work. This may be influencing their giving patterns as they get older.
Many nonprofits do not have endowments, and some fundraise from zero each year using a constellation of walks, marathons, bike rides, planned giving, chapter giving, corporate giving, and philanthropy. There are a variety of factors that could make it more challenging for nonprofit biomedical groups to attract the resources needed to keep research pipelines flowing. This trend could lead to volatility among nonprofits and the treatments they are aiming to develop for their patient populations.
The to-do list for biomedical nonprofits
How should nonprofit biomedical groups prepare for these changes in giving and philanthropy? First, they should acknowledge that the next generation of donors will likely have different motivations than the current generation. In response, they should determine their glide-path so they are not caught off-guard if a funding stream starts to wane. Nonprofit biomedical groups also should figure out what motivates this new generation of donors—especially when it comes to the amazing science that nonprofits are funding and catalyzing.
As for the macro philanthropy trends, every nonprofit biomedical group likely wants to be in the room with the big potential donors. But it might not make sense to always follow the major biomedical funding streams. Biomedical nonprofits should figure out the space that their disease area needs and then determine the best way to fill it. This can help ensure the donor base can buy into whatever role they plan to play in helping biomedical groups develop new treatments. Nonprofit biomedical groups also should enable their patient populations to aggregate their data and experiences. Patient centricity is likely not a passing fad, and tying patient data to funding can help ensure that medical researchers can continue to make important clinical breakthroughs even as the nature of giving changes.
Margaret is a managing director engaging across the federal health, nonprofit, and life sciences sectors where she is focused on advancing treatments and interventions for patients, as well as helping to improve the outcomes and efficiency of research and delivery systems. Prior to Deloitte, Margaret advocated for cross-sector collaboration, cultivated a culture of innovation, and engaged patients as partners while serving as executive director of FasterCures, a Washington DC-based center of the Milken Institute. She has worked on biomedical and public health policy serving previously at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, as program director at the Society for Women's Health Research, and as a health science analyst at the American Public Health Association. Margaret has served on national boards and committees including the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Advisory Council and Cures Acceleration Network Review Board, and National Health Council. She currently serves on the boards of ACT for the NIH, Asthma & Allergy Foundation, FasterCures, Friends of Cancer Research, and Melanoma Research Alliance. Anderson holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in science, technology & public policy from George Washington University.
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text:
author: Stuart Schiff
Campbell, Ramsey. Stuart D. Schiff, editor
WHISPERS; SPECIAL RAMSEY CAMBELL ISSUE
Binghampton, NY: Whispers Press/Stuart D. Schiff, Publisher, 1982. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. Volume 4, Number 3-4, Whole Number 15-16, March 1982. Number 138 of 250 hardcover copies numbered and signed by Campbell and Schiff on special limitation page in the rear. Heavy foxing along the top of the text..... More
Leiber, Fritz. Edited by Stuart David Schiff
HEROES AND HORRORS
New York, NY;: Pocket Books, 1980. First paperback edition. Paperback. Publisher's book number 83225 with $2.25 cover price. Introduction by John Jakes. Collects nine of Leiber's stories. Cover illustration by Michael Whelan. A fine and bright copy. More
Schiff, Stuart and Fritz Leiber, eds.
THE WORLD FANTASY AWARDS, VOLUME TWO.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1980. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. Collects twelve stories by Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, Fritz Leiber, Ray Bradbury, Ramsey Campbell, Manly Wade Wellman, Dennis Etchison, and others. Fine in fine and bright dust jacket with just a little wear at heel of the spine..... More
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1980. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. Collects twelve stories by Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, Fritz Leiber, Ray Bradbury, Ramsey Campbell, Manly Wade Wellman, Dennis Etchison, and others. Small, thin tan mark at the top edge of the text block, else fine in fine and..... More
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1980. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. Collects twelve stories by Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, Fritz Leiber, Ray Bradbury, Ramsey Campbell, Manly Wade Wellman, Dennis Etchison, and others. The lightest hint of remainder spray along the bottom of the text block, else fine in fine..... More
Schiff, Stuart David, editor
WHISPERS II
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1979. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. Inscribed by Schiff on the front endpaper, "For Bob Culp, Whose excellent tastes are proven by his wanting this anthology. This book went out of print from Doubleday in only three weeks! Could it be the public enjoys..... More
WHISPERS III
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1981. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. Collects fourteen stories by Dennis Etchison, Ramsey Campbell, David Drake, Hugh B. Cave, Phyllis Eisenstein, Roger Zelazny, Frank Belknap Long, Karl Edward Wagner, Fritzx Leiber, and others. Very light tan spot on the front paste-down endpaper. [No remainder..... More
WHISPERS IV
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1983. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. Collects sixteen stories by Karl Edward Wagner, Ramsey Campbell, Tanith Lee, Gerald W. Page, William F. Nolan, Charles L. Grant, Frank Belknap Long, Hugh B. Cav, Richard Christian Matheson, Michael Shea, Russell Kirk, and many others. Six tiny..... More
WHISPERS; VOLUME 4, NUMBER 3-4, WHOLE NUMBER 15-16, MARCH, 1982
Binghampton, NY: Stuart David Schiff/Whispers Press, 1982. First edition, first printing. Trade Paperback. Collects stories by Karl Edward Wagner, Ramsey Campbell, Ray Russell, Michael Shea, and others. A fine copy. More


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Immediately after taking power, the Trump administration began a push to normalise relations with Russia, which holdovers from the Obama administration fought tooth and nail to avoid.
A report published by Yahoo Newson Friday cites multiple sources familiar with the events as saying that top Trump administration officials, almost as soon as they took office, "Tasked State Department staffers with developing proposals for the lifting of economic sanctions, the return of diplomatic compounds, and other steps to relieve tensions with Moscow".
The efforts to relax or remove punitive measures imposed by President Barack Obama in retaliation for Russia's intervention in Ukraine and meddling in the 2016 election alarmed the State Department officials, who immediately began lobbying congressional leaders to quickly pass legislation to block the move.
"There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions," said Dan Fried, who was serving as chief U.S. coordinator for sanctions policy until he retired in late February. He said that right after the Trump team came to power, he received several "panicky" calls from government officials who told him they had been directed to develop a sanctions-lifting package. "Please, my God, can't you stop this," he quoted them as saying.
Fried said he contacted Capitol Hill allies including Sen Ben Cardin, a Democrat and the ranking minority member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to urge them to quickly pass legislation to "codify" existing sanctions, making it harder for President Trump to remove them.
Tom Malinowski, the assistant secretary of state for human rights under Obama, told Yahoo News that he joined the effort to lobby Congress after learning about the same plans from former colleagues. He had also heard that they had been tasked with arranging a summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of an effort to achieve a "grand bargain" with Moscow. "It would have been a win-win for Moscow," said Malinowski, who, only days before he left office, announced his own round of sanctions against senior Russian officials for human rights abuses under a law known as the Magnitsky Act.
The previously unreported efforts by Fried and others to check the Trump administration takes on new significance for investigators in light of reports that before the administration took office, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his chief foreign policy adviser Michael Flynn discussed setting up a private channel of communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
A senior White House official confirmed that the administration began exploring changes in Russia sanctions as part of a broader policy review that is still ongoing.
Just days after Trump took office, officials who had moved into the secretary of state's office sent a "tasking" order to the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs to develop a menu of options to improve relations with Russia as part of a deal in exchange for Russian cooperation in the war against the Islamic State in Syria, according to two former officials. Those options were to include sanctions relief as well as other steps that were a high priority for Moscow, including the return of two diplomatic compounds — one on Long Island and the other on Maryland's Eastern Shore — that were shut by President Obama on Dec. 29 on the grounds that they were being used for espionage purposes.
The lobbying effort produced some immediate results: On February 7, Cardin and Sen Lindsay Graham introduced bipartisan legislation to bar the administration from granting sanctions relief without first submitting a proposal to do so for congressional review.
The proposed bill lost some of its urgency six days later when Flynn resigned as White House national security adviser following disclosures he had discussed political sanctions relief with Kislyak during the transition and misrepresented those talks to Vice President Mike Pence.


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text:
September Opens PPO's 2015-2016 Concert Season
THE Cultural Center of the Philippines announces the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra's 2015-2016 Concert Season billed as Reveries under the baton of its Music Director, Olivier Ochanine.
Maestro Ochanine opens the season on September 11 with Malaysian pianist Claudia Yang as guest artist, who is recognized and esteemed by the world renowned Chinese magazine, "China Voice" of New York, as "The Global Chinese of the Year 1999. The concert also features Piano Concerto No. 1 by Chopin and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10.
German conductor Henrik Schaefer leads the Orchestra on October 9, performing the music of Emilie Mayer's Ouverture to Faust Op.46, Mozart's Symphony No.40 and Schumann's Symphony No.3.
On November 3, the PPO features a prominent French Hornist in collaboration with Maestro Olivier Ochanine. The work and soloist will be announced shortly. Program also includes Poulenc's Les Biches and Mendelssohn's Symphony No.3 `Scottish'.
The Orchestra performs with Japanese conductor Yoshikazu Fukumura on December 8 featuring Brahms' Academic Festival Overture, Faure's Pelleas et Mélisande Suite, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.2 "Little Russian".
On January 22, 2016, the PPO performs with Japanese conductor Tetsuji Honna. Program includes Haydn's Symphony No.94 and Beethoven's monumental and memorable Symphony No 3, "Eroica".
Maestro Olivier Ochanine returns with guest artists soprano Denise Beck and baritone Thomas Sturm onFebruary 19. The program is part of The Carl Nielsen Project and features Nielsen's Maskarade Overture, some of Nielsen's most beloved songs and Nielsen's Symphony No.3 "Sinfonia Espansiva".
Soprano Rachelle Gerodias and Korean baritone Byeong In Park perform with Maestro Ochanine and the PPO on March 18, also featuring the Philippine Madrigal Singers. The program showcases the winner of the 2015 Composition Competition (announced by December) and features the Philippine premiere of Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem.
Maestro Olivier Ochanine leads the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in its concert season ending on April 22, 2016 with American violinist Odin Rathnam. The evening's concert program features an eclectic and exciting programme with Nielsen's Violin Concerto, Massenet's Scenes de Feeries, Enesco's Romanian Rhapsody No.1 and Ginastera's Estancia Ballet Suite.
All concerts will be staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) at 8:00 pm.
For inquires and subscription, please call the CCP Marketing Department (832-1125 loc. 1806), the CCP Box Office (832-3704) or Ticketworld at National Bookstore (891-9999)
Posted by JR Bustamante at 10:52 PM No comments:
Labels: ccp, orchestra, Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, PPO
Cinemalaya 2015 Winners and 2016 Finalists Announced
Press Update:
Pusong Bato by Martika Ramirez Escobar was named Best Short Film in the 11th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition, which this year was held only in the Short Feature category, while the Special Jury Prize and the NETPAC Award was given to Wawa by Angelie Mae Macalanda in the Cinemalaya Awards program held August 15 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Little Theater.
Praised "for its playfulness in telling a story, for creating tension between nostalgia and loneliness and for taking risks without being absurd", Pusong Bato is about a middle-aged faded actress who tries to relive her glory days as a movie star in the 1970s by watching films at home everyday until an earthquake rouses her from her Hollywood dream.
As Best Short Film winner, Pusong Bato won a cash prize of Php150,000 and the Balanghai trophy.
Wawa won the Special Jury Prize for "its engaging use of location to evoke longing and for its poetic depiction of grief" and the NETPAC Award for "its evocation of grief and the impermanence of life by a grippingly visual funeral ceremony on the river. Wawa is about a young boy's journey as he, with others, take his father to his final resting place.
The Best Direction award went to Petersen Vargas for his Lisyun Qng Geografia. Vargas was cited for his "effective harnessing of the technical elements of filmmaking in telling a simple story" of a boy who finds an old map that triggers him to retrace the places that are special to him and his high school best friend.
The Best Screenplay Award was given to Darwin Novicio for Papetir which he also directed. Papetir was cited "for its interesting presentation of contrast in what is being stated and what is actually happening."
Sanctissima, a film about a girl who lives alone in the dark with an even darker secret, by Kenneth Dagatan won the Audience Choice Award. As Audience Choice winner, Sanctissima won a cash prize of Php25,000.00.
Finalists for the 2016 Cinemalaya Main Competition (Full Length Feature) were also announced during the Awards Night. The finalists will receive production grants of Php750,000 each, up from the previous Php500,000 of previous years.
The Main Competition finalists are:
1. Ang Bagong Pamilya Ni Ponching by Inna Salazar, Victor Villanueva
2. Ang Mga Bisita Ni Mamang by Janice O'Hara, Denise O'Hara
3. Dagsin by Atom Magadia
4. Hiblang Abo by Ralston Jover
5. I America by Ivan Andrew Payawal
6. Kusina by David Corpuz, Cenon Palomares
7. Lando At Bugoy by Vic Acedillo, Jr.
8. Mercury Is Mine by Jason Paul Laxamana
9. Pamilya Ordinaryo by Eduardo Roy, Jr
10. Tuos by Derick Cabrido
Cinemalaya 2016 will be held on August 5-14 at the CCP and other Festival venues.
Now on its eleventh year, Cinemalaya is expanding its mission to the training of practitioners in key aspects of film production and serving as an inspiration to independent filmmaking in Asia. It opened the Cinemalaya Institute offering short courses in Film Producing, Screenwriting and Directing.
Cinemalaya is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation, Inc. and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Established in 2005, Cinemalaya is an all-digital film festival and competition that aims to discover, encourage and honor cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers.
Cinemalaya is the Philippines' leading independent film festival and competition. To date, Cinemalaya has supported and promoted the production of 118 full feature independent films and 96 short films. Many of these films have won awards in local and international competitions and festivals. Through the annual festival, Cinemalaya has showcased over 1,000 works by independent filmmakers including full feature films, shorts, documentaries, Filipino film classics, and art films.
For more information about Cinemalaya, visit www.cinemalaya.org, www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and the Cinemalaya facebook page or CCP Media Arts Office at telephone number 832-1125 local 1704-1705 and the CCP Box Office at 832-3704. (Photo by Kiko Cabuena)
Posted by JR Bustamante at 4:33 AM No comments:
Labels: ccp, cinemalaya 2015, Filipino fillm makers, Filipino film competition, indie films
The 27th CCP Independent Film and Video Winners Announced
THE Cultural Center of the Philippines named the winners of the 27th Gawad CCP Para Sa Alternatibong Pelikula At Video (Gawad Alternatibo) in awarding ceremonies on August 11 at the CCP.
This year's competition was held on August 8, 9 and 11 as part of the 11th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition ongoing until August 15 at the CCP and Greenbelt 3.
This year's awardees are:
·1st Prize - No winner
·2nd Prize - HALIMAW by Jaypril R. Bataller (Ateneo de Naga University)
·3rd Prize - TACÁY by Ryan Cuatrona (Ateneo de Naga University)
·Honorable Mention - SUNGIT By Reynald T. Balmes (Ateneo de Naga University) and CONTRAVINI (To Stand Against) by Izaac Niccol L.V. Chiong (Ateneo de Zamboanga University)
The jury for the animation category was comprised of Bryan Quesada (Award-winning Filmmaker and Animator), Eleanor C. Ramos (Award-winning Filmmaker/Freelance Graphic Designer), David R. Corpuz (Award-winning Filmmaker/Film & Communication Professor).
·1st Prize - CINÉMATIQUE by Kyle Nieva (UP Film Institute – UP Diliman)
·2nd Prize - MEMORIAL OF AN INQUIRY by Jan Patrick Pineda (University of the Philippines – Diliman)
·3rd Prize - FIB by James Robin Mayo (Independent – JMYO Productions)
·Honorable Mention - GRAVITY by Glenmark C. Doromal (Independent) and AMBAHAN 246 by Hiyas Baldemor Bagabaldo (Mapua Institute of Technology)
The jury for the experimental category was comprised of Bryan Quesada, Eleanor C. Ramos and David R. Corpuz.
·1st Prize - GLORIA by Jethro Jamon (University of the Philippines – Diliman)
·2nd Prize - SUKAT by Jae-Re Louise S. Liwanag (Colegio de San Juan de Letran / Plan Z Production)
·3rd Prize - YANBU by Aleia Garcia (Mapua Institute of Technology)
·Honorable Mention - BOBO: A YOUNG MAN'S LIFE by The Creative Playground (Jose Dennis C. Teodosio, Joamar-John D. Canosa & Myo Min Htwe) (Independent – Filipino Filmmaker in Myanmar); SA NGALAN NG KAUNLARAN (In the Name of Development) by Cristina Cordero, Chinina Perez, Armida Reyes & Alex Tan (St. Scholastica's College, Manila) and LILA by Chrissy Cruz Ustaris (UP Film Institute)
The jury for the documentary category was comprised of Eva Mari G. Salvador (Associate Artistic Director, CCP Arts Education Department), Rodrigo "Jiggy" D. Manicad, Jr. (TV News Producer/Reporter) and Anna Isabelle Matutina Estein (Filmmaker/TV Producer/Editor)
SHORT FEATURE
·1st Prize - ANG MAANGAS, ANG MARIKIT, AT ANG MAKATA by Jose Ibarra E. Guballa (UP Film Institute – UP Diliman)
·2nd Prize - No winner
·3rd Prize - UMUUGA ANG NGIPIN NI CLARISSA by Jose Ibarra E. Guballa (UP Film Institute – UP Diliman)
·Honorable Mention - ANG KAPITBAHAY KO SA 2014 by Anya Zulueta (Independent – Go Motion Productions)
·Best Regional Entry - SUSUKDUL KING BANUA (HIGH AS THE SKY) by Cheska Salangsang (Independent – Pixel Legends Media)
·Best Entry For/On/By Children - ANG KAPITBAHAY KO SA 2014 by Anya Zulueta (Independent – Go Motion Productions)
The jury for the short feature category was comprised: Luisito Lagdameo Ignacio, Sigrid Andrea Bernardo and Eduardo W. Roy, Jr.
The Gawad Alternatibo is considered the longest-running independent film competition of its kind in the ASEAN/Asian region. Since 1987, Gawad Alternatibo annually cites the best efforts of Pinoy filmmakers in four categories – Animation, Experimental, Documentary and Short Feature. Winners each receive a cash prize, as well as certificate. Aside from the main awards, special citations are given out to the best work from the regions, as well as works on/for/by children. Many of today's outstanding filmmakers and media practitioners are alumni of Gawad Alternatibo.
Labels: ccp, gawad alternatibo, independent film winners, philippine film festival
Cinemalaya 2015 Brings In Award Winning Asian Filmmakers
AWARD winning filmmakers will be attending the 11th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition on August 7-15, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Greenbelt 3 Makati.
Reis Celik, director of The Night of Silence (Turkey, 2012) will be present at the screening of his film on August 11, 6:15 at the CCP Main Theater. Celik's The Night of Silence tells the story of a child bride who is forced to marry a man more than fifty years older than her and who just returned to his hometown after doing years of jail time. Sitting in the nuptial chamber with horror, she will start to face with realities after grandfather-aged groom steps into the room. The Night of Silence won the NETPAC award in the 2012 Hanoi International Film Festival. Celik will participate in a Meet the Artist session on August 12, 2:30-3:15p.m. at the CCP Third Floor Hallway.
Li Zhen Hua, producer of Poet on a Business Trip by Ju Anqi (China, 2014) will attend the screening of the film on August 11, 9 p.m. at the CCP Main Theater. Poet on a Business Trip is a documentary shot more than 10 years ago. In this film, a poet sets off on a 'business trip' through inhospitable Xinjiang province. The physically exhausting trip provides an existential brothel visit, bumping on bad roads, and a glimpse of a disappearing world. Poet on a Business Trip won the NETPAC Award for the best Asian film at the International Rotterdam Festival 2015. Li Zhen Hua will interact with audiences at the Meet the Artist session on August 12, 5:00-5:45 p.m. at the CCP Third Floor Hallway.
Sotho Kulikar, director of The Last Reel (Cambodia, 2014) will grace the screening of her film on August 12, 6:15 p.m. at the CCP Main Theater. The Last Reel is all about a lost film buried beneath the killing fields that reveals different versions of the truth. The Last Reel is a contemporary story about love, family and ghosts of Cambodia's past. The Last Reel won The Black Dragon Award, Udine Film Festival, 2015). Kulikar will speak with audiences at the Meet the Artist session on August 13, 2:30-3:15 p.m. at the CCP Third Floor Hallway.
The Maw Naing, director of The Monk (Myanmar/Czech Republic/2014), will be attending the screening of his film on August 12, 9 p.m. at the CCP Main Theater. The Monk is a sensitive coming-of-age tale that revolves around a young monk, Zawana, who had spent most of his life in a monastery in the Burmese countryside. When his superior falls ill, Zawana is faced with the dilemma of deciding if the life of a monk is still his destiny. The Monk was the NETPAC winner in International Festival of Asian Cinema in Vesoul 2015. The Maw Naing will be discussing his film with audiences at the Meet the Artist session on August 13, 5-5:45 p.m. at the CCP Third Floor Hallway.
Cinemalaya is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Established in 2005, Cinemalaya is an all-digital film festival and competition that aims to discover, encourage and honor cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers.
To date, Cinemalaya has supported and promoted the production of 118 full feature independent films and 96 short films. Many of these films have won awards in local and international competitions and festivals. Through the annual festival, Cinemalaya has showcased over 1,000 works by independent filmmakers including full feature films, shorts, documentaries, Filipino film classics, and art films.
For screening schedules of Cinemalaya, visit www.cinemalaya.org, www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and the Cinemalaya facebook page or CCP Film Office at telephone number 832-1125 local 1704-1705 and the CCP Box Office at 832-3704.
Labels: asian short films, ccp, cinemalaya, cinemalaya 2015, indie films, short films
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Line of Duty – knowing how to finish a story
Spoiler alerts
Shortly before the final episode of the current series of Line of Duty, I shared my predictions. I suggested that, the ending would
Prove a bit of a tear jerker
Be ambiguous enough to leave open the possibility of a seventh series.
Leave viewers frustrated and annoyed.
Well, two out of three isn't bad! The programme started with a chase to rescue Jo Davidson who was about to be killed off and a little bit of mild tension about the future of Steve Arnott whose career hung in the balance due to him struggling with an addition to pain killers. All of that was sorted out early on and we waited for further dramatic scenes of peril. None arrived. Finally we had the big reveal, who was the 4th man? Who was H? A suspect was escorted onto the premises of AC12 surrounded by heavily armed policemen. Was it the Chief Constable himself? Was it Carmichael? No, it was neither of these. Carmichael was watching on. The 4th man was none other that Ian Buckles, a character who has had a minor part throughout, occasionally showing up as a bungling cop who gradually got promoted above his competence. Not a criminal master mind but just someone who had managed to rise through the ranks and be useful to the OCG.s
The response of most people was "is that it" confirming my prediction that the ending would disappoint and annoy. Viewers had tuned in expecting a big beast, a proper villain to be taken down only for this. Some people have suggested that it was of course realistic, how much trouble in life is just down to incompetence. However, that misses the point, it was not what the show had set up to do, it was an anti-climax to the storyline.
That can't be it can it? And that's why I suggested that the ending would be ambiguous enough to allow for another series. There remains the possibility that AC12 will rise again to take on one final villain but the final shots of pictures being removed from the incident board and the tying up of lose ends allows for this to be where it finishes. That ambiguity also robbed me of my first prediction. The suspicion we haven't seen the last of Ted, Kate and Steve muted emotions and in any case we were all expecting one last bit of action to cut in, a knifing, bomb or heavily armed attack.
Season Six finished on a bit of a whimper. And there lies the problem for the writers and producers. As I wrote last week, I think that Line of Duty has now jumped the shark. The producers may want another season but that may be one season too far. The team have been through their own experiences of danger and self-discovery, we've covered all the possible big twists and the only way to keep up excitement and intrigue has been to push at the boundaries of credibility.
Furthermore, one does not get the feeling that here is a carefully planned, tightly written storyline with the story-arc intended to unfold over 7 or even 8 seasons. Rather, it feels like the last show of a series is put together not quite knowing whether or not there will be another season. You get the feeling that the writers and producers don't know how it will all turn out.
The result is that we end up with something I've mentioned before on Faithroots. We often end talk about two genres, comedy and tragedy. Comedy is where a story progresses from despair to hope and a happy ending. Tragedy progresses from high hopes to despair and a tragic ending. We can cope with either of these. A tragedy serves a purpose. It forcibly confronts us with the evils we face in this world and challenges us to confront them. It also allows us to express our emotions, our own sadness and grief. Comedy brings us out of the despair of this world and gives us hope. It allows us for a while to believe. The Gospel is of course the truest and deepest comedy as it lifts us out of the despair of sin and gives us the hope of a wedding feast with the lamb.
Yet in a world which has stopped believing in anything in much, we get denied both comedy or tragedy. Instead, we are left with the never ending back and forth, up and down storyline of the soap-opera punctuated by the damp-squib pseudo ending. We are lured back into he story with the promise that one day a better resolution will never come. We stop believing in the greatest story and we struggle to write decent stories ourselves! We are just left with the frustration of incompetence.
The dominant narrative today tells us that there aren't really good guys and nor are there true villains. So we can't be brought low and made to weep when the hero dies nor can we be filled with joy as the hero triumphs or love wins through. We live in the age of the anti-climax. So, it is good news to know that the truest and deepest comedy has not gone away. There is a hero has died and risen. The enemy has been conquered and there will be a wedding feast at the end.
Published 3rd May 2021 By faithrootsdw
Categorized as ethics Tagged comedy, Culture, Line of Duty, literature, reviews, tragedy
Why is Sheep Stealing such a bad thing?
It's not a left-wing thing to be against racism and antisemitism


The A310 is optimal for servicing long-distance routes, offering the authentic comfort of a wide-body cabin, and on mid-length routes. It is worth noting that unlike the other A310 aircraft operated by Siberia Airlines, this aircraft is equipped with an expanded business class - 24 seats. The number of seats in the economy class cabin is 167.
The third A310 aircraft has been taken under operational leasing for three years from the GECAS Company. Earlier, in the summer of 2004, two aircraft of this type were taken under operational leasing for the period up to the end of 2007 from the company Airbus Leasing II. Thus, Siberia Airlines continues to realize its program of modernizing and optimizing its fleet of aircraft.


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What Is an Icon Anyway
As the Knights' 18th Prayer Program launches, a new Eastern-inspired religious icon will travel from parish-to-parish across the country to raise awareness and inspire support for persecuted Christians.
State deputies carry blessed images of Mary Help of Christians during the Mass launching the inauguration of the Order's 18th Marian Prayer Program. The images will travel from Knights through the country and the world, helping to raise global awareness of the sacrifice and current persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
At the conclusion of a Mass Aug. 8 at the 136th Supreme Convention in Baltimore, the Knights of Columbus launched its 18th Marian Prayer Program, this year featuring an icon of "Our Lady Help of Persecuted Christians," created by Italian artist Fabrizio Diomedi.
Often called a "window to heaven," the religious icon is a piece of artwork used in prayer. In the early Church, when many could not read, icons were a visual way to share the truth about God.
Most icons depict Christ, a saint, or another significant figure or event in a distinct, very spiritual way. In the image of Our Lady Help of Christians, for example, we see stars on her forehead and shoulders — a symbol that indicates virginity.
In the same image we see various people gathered under Our Lady's mantle. These men, women and children died as martyrs, in different places and in different years. They are rightly pictured together, for iconography allows for a distortion of space and time. Events that happened years apart may appear as though they happened all at once, and objects are not all sized to scale. Thus, the iconographer draws attention to and connects these spiritually significant elements.
The traditional process of making an icon is also symbolic, according to Loyola Press. An icon is painted on wood, representing the Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledge. Coats of glue symbolize the soul and life of the icon's subject. Certain areas receive a thin layer of clay, representing man's physical nature. Then the iconographer blows the clay off and paints those same areas with gold, recalling the act of creation and breath of life. He adds layers of paints, with darker colors applied last, so that light seems to come from within the image. This represents the unseen God's glory breaking through from heaven.
Since their inception, icons have been a part of Christian worship around the world. In venerating an icon, Christians glorify God, learn Christian history and ponder sacred theology.
Today, the Knights of Columbus's new Marian icon shares the example of Christians who so bravely and faithfully died for love of Christ. As it travels from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, it focuses the eyes of our Church on the sacrifice of so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
May it serve to inspire us all to stand strong in our faith and continue our efforts to protect the free practice of religion throughout the world.
Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us!
The icon is part of Knights' ongoing mission of charity to Christians in the Middle East, to whom we have committed more than $20 million since 2014. This money has provided food, shelter and clothing to Christians and those in the care. In recent years, the Knights of Columbus has been assisting in the construction of McGivney House to provide housing for both Syriac and Chaldean Christian families. Read more about the McGivney House here.


Luis Castillo is president and CEO of Ensocare of Omaha, NE.
Ensocare is a care coordination platform that helps move patients to the right level of care along the care continuum. We've been doing this for about 10 or 11 years and I've been there five years.
I've been in healthcare IT for a long time. I don't think I'll ever go back to big company. I'm having the time of my life running this small company.
What are the benefits and challenges for hospitals in getting discharged patients placed and coordinating their care afterward?
The big EMR push, Meaningful Use, and even ICD-10 took people's attention away from the post-acute care side. What happens once you leave the hospital? I lost my brother about two years ago and I remember trying to get him placed into hospice. I had to go to our network and ask my team. Who is available Des Moines area? What are their CMS scores? Because the hospital handed me what looked like the cardboard filler that comes in a shirt. It was laminated and had a bunch of numbers on it. Some were scratched out, some were written over.
They said, here you go, it's up to you. Make some calls and figure out where to put him. There was no automation and no ability to tell me which facilities were better or which ones weren't. That discharge and placement process is highly fragmented and not very process driven.
We put automation and technology behind this very manual place. Nurses typically stand in front of a fax machine for 5-6 hours a day getting this done, so we let them go back to working at top of license and get them back in front of the patient — case managers, social workers, and so forth. But we also impact length of stay, so if I can decrease it by a quarter-day for patient population, that's big money over the year.
Hospitals sometimes leave placement decisions to the patient and family to make sure they aren't accused of playing favorites or being held accountable for placements that don't work out. Is their challenge in advising patients and families due to lack of knowledge or a reluctance to exert undue influence?
That's a really tricky question. I still remember when health providers and payers couldn't even be in the same room together. There was this hatred for each other. But now health plans own hospitals and hospitals create their own health plans. With some of the Medicare Advantage plans, people who are taking on risk can manage and direct patients to places if it's their own population.
But you bring up a great point. The IMPACT Act says you have to give a patient choice. You have to disclose any financial relationship you have with that home care agency or that behavioral health provider that is affiliated with your IDN.
Our system lets you put all the choices in front of the patient and give them an unbiased score, such as the CMS scores for quality. They can flip through almost a Hotels.com interface on the tablet and look at the places that have a bed available. They can see if they are pet friendly, check which churches are nearby, see a picture of the area.
Hospitals aren't supposed to direct people or to steer them. They have to manage that closely. Our application helps document that they gave the patient choices.
In the absence of something like a Tripadvisor that includes detailed reviews and scores from individuals, should I as a patient or family member trust the CMS star ratings?
We've been asked by our customers to do some kind of independent rating score for post-acute care facilities based on the data that we have, such as readmit ratios and quality scores. But I've been hesitant to do that. We offer the post-acute care network a free portal. We don't charge them to belong to this, although some of our competitors do. We try to get them to be engaged, to answer inquiries within 30 minutes, and to keep their engagement level up.
We have something that is more on the predictive side on our roadmap. Predictive analytics that say, based on what we know of this patient and the performance of organizations in our network, here's where we think this patient will do best. They need DME, infusion, dialysis, and these levels of care, and these places do really well with that. I don't want to become a Class II device and make a clinical recommendation, but I will start scoring and show them a predictive model.
How important is it to have access to actual empathetic humans and not just technology and information when making what could be one of the most important decisions in someone's life?
I remember when Gateway and Dell came into the PC market. Nobody thought they would ever pick a laptop or desktop off a pick list since technology was intimate in some ways. You wanted to see it and touch it. You would never buy it sight unseen. But the paradigm has shifted. We buy online, even for major purchases like cars, and just have it delivered.
You probably won't pick a provider via technology, but you'll get a list of 10-12 places that have a place for Aunt Betty. You take a look on the tablet at their quality scores and decide which three to visit because they meet the criteria. You'll physically go and take a tour to see if it's the right place.
The predictive modeling will make it more interesting in being able to show outcomes and recommendations. I'm not sure if I'm going to develop a Yelp-like thing, but people want to know what other people felt about their visit there and what it was like.
It's also true that everybody is not in the same financial situation. We are looking at working with payers to provide an estimated out-of-pocket expense. That is powerful because you may not be able to afford the five-star rated place.
Given that not everyone is willing or able to pay for a Ritz Carlton, can someone with a Motel 6 budget at least look up how satisfied others like them with similar expectations were with a particular facility instead of just comparing absolute satisfaction numbers?
Not today. The closest thing involves discharges, although it's hard to quantify with so many variables and I can't say for sure if I'm impacting it. But we've seen a big change in HCAHPS scores. On discharge, people afterwards didn't understand the discharge because it was in the wrong language, she spoke very quickly, they were pushing me out the door, the ambulance was late. They list all these things, but an HCAHPS-type measure does not exist for the post-acute care visit right now. But as you start managing populations, I think it's coming.
What does a hospital need to do to get started with your program?
They start by listing their favorite facilities in the area, the ones they use frequently and discharge to most often. We build that into a quick list in the system. We reach out to all those post-acute care providers, train them on our portal, and get them to understand that there's an engagement value here that says you have to answer referrals within 30 minutes. Seventy percent of Ensocare calls are outgoing as we are managing the network. That's different from some of other solutions that just buy a CMS database, import it into their system, and call it done.
I build my database organically. Every time I do these outbound calls, I know which facilities aren't responding. Our customer support people and customer experience people call them proactively to say, we notice that you aren't responding to the referrals we've been sending you. Is there a problem? Many times it's, oh, the lady that had the app on her phone left and we don't know how to answer any more.
We deal with post-acute care facilities that are very technically advanced and are part of large national chains. But we also work with home care mom-and-pop organizations in rural parts of the country, so it can be challenging. But we actively engage and manage the network to make sure they are responding.
You wrote after HIMSS19 about how smart speakers like those powered by Alexa might be used in healthcare. What do you predict?
The interface is becoming more reliable. Nine times out of 10, Siri or Alexa gets it right. One of the biggest potential uses I see is managing the population after discharge. Once you get a risk score through LACE or some other technology, you know that this patient has two co-morbidities, is high risk, and has a lot of social determinants. The nurse wants to follow up, but they're going to call you, ask you to enter information into a mobile device on an app. Many patients aren't all that technology savvy. But if you send them home with a smart speaker, it could automatically populate population health platforms with vital signs. The nurse is now calling only the people who need intervention as opposed to calling everybody every day. That model is unsustainable.
I recently was at a hospital that had a warehouse full of 75 nurse navigators. All they do, all day long, is call people. I'm following up on your primary care visit. Did you pick up your prescriptions? Did you do these things? Tools like the smart speakers are going to begin to invade that space.
I worked for two large companies. Shared Medical Systems taught us how to be close to the customer. Siemens, true to its German engineering background, taught us all about process and engineering. A healthy combination of both of those things is appropriate.
But the one thing that can't be supplanted, the one thing that you always have to keep at the top of your radar, is high-touch customer service. We have a person at the end of the phone each time. You don't get routed and automated and have to press two and three to talk to a representative. We have a high-touch customer service that our customers appreciate.


Sir Tim Rice…..Actually one of the funniest theatrical routines I have ever experienced in my career.
Princess Margaret of Kent….You are now my favourite comedian ever.
Heston Blumenthal….Laughed till I cried.
Maria Kempinski Owner of Jongleurs….Within a Month of his first night at Jongleurs Kev Orkian fast became one of our top headline acts.
HRH Prince Philip….It's a wonderful show…A highly polished act. I thoroughly enjoyed your performance.
Mark Richie The Stage…It's hard to categories the multi-talented and extremely funny Kev Orkian. I have seen no one else out there on the comedy circuit quite like Orkian, and this perhaps is his major selling point in a comedy market where originality is a rare commodity as it is a welcome one.