text:
Maxwell Boykoff's "Who Speaks for the Climate?"
Maxwell T. Boykoff is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Science and Technology Policy, which is part of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He teaches in the Environmental Studies program and is Adjunct faculty in the Geography Department. In addition, Boykoff is a Senior Visiting Research Associate in the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.
He applied the "Page 99 Test" to his new book, Who Speaks for the Climate?: Making Sense of Media Reporting on Climate Change, and reported the following:
Page 99 is the first page of the fifth chapter of my book. This chapter works through the various ways that journalistic norms shape media representations of climate change over time, and how (mis)understandings about climate change in the public citizenry can be perpetuated by way of journalistic and editorial (mis)steps in the newsroom. On page 99, I weave this premise into surrounding chapters, writing, "[C]onstructions of meaning – negotiated in the spaces of cultural politics – are shaped by structural and institutional as well as cultural and psychological factors, operating simultaneously at multiple scales. These issues intersect with journalistic norms and values."
Professionalized journalistic behaviors – held together by norms – contribute to media representational practices. While these help to translate and make meaningful oft-complex issues in climate science and policy for consumer-citizens, uncritical deference to particular journalistic norms can have detrimental and far-reaching effects, shaping ongoing climate science and governance discussions. Individual journalists must contend with many pressures while reporting news, and decisions are made in context of larger-scale pressures. Clearly, while these pressures affect content, they are interrelated; influences can be considered through a range of elements such as technical capacity issues, weather events, underlying issues of trust, and political economy (such as corporate mass media consolidation). I explore how these dynamic, contested and complex issues play out across space/place and time in Who Speaks for the Climate?.
The start of Chapter Five on Page 99 is an important hinge for the broader discussions as to how salient and swirling contextual factors as well as competing journalistic pressures and norms contribute to how issues, events and information have often become climate 'stories' we tell ourselves (and each other). I then focus attention on how these stories have contributed to critical misperceptions, misleading debates, distractions and divergent understandings that can be detrimental to efforts that seek to enlarge rather than constrict the spectrum of possibility for responses to climate challenges. Overall, I have been compelled to write the book in order to help understand the role of media in considerations of how formal climate science and governance link with people's everyday activities in the public sphere. Considerations of "who speaks for the climate" via mass media are as important as formal climate governance architectures themselves to the long-term success or failure of efforts to take carbon out of the atmosphere or keep it out. It is in our collective self-interest to interrogate, and more wisely support links between science, policy and media.
Learn more about Who Speaks for the Climate? at the Cambridge University Press website.
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Frette – figura araldica
 Frette – azienda tessile italiana

 La Frette – comune francese del dipartimento dell'Isère della regione dell'Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi
 La Frette – comune francese del dipartimento della Saona e Loira nella regione della Borgogna-Franca Contea

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Knot again!
by Sarah Bott | Aug 25, 2021 | Free Advice, Property
Japanese Knotweed has been back in the media lately. An invasive plant notoriously difficult to get rid of. It was originally introduced into the UK by the Victorians as an ornamental plant. It was then used to strengthen structures such as railway embankments and...
Pay less notices
by Sarah Bott | Jun 7, 2021 | Construction, Property
Payment in the construction industry has been a hot-topic for many years. Whether it's payment between employer and main contractor, or among main contractors and subcontractors, the chance of a dispute remains higher in construction than it does in most industries. A...
Tradesperson disputes – top tips to avoid them!
by Sarah Bott | Apr 28, 2021 | Employment Law, Free Advice, Property
During the lockdown period, thousands of people took the opportunity to repair and upgrade their homes. Often, tradespeople were employed to carry out these works. However, what happens if you engage the services of a seemingly reputable tradesman and things do not...
Noisy neighbours?
by Sarah Bott | Mar 31, 2021 | Legal, Property
Following on from our last blog re boundary disputes, our latest insight highlights the other common problem areas you may find yourself in with the neighbour next door. With over a year of lockdown behind us and more people working/spending time at home, tensions...
"Get orf my land!"
by Sarah Bott | Mar 14, 2021 | Property
As we reach the anniversary of the country being locked down and as we look to the future where more and more people are now working from home, it is inevitable that the current world of work has changed, possibly for many years to come. Many people, taking advantage...
The importance of a Lasting Power of Attorney for business owners.
by Sarah Bott | Mar 1, 2021 | Family Law, Legal, Powers of Attorney, Property, Wills
As a business owner, it's more important than ever to have a solid continuity plan to ensure that your business will keep running smoothly if you were to become unable to make decisions. Reasons that you may be unable to make those decisions could be if: you were...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Ajax returns undefined objects in the list in asp.net I am developing a web application in asp.net where in the index page I implemented an AJAX call to get the list of defect object and populate it into the HTML table.
I have written a method in the controller "GetDefect" which return the list of defects in JSON format.But the result is ended up as undefined when I get it on the Javascript side.
I have spent hours and still cannot find the solution. I had also searched other StackOverflow questions but could not help it.
The Model Class
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;

namespace MvcApplication3.Models
{
    public class Defect
    {
        private string ID;
        private DateTime date_created;
        private string updated_by;
        private string created_by;
        private string description;

    public Defect(string ID, DateTime date_created,string updated_by,string ,created_by,string description)
    {
        this.ID = ID;
        this.date_created = date_created;
        this.updated_by = updated_by;
        this.created_by = created_by;
        this.description = description;
    }

}

}
The controller
[HttpGet]
        public  JsonResult  GetDefects()
        {
           IList<Defect> dataList = new List<Defect>();
           dataList.Add(new Defect("eththeth",DateTime.Now.Date,"ergerger","ergergerger","ergerg"));
           dataList.Add(new Defect("wefwefwef", DateTime.Now.Date, "wew44r3", "gbnvfbnvbn v", "gbndfgnbfgnf"));

           return Json(new { dataList = dataList }, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);

        }

The JS file
$(document).ready(function () {
    GetFoodDetails();
});

function GetFoodDetails() {
    $.ajax({
        type: "GET",
        url: "Home/GetDefects",
        contentType: "application/json;charset=utf-8",
        dataType: "json",
        success: function (data) {
            console.log(data.dataList);
            applychanges(data);
        },
        error: function (response) {
            alert('eror');
        }
    });

}

function applychanges(result) {
    console.log(result);
    var html = '';
    $.each(result, function (key, item) {
        html += '
';
        html += '' + item.ID + '	';
        html += '' + item.description + '	';
        html += '' + item.defect_status + '	';
        html += '' + item.date_created + '	';
        html += '' + item.created_by + '	';
        html += '' + item.location_lang + '	';
        html += '' + item.location_long + '	';
        html += 'Edit | Delete	';
        html += '
';
    });
    $('.tbody').html(html);
}

HTML (the table)

              ID
              Date Raised
              Date Due
              Defect Status
              Defect Remarks
              Langitude
              Longitude

If anyone knows , please help. Thanks in advance

A: Private fields are not serialized by the JavaScriptSerializer. Make them public properties in your model.
public class Defect
{
    public string ID { get; set; }
    public DateTime date_created  { get; set; }
    .... // etc

Your method is also expecting the collection so it should be
success: function (data) {
    applychanges(data.dataList); // change

Alternatively, change the controller method to just return the collection
return Json(dataList, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);

A: Please try by replacing the GetFoodDetails with the following.
function GetFoodDetails() {
  $.get('/Home/GetDefects', null, function (data) {
        $.each(data.dataList, function (i, dl) {
            alert(dl.ID);
        });
    });

}

and if it works please let me know and there is no change in your controller action method code.
Also you can try this one also
    function GetFoodDetails() {
$.ajaxSetup({
            async: false
        });
        $.ajax({
            type: 'GET',
            url: '/Home/GetDetails',
            success: function (data) {
                alert(data.dataList);
            }
        });
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Generation Kill, "Screwby": Camel killer
Spoilers for episode 3 of "Generation Kill" coming up just as soon as I track down a photo I loaned out...
I'm running out of things to discuss in these weekly reviews, not because I'm losing interest in "Generation Kill," but because each episode is very much of a piece with the whole miniseries, and there are only so many ways I can analyze the dysfunctional relationship between command and the troops.
That said, there are two events in "Screwby" worth discussing.
The first is the decision to abandon the town where the locals claimed to be ready, willing and able to lead Fick and the others to hidden weapons and members of the Republican Guard. For all we know -- and Fick freely acknowledges this -- the informant could have been a liar just looking to get revenge on some local rivals. (He does, after all, promise to lead Fick to a chemical weapons cache.) But by rolling out quickly and leaving the guy with nothing but chem lights, they'll never know, will they? One of the fundamental complaints critics of the war have had with our invasion strategy was that we were in such a tearing hurry to knock over Saddam's army and get to Baghdad that we didn't properly ferret out all the bad actors who would wind up in the insurgency. In the book, Godfather talks to Evan Wright for a while about how he didn't understand why they weren't taking their time in each town to separate enemies from allies and do a better job at winning hearts and minds. The quick-strike invasion itself was a huge success, but it was like digging a tunnel without pausing to erect supports along the way: you'll get to the other side, but everything's going to collapse behind you.
(Though Godfather was obviously wise about what we should have been doing along the way, he makes one of the most bone-headed decisions of the story when he orders the abandonment of the company's supply truck just because he was in such a hurry to go capture the airfield and impress General Mattis.)
The other notable event is Trombley shooting the kid and the aftermath. Trombley is, in some ways, the most important character in the book. More than anybody else, he symbolizes Wright's definition of what Generation Kill is all about: a young man weened on video games, excited to go out and get some regardless of the target or the value of the mission. In the book, he often comes across like a sociopath, and you can tell that's the reason, and not his relative lack of training, that makes the other Marines dislike him so much. Even in an alpha male group like this, Trombley was too gung ho, you know?
The way Billy Lush plays Trombley doesn't really invalidate that interpretation, but he deepens the character as written on the page. Lush's Trombley still isn't someone I would likely want to spend time with, but there's this odd sweetness to the performance that I wasn't expecting, that humanizes Trombley without betraying Wright's portrait of him. That moment where he asks Colbert if he -- Colbert, not himself -- is going to be okay because of the shooting incident showed tremendous self-awareness at the same time it showed that Trombley wasn't remotely as troubled by what happened as Colbert was.
Feel free to talk about any or all of the other incidents in "Screwby" -- Fick risking his career to prevent the idiotic Encino Man from dropping a bomb on his own troops, or the village getting destroyed entirely because two different units didn't have the same comms, or Captain America's latest idiocy -- but even though I continue to enjoy "Generation Kill," I find myself at a loss for things to write about it each week.
Labels: Generation Kill
Michael Cowgill said...
Simon and Burns keep playing to their strengths -- sympathy with the men on the ground, a great ear for dialogue, and that rare ability to make stupidity hilarious, enraging, and heartbreaking -- sometimes at the same time.
Still, it was nice to see Godfather not totally a jackass. When the men made a moral stand about the wounded kid, he spelled out real issues against them and then evacuated the kid anyway. And even Encino Man was in on that little bit of "rebellion."
Fick and Colbert continue to be the kind of guys you'd want as leaders -- Colbert immediately taking the blame for Trombley's mistake (even though the order was from up top, so it's really their blame).
I don't know if the problems the men face are strategic or tactical so much as epistemological. The quick strike strategy was and is designed to minimize casualities and get the fighting over and done with as soon as possible, and avoid the perception of being "bogged down" by a critical media and a fickle public.
Alan -
Do you happen to know how this show is doing in terms of # of viewers? Does HBO track that way?
It is so well-made and so topical in this election year, I hope it's doing better than that spate of Iraq war movies that made about $17.50 total at the box office.
Also, Alan, your site, your rules.
Are we allowed to talk about what any of the soldiers depicted are doing nowadays?
Or is there a spoiler policy effect (regarding who, if anyone, dies, etc.)?
I was going to write something about 1 of the guys but wanted to check 1st.
Anthony Wilson said...
So, is Trombley an a-hole for shooting those kids, or was he only following orders? I mean, we know he's an a-hole, but was he an a-hole in that instance?
Also, Alan - how much of the humor in the show comes from the book, and how much comes from Simon and Burns employing their trick of injecting humor in their dramas to make the inherent horror more bearable?
1:10 AM, July 28, 2008
Now and forever, when I rewatch The Wire, Rawls will be known as Godfather.
The humor is straight out of the book if not even toned down a bit. I loved how they kept Encino Man jumping out of his Humvee with his com still attached as that is one of the more indelible images I have from the book. They are doing an amazing job of putting the book on the screen with very little interpretation.
SJ said...
"They are doing an amazing job of putting the book on the screen with very little interpretation."
I can't agree more. This episode especially felt like it was lifted directly from the book. I am loving it.
Sixta reprimanding the gunner for losing his helmet was exactly the way I imagined it when I read the book. Just plain hilarious.
One thing I do miss though is Wright's perspective on everything when he wrote the book. I guess he just went into more detail and gave us a better look. For example, the "you shit on my shitter" scene came out as hilarious in this episode, but in the book it comes off as more serious. Wright tells us how the marine who owns the shitter is one of the toughest and most unemotional guys out there but for some reason he gets oddly emotional over the fact that his only "luxury" was sullied. I thought that was a small but powerful part of the book which didn't translate well to the screen.
In this case, I think it's okay. Non-fiction and all that.
I hardly ever have a problem with spoilers but there should definitely be a warning. Even though it's nonfiction, without reading the book, I'd be pretty disappointed to find out that one of the characters dies, gets discharged, promoted or any number of things at the very end of Wright's book and will likely appear in episode 7.
larchlion said...
i think my favorite little moment of acting/directing/writing in an otherwise fairly gut-wrenching episode was when ray started singing Tainted Love. Eventually, sgt. Colbert joined in, and then as if he had been ordered to on previous sing-a-long occasions pfc trombley reluctantly, but seemingly thru coersion, adds the accompaniment.
Thanks for clarifying, Alan.
--------POTENTIAL SPOILER---------
To agree with michael cowgill, Fick is awesome. He was a Dartmouth student who joined the Marines after hearing a stirring speech by a journalist about the Marine Corps. Now, he's a student to Harvard Business School. His own autobiography is excellent...One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer.
------------END SPOILER-----------
dronkmunk said...
@Cowgill:
You don't evacuate people, remember? Lol.
@dronkmonk:
But the military language included the phrase "evac" in their--
So who or what is a "screwby"? I thought I figured it out when they called Trombley a "screwby" (a newby screw-up), but then it was used differently at different times.
As for spoilers, I haven't read the book (sadly, I wasn't even aware of the book), so I do appreciate people putting spoiler warnings so I can skip those posts.
Bryan Murray said...
Screwby is Evan "Q-Tip" Stafford's word. When Wright asks him the meaning, Stafford says it means either that's cool or that's messed up. That's paraphrased of course.
I can't help comparing the show to The Wire; particularly Simon and Burns's frustration with the system and the people in charge. The Godfather is not quite as bad as Rawls in the book. He is very aggressive with his men to the point of recklessness but he also provides commentary for all his decisions and proves to be a skilled tactician--not just an officer looking for medals and accolades. The show is getting better each week though.
I thought this was the best of the three eps BY A MILE, perhaps because I can finally tell all the characters apart.
The incompetence and/or damn-the-ethics ambition of the senior people and it's impact on the junior ones is certainly a Simon theme, and one reason I am obsessed with the Wire (yes, I'm a few years behind!) and now loving this show.
At this point in my life, for better or worse, I'm one of those senior people, and I'd like to think I'm neither as incompetent nor as unethically self-promoting as a Godfather or Burrell, but I probably am. So, for me, watching these shows is perhaps like going to church. I empathize with the grunts, and then go back to my life.
9:21 PM, August 02, 2008
What kind of day has it been?
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Press tour bonus: Joss Whedon talks 'Dollhouse'
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text:
EXPLORE THE SALTON SEA
The Creation Flood
Mullet Island
Salton Sea Test Base
North Shore Yacht Club
Hypersalinity
Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge
Microsalton
The New River
Bombay Beach
Salton Sea Beach
Salvation Mountain
Salton Buttes
Solutions?
SALTON SEA 101
Salton Sea Beach is a tiny, sleepy town located at the northwestern edge of the Salton Sea. Like other not-so-lucky settlements along the sea's shoreline, rising waters hit the town hard during the late 1970s and 80s. Most business and residences flooded along the beachfront were shortly abandoned thereafter. The ghostly shells of these structures are still standing amongst a salt-crusted landscape that is, for the most part, easily accessed.
Early residents at Salton Sea Beach included Helen Burn's family who bought property there in the 1920s. After Helen graduated from college she returned to the area in 1947. Divorced with two young daughters she proceeded to fix up the property that upon arrival had no electricity or potable water. Soon after she opened a small palm-thatched snack bar and souvenir stand along the beachfront. The majority of her early customers were undocumented workers traveling from Mexico through the area in search of migrant farm labor in the Imperial and Coachella valleys.
Over time, Helen's Beach House became a popular destination for beach goers, boaters and fisherman allowing her to expand her establishment with a full restaurant, nightclub and marina. Hosted events included luau-themed parties, beauty pagents and competitive sporting events such as water skiing contests or speedboat races. Burns, in later years, published a small local newspaper called the Salton Seafarer until her death in 1994, "designed to bring the communities around the sea closer together and to keep the image of the sea before the public." Over a ten-year period her business suffered no less than four moves inland due to flooding. It turns out that her migrant customers were those who came to her aid and helped her relocate when necessary.
Home | POI Map | Project Statement | Credits
Palms Motel and Mobil Park, Salton Sea Beach, CA 2001. Click image for more photos.
All content © Kim Stringfellow 2000-2013. All rights reserved.


New technologies on NASA's next lunar spacecraft will collect information to make human exploration safer.
NASA's next lunar orbiter will launch later this year, the first step in an ambitious plan to return humans to the Moon–and send them on to Mars. The spacecraft, called the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), will use new technology to make precise maps of the Moon's surface, to search for resources such as ice, and to assess the threat that radiation in the environment could pose for humans.
Moonbound: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (above) will orbit and survey the Moon, providing greater detail about its surface and environment than any previous satellite has. One of two new instruments onboard the spacecraft will be the lunar orbiter laser altimeter (bottom), which will send out five laser beams 28 times per second to map the surface of the moon. Very short pulses of laser light are emitted through the narrow silver cone attached to the instrument's optical assembly (gold-colored box). The large cone collects the laser light that is reflected back from the lunar surface.
LRO is the most advanced lunar satellite NASA has built, says Richard Vondrak, the project scientist for LRO, who adds that it will provide information that would have been impossible to collect a few decades ago. "We are surveying the Moon in more detail than any other celestial body for the benefit of all countries, including China, Japan, and India, who have said they have ambitions to put people on the Moon in the next 10 to 20 years," adds David Smith, a NASA scientist working on LRO.
LRO is part of NASA's Vision for Space Exploration, a program intended to, among other things, answer fundamental questions of physics, search for extraterrestrial life, and seek new resources, such as power sources, for Earth. The program calls for humans to return to the Moon. But before that happens, says Vondrak, it's necessary to understand much more about the Moon's surface radiation and topography.
The Apollo manned-spacecraft program shut down in 1975, and it was not until the 1990s that the United States sent more satellites to orbit the Moon–Clementine and the Lunar Prospector, which spent months orbiting the Moon and sending back data. Clementine was a joint project between the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA that also tested new ballistic technologies; the U.S. has launched no other lunar probes since.
LRO will collect more data with greater precision so that scientists can find safe and resource-rich landing sites and design systems appropriate for the lunar environment, says Vondrak.
LRO will orbit the Moon for one year at an altitude of 50 kilometers. Previous U.S. satellites maintained an altitude of approximately 100 to 200 kilometers, as have those sent by other countries, like China's Chang'e 1 and Japan's Kaguya, both launched in 2007. Orbiting at a lower altitude allows the spacecraft to get a closer view of the Moon, enabling the craft to obtain higher-resolution images, very detailed maps, and more-accurate temperature measurements, says Vondrak.
The lunar orbiter is equipped with six novel instruments, two of which will be making their space debuts: a cosmic-ray telescope, which will measure the effects that lunar radiation would have on humans, and a laser altimeter, which will make maps of the surface of the Moon.
The cosmic-ray telescope, called Crater, is a new kind of sensor developed by MIT, Boston University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and the Aerospace Corporation. It can measure the radiation environment, not just in space, but also as it would be experienced by astronauts on the surface on a day-to-day basis. "By characterizing the radiation, we can build better shielding on spacecraft so that astronauts can survive long trips to the Moon and Mars," says Justin Kasper, a staff astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the project scientist for Crater.
The human body responds to radiation in different ways, depending on the intensity, duration, and composition of the radioactive particles. The two things that scientists are most worried about are acute radiation poisoning from, for example, a solar flare, and long-term exposure to galactic cosmic rays, which can increase the risk of cancer. "In all cases, the danger is that ionizing radiation [high-energy, charged particles] can break the atomic bonds in DNA and damage cells and tissue," says Kasper.
The radiation detector consists of a series of silicon semiconductors, each about 35 millimeters in diameter and one millimeter tall. In between the pieces of silicon, the scientists have inserted large blocks of material called tissue-equivalent plastic. "The blocks are waxy and look like giant black crayons but have the same chemical composition as human tissue," says Kasper.
So while the silicon gauges the energy and composition of particles as they come flying through the detector (a proven technique for measuring radiation), the plastic is used to measure their biological effects. Previously, data from radiation detectors was sent back to Earth, where scientists attempted to calculate the effect that the measured radiation would have on humans. The plastic material provides a direct and more-accurate measurement of what radiation is like at different depths of human tissue, says Kasper.
The second instrument making its first spaceflight is the lunar orbiter laser altimeter (LOLA), developed by engineers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. It uses laser light to measure the distance between the spacecraft and the surface of the Moon. "It is going to measure that distance very precisely, to about 10 centimeters, and it will make measurements 28 times per second," says NASA's Smith, who is also the principal investigator for LOLA. Unlike current instruments, which send out a single laser beam at low repetitions, the new altimeter sends out five focused beams of laser light that are reflected back and received by five separate detectors, for a total of 140 measurements per second.
This allows scientists to make a high-density, very precise map of the shape of the lunar surface. "We can determine the altitude and slope of different spots on the Moon as well as the roughness of the terrain," says Smith. "We can also learn about the properties of the surface–for example, the shape of craters and their depth and size." The end goal is to identify the best spot, preferably flat, for a large lander to touch down and for astronauts to make a base.
Crater and LOLA will be accompanied on the lunar orbiter by four other instruments that will be imaging and mapping the Moon, measuring surface temperatures to identify potential ice deposits, and searching for hydrogen in the lunar polar regions. All the data will be continuously sent back to Earth for analysis.
"LRO is the first of our exploration missions for a return to the Moon and will have a significant impact on future human spaceflight," says Vondrak.


Imagine if more drivers knew what it was like to ride a bicycle on a road that's busy with motor vehicles, and had a firmer grasp of road rules regarding cyclists?
It might clear up a lot of misunderstandings about cyclist behaviour – and create a bit of safety and empathy along the way.
That's the thinking behind several submissions to an upcoming NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Driver Training and Road Safety.
"As more riders are on the road it is imperative that drivers understand their perspective … to experience what it feels like to be on the road as a bike rider," says the submission from the City of Sydney. "The effect would be better interactions between these drivers and other riders."
But how to encourage that process? The City is recommending that learner drivers be allowed to use a cycling proficiency course, such as those offered by the council, as part of the 120 log book hours they need to accumulate before taking their driver's test. And to make it more attractive, as with professional driving courses, hours spent in instruction would accrue bonus log book hours.
Bicycle NSW's submission also recommends that up to 10 hours spent on an approved bicycle safety course be credited in a learner's log book, saying this would "increase awareness of vulnerable road users, and increase bicycle rider safety".
The Amy Gillett Foundation, meanwhile, says authorities should set up a trial that will "recognise hours spent riding bicycles in a road environment for the calculation of log book hours" – with a maximum credit of 20 hours.
The difficulty of educating drivers about changes to road rules is also a key feature of submissions by organisations that promote cycling.
Once a driver has a licence, "they may drive for 60 years or more without ever formally learning about updates to road rules", says the submission by the Australian Cycle Alliance.
One of the challenges of the recent minimum distance passing laws being rolled out across Australia has been informing road users about the law.
This was highlighted last month in a coronial inquest into the deaths of two cyclists in Queensland.
The Brisbane Times reported that one man was killed in a collision with a car towing a trailer, while the other died after being knocked off his bike by a truck.
In his comments, Magistrate David O'Connell said: "It was touched on at the inquest how little drivers knew of the rules relating to safe overtaking distances of bicycle riders, or safe passing distances as some refer to it. Drivers quizzed on this issue could not correctly answer what the law was, which is dependent on the posted speed limit of the road."
He recommended that drivers be given a short quiz on recent changes to traffic laws when applying to renew their driver's licence.
Bicycle NSW and the City of Sydney are also calling for a system of testing for those renewing their licences, with the Australian Cycle Alliance recommending a knowledge refresher test that includes "questions about changes to road rules and driving near vulnerable road users".
However, in its submission to the road safety inquiry, Transport for NSW said: "Research has shown that periodic re-testing of all drivers is not an effective method for influencing driver compliance and reducing crashes."
But its most ambitious recommendation is that the government "invest in a $1 billion dedicated Bicycle Infrastructure Fund over the forward estimates for the next four years to significantly increase the construction of consolidated networks of separated cycleways, protected intersections and other cycling infrastructure".
The organisation identifies a list of projects, many drawn from the Sydney's Cycling Future plan released in 2013, while urging the completion of the Sydney cycleways – including the replacement of the CBD's College Street path, removed in 2015.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson told me the government has made $284 million available over the next four years for dedicated cycling and pedestrian facilities, in addition to cycling facilities provided as part of infrastructure programs.
A billion dollars is a lot of money, but it's worth noting that London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, has pledged to spend A$1.35 billion (£770 million) on cycling in the British capital during his four-year term. The city's cycling superhighways – built amid much controversy – have hosted a surge of cycling in the city.
Separated cycleways are the most effective way to reduce the risk of injury for cyclists, and are key for getting more people riding, Bicycle Network says.
There are 75 submissions to the inquiry, from government agencies through advocacy groups to private individuals, and two days of hearings will be held later this month.


This fully renovated bright and cozy home is move in ready. The tastefully remodeled kitchen is complete with new cabinets, granite countertops, tile floor, tile backsplash, new light fixtures and new stainless steel appliances. Other features include gleaming hardwood floors throughout, dining room open to the living room with fire place, updated bathrooms, new windows, freshly painted, new roof, new siding, spacious front porch, fenced in yard, 1 car garage, updated heating system with new forced air gas furnace and tankless on demand hot water heater. This is a must see!


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Flute Builder
Verne Q. Powell and Dr. Albert E. Sloane
We've read many historical accounts of Verne Q. Powell's life – namely about his first "Spoon Flute" and his early days as a flute maker in Massachusetts. We've also read about the inspiration for some designs (like the "gizmo") and historically significant flutes. When looking through our archives, we found a very interesting account of Mr. Powell and how he inspired one very unlikely student as you'll see from the letter below…
When my young son needed a flute for his music lessons around 1948 I was sent to the Powell workshop where I was told he had an old used flute for sale. He was located on Huntington Avenue close to Symphony Hall and en route to my hospital. My medical bag in hand, I met Mr. Verne Powell as arranged. He was a dignified, white-haired gentleman who was in obvious great discomfort. He was squinting one eye which was red and tearing copiously. I was told that he was being treated for an infection for three months and it was getting no better. Infections that lasted a long time were not uncommon in this period before anti-biotics were available.
The presence of a doctor's bag, like the gun in the holster of the policeman, gives the owner the feeling that he can ask questions or give orders that he would otherwise flinch from doing. "Let me look at your eye", I dared to say. The same bag which gave me the authority to make my request had an opposite effect on the patient to become submissive and show respect.
So, without further ado, I put a drop of anesthetic from my bag into the sore eye so I could better examine him. Of course, the severe pain in his eye immediately disappeared. Mr. Powell was enormously impressed with my skill at so quickly removing his discomfort. A magnifying glass and a good light, in addition to the sight in my young eyes, showed that what he had was not an infection, but a tiny sliver of metal deeply imbedded in the front surface (cornea) of his eye. I went to my bag, put another drop in his eye to insure good anesthesia and then, with a sterile instrument, promptly removed the foreign body. In twelve hours he was completely cured and free of symptoms.
Well, from then on we had a special relationship which led to me taking flute lessons at age 42, and of course buying a Verne Q. Powell flute - the Commercial type. In 1952 I decided I had to have the French open key model. My teacher was Jimmy Pappoutsakis who was also a patient of mine and lived six doors away. The normal wait was two years, but Jimmy recommended a flute which had just been made for him - #1142. Mr. Powell was kind enough to engrave this flute with his own signature - a sort of personal special thanks for helping him overcome his eye problem. And, incidentally, the only Powell flute with such an inscription.
Albert E. Sloane, MD
Past Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology
P. S. On a number of occasions I had the use of his original first flute made by him from melted--down family silver, for which he said he was never forgiven.
Posted by Powell Flutes at 1:30 PM
Labels: Albert Sloane, flute, Harvard Medical School, Huntington Avenue, James Pappoutsakis, music, musical instruments, Symphony Hall, Verne Q. Powell
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IPAB, Obamacare's Super-Legislature
By Michael F. Cannon and Diane Cohen
This article appeared in National Review (Online) on June 15, 2012.
The individual mandate isn't Obamacare's only unconstitutional provision, or even its most unconstitutional provision. That distinction belongs to the Independent Payment Advisory Board. A heretofore unreported feature of this super-legislature makes it even more authoritarian and dangerous than anyone knew.
IPAB consists of up to 15 unelected government "experts." Its stated purpose is to restrain Medicare spending. If projected spending exceeds certain targets, Obamacare requires IPAB to issue "legislative proposals" to reduce future spending. Those proposals could include drastic cuts that jeopardize seniors' access to care, leading some critics to label IPAB a "death panel."
But the really dangerous part is that these are not mere "proposals." Obamacare requires the secretary of Health and Human Services to implement them — which means they become law automatically — unless Congress takes certain steps to head them off. Congress may replace the Board's proposal with its own cuts, at least initially. But Obamacare requires a three-fifths vote in the Senate to pass any replacement that spends more than the Board's proposal. In other words, to override IPAB's proposal completely, opponents must assemble a simple majority in the House and a three-fifths majority in the Senate and the president's signature.
Obamacare is so unconstitutional, it's absurd.
That makes IPAB more than an advisory board. It's a super-legislature whose members are more powerful than members of Congress. If eight members of Congress propose a bill, all that's necessary to block it is a majority of either chamber, or one-third of either chamber plus the president.
Worse, Obamacare forbids Congress to repeal IPAB outside of a brief window in the year 2017 — and even then requires a three-fifths supermajority in both chambers plus a presidential signature. Under Obamacare, after 2017 Congress could repeal Medicare, but not the board it created to run Medicare. Congress and the states could repeal the Bill of Rights — but not IPAB.
What kind of laws will these super-legislators impose? Obamacare supposedly prohibits these super-legislators from raising taxes or rationing care. Yet those restrictions are unenforceable and meaningless. For instance, the statute lets IPAB define "rationing" and protects that definition — along with the secretary's implementation of IPAB's edicts — from administrative or judicial review. The prohibition on raising taxes is likewise toothless. IPAB can raise taxes as surely as it can cut Medicare spending.
In effect, Obamacare gives IPAB the power to raise taxes, spend money, place conditions on federal grants to states, and exercise other powers the Constitution reserves solely to Congress. If the Supreme Court upholds Obamacare's mandated Medicaid expansion, states may soon see IPAB imposing similar mandates on states. And if President Obama fails to appoint any IPAB members, all these powers fall to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.
As if all this weren't bad enough, we discovered a heretofore unreported feature of Obamacare. According to the statute, if Congress fails to repeal IPAB during that short window in 2017, then in 2020 Congress loses any and all power to restrain these super-legislators.
The Congressional Research Service and others have reported that Congress will always retain some (limited) power to block IPAB's edicts, but they misread a crucial part of the statute. They thought they saw the word "or" where the statute actually says "and." The difference is dramatic.
As we explain in our new report, under the statute as written, if Congress fails to repeal IPAB in 2017, the secretary must implement IPAB's edicts even if Congress votes to block them. Nancy Pelosi was right: We needed to pass Obamacare to find out what was in it. We're still finding out.
Obamacare is so unconstitutional, it's absurd. It delegates legislative powers that Congress cannot delegate. It creates a permanent super-legislature to supplement — and when conflicts arise, to supplant — Congress. It tries to amend the Constitution via statute rather than the amendment procedure of Article V.
Obamacare proves economist Friedrich Hayek's axiom that government direction of the economy threatens both democracy and freedom. After decades of failing to deliver high-quality, low-cost health care through Medicare, Congress struck upon the "solution" of creating a permanent super-legislature — or worse, an economic dictator — with the power to impose taxes and other laws that the people would reject.
Fortunately, one Congress cannot bind future Congresses by statute. If the Supreme Court fails to strike down Obamacare, Congress should exercise its power to repeal IPAB — and the rest of Obamacare with it.
Michael F. Cannon is director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute and coauthor of Healthy Competition: What's Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It. Diane Cohen is senior attorney at the Goldwater Institute and lead counsel in Coons v. Geithner, a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of IPAB.


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City Home Government
Charter, Code and Policies
EMAIL: cityinfo@portlandoregon.gov
City Code & Charter
Portland Policy Documents
Portland Policy Documents Administrative Purchasing
ADM-1.01 - Purchasing Policies
ADM-1.05 - Professional, Technical and Expert Services Contracting Manual
ADM-1.08 - Purchasing Board of Appeals Rules of Procedure
ADM-1.09 - Sustainable Procurement Policy
ADM-1.11 - Proposal to Increase Minority-Owned, Women-Owned and Emerging Small Business Utilization in Professional, Technical and Expert Contracting
ADM-1.12 - Biofuels Requirements for Petroleum-Based Fuels Sold in Portland and City-Owned Vehicles
ADM-1.13 - Assigning Confidence Ratings to Project Cost Estimates
ADM-1.14 - Professional, Technical, and Expert Policy Documents Modification to Address Minority, Women, and Emerging Small Business Subcontractor Concerns and Public Notice Requirement of City Intent to Execute Sole Source PTE Contracts
ADM-1.15 - City Equal Benefit Requirements Expansion to Include Contract Amendments and Revenue Generating Contracts (Superseded)
ADM-1.17 - Sweatshop Free Procurement Policy Administrative Rules
ADM-1.18 - Minority Evaluator on Contractor Evaluation and Selection Panels
ADM-1.19 - Social Equity Contracting Strategy to Increase Minority-Owned, Women-Owned and Emerging Small Business Utilization in City Contracting
ADM-1.20 - Workforce Training & Hiring Program Administrative Rules
ADM-1.21 - Prime Contractor Development Program Administrative Rules
ADM-1.22 - Construction Prequalification Program Administrative Rules
ADM-1.23 – Subcontractor Equity Program Administrative Rules
ADM-1.24 - Community Equity and Inclusion Plan - City Public Improvement Contracts
See Also - Independent Contractors
PRIME CONTRACTOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ADMINISTRATIVE RULES
Administrative Rules Adopted by the Bureau of Internal Business Services, Procurement Services Division Pursuant to Rule-Making Authority
ARB-ADM-1.21
Section 1 PURPOSE
Section 2 BUREAUS AFFECTED
Section 3 JURISDICTION
Section 4 DEFINITIONS
Section 5 POLICY
Section 6 APPLICATION
Section 7 BUREAU RESPONSIBILITY
Section 8 WAIVERS AND NON-APPLICABILITY
Section 9 PCDP WORKGROUP
Section 10 LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY
These rules are intended to establish processes and procedures for implementing the provisions of the Prime Contractor Development Program adopted July 19, 2012. Resolution #36944 integrates social equity, fiscal responsibility and community involvement into the Prime Contractor Development Program based on the principle that by providing development opportunities and educational programs, the City will empower minority, women and emerging small businesses (M/W/ESB) to grow and develop. These rules will promote social justice; adhere to the City of Portland's Prime Contractor Development Program Manual for Participants; and provide clear guidance to City bureaus seeking to comply with these requirements.
2 BUREAUS AFFECTED
All City bureaus, departments or offices, procuring construction services.
3 JURISDICTION
Portland City Code Chapters 3.100, 5.33 and 5.34, specifically 5.34.040 Affirmative Action and 5.34.930 Social Equity in Contracting and Employment Programs; and Resolution #36944 adopted by City Council July 19, 2012.
4.1 Audit means a formal examination of an individual's or organization's accounting records, financial situation, or compliance with some other set of standards.
4.2 Bureau means the bureaus, divisions or offices within the City of Portland.
4.3 Chief Procurement Officer means the individual in charge of the Procurement Services Division of the Bureau of Internal Business Services, or that person to whom those duties have been properly delegated.
4.4 Commercially Useful Function as it relates to business firms means being responsible for the execution of a distinct element of the work of the contract:
Carries out its obligation by actually performing, managing or supervising the work involved
Performs work that is normal for its business, services and function
Is not subcontracting a portion of the work that is greater than that expected to be subcontracted by normal industry practices
4.5 Contract means a sale or other disposal, or a purchase, lease, rental or other acquisition, by the City of personal property, services, including personal services, Public Improvements, public works, minor alterations, or ordinary repair or maintenance necessary to preserve a Public Improvement, but does not include "grants"; the written agreement resulting from the solicitation document that sets forth the rights and obligations of the parties.
4.6 Contractor (Contractor or Prime Contractor) means any person or entity, in whatever legal form, that enters into a Contract with the City of Portland.
4.7 Emerging Small Business (ESB) means for purposes of this Administrative Rule, only those firms certified as an ESB by the State Office of Minority, Women and Emerging Small Business (OMWESB). Current program participation is restricted to Oregon-based firms as follows:
Tier 1 - with 19 or fewer employees, with average annual gross receipts over the last three years not exceeding $1,699,953 for construction firms and $679,981 for non-construction-related firms
Tier 2 - with 19 or fewer employees, with average annual gross receipts over the last three years not exceeding $3,399,907 for construction firms and $1,133,302 for non-construction-related firms
An ESB must be properly licensed, legally registered, and an independently owned Oregon firm.
4.8 Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) means the policies and procedures of the organization to ensure non-discrimination for all employees, especially women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. All contract provisions require non-discrimination in employment by contractors and sub-contractors.
4.9 Minority Owned Business means for purposes of this document, only those firms certified as a minority owned business by the State Office of Minority, Women and Emerging Small Business (OMWESB). A minority is defined to include African American, Hispanic American, Native American, Asian Pacific American, and Asian Indian American. The minority representative must own at least 51% of the firm and must have control of the management and daily operations of the firm. The firm must not be inextricably associated with a non-minority owned firm.
4.10 Portland City Code (PCC) means the Code of the City of Portland, Oregon as promulgated by the Portland City Council.
4.11 Prime Contractor Development Program Manual means the manual for the Program participants that is established to provide parameters around which the Program is operated. The Manual may be updated on a periodic basis
4.12 Tier means the programmatic level within the overall Prime Contractor Development Program which is based on estimated project value. There are four designated tiers with progressively increasing project value ranges.
4.13 Value Engineering means the identification of alternative methods, materials or systems which provide for comparable function at reduced initial or life-time cost. It includes proposed changes to the plans, specifications, or other Contract requirements which may be made, consistent with industry practice, under the original Contract by mutual agreement in order to take advantage of potential cost savings without impairing the essential functions or characteristics of the public improvement. Cost savings include those resulting from life-cycle costing, which may either increase or decrease absolute costs over varying time periods.
4.14 Women Owned Business means for purposes of this Administrative Rule, only those firms certified as women-owned businesses by the State Office of Minority, Women and Emerging Small Business (OMWESB). The woman representative must own at least 51% of the firm and must have control of the management and daily operations of the firm. The firm must not be inextricably associated with a non-woman owned firm.
5.1 The goal of the Prime Contractor Development Program is to grow the number of Minority and Women prime contractors within the City's public works and capital improvement projects. In working toward such a goal, the City has two specific objectives: (1) develop an orderly and efficient method for awarding the work; and (2) provide educational, training and mentoring opportunities for the program participants.
The City shall establish a Prime Contractor Development Program in the area of public improvements by:
5.1.1 Establishing a program for those projects from $5,000 to $1,000,000 that creates access to contracting opportunities for certified firms;
5.1.2 Setting in place a business development course for program participants to enhance their business and contracting skills;
5.1.3 Establishing a mechanism to track the success of program participants over time;
5.1.4 Working with interested parties to set performance goals for MBE/WBE participation; and
5.1.5 Establishing metrics for program performance and report results back to Council.
5.2 Only Contractors who are licensed as General Contractors and are interested in prime contracting opportunities may apply for admittance into the City's Prime Contractor Development Program. Prime Contractors will be selected to work in one of the following construction areas:
5.2.1 Sewer utility,
5.2.2 Water utility,
5.2.3 Street improvements and
5.2.4 Building alteration/construction.
5.3 Procurement Services shall determine, with the help of an Advisory Committee, which Prime Contractor Applicants meet the requirements of the Program. Procurement Services and the Advisory Committee members will also determine in which Tier each Prime Contractor applicant should commence their work in the Program.
5.4 The Chief Procurement Officer shall work with City bureaus to determine whether City construction projects will meet the requirements of the Prime Contractor Development Program. The determination of the Chief Procurement Officer will be final.
5.5 These rules and procedures apply to projects within the construction areas identified within this Section.
6 APPLICATION
6.1 The Chief Procurement Officer will work with bureau personnel to assure their involvement in and compliance with the Prime Contractor Development Program. The Program is designed to enable the Prime Contractor to learn and thereby expand its experience and bonding levels; in doing so, the Prime Contractor will step up to the next Tier.
6.2 All projects estimated within Tiers 1 and 2 will be solicited to contractors within the PCDP, unless exempted by the Chief Procurement Officer.
6.3 Procurement Services will work with bureau personnel to identify projects which may work best for the PCDP for Tiers 3 and 4. On an annual basis a construction project schedule will be developed for each bureau to ensure appropriate outreach and contractor availability for projects within these Tiers.
6.4 For those projects not identified in the construction project schedule that fall within Tiers 3 and 4, Procurement Services will make a determination regarding the applicability of the inclusion of the project in the PCDP.
7 BUREAU RESPONSBILITY
7.1 It is expected that bureau project personnel will work with and support contractors within the PCDP to assist their success in the City's public improvement projects.
7.2 Bureau project personnel expecting to work with contractors within the PCDP shall be required to attend classes in the Project Manager Training Program in order to provide mentoring and support within the Program.
7.3 Project estimating will not be used for the purpose of evading the requirements of these provisions by intentionally increasing or reducing the project estimates as a way to avoid inclusion into the Prime Contractor Development Program.
7.4 Should the low bid pricing be within 25% of the project cost estimate, bureaus will be required to work with the low bidder to value engineer the contract in an attempt to bring the project within the City's acceptable cost, in accordance with the City Code, rather than re-issuing the bid to the PCDP or open market.
7.5 Throughout the course of the project, it shall be the bureau's responsibility to assure twice- monthly payments are processed and sent to the participant in the PCDP in accordance with the City Code and Contract Specifications. Late payments must be brought to the PCDP Coordinator's attention.
7.6 Bureau project personnel should monitor and report Contractors not performing a Commercially Useful Function on the project site, in order to assure the City that the prime contractor is providing a commercially useful function in accordance with the PCDP Manual and their acceptance into the Program.
7.7 Should bureau project personnel have difficulty with a Contractor under the PCDP, it shall be their responsibility to contact the PCDP Coordinator. Such issues may include but not be limited to: project completion, project sequencing, change order completion and updating, payment disagreements, subcontractor payments, default, etc. Procurement Services will work to help facilitate any such issues.
7.8 Project personnel should invite the PCDP Program Coordinator to all project meetings. The Program Coordinator will make every attempt to attend as to assist with facilitating discussion between City staff and contractors. Any pertinent issues should be brought to the Program Coordinators attention in advance of the meeting.
7.9 Bureau project personnel will be required to complete a post project evaluation and if there were issues with the project, Procurement Services will facilitate a debrief meeting with the bureau and Contractor. Documentation will be retained in the Procurement Services files.
8 WAIVERS AND NON-APPLICABILITY
8.1 City Bureaus responsible for construction projects that fall within the PCDP may submit to the Chief Procurement Officer a request to waive the requirements of these rules. Any waiver must be submitted prior to transmitting the specifications to Procurement Services and be approved by the Chief Procurement Officer. It is the bureau's responsibility to establish to the satisfaction of the Chief Procurement Officer the reasons for seeking such a waiver. A waiver may be permitted in the following situations:
8.1.1 Emergency: When the award of a Contract is necessary in order to respond to an emergency PCDP Contractors shall be the first source selection. If none of the Contractors are able to supply the manpower or has the experience needed to fulfill the emergency requirement, the initiating Bureau must submit a request for a waiver to the Chief Procurement Officer to source from outside the PCDP;
8.1.2 Absence of Available Contractors: Whenever it can be established to the satisfaction of the Chief Procurement Officer that no qualified Contractors are capable of providing the unique services that would respond to the Bureau's requirements, a waiver under this provision may be granted; or
8.1.3 Unique Circumstances: Whenever unique circumstances exist and application of these rules would result in extreme hardship to the City.
8.2 Requests for Waivers: Bureaus seeking a waiver shall submit the request in writing with sufficient justification to the Chief Procurement Officer, signed by the Director of the Bureau detailing the reasons for the request.
8.2.1 Criteria: The written justification requesting a waiver must provide the following minimum information:
8.2.1.1 The estimated dollar amount of the Project and the scope of work;
8.2.1.2 An explanation of the constraints requiring a waiver of these requirements;
8.3 Decisions by the Chief Procurement Officer to approve or deny waivers are final, subject to those limits expressed above. Any waiver that is granted is project specific and cannot be used as justification for future projects.
9 PCDP WORKGROUP
9.1 Bureau's may be asked to participate in an ad hoc workgroup to provide input and feedback on the PCDP.
10 LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY
10.1 Nothing in these provisions shall limit the right of the City Council to waive the requirements of these rules and procedures.
Adopted by Chief Procurement Officer on February 6, 2013.
Filed for inclusion in PPD February 6, 2013.
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Welcome To The South African Medico-Legal Association
20 years ago, Dr/Adv Anton van den Bout, who is both an orthopaedic surgeon and an advocate, realised the need for like-minded individuals who work in the medico-legal space to get together to learn from one another and to communicate and this is why he started what was then known as the 'South African Medico-Legal Society'. The core business of SAMLA through the years has been to sustain this vision through regular meetings and through seminars, workshops, and courses.
Leadership and influence: Not only does SAMLA provide educational opportunities, but SAMLA provides a space in which those who have tremendous knowledge and experience can come together to communicate, to learn even more, and to influence the field of practice through their guidance, mentorship, and leadership. Furthermore, SAMLA has a determined transformation imperative and participation in SAMLA and its activities offers opportunities for these imperatives to be realised
Networking:SAMLA offers a space in which like-minded individuals who work in the medico-legal world have opportunities to get together and network, to share ideas, and to communicate.
Advocacy: SAMLA is not an advocacy group and does not advocate for plaintiffs or defendants and has no intention ever of being a "trade union". SAMLA is neutral. SAMLA has, however become involved when the greater good of the public has been of concern.
Continuous professional development: For the past 20 years, the provincial branches of SAMLA have presented seminars, workshops, courses, and other educational offerings to its members on a wide range of topics that concern legal and healthcare practice in the medico-legal sphere.
Work opportunities: SAMLA does not advertise on behalf of any of its members and does not recommend members. However, the names of Members appear on the SAMLA website and Members have the choice to make their information more visible and therefore anyone looking to instruct attorneys, advocates or experts can do so easily.
Acknowledgement of experience and competency: The register of medico-legal practitioners as well as the register of medico-legal mediators offer members of SAMLA acknowledgement of their experience and competency and offer the opportunity for others to recognise this. In so doing, SAMLA encourages on-going learning as a means to improve the standard of service delivery in the medico-legal practivce.
Topic-specific inteerest groups:SAMLA has two active interest groups: Quantification Interest Group, and the Case Management/Trusts Interest Group. All members of SAMLA are welcome to join these groups.
SAMLA Projects: SAMLA has had the benefit of some of its members being visionary and innovative. One of the most recent projects has been the development of the mediation pilot projects with the Road Accident Fund and with the State dealing with medical negligence cases. SAMLA envisioned the importance of mediation and alternative dispute resolution in the medico-legal sphere in anticipation of rule 41A as well as the encouragement of mediation by the magistrate's courts, but also as a means to resolving the medico-legal crisis. Involvement in such projects allows medico-legal practitioners to develop and hone their skills. The project has resulted in SAMLA's development of guidelines for medico-legal mediation which are constantly being revised. Data from the pilot projects will be analysed for further professional development.
Ethical practice: SAMLA has developed a unique code of conduct for people working in the medico-legal world. On-going mentoring and continuous professional development activities assist with promoting ethical practice based on Constitutional values.
Mentoring: Through association and communication with other Members, our Members have the opportunity to be mentored and to mentor. This interaction is immensely valuable, and is encouraged by the Board.
Information: SAMLA posts articles, papers and judgements of interest on its website. Many of the articles and judgements that have been cited on the SAMLA courses have been uploaded.
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News and Training
SAMLA Projects
News from SAMLA and announcements
SAMLA membership elected a new Board at the AGM on 27 November 2021. Congratulations to all the new members of the Board. The Board information will be replaced on the website in January 2021. Prof Ethelwynn Stelleberg was elected as the National Chairperson, with Adv Johanni Barnardt and Dr Sharon Munyaka as the deputy Chairpersons (legal and health respectively).
Congratulations to the newly elected chairpersons of the SAMLA provincial branches:
Mr Renier Jacobs: Chairperson of the Western Cape Branch
Ms Gugu Gopfert: Chairperson of the Kwa-Zulu Natal Branch
Ms Stacey Aires: Chairperson of the Gauteng Branch
Mr Thabiso Rapapali: Chairperson of the Free State Branch
Ms Desiree David: Chairperson of the Eastern Cape Branch.
SAMLA is pleased to annonce that Mrs Leigh de Souza-Spagnoletti is the new convenor of the SAMLA RAF Committee. She has taken over from Dr Hans Enslin who ran this group for many years.
SAMLA's Education and Training
As of the end of the final Workshop in 2021, SAMLA's National Courses are longer be available.The Board made the decision that unfortunately, the Foundations Course and the Workshops are no longer viable. The Foundations Course was developed in 2017 and presented live in 2018 and online after that. By now, there have been enormous changes in the science and law of medico-legal practice. SAMLA cannot continue to provide lectures that are increasingly outdated. To update and re-create the Foundations Course is not possible at this stage - remembering that everything that is done by SAMLA is done by its Board and committee members on a voluntary basis. It is too expensive and too big a project for SAMLA as a small organisation to maintain.
However, and this is a big 'however', SAMLA's Education and Training Committee is actively re-designing SAMLA's seminars and workshops so that we will be able to provide on-going lectures, seminars and case discussions, as well as mock trials. We aim to provide education and training in foundational aspects and also aim to provide more advanced education for the more experienced Members. We will post a calendar of events early in 2022.
GAUTENG Branch of SAMLA holds monthly "Fireside Chats", which involve case discussions, panel discussion and are CPD accredited. Please go to the regional seminars page to book.
SAMLA has important Interest Groups that hold regular sessions including discussions and talks on (i) Fund management and (ii) Quantifications. Please e mail us at info@samla.org.za and we'll put you in touch with the relevant convenor.
Mrs Leigh de Souza-Spagnoletti has taken over from Dr Hans Enslin the steering wheel to drive the SAMLA RAF Committee
Professionalisation and registration as a medico-legal practitioner
All Members of SAMLA who are registered with a professional regulatory body are invited to apply to appear on SAMLA's Register of Medico-Legal Practitioners.
Note that one cannot simply register as a medico-legal practitioner. You may register as a Member but to be a SAMLA-recognised Medico-Legal Practitioner, you need to apply for accreditation first.
A Medico-Legal Practitioner is an individual who works in the medico-legal space, who is in good standing with his or her primary professional regulatory body and who has volunteered him/herself to peer review, and who has committed him/herself to SAMLA's unique code of conduct in medico-legal practice. For more details, you can read our MOI in which these details are specified.
To appear on the SAMLA Register of Medico-Legal Practitioners, one submits one's credentials to SAMLA's Credentialling Committee which comprises senior members of the legal and healthcare professions who have extensive experience in medico-legal practice. If the applicant's credentials satisfy the requirements specified, then that applicant may register as a Medico-Legal Practitioner. All Members of SAMLA who appear on the register of Medico-Legal Practitioners commit themselves to SAMLA's code of professional conduct.
The proposed tiers of registration as Medico-Legal Practitioners have been circulated to the broader membership for consideration, but not yet been established. We envision three tiers - an entry level, a senior level and an advanced level, to reflect experience and seniority, and to promote a development trajectory.
What is really important is that SAMLA is not, and does not intend ever to be a regulatory body. We do not, in any way, see our role as supervisory. The registers are simply lists of persons in the medico-legal field who voluntarily show that they have pursued learning in this field, demonstrate competency, are willing to demonstrate on-going learning in the medico-legal sphere by earning specific points in medico-legal CPD annually, and are willing to commit themselves to a code of conduct.
Latest news View All
Tribute to Judge Neels Claassen by Judge Sutherland
Judge R Sutherland pays tribute to Judge Claassen.
SAMLA Review, Issue 4
SAMLA statement re vaccinations
Signed statement about SAMLA being a neutral organization with reference to the vaccinations
The SAMLA is an independent, neutral, educational and transparent organisation not for profit, funded by membership contributions, donations and funds generated through seminars.
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text:
A Nitzer Ebb angol indusztriális zene/elektronikus zenei/indusztriális rock együttes. 1982-ben alakultak Essexben. 1995-ben feloszlottak, de 2006-ban újraalakultak. Bon Harris szerint a zenekar neve nem jelent semmit.

Tagok

Bon Harris - programozás, szintetizátor, dob, ének, basszusgitár (1982-)
Douglas Mccarthy - ének, gitár (1982-)
Jason Payne - dob, ütős hangszerek (1992-1995, 2007-)

Korábbi tagok

David Gooday - ének, dob, ütős hangszerek (1982-1987)
Duc Nhan Nguyen - dob, ütős hangszerek (1987-1988)
Julian Beeston - dob, ütős hangszerek (1988-1992)

Diszkográfia

Basic Pain Procedure (1983)
That Total Age (1987)
So Bright So Strong (1988)
Belief (1989)
The Machineries of Joy (EP, 1989)
Showtime (1990)
As Is (EP, 1991)
Ebbhead (1991)
Big Hit (1995)
Body of Work (2006)
Body Rework (2006)
Industrial Complex (2010)
In Order (2010)
Join in the Rhythm of Machines (EP, 2011)

Források

 - Discogs-adatlap
 - Allmusic-adatlap
An Interview with Nitzer Ebb

1982-ben alakult együttesek
Brit könnyűzenei együttesek