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University seeks to get students, alumni and academic researchers evacuated from Afghanistan
Erasmus University has requested the evacuation of students, alumni and academic researchers affiliated with the university from Afghanistan.
Image credit: CPL Sam Shepherd
Students, alumni and academic researchers are stuck in Afghanistan or in the border zone. A group of academics is trying to get them evacuated, with help from the university's HR department and Executive Board.
Tim Ficheroux
13-09-2021 3 minute read
Erasmus University has requested that five people and their close kin and the employees of an organisation be evacuated from Afghanistan. They are students, alumni and members of an organisation that has helped EUR-affiliated academics conduct research in the country for years and that also employs several former EUR students.
Marieke van Houte, an academic researcher affiliated with ESSB, is in touch with the persons concerned, through an intermediary situated outside Afghanistan for safety reasons. In association with a team of other academics who have conducted research in the country, lecturers, HR officers and communications officers, she is trying to get the persons involved to the Netherlands. "The people we're talking to are increasingly concerned. They are genuinely panicking," says Van Houte. "I'm afraid to promise them that things will be OK, because I'm not sure we'll get the ministry to ensure that these people are evacuated."
Van Houte says that the request for evacuation has arrived in the embassy's inbox. "But by now they have received over 21,000 such emails. We haven't heard yet whether these people have actually been put on a list of persons to be evacuated."
"It's absolutely vital that these people get some clear answers soon and that they are added to the evacuation list," emphasises EUR spokesperson Rateb Abawi. "The problem has not yet been solved, which is worrisome. These people are in a vulnerable position, partly because of the work they've done for Erasmus University."
Research in Afghanistan
Van Houte has been to Afghanistan several times herself, most recently in 2012. At the time she was conducting research on refugees who had returned to their home country, and on the differences between those who returned of their own accord and those who were forced to do so. In Afghanistan she was allowed to use Cordaid's office and infrastructure, and she also received help from the organisation, whose members she now hopes to have evacuated. The organisation helped her conduct her research.
Furthermore, Van Houte says, all the students, alumni and employees of the organisation were involved in studies on human rights or were active in international development programmes in Afghanistan. "Those are not exactly subjects that are in line with the Taliban's ideology. So we are concerned about their safety."
'I feel powerless, my family is constantly living in fear'
Three EUR students talk about their bond with Afghanistan and their concerns for the…
Call on Cabinet to help
Last week, Van Houte, in association with ISS-affiliated academics Rodrigo Mena, Zeynep Kasli, Thea Hilhorst and Helen Hintjens, called in de Volkskrant on the Cabinet to add people who work or used to work for Dutch knowledge institutions to the list of persons to be evacuated. "It is because of us that these people find themselves in this situation. Our research projects are impossible without them, so in our capacity as a knowledge institution, we are responsible for their safety."
Van Houte brings up the recently adopted motion originally tabled by D66 MP Salima Belhaj, who asked that everyone who has helped the Dutch government, development aid organisations, human rights organisations and journalists in Afghanistan be evacuated as soon as possible. Outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigrid Kaag promised to stay true to that motion 'in letter and spirit', due to our 'moral obligation to everyone who has helped the Netherlands, put themselves on the line or is in immediate danger because they took a stand'. "That includes students and staff of knowledge institutions," says Van Houte.
As far as EM knows, Erasmus University is the only Dutch university to have submitted such a request. "It's good to see that our initiative is supported by all layers and various departments of the university," Van Houte says in closing. "But we need the ministry to stop talking about the sense of responsibility we're experiencing and actually act on it."
#Afghanistan #evacuation


This building, located at 140 S. Saginaw Street in Pontiac, is set to undergo a $16 million transformation that will turn a blighted property into a state-of-the-art, mixed-used office space.
A blighted property in downtown Pontiac will soon be cleaned up and redeveloped into a state-of-the-art facility.
The building, located at 140 S. Saginaw, is a long-vacant, seven-story structure that's being planned for rehabilitation by 140 South Saginaw Partners, LLC. The developer is seeking to transform the property into a mixed-use office development at a cost of $16 million.
Before construction can begin on the re-development project, the property, and building itself, must be environmentally remediated. It's been deemed "functionally obsolete" and "blighted" by the Oakland County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority in accordance with state law.
On Thursday, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners are hosting a public hearing at 7 p.m. and are expected to approve the brownfield plan, which outlines how the developer plans to environmentally clean up the property. The plan was prepared by Bloomfield Hills-based Associated Environmental Services LLC. on behalf of the developer.
Pontiac City Council gave the brownfield plan its stamp of approval on Feb. 5. The Oakland County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority has also reviewed and approved the plan.
The site has undergone multiple assessments to address the environmental and structural conditions of the property, according to the authority.
During his State of the County address in February, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said every remaining blighted home in Pontiac would be demolished or rehabilitated by the end of the year.
As part of the brownfield plan, the developer will be reimbursed, through local and state school property tax revenue, for all eligible remediation costs, which total $3,064,600.
The county will reimburse the developer over an 18-year period with tax capture revenues estimated at $4.25 million over that time period. A tax capture is a portion of a property's tax revenue that is collected to support redevelopment of that property.
According to the Oakland County Equalization Office, the redevelopment project will result in an increase to the property's existing assessed and taxable values.
The total investment, including all renovation and remediation costs, is estimated at $16 million. Construction and site development costs make up about $12.98 million of that total.
When it comes to local job creation, the developer estimates that around 400 permanent, full-time jobs will be created as a result of the redevelopment project with an average salary of $62,400.
It also estimates that around 90 construction jobs, to last 15 months, will be created with an average salary of $114,400.


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A Pope Rejects Maccabees
January 31, 2011 at 3:44 pm (Bible)
That's right. You read correctly. A pope once rejected the book of Maccabees. That pope was Gregory the Great. In his commentary on Job, Book 19, chapter 34, he says that it is not irregular to quote for the church's edification the books of the Apocrypha, as long as it is understood that they are not canonical. He then immediately retells the story from 1 Macc. 6:42-47 concerning the death of Eleazar Savaran, who killed an elephant, though being killed in the process. Gregory's exact words are these: "De qua re non inordinate agimus, si ex libris, licet non canonicis, tamen ad aedificationem ecclesiae editis, testimonium proferamus" (emphasis added). The translation already linked renders it: "With reference to which particular we are not acting irregularly, if from the books, though not Canonical, yet brought out for the edifying of the Church, we bring forward testimony." What immediately follows is from Maccabees. So, if Trent is correct in anathematizing all who reject the Apocrypha, then they have retroactively anathematized one of their own popes: Gregory the Great. Here is one case, at least, where the Protestant can say "I follow the Pope," and the Roman Catholic cannot.
A Useful "Tree-roots" Apologetic Tool
January 27, 2011 at 6:53 pm (Apologetics)
(Posted by Paige Britton)
I want to sketch for you a favorite apologetics tool that I've found helpful both for assessing what others think and for communicating the Christian view of reality. I wish I could literally sketch it here, actually, because it results in a visual map that looks like a tree, all decked out with seven questions, each at a different level. You'll have to draw it for yourself in the air, or on the back of a handy phone bill or something, to get the idea. (I'll give artistic directions below.)
This "Worldview Tree" is original to Mark Potter, a WTS (Philly) grad in apologetics and the mind behind GreenTree Campus Ministries, an east-coast-based grass-roots apologetics outreach to college students. Mark invented his Tree a long time ago as a student in a philosophy class, in a bid to try to communicate to a professor the roots-to-fruit idea of consistent worldview systems. Now he draws it on a lot of dining center napkins to get conversations going.
So, draw yourself a tree somewhere, about as fancy as the ones you drew when you were a kid (and probably still draw if you're anything like me). Make sure it's got roots and a horizontal line wherever the trunk comes up out of the ground. Okay? Now, start just below the roots and label as you go up, as follows. (Each level will have a five-dollar theological word and a related question. Answering the questions will result in a pretty comprehensive graphic summary of a given worldview. Update: You'll find one example of this in the comments below.)
(ROOT TIPS) Ontology: What is Ultimate Being?
(ROOTS) Metaphysics: What is the nature of ultimate reality? (Or, What's really going on in the universe?)
(SURFACE LINE) Epistemology: How do we know things?
(TRUNK) Anthropology: What is a human being?
(FIRST BRANCHING) Teleology: What is the goal or purpose ? (This can be construed either as an ultimate – "What is the purpose of everything?" – or as a specific that leads to an ultimate – e.g., "What is the purpose of wealth?")
(MAIN BRANCHY AREA) Axiology: What is right and wrong / good and bad?
(LEAVES OR FRUIT) Therapy: How do we get better? (Again, this could be construed ultimately or regarding a specific concern.)
Of course the value of the Worldview Tree as a tree is that it readily conveys the idea of parts of a system leading to / stemming from other parts, as well as the basic concept that a consistent worldview is organically connected from roots (well, in this case ground!) ("ontology") to fruit ("therapy"). Not that people usually operate with a coherently articulated worldview, let alone a consistent one! So when Mark sits down with college students over lunch and pulls out a ballpoint and draws his Tree, it may be the first time that those students have ever been challenged to sketch their own view of reality or evaluate whether the fruit at the top of their tree really belongs to their tree after all (or was it maybe stolen from another tree and duct-taped onto their branches?). (Mark doesn't necessarily always start with the ground or the roots in these conversations, by the way; he is just as likely to start near the top of the tree and work backwards to fill it out.)
I like to use the Tree when teaching believers, too: It's a handy way to lay out the biblical worldview in a class on Christian doctrine, for example, and useful when it comes to comparing different theological systems, biblical or otherwise. I also use it to teach people to evaluate the things they read or hear, by starting with the clues they are given by a speaker or author and then filling out the (implicit) rest of his or her assumptions about the world. (One exercise begins with the childhood rhyme, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight" and builds a whole tree from "therapy" [things get better when you make a wish] down to "ontology" [a benevolent but impersonal universe]!)
Probably the best way to realize how useful the Worldview Tree might be for apologetics (or teaching) is to try it out as a graphic organizer for a couple systems of thought and compare the resultant dendriforms. So take it for a spin, and tell me what you think. Could this come in handy in teaching or conversation sometime?
I'm going to return to this Worldview Tree in another post sometime to see how readers perceive the differences between similar-sounding theologies, asking the question, "At what points do the 'trees' differ?" For now, I'd love to hear your feedback on Mark's idea more generally.
New "Warrior Children" Thread
January 26, 2011 at 12:33 pm (Uncategorized)
This thread now open to accommodate the overflow from "The Resurrection of Machen's Warrior Children," which has reached flood stage and is getting hard to navigate (not to say hazardous!). The conversation is mainly about Two Kingdoms issues now. Have at it (but please leave all firearms at the door).
Funding Plan Defeated
January 22, 2011 at 4:00 pm (Church, Discipline)
The Funding Plan that was approved last year at General Assembly was defeated in the Presbytery voting. You can see the results of today's voting here. I would hasten to add that votes in other Presbyteries still mean something, even if they will not play a part in swinging the tide. They send a further message to our denomination about how we wish to proceed. I believe in funding the AC. They do their job, and most things they do fairly well. They have some pretty essential functions within the PCA. There are other options out there for funding, some of which I hope will be discussed next GA.
Siouxlands Presbytery's Report on the Internet and on the Nature of Presbytery Information
January 21, 2011 at 11:22 am (Church, Internet)
Report of the Committee To Formulate Policy on Use of Presbytery Information
Statement from the Committee on Public Use of Presbytery Information
The committee urges the Presbytery to adopt the following policy: Members of and delegates to the Presbytery of the Siouxlands are charged with carefully understanding the biblical mandates found in the full text of Larger Catechism 144 and 145 to honor and protect one another's reputation while in pursuit of truth and debating matters that come before the Presbytery. This mandate applies to both public and private communications:
Q. 144. What are the duties required in the ninth commandment? A. The duties required in the ninth commandment are, the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbor, as well as our own; appearing and standing for the truth; and from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully, speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, and in all other things whatsoever; a charitable esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for, and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, defending their innocency; a ready receiving of a good report, and unwillingness to admit of an evil report, concerning them; discouraging talebearers, flatterers, and slanderers; love and care of our own good name, and defending it when need requireth; keeping of lawful promises; studying and practicing of whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report. Q. 145. What are the sins forbidden in the ninth commandment? A. The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are, all prejudicing the truth, and the good name of our neighbors, as well as our own, especially in public judicature; giving false evidence, suborning false witnesses, wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause, outfacing and overbearing the truth; passing unjust sentence, calling evil good, and good evil; rewarding the wicked according to the work of the righteous, and the righteous according to the work of the wicked; forgery, concealing the truth, undue silence in a just cause, and holding our peace when iniquity calleth for either a reproof from ourselves, or complaint to others; speaking the truth unseasonably, or maliciously to a wrong end, or perverting it to a wrong meaning, or in doubtful and equivocal expressions, to the prejudice of truth or justice; speaking untruth, lying, slandering, backbiting, detracting, talebearing, whispering, scoffing, reviling, rash, harsh, and partial censuring; misconstructing intentions, words, and actions; flattering, vainglorious boasting; thinking or speaking too highly or too meanly of ourselves or others; denying the gifts and graces of God; aggravating smaller faults; hiding, excusing, or extenuating of sins, when called to a free confession; unnecessary discovering of infirmities; raising false rumors, receiving and countenancing evil reports, and stopping our ears against just defense; evil suspicion; envying or grieving at the deserved credit of any, endeavoring or desiring to impair it, rejoicing in their disgrace and infamy; scornful contempt, fond admiration; breach of lawful promises; neglecting such things as are of good report, and practicing, or not avoiding ourselves, or not hindering what we can in others, such things as procure an ill name.
Public forums on the internet are particularly prone to violating these biblical mandates because of their relatively impersonal nature. Things a person would not say face to face are more easily said in an internet posting. Hosts of such forums are responsible for all content, including comments and links posted to their forum. This responsibility consists of the timely removal of materials which violate the spirit of WLC 144-145. Presbyters should also refrain from providing source material to others that would violate these mandates.
Suggested Guidelines for Internet Activity
1. Never say anything about anyone else that you wouldn't be comfortable saying to them in person. This simple rule would probably eliminate 90% of internet fracases.
2. Consider that the entire world can read what you wrote.
3. Consider that no one can review beforehand what you write on a blog. This is not therefore peer-reviewed scholarship. It might become peer-reviewed after-wards, but it isn't beforehand.
4. Ask yourself this question: does this post guard and protect my internet neighbor's good name? The internet has a huge potential for good or harm, more so than almost any other media except television, and it's giving TV a run for its money. Everything is simply out there.
5. Have I thought through the implications of what will happen after I hit the "post" button? Imagine the reaction of the person it most highly affects. Try to see the issue from the other person's shoes.
6. Have I loved this person through what I am saying to that person?
7. Never write a post in anger. If you are angry with something that someone else has written, do not reply until you can write with a cool head. Otherwise, you will almost certainly overstate the case, thus polarizing the other person into a defensive mode.
8. Will what I'm going to say actually help other people, or am I just setting myself up to be a great professor of knowledge, or man-pleaser, or know-it-all?
9. The blogs from our presbytery should not be the place where presbyters are ridiculed, called names, or defamed in their reputation. The blogs from our presbytery should showcase the Gospel.
10. Blogs are not wisely used to short-circuit the judicial process, even though Presbytery actions are public, as are official Presbytery documents. Actions of the Presbytery are not above critique, however, any more than actions of General Assembly are above critique. If critique is necessary, it should not be derisively done, but can be done with measured and factual tone. Presbytery is a body worthy of respect, however imperfect may be its performance in its duties.
Constitutional Principles Governing Church Courts
Principle #1: There are three courts of the church. These courts are the session, the presbytery, and the general assembly. These courts are of the same nature and function and have the same sorts of rights and powers. They differ only as the constitution explicitly provides. BCO 10-2 says: "These courts are church Sessions, Presbyteries, and the General Assembly." And BCO 11-3 says: "All Church courts are one in nature, constituted of the same elements, possessed inherently of the same kinds of rights and powers, and differing only as the Constitution may provide." Therefore, the regular procedures of the operation are consistent among the differing courts of the church, except in the places that the constitution specifically stipulates a difference. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America is a public event. It is webcast for the whole world to observe on the internet. Guests may attend. Arguments and actions presented on the floor of the Assembly can and are debated and discussed in all sorts of forums, both by those present as presbyters, and by observers. There is no provision in the constitution to conduct a presbytery meeting or a session meeting any differently than the General Assembly conducts its business. Presbyteries and session meetings are normally to be conducted as public events. Statements made, arguments made, and actions taken may be debated and discussed in all sorts of forums, both by those present and by more remote observers.
Principle #2: Every Christian is bound to obey the Word of God. In addition, officers in the Presbyterian Church in America agree subscribe to and adhere to the explication of the scriptures we call the Westminster Standards. These standards are subordinate to the Word of God, and presbyters have the right to have certain differences with the Standards. But they must make these differences known to the presbytery and the presbytery must rule as to whether these differences are permissible. Beyond the Scriptures and these Standards, we do not allow the conscience to be bound by the commandments or judgments of men in matters of conscience. BCO Preliminary Principle 1 states: "God alone is Lord of the conscience and has left it free from any doctrines or commandments of men (a) which are in any respect contrary to the Word of God, or (b) which, in regard to matters of faith and worship, are not governed by the Word of God. Therefore, the rights of private judgment in all matters that respect religion are universal and inalienable." And Preliminary Principle 3 states: "No church judicatory may make laws to bind the conscience."
Principle #3: It is recognized that sometimes a court must deal with sensitive information. In order to facilitate this, there is a mechanism in place known as executive session. A court may enter executive session at its own discretion by majority vote. The proceedings of the court while it is in executive session are to be considered confidential and may not be discussed with any person who is not a member of the court. However, minutes of the proceedings and discussion of an executive session must be kept and submitted to the court above for proper review. RAO 16-3.e.6 states: "Minutes of executive sessions are not exempt from the general requirement that presbytery's actions shall be recorded in the presbytery's minutes and that these minutes (even if kept in a separate section on executive sessions) shall be submitted to the General Assembly for review (BCO 13-11; 14-6.c; 40-1). Presbytery may ask that the Committee on Review of Presbytery Records deal with these minutes confidentially. However, any exceptions to these minutes must be submitted to the General Assembly through the normal procedures." In addition, Roberts Rules stipulates that any actions taken in executive session must be spread upon the regular minutes of the body. As such, they become the public acts of a court of the church.
Principle #4: A court of the church may not prohibit a member of the court from discussing the public business of the court. According to the Stated Clerk, to do so would be an attempt to bind the conscience contrary to the Word of God. Any court attempting to do so would be liable to correction from the next higher court through the judicial process.
Principle #5: Because the higher court has the right and duty of exercising oversight over a lower court, the proceedings of a lower court are to be recorded and submitted for review. The BCO recognizes that the minutes may not accurately reflect the proceedings of a court, or that they may not be sufficiently clear in their language to facilitate proper review and oversight. Therefore BCO 40-4 states:
Courts may sometimes entirely neglect to perform their duty, by which neglect heretical opinions or corrupt practices may be allowed to gain ground; or offenders of a very gross character may be suffered to escape; or some circumstances in their proceedings of very great irregularity may not be distinctly recorded by them. In any of these cases their records will by no means exhibit to the higher court a full view of their proceedings. If, therefore, the next higher court be well advised that any such neglect or irregularity has occurred on the part of the lower court, it is incumbent on it to take cognizance of the same, and to examine, deliberate and judge in the whole matter as completely as if it had been recorded, and thus brought up by review of its records.
In order to address this concern, BCO 40-5 states:
When any court having appellate jurisdiction shall receive a credible report with respect to the court next below of any important delinquency or grossly unconstitutional proceedings of such court, the first step shall be to cite the court alleged to have offended to appear before the court having appellate jurisdiction, or its commission, by representative or in writing, at a specified time and place, and to show what the lower court has done or failed to do in the case in question. The court thus issuing the citation may reverse or redress the proceedings of the court below in other than judicial cases; or it may censure the delinquent court; or it may remit the whole matter to the delinquent court with an injunction to take it up and dispose of it in a constitutional manner; or it may stay all further proceedings in the case; as circumstances may require.
And BCO 34-1 says:
Process against a minister shall be entered before the Presbytery of which he is a member. However, if the Presbytery refuses to act in doctrinal cases or cases of public scandal and two other Presbyteries request the General Assembly to assume original jurisdiction (to first receive and initially hear and determine), the General Assembly shall do so.
Furthermore, BCO 10-4 states that it is the duty of the clerk, besides recording transactions, is to preserve the records carefully and to grant extracts from them whenever properly required. Morton Smith's commentary on the BCO states that the clerk is the officer of the court who may grant extracts of the minutes of the court whenever called upon to do so. The 19th General Assembly instructed its committees to promptly furnish their committee approved minutes to any member of the PCA who so requests them. These minutes are to be provided at the expense of the one requesting them. Any attempt by a court to withhold legitimate public information concerning the actions of a body will serve to short-circuit this constitutionally mandated activity. This will prove very injurious to the peace purity and unity of the Church.
Principle #6: The gathering of the Lord's people for the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments is a public event. This is called in our constitution "public worship." All of BCO 47 is a description of the elements of public worship, and specifically says that public worship differs from private worship in the following manner:
Public worship differs from private worship in that in public worship God is served by His saints unitedly as His covenant people, the Body of Christ. For this reason the covenant children should be present so far as possible as well as adults. (BCO 47-7)
Statements made in the context of public worship are public statements.
Principle #7: According to our constitution there are four subcategories of sin. BCO 29-2 through 4 reads:
29-2. Offenses are either personal or general, private or public; but all of them being sins against God, are therefore grounds of discipline.
29-3. Personal offenses are violations of the divine law, considered in the special relation of wrongs or injuries to particular individuals. General offenses are heresies or immoralities having no such relation, or considered apart from it.
29-4. Private offenses are those which are known only to a few persons. Public offenses are those which are notorious.
As a general principle public offenses merit public repentance, while private offenses merit private repentance unless there is a willful contumacy and lack of repentance in the face of rebuke. Then we are to "tell it to the church" even if the initial offense is a private offense. The Bible and the BCO both mandate that personal sins which are either public or private must be dealt with according to Matthew 18. Private offenses, because of their interpersonal nature, ought to be dealt with privately if at all possible. One may only involve other people after the first step (instruction in the Word of God) and the second step (privately going to an offender) have been completed. Not to do so is a sin. General offenses differ from personal offenses and are not in view in Matthew 18. General offenses, and especially general offenses of a public nature require public rebuke and correction so that the people of God may be appropriately warned concerning the offender and his or her actions. While it is not wrong, and may even be wise to go privately to one who has committed a general offense, the Bible does not mandate it.
Principle #8: The church's discipline derives its force, in part, from the "approbation of an impartial public. This can only happen if the proceedings of the church are made known to the public. Preliminary Principle #8 of the BCO reads as follows:
Since ecclesiastical discipline must be purely moral or spiritual in its object, and not attended with any civil effects, it can derive no force whatever, but from its own justice, the approbation of an impartial public, and the countenance and blessing of the great Head of the Church.
Principle #9: Defamation of another's character is a great sin against the Ninth Commandment and ought not to be tolerated in the church, especially by her officers. In view of the far ranging reach of the internet this duty is intensified. All officers are exhorted to give careful attention to their duties under the Ninth Commandment in all areas of their lives, but especially where it concerns their speech on the internet.
Definition of DEFAMATION: n. The uttering of slanderous words with a view to injure another's reputation; the malicious uttering of falsehood respecting another which tends to destroy or impair his good name, character, or occupation; slander; calumny. To constitute defamation in law, the words must be false and spoken maliciously. Defamatory words written and published are called libel (Websters, 1828).
While it is clear how false information about another would be damaging, strictly factual statements or direct quotes may also be presented in a prejudicial manner so as to damage one's reputation. The Larger Catechism Q 145 prohibits us from "speaking the truth unseasonably, or maliciously to a wrong end, or perverting it to a wrong meaning, or in doubtful or equivocal expressions, to the prejudice of the truth or justice;" this too must be studiously avoided by her officers.
Principle #10: The Church of Jesus Christ functions generally as a public entity. All meetings and records of its meetings are open to the public and to public scrutiny except where secrecy is absolutely necessary. When Paul made his defense before Festus and Agrippa he related the story of the founding of the church and insisted that Agrippa would have known about them because "these things were not done in a corner." (Acts 28:26.) The Apostle Paul specifically renounced "secret and shameful ways" (2 Cor 4:2). As mentioned above, church courts do not differ from one another except as specifically provided for in the BCO. The RAO instructs the Stated Clerk to publish and update the minutes of the General Assembly and the Statistical Reports. RAO 3-2-h reads as follows:
He shall be responsible for publishing the minutes and statistical reports of the Presbyterian Church in America and periodically updating the digest of the minutes. There is no provision in the constitution for presbyteries and sessions to keep minutes private except as provided for under the seal of executive session. The universal practice of Presbyterians has been that the attendance on, but not participation in, the various courts of the church is open to all who come (implicit in BCO 13-12.) It is unreasonable and illogical that the event may be attended by any who come and the event may be spoken about and reported upon by an eyewitness, but the official documents recording the event are privileged.
According to J.A. Hodge's What is Presbyterian Law? (Eighth Edition, revised and enlarged, 1905, pp 230-1), "…historically Presbyterians have held that in all circumstances, even those involving sensitive personal matters, The records of our church courts are public and not private documents." According to Frank Smith's History of the Presbyterian Church in America, p 491, (Silver Anniversary Edition) "So foreign is the making of church records private documents that even in the controversy which led to the founding of the PCA, the church courts of the PCUS never thought of restricting access to church records so as to impede the reporting of their actions by The Presbyterian Journal." Therefore the minutes of the presbytery ought to be considered public documents except as provided for in the executive session clauses of Roberts Rules of Order.
Princ1iple #11: The official record of the court is subject to correction. The primary means of correction is the orderly and regular review of the minutes at the next stated meeting of the court. It is also possible that presbytery minutes may be corrected long after they are approved. If portions of any unapproved minutes are published, the writer should make known that these minutes are as yet unapproved and subject to correction by the court. If approved minutes are later corrected by the court, and a person has published portions which are corrected, it is incumbent upon the one publishing to notify his (or her) readership that the cited minutes have been corrected.
Principle #12: A court or her members may engage in various kinds of communication, such as phone calls and email exchanges, especially between meetings of the court. Some of these, such as committee meetings over the phone or committee business conducted via email, may be included as part of the record of the court, and as such are public in nature. Some communications are of a more personal nature. These are not generally considered to be a part of the record of the court and may be of a more private nature. Participants need to be careful to understand which category their communications fall into. Participants also need to beware of using personal or quasi-personal communications in such a way as might be construed to be circularizing the court or attempting to influence it before it can begin its orderly deliberations. If a presbyter wishes to convey something to the whole presbytery, the regular way of doing so is to submit it to the Clerk who will then distribute it subject to the moderator's judgment. There may also be documents which circulate during a court meeting, such as prayer and praise reports. These documents generally ought not be considered or treated as part of the court's official record, and normally ought not to be published without the permission of the one making the report. Presbyters are also advised to think carefully about any information they do reveal in praise and prayer reports because the presbytery is a public venue.
Principle #13: It is the duty of church courts to condemn erroneous opinions. BCO 11-4 reads, in part, "Every court has the right to resolve questions of doctrine and discipline seriously and reasonably proposed, and in general to maintain truth and righteousness, condemning erroneous opinions and practices which tend to the injury of the peace, purity, or progress of the Church." And BCO 13-9.f reads in part that "the presbytery has the right and duty to: To condemn erroneous opinions which injure the purity or peace of the Church; to visit churches for the purpose of inquiring into and redressing the evils that may have arisen in them; In addition, the scripture enjoins all elders individually to the duty of refuting those who contradict sound doctrine." Titus 1:9 reads: "[An elder must be one who is] holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict."
Sailhamer's Meaning of the Pentateuch, Take Two
January 20, 2011 at 5:09 pm (Books (reviews and recommendations), OT-Pentateuch, Sailhamer)
In this post I will begin an ongoing summary review of The Meaning of the Pentateuch (IVP, 2009). (My earlier posts regarding John Sailhamer and this volume of his works can be read here and here.) I am intending each time to focus on one chapter of the book, though truly this will mean that I highlight only part of each chapter, as they are very dense and do not easily lend themselves to thorough summaries in 800 words or less. So you can assume there is always more that could be said. These notes are just appetizers.
Introduction (On the "compositional approach" and the themes of Law and Faith)
John Sailhamer seems to be a "whole-parts-whole" sort of thinker. That is to say, when he reads a unit of text, be it Genesis, the Pentateuch, or the Tanakh*, he first receives a general impression of the text's meaning from the patterns of its composition (a macro-view), then dives down to the micro-level to discover the details that led to that impression, and finally recreates the probable path that the author took, building those details back into the whole structure. It's certainly possible that someone could begin with a mistaken "macro-" impression and then hunt about for conveniently supportive details, finally reproducing a worthlessly speculative authorial strategy and a meaning that has been forced onto the text rather than derived from it. This is not the impression that I get from Sailhamer, who strikes me as a capable and very careful reader (although I am not a competent judge of some of his claims, being unable to verify his understanding of German, Hebrew, and Latin sources). We'll look at some of his "macro" observations in these reviews.
Among the many points he raises in the Introduction, two stand out as basic to his approach to, and his conclusions about, the ultimate meaning of the Pentateuch: first, a hermeneutical approach that takes into account the compositional shape of large units of text; and second, the contrasting themes of Law and Faith in the Pentateuch. I'll address each of these in turn.
Sailhamer's Compositional Approach.
Sailhamer's insistence that we attend closely and primarily to the text of the Pentateuch is a welcome contrast to the views of those who would have us speculate about multiple authors with various religio-political agendas, or those who would tether the meaning of the Pentateuch to its ANE literary neighbors. History and archaeology have their place in biblical studies, Sailhamer concedes, "but they sometimes get in the way of understanding the 'words' of Scripture" (19). For Sailhamer, "understanding the words" is much more than a grammatical or lexical task. Most important, he stresses repeatedly, is the macro-structure (or composition) of a unit of text, for
"the meaning of the biblical texts lies primarily in the structure and composition of the books themselves." (491)
By identifying major units of text, such as the narratives or legal material in the Pentateuch, Sailhamer believes one may then also locate the "compositional seams" where these sections are joined together. For it is at such seams, he claims, that the "intelligent design" of an author is most apparent (23). Sailhamer asserts that by strategically placing poetry, commentary, and common terminology at these "seams," the maker of the Pentateuch has unequivocally communicated its meaning.
(Later chapters will provide details about these so-called "compositional seams," but if you are interested in some concretes at this moment, Gen. 49, Num. 24, and Deut. 33 are mentioned a lot.)
I'd say that Sailhamer's premise that "compositional seams" a) exist, b) open a window onto an author's intent, and c) are the locations of a text's main meaning must be one of the pieces of his argument that receives the most scrutiny from other theologians. But three cheers for him, that he is working with the idea of an intelligent, deliberate, design-conscious author at all.
The Themes of Law and Faith
Tracing the connections between all those "compositional seams" (both within and outside the Pentateuch) leads Sailhamer to conclude that the books of Moses were not written to showcase the Sinai (or Mosaic) covenant, but "to tell Israel that the Sinai covenant had failed" (27). Rather than teach Israel the Law, the Pentateuch was intended to teach Israel about faith, specifically by contrasting the lives and respective covenants of Abraham and Moses. Narrowing the focus still further, Sailhamer identifies the object of that faith as an eschatological king from the tribe of Judah, seed of Abraham. He will go on in this book to defend each of these claims and conclusions by connecting the inter-textual dots (e.g., have you ever noticed how many times Gen. 12:3 / 22:18 pops up in the OT?).
Although he will elaborate further on this in Chs 7 and 10, Sailhamer does address in his Introduction the purpose of the Mosaic Law in a text that is (he says) primarily about faith and grace. Briefly, he understands the law to have been added to a gracious covenant with Israel because of that nation's transgressions (as per Gal. 3:19). While his "covenantal" language is identified more with the Abrahamic and the Mosaic than with Reformed theological concepts (Covenant of Works, Covenant of Grace), Sailhamer does ally himself with the covenantal thinking of Cocceius**, who apparently held to a similar understanding of a shift in Israel's relationship with God after Sinai. Here it will be necessary to scrutinize how Sailhamer's casting of the covenants runs with or against the currents of Reformed thought.
I'll be happy to clarify any of the above in the comments below.
*TANAKH: Essentially an acronym for the Hebrew Bible, which is made of the Torah (Law), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings).
**Johannes Cocceius (coc-SAY-us) (1603-1669) German-born Reformed theologian who had much to say about covenant theology amongst the Dutch.
First Book of 2011
January 19, 2011 at 2:07 pm (Books (reviews and recommendations))
I hold in my hands the first book published in 2011 to cross my desk. It may well be the most important book of the year, or indeed, for several years. My friend David Gadbois is intending to post some thoughts here on it as he reads through it, and so I won't take the wind out of his sails. I'll just post a few quotations to whet your appetite:
Some Christians assume that knowing doctrine and practical living are competing interests. The modern dichotomy between doctrine and life, theology and discipleship, knowing and doing, theory and practice has had disastrous consequences in the life of the church and its witness in the world (pg. 14).
To believe in the triune God of Scripture who speaks and acts in history requires an act of apostasy from the assumed creed of our age (p. 15).
This volume attempts to draw a circle (the street map) by closely attending to the broad and sweeping landscape of biblical theology (the topographical map)…So let us attend together to the greatest drama ever staged…no longer merely as spectators…but as a growing cast of pilgrims making their way together behind their royal Redeemer in a process to the City of God (p. 32).
Misdirected Apology?
January 15, 2011 at 4:19 pm (Federal Vision)
Wes has posted Jeff Meyers's apology. In that apology, Meyers apologizes for intemperate language in sometimes short, sarcastic sentences. I am somewhat puzzled by this. My question is this: why is he giving this apology to the Missouri Presbytery? Were these statements directed towards the MOP, or towards individual members of the MOP? I am not calling into question the sincerity of this apology by any means. I am just wondering whether Meyers is facing the right direction with this one. As the recipient of some of those short, sarcastic comments, I don't feel apologized to.
Approved Meyers investigative committee documents now available
January 14, 2011 at 12:29 am (Federal Vision, Heresy)
Posted by Wes White
The report is now available here.
I believe that this document will prove to be one of the more important Federal Vision documents to be released in a while. It is a rather complete statement of the issues on baptism, covenant, and justification by a prominent Federal Visionist to a friendly PCA Court.
What I plan to do is to publish these items section by section in separate posts on my blog for comment and discussion. If you wish to download the whole document, you can do so above. The links to the sections available in separate blog posts are as follows:
Views on Covenant Theology
Views on Theology of the Imputation of Christ's Merit
View on Theology of Baptism
Views on Theology of Perseverance
Views on Theology of Justification
Report of the Subcommittee Investigating Process and Injurious Reports
TE Meyers Letter of Apology
Please check back for further updates.
Limits of Guilt By Association
January 12, 2011 at 1:32 pm (Church, Theology)
It is a standard cry in some quarters that if a theologian is compared to a "heretical" theologian, then it is guilt by association, and therefore an invalid argument. However, this is not really what "guilt by association" means. A person's theological statements do not constitute "association." Therefore, comparison of one theologian's statements to another does not and cannot constitute "guilt by association." This is amply proven by the opposite example. The very people who complain about the "guilt by association" argument are often the very first ones to compare their own theology to orthodox theologians, saying in effect, "Look, I'm just saying what orthodox theologian X said, therefore I'm orthodox." What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If it's okay to compare one's statements to an orthodox theologian, then it's okay to compare one's statements to a "heretical" theologian. The nature of that comparison, of course, is another question entirely. I'm not saying that it is always legitimate to compare someone's theology with a "heretical" theologian. All I'm saying is that the "guilt by association" objection doesn't fly.
I actually think that there is a limit on how far this kind of comparison can go. It's not always legitimate to compare two different people's theology, although sometimes it is. How one would go about deciding when it is and when it isn't would go way beyond the scope of this post. Oftentimes, the question of comparison between two theologians is simply beside the point, especially when the question has to do with the orthodoxy of one of the theologians. Then, the only comparison that matters is the theologian in relationship to the standards of the church.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Baby, First Year, General, Toddler
Japanese Educational TV Shows for Babies and Toddlers
I'm sure we all have fond memories of our favorite shows from when we were little. When I was growing up in Canada, I used to love watching educational children's programs like The Elephant Show and Mr. Dressup. Of course, parenting was a bit different back then and my mother let me watch a little more television than she probably should have.
A Little Background on Children, Television and Development
Nowadays, a single Google search will bring up thousands of articles on why screen time is detrimental to children under the age of 2. So perhaps you're wondering why I'm writing an article on Japanese television shows for babies and toddlers, then? Well, in the beginning, I didn't want to expose my daughter, A, to television and made sure not to have the television on around her or use my phone other than taking pictures. However, when she was about 10 months old and I went back to work, I came home one day to find her watching a Japanese children's show on television called シナぷしゅ. Needless to say, I was not happy with my husband. Although we had been together for 7 years when our daughter was born, we had different ideas when it came to parenting. He was far more relaxed than I was and that led to us arguing constantly when A was a newborn. Eventually, we realized that we both needed to compromise and listen to one another, so I heard him out when he explained why シナぷしゅ was a good show for our daughter. This was also the only way he could get our clingy girl to let him make dinner. A seemed really happy watching the show, so I figured 30 minutes a day wasn't too bad.
I understand the concerns regarding television shows negatively impacting language development, sleep, and attention. My daughter, though, hasn't had many problems in those areas. She speaks English and Japanese – she's able to count to 10, sing songs and say short phrases in both languages, she can recite the alphabet, she remembers lines from picture books, and comes up with imaginative games all on her own. She wakes up at around 4:30 AM but I don't think that has anything to do with television.
The relationship between development and television in children is a complicated one. For example, a literature review found that in preschoolers, watching education programs can have a positive effect on academic skills. In infancy, however, it may have short-term negative effects on language, executive functions, and attention. With tablets and smartphones becoming ubiquitous in society, I imagine this issue will become more complex.
As a parent, at the end of the day, it's up to you (and your partner) to decide what's best for your child. If you don't want to introduce them to television or any other form of screen time, that completely makes sense! On the other hand, if you let them watch one or two shows, that's okay too! Sometimes we need a break and if the television is the only way you can get your little one to stop screaming or allows you to cook/eat/go to the washroom, then I absolutely support you. Keep in mind, though, that if you do allow your child to watch television, make sure they're not sitting close to the television and limit their time as the best way children learn language and socialization is through direct interaction with people (you!).
Okay, so with all of that out of the way, if you're looking for some Japanese shows for your baby or toddler to watch, here are a few that my daughter has enjoyed and that I recommend.
シナぷしゅ (Synapusyu)
If you're looking for a show to start out with, this is a great one. Developed alongside experts in child development, including researchers at the University of Tokyo, this show, which debuted in 2019, aims to expand your child's vocabulary, imagination, and understanding of the world through their colorful and musical segments. In fact, the title, シナぷしゅ, is a combination of two words in English: "synapse" (シナ), a structure in the brain that allows a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell as the show aims to stimulate the mind and aid with development, and "push" (ぷしゅ) as the show wants to help push children towards exploring the world around them.
Segments change every so often, including according to seasons and holidays. Every episode also has a segment in English, which usually introduces a letter of the alphabet.
By 11 months, my daughter was singing and dancing along to the opening song and laughing at various segments (she loved one where they showed how to say "peek-a-boo" in different languages). I especially enjoyed a segment about how to cook toddler-friendly Japanese dishes, but I think their catchy songs are probably the best part of the show. One of my favorite songs has a cat riding through the sky on a coconut.
This show is recommended for children under the age of 2. (And indeed, when my daughter turned 18 months, she no longer had any interest in it. In fact, as I was listening to the 雨とココナッツ song above, my husband said "懐かしい!" he that was "so sad" that A doesn't watch the show anymore!)
You can watch the show on YouTube or on テレビ東京 every day at 7:35 AM and 5:30 PM. (Check out a full episode below!)
おかあさんといっしょ (Okaasan to Issho)
おかあさんといっしょ is a Japanese children's show that has been around since 1959, so it's safe to say that it's beloved by children and parents in Japan. As stated in the title, this show is meant to be enjoyed by both children and their mothers (there was also a show called おとうさんといっしょ but it ended in March 2021). Small children can apply to be on the show with their parents and sing and dance with the energetic cast consisting of singers, dancers, and other characters. There are multiple segments with upbeat music that encourages little ones to get up and move.
This show is aimed at children ages 2-4 and airs on weekday mornings and afternoons on NHK. For the time schedule, click here.
ピタゴラスイッチ (Pitagora Suitchi)
This award-winning show debuted back in 2002. It's quite short at around 10-15 minutes and consists of different Rube Goldberg machines (known as ピタゴラ装置・ pitagora souchi in Japan), as well as segments that teach children about the world, how various things work, and how to help out around the house. I feel like I learn something new every time I watch this show and my daughter loves watching the creative Rube Goldberg machines.
To see the schedule for ピタゴラスイッチ, click here.
Unfortunately, there are no videos of this show available on YouTube.
ノージーのひらめき工房
This is a show that teaches children how to make crafts and be creative. It's a successor to a popular show called つくってあそぼ, which my husband loved when he was a child.
ノージーのひらめき工房 is more for older kids between 4-5 years old but my daughter still enjoys watching it and I hope that maybe in the future we can try to make something from the show together. (As an aside, I feel like I should mention that the mustaches on the kids are a little weird, though…)
It's on twice a week on NHK. For the schedule, click here.
デザインあ
As the title suggests, デザインあ is a show about the process of design, how various designs work, and how things are made, particularly in Japan. The show uses different perspectives to look at something and no two segments are alike. I'm a huge fan so I'm glad my daughter enjoys it as well!
The episode below features one of my daughter's favorite segments, which looks at the versatility of lines (せん).
For デザインあ's broadcast schedule, click here.
ファンファンキティ!(Fun Fun Kitty!)
I'm not sure whether this show is that educational but my daughter was obsessed with it for a time when she had just turned one. This is another new show that debuted in 2020 and features Sanrio characters and a pair of (human) siblings. My daughter loved all the singing and dancing, and the songs are admittedly pretty catchy. True to Sanrio, there is also no shortage of kawaii in this show.
ファンファンキティ! is on テレビ東京 every Monday at 5:55 PM.
Are there any Japanese shows that your little one watches and aren't mentioned here? Let me know in the comments!
Tokyo Disneyland with a Toddler: Tips and Ride Reviews
Japanese Children's Songs: ぞうさん (Mr. Elephant)
Hiking Nara's Mount Yoshino for the Best Cherry Blossoms in Japan
Visiting Sanrio Puroland with a Toddler - Tiny Tot In Tokyo
A Slice of Employed Mom and Dad Life in Japan - Tiny Tot In Tokyo


Costa Serena is situated in the North East Sardinia, 4 km. from Palau.
Once landed in Olbia or Golfo Aranci, take State Road 125 heading to Palau/Arzachena.
Past Arzachena, go on for about 11-12 Km, then turn left (in proximity to the Rio Bar) for Porto Rafael/Punta Sardegna/Costa Serena.
Go straight on for 4 Km to reach the village. Our office 'CReception Stella Maris Immobiliare' (Rentals&Sales Service Centre) is sites in the main square.


Ramayana Water Park in Pattaya took third spot among the 10 and Black Mountain Water Park in Hua Hin sixth spot. Also in Pattaya, Cartoon Network Amazone is making a splash and was named the seventh-most popular water park in Asia.
The award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of user reviews and ratings posted around the world in the past 12 months.
TripAdvisor users praised Ramayana Water Park for its "beautifully clean water" and "excellent rides" and called Black Mountain "safe", "family-friendly" and "a great day out". Cartoon Network Amazone was hailed as "state-of-the-art" with both "simple and daredevil" slides.
Ramayana opened in May last year and covers 100 rai (160,000 square metres), making it one of the largest water parks in Southeast Asia. It boasts 21 rides and more than 50 other attractions, including two children's zones, a "lazy river" and a floating market.
It's 20 kilometres south of Pattaya, close to Khao Chi Chan, known for its giant Buddha etched into the side of a mountain, and next to Silverlake Vineyard.
Black Mountain, which opened in 2011, covers 40,000 square metres. It's got a 17-metre-high tower from which nine different water slides radiate, plus a spectacular wave pool, a lazy river, a beach-infinity pool and children's pool.
It's about 15 minutes from Hua Hin town centre.
Cartoon Network Amazone is the world's first Cartoon Network-theme water park. Opened in 2014, it features 10 entertainment zones and more than 150 water attractions. It's in Bang Saray, about 20 minutes' drive south of Pattaya.


Since the revolutionizing and life-changing introduction of the vacuum cleaner, a home care appliance designed for super suction cleaning, there have been many modifications and augmentations that have occurred to alter the experience of vacuuming. We no longer use the simple manual carpet cleaner by Bissell, but today uses steam cleaners, deep cleaners, hand vacs and more. As such, we've learned to clean our carpets with the various tools and chemicals available in our time of modern house cleaning.
Home-made carpet cleaning products is a way to control or eliminate harsh chemical components and strong artificial scents.
The problem is, a lot of those carpet cleaning solutions and chemicals have harsh substances that are not only toxic but can leave behind reside for your kids or pets to find. But finding friendly carpet cleaning solutions that don't have dangerous chemicals is not exactly an easy task. Not to worry, though, as there are a few ways to make your own cleaning solutions at home that will get the job done well and without the added concern.
If you're looking to make a carpet cleaning solution at home that is similar to the commercial solutions you can purchase in stores, you can rest assured that this is very possible. This isn't exactly a chemical-free way of cleaning your carpets but you get to choose the elements that ultimately go into your solution. You can choose to use eco-friendly ingredients that are free of harsh chemicals. This recipe will help you make a carpet cleaner and conditioner solution.
If adding a chemical-infused OxyClean product is high on your list of things you're unwilling to do, you can always get around this by making your own simple homemade version of OxyClean at home, which happens to be quite cost-effective and chemically safe.
Notes: Washing soda is basically just like baking soda, but with a PH balance of 11, which is much more effective at cleaning than actual baking soda, which has a PH balance of just 8.1. The popular brand Arm & Hammer is known for making both baking soda and super washing soda.
Due to the nature of the substances in this mixture, you should attempt to use it immediately after preparing it. Within a short span of just 4-6 hours, the solution will lose its potency and effectiveness and be all fizzed-out.
While a cacophony of chemicals may be the very thing you want to avoid in your carpet cleaners, sometimes a simple solution with just one basic chemical, like ammonia, can do the trick.
Although this one isn't exactly a non-chemical cleaner either, it utilizes a simple chemical mixture that can deliver some seriously powerful results. However, the main chemical, ammonia, can be highly corrosive to your skin, lungs, and eyes, so it should be handled with extreme caution. The risk it poses decreases once the ammonia has been diluted by the solution mix.
Notes: Use gloves when combining this solvent mixture.
If the homemade synthetic ingredient-based cleaners still seem like too much chemical to your liking or still seems too inorganic, there are other more organic and non-toxic solutions you can try at home. This one is a great cleaner for disinfecting and deodorizing your carpet without the use of any harsh or inorganic chemicals.
15 drops of your choice of essential oil. We recommend lavender, pine or lemon.
Notes: White vinegar has been used as a disinfecting cleaning agent for centuries, as it has many amazing applications and does a great job of neutralizing bacteria.
We don't often realize it, but our kitchen is actually full of ingredients that can be used to clean stubborn stains, messes and more. Here are two ridiculously simple solutions that can get almost any stain out of a synthetic carpet.
Notes: Be sure to dip a non-colored cloth into the solutions and then apply them to the stain. Applying them directly to your carpeting could cause unwanted damage.
If you have carpet with natural fibers, you don't want to take the chance with solutions designed for the synthetic stuff. Instead of the dip and blot method of removing stains for synthetic floor fibers, a solution misted from a spray bottle is a better way to treat your natural fiber carpet without ruining it. Here are three incredibly simple solutions for your spray bottle.
Notes: Spray mist directly to stain and let sit for a few minutes before you attempt to blot it out.
If you have a greasy carpet mess you're looking to clean, and the above solutions don't seem to be working for you, here is another solution formula that is proven for fighting grease.
Notes: This solution uses hydrogen peroxide, which loses its effectiveness and potency the longer it is exposed to sunlight and oxygen. Therefore, this mixture should be used up immediately or be stored in an airtight and opaque container to preserve its usefulness.
All the above solutions can be used in place of the store-bought chemicals designed for the purpose of carpet cleaning.
When trying out a new solution, first test it in an inconspicuous part of your carpet. This will help you make sure that your carpet won't be damaged by the solution before you try cleaning a large area with it.
Be sure to use gloves and a clean cloth for blotting and dabbing.
Finally, be sure not to rub and ruin your carpets when attempting to get them clean. Instead, use a gentle dabbing method and generous doses of your chosen solution where necessary. Some stains may require multiple applications of cleaner before they are lifted.


Gurgaon women: don't step out after 8 but what about men – don't step out after 7 – Journey called life!
About the local Gurgaon crowd being inexplicable stupid? Mind you, the locals, read uneducated.
About my physique not being great? I cannot fight these tall healthy guys!
About me taking that shortcut route to home, which by the way every other 'ordinary' person takes?
or About Gurgaon Police – who tell me if I got assaulted and robbed of a Rs.32,000 phone – it is my fault that i carry an expensive phone? 'Victim Blaming' is quite a known feature of Gurgaon Police!
Yes, today while returning from office with my friend, we got assaulted, injured and robbed of my phone and whatever money my friend had. Thanks to some gutsy behavior in the later stages, we saved our laptops, our credit cards, my watch, some more cash and most importantly – our Lives!
By the way, a small question for Gurgaon Police – if women should not step out after 8 PM, should men stay inside after 7 PM?
I can totally understand what you must have gone through…the other day, my wife and me, while going back to Delhi by MG Road got almost beaten up by a gang of rowdies in broad daylight..around 5-5:30 PM…And I am still figuring out why and what exactly happened back then…they were insisting on me opening my car doors…thank God I have this habit of keeping car doors locked all time…And I have still not gotten over it. Sad state of affairs in Gurgaon.
Damn! This is really scary and I can understand what you and your friend might have gone through. Really sad man!
Thanks for sharing your story Nitin. Just like Terrorist attacks, its time we (the common man) should learn to live with incidents like these. Hail my country!
Just because you haven't heard similar horror stories down south makes you say so. I often used to drive frightened in B'lore because of the incidents i heard/read/saw there.
Not that i say Gurgaon is safe, but if educated people like you start distinguishing India by north-south and other stuff……..not sure where this country is headed!
A guy was pulled out of his car at a red light, beaten, robbed off his valuables and the miscreants then drove off in his car!
Now you tell how is South safe?
Am not sure Ankur as to what else could we do? You've yourself seen the way our Police behaves. They are real goondas.
Oh teri ki … sad !
Who was the other one with you? Nitin?
btw, one person likes this. Must be GGN police.


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text:
Hinkeets masks formerly belonging to Jessie Hamiton of Hupacasath were used last at the memorial potlatch for her sister Beaulah Sayers at the old Athletic Hall in 2006.
Family fights sale of aboriginal ceremonial family masks
A First Nations family in Alberni is fighting the sale of family cultural property that was sold by Seahawk Auctions on Nov. 4 in Vancouver.
David Wiwchar
The last time the Hamilton family saw their sacred masks in person, they were being danced across the floor at a memorial potlatch.
The next time they saw the masks, they were pictured on an auction website on Nov. 4 with a large 'SOLD' sign stamped across them.
The Hinkeets (sea serpent) masks are among the most sacred items within Nuu-chah-nulth culture. Only chiefs or high-ranking families own them, and train their sons to dance them according to ancient protocols.
Jessie Hamilton was royalty: a Ha-kuum (queen) within the Hupacasath First Nation. Two of her most prized cultural possessions were a pair of Hinkeets masks: a male and female painted bright red, white, black, and blue, estimated at more than a century old.
The pair of ancient Hinkeets masks came from the Ucluelet First Nation, from Jessie's mother upon her marriage to Dan Watts of Hupacasath, and became hers after her mother's death in 1967.
When Jessie died at the age of 84 in 2008, her will specified that all of her "household possessions" would go to her youngest daughter, Joy. But according to Joy's older brother Wawmeesh George Hamilton, who is now forced to deal with the cultural storm swirling around the sacred Hinkeets masks, there's a big difference between personal possessions and family cultural possessions.
"If you were to even hint at the idea of selling those masks, my mother would have slapped the taste right out of your mouth," said Wawmeesh.
"They are not chattel to be bought and sold; they are our family histories over thousands of years, and our place within Hupacasath and Nuu-chah-nulth culture."
Wawmeesh learned of the auction sale through a cousin, who happened to be at a Vancouver auction of Northwest Coast Native Arts. The cousin recognized the distinctive masks as belonging to the Hamilton family, and immediately called Wawmeesh, who in turn called family member and well-known lawyer Judith Sayers for help.
The two then phoned Seahawk Auctions in Vancouver and tried to have the sale halted, but were told the seller had produced a legal will proving ownership of the masks and the sale would go on.
"We tried to explain to them that there is a difference between private property and family cultural property, but their heads were full of dollar signs instead of sense," Wawmeesh said.
"The art auction is a game played by rich people who don't care about cultures or correctness."
In the end, the male mask sold for $22,500 and the female mask is believed to have sold for $4,000. The only information Wawmeesh has been able to gather about the buyer is that his given name might be Ivan, and that one or both masks are still in B.C.
Also listed on the auction site were two Nuu-chah-nulth shawls or dance robes that went with the masks as well as a series of eight black and white photographs depicting the Hinkeets used during historic rituals or celebrations.
According to Wawmeesh, his 45-year-old younger sister Joy is travelling in Goa, India; she and her boyfriend left Port Alberni two months ago on their second trip in a year to India.
Hupacasath carver Rod Sayers (Judith Sayers' brother and the Hamiltons' cousin) has offered to carve a replica pair, and plans to offer them first to the buyer of the original masks before giving them to the family as a replacement.
As for Joy, all attempts to contact her have failed. She has not returned phone calls or e-mails, and Wawmeesh said she will not be welcomed back by her family.
"There's no 'I'm sorry' here. There's no going back," said Wawmeesh. "She can't carry a (traditional Hupacasath) name, title, or participate culturally now," he said.
Seahawk Auctions have also refused to return calls on this matter, and Wawmeesh said police are now involved.
"The auction (house) should have pulled them. They should have done cultural due diligence," said Wawmeesh.
"These masks are the highest of cultural property on the west coast here, and they should have recognized that and realized there would be an issue with those masks," he said. "I would like to see the issue brought to court so communal property issues could be formalized."
Wawmeesh has resigned himself to the loss. The loss of the masks is almost as painful as the loss of his mother, and now the loss of his sister – and future generations will be deprived of seeing the ancient Hamilton family Hinkeets danced at potlatches and important events.
"The ancient songs and dances will still be performed with the new masks, but they'll be like a prosthetic after an amputation," said Wawmeesh."
(Editor's note: The News asked David Wiwchar to write this story to avoid a conflict of interest because it involves a staff member.)
One dead in head-on collision on Hwy 4 at Cameron Lake
On the picket line at Alberni's NIC


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SAVASTATE TEACHERS
SAVASTATE TEACHERS is an NCUA-insured credit union started in 1950 and currently based in SAVANNAH, GA. The credit union has $3.0 million in assets, according to December 31, 2017, regulatory filings.
The credit union holds loans and leases worth $929,619. Its 751 members currently have $2.4 million in shares with the credit union.
Overall, Bankrate believes that, as of December 31, 2017, SAVASTATE TEACHERS exhibited a superior condition, earning a full 5 stars for safety and soundness. Keep reading for a breakdown of how the credit union did on the three key criteria Bankrate used to grade U.S. credit unions on safety and soundness.
Capital is a crucial measurement of an institution's financial resilience. It acts as a buffer against losses and as protection for members when a credit union is experiencing economic trouble. When looking at safety and soundness, more capital is better.
SAVASTATE TEACHERS did better than the national average of 15.65 points on our test to measure the adequacy of a credit union's capital, achieving a score of 30 out of a possible 30 points.
SAVASTATE TEACHERS's capitalization ratio of 30.00 percent in our test was above the average for all credit unions, suggesting that it's stronger than its peers.
This test's purpose is to estimate how the credit union's capitalization and allocated loan loss reserves could be affected by problem assets, such as past-due mortgages.
Having lots of these kinds of assets may eventually force a credit union to use capital to absorb losses, diminishing its equity buffer. It also means that there are likely to be many assets that are in non-accrual status and no longer earning money, resulting in lower earnings and potentially more risk of a failure in the future.
SAVASTATE TEACHERS scored below the national average of 38.09 on Bankrate's asset quality test, racking up 36 out of a possible 40 points .
A lower-than-average ratio of troubled assets of 0.00 percent in our test was potentially indicative of greater financial strength than other credit unions.
How successful a credit union is at earning money has an effect on its safety and soundness. Earnings can be retained by the credit union, boosting its capital buffer, or be used to deal with problematic loans, likely making the credit union better prepared to withstand financial trouble. Conversely, losses diminish a credit union's ability to do those things.
SAVASTATE TEACHERS received below-average marks on Bankrate's test of earnings, achieving a score of 6 out of a possible 30.
SAVASTATE TEACHERS had an earnings ratio of 0.00 percent in our test, above the average for all credit unions, suggesting that it's running ahead of its peers in this area.


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CISSR
About CISSR
Faculty Research Fellowships
23-24 Faculty Fellows
Dissertation Fellows
Lloyd & Susanne Rudolph Field Research Grants
Faculty Book Workshops & Monograph Enhancement Awards
Dissertation Completion Grants
Lloyd & Susanne Rudolph Field Research Awards
Paul Staniland, Political Science
Paul Staniland is Associate Professor of Political Science and faculty chair of the Committee on International Relations. He is the author of the award-winning book Networks of Rebellion: Explaining Insurgent Cohesion and Collapse (Cornell 2014), as well as a number of peer-reviewed articles on civil war and international security. Staniland's regional focus is South Asia, and he has done field research in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, and Singapore. He is currently working on a book on relations between governments and armed groups in post-colonial South Asia.
Domestic Politics and Indian Foreign Security Policy
India is a rising power: its rapidly growing economy, large military, and pivotal strategic location have made it a far more important international player than in decades past. Yet it is also a highly competitive democracy that faces serious poverty and numerous demands on government resources. This nascent book project explores the relationship between these domesitc politics and India's foreign security policy. It investigates Indian public opinion toward foreign affairs, gathers extensive new quantitative data on when and how parties, politicians, and political movements have mobilized around foreign policy, and uses detailed case studies of specific crises and policy decisions to explore how policymakers understood their domestic incentives and constraints.
5828 South University Avenue
cissr@uchicago.edu
CISSR Initiatives


This service generates a parameter input file for MONSSTER. The form below shows the default parameters that may be changed as desired. Click here for more information.
The resulting input file will be mailed to you within a few seconds. If an optional identifier is entered in the form it is included in the subject line.


Once again, the #WestchesterSmart Mobile App Development Bowl enabled hundreds of talented young high school and college students showcase their STEM skills in a competition to build apps to improve the lives of older people.
In partnership with Westchester County, this year's iteration of the competition was its biggest yet, with over 440 students from 18 high schools and three universities taking part.
The mobile app bowl takes place over three monthly sessions, the first two consisting of intense training where students learn how to build mobile applications catered to aging populations. On the third day, which took place on Friday, April 28, at Pace University's Pleasantville Campus, teams presented their apps and the winners were decided.
County Executive Robert P. Astorino presented the awards to the winners in a variety of categories, including awards for creativity, usability, and functionality. Winners of the YouTube Social Challenge earned trips to Google and YouTube studios in New York City, and prizes were also given for high school coach of the year and college coach of the year – the latter being won by our very own Jean Coppola.
On top of the category awards, the #WestchesterSmart award, a grand prize of $1,000 cash and swag from Panasonic was up for grabs.
"The #WestchesterSmart Mobile App Development Bowl sends a strong statement to our students, as well as our communities and businesses, that Westchester is a place where smart things are happening," said County Executive Rob Astorino.
The grand prize was snatched up by KanjiStick, the team from the New School's Parsons School of Design, who created an app aimed to assist older people overcome issues typically experienced when interacting with technology. The team focused on creating an app that assisted with hearing, vision, and dexterity problems, allowing users to enjoy a smoother experience.
Teams Run DMR and Programmers Box took second and third prize in the Mobile App Creativity category respectively.
Team QWERTY won second place in the Mobile App Usability category.
In the Mobile App Functionality category, teams Bice and Programmers Box achieved second and third place respectively.
Tours of Google and YouTube were won by Downtown Developers, and Vida is Real.
The full list of winners can be found at our #WestchesterSmart Mobile App site.
We would like to extend many thanks to our 2017 Partners and Sponsors, including Robert P. Astorino, Westchester County Executive; Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University; The Westchester County Office of Economic Development; Saberpoint; conEdison; Acordia Therapeutics; XL Catlin; The Bristal: Assisted Living; New York-Presbyterian; Virginia LeTourneau; Ursuline Foley; Liberty Lines Transit, Inc.; Sal's Pizza and Pasta; and Nancy Goodman.
Read about last year's mobile app development bowl.
The third annual #WestchesterSMART Mobile App Development Bowl is almost ready to kick off at Pace University, but there's still time to register for the chance to win cash prizes, paid internship, and plenty of awesome tech gear.
The Mobile App Development Bowl is run through a partnership with the Seidenberg School and Westchester County's Office of Economic Development.
The free-to-enter event, which puts teams of college and high school students in competition to create the best mobile apps, will commence officially on February 3 with a pep rally and design and development workshops aimed to teach competitors how to build quality mobile apps.
As ever, teams must build MAAPs – Mobile Apps for Aging Populations. The prevalence of technology grows along with our population, and there is a great opportunity to use technology to improve the daily lives of people aged 65 or older.
Creating apps, hardware, and other bits of tech for aging populations is part of a field called gerontechnology, which is one of Seidenberg School's research areas. The idea is to research ways in which technology can be used to improve the daily lives of older people, and many excellent solutions have been explored by students at the mobile app bowl in the past two years.
Despite being heavily underrepresented in the mobile app development field, the aging population is the fastest growing consumer group, meaning that a focus on older mobile users is key to keeping the app development industry vibrant and innovative.
It's also an excellent opportunity for students from the Pace community and beyond to hone their skills, get some real world experience, and feel out potential career paths.
Over two sessions of workshops before judging on April 28, teams will work together to build an app that truly aims to do some good in the world.
Last year's event included extensive news coverage and was attended by Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino. The series was created by Seidenberg faculty member Jean Coppola and brought 250 students to Pace's Pleasantville campus to compete in the 2016 challenge.
If you have an idea for a mobile app or want to take part in an exciting challenge that helps the community, register today. Registrations are open for both teams and individuals, who will be placed into teams before the kick off.
Check out our dedicated #WestchesterSmart Mobile App Development Bowl page for further info.


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Q: deserialize object when ajax call asmx web service I have AJAX call where call web service. web service is should return value (token as a string). I tried my web service and try to invoke manually, it successfully retrieve the token as string. but, when I combine with AJAX call, it returns an object. How I can retrieve the value of the token?
here is my AJAX snippet
$.ajax({
    url: "http://10.23.64.43:8035/iFrameIntegration.asmx/getToken",
    data: JSON.stringify({ Token: { userName: 'crm' } }),
    contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
    type: 'POST',
    success: function (data) {
        alert(data);
    },
    error: function (data) {
        alert("Error");
    }
});

and here is my web service (ASMX)
[WebMethod]
    [ScriptMethod(ResponseFormat = ResponseFormat.Json)]
    public string getToken()
    {
        var request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create("http://10.23.64.37:8080/ACCMWS/member/SSOInit");
        request.Method = "POST";
        request.ContentType = "application/json";
        request.Headers["userId"] = "Svc_CRM";
        request.Headers["loginType"] = "Internal";
        request.Headers["token"] = "54a93982adf51adfb81885ddbbb1874e271605ce";

        string result = string.Empty;
        try
        {
            using (var streamWriter = new StreamWriter(request.GetRequestStream()))
            {
                string json = "{ \"userName\": \"crm\"}";
                streamWriter.Write(json);
                streamWriter.Flush();
                streamWriter.Close();
            }
            try
            {
                using (var response = request.GetResponse() as HttpWebResponse)
                {
                    if (request.HaveResponse && response != null)
                    {
                        using (var reader = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream()))
                        {
                            var resultTokenAwal = reader.ReadToEnd();
                            var resultToken = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<RetrieveSSOTokenResult>(resultTokenAwal);
                            result = resultToken.data.ssotokenList[0].ssoToken;
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
            catch (WebException e)
            {
                if (e.Response != null)
                {
                    using (var errorResponse = (HttpWebResponse)e.Response)
                    {
                        using (var reader = new StreamReader(errorResponse.GetResponseStream()))
                        {
                            string error = reader.ReadToEnd();
                            result = error;
                        }
                    }

                }
            }
        }
        catch(Exception ex)
        {
            ex.Message.ToString();
        }
        return result;
    }

and here is my class from my web service
public class RetrieveSSOTokenResult
{
    public string status { get; set; }
    public string message { get; set; }
    public Data data { get; set; }
}

public class Data
{
    public Ssotokenlist[] ssotokenList { get; set; }
}

public class Ssotokenlist
{
    public string loginType { get; set; }
    public string userName { get; set; }
    public string userId { get; set; }
    public string ssoToken { get; set; }
    public long expiryTime { get; set; }
}

here is the result that I get when call from AJAX
{"d":"f0d7ef7e29b89d42e84d6590b8e7b52f899f3b7a"}

please advise, I only want to alert the value of the token, which is f0d7ef7e29b89d42e84d6590b8e7b52f899f3b7a.
in the asmx, when I try to invoke, I only got this information
var from resultTokenAwal is this
{"d":"status":"success","message":"","data":{"ssotokenList":[{"loginType":"Internal","userName":"CRM","userId":"E512E6D2-1584-4597-BBD6-01C724496107","ssoToken":"2f3b28def21bdace7bd7baacd0cd0bf72fbcb30b","expiryTime":1548047778532}]}}

but, in my asmx, the result of resultTokenAwal is this
{"status":"success","message":"","data":{"ssotokenList":[{"loginType":"Internal","userName":"CRM","userId":"E512E6D2-1584-4597-BBD6-01C724496107","ssoToken":"2f3b28def21bdace7bd7baacd0cd0bf72fbcb30b","expiryTime":1548047778532}]}}

UPDATE:
the data actually already parse in JSON in AJAX. so, just call the d. here is the update of AJAX.
$.ajax({
    url: "http://10.23.64.43:8035/iFrameIntegration.asmx/getToken",
    data: JSON.stringify({ Token: { userName: 'crm' } }),
    contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
    type: 'POST',
    success: function (data) {
        alert(data.d);
    },
    error: function (data) {
        alert("Error");
    }
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Quantchabot has detected a promising Bull Put Spread trade opportunity for SCIENTIFIC GAMES (SGMS) for the 18-Apr-2019 expiration period. You can analyze the opportunity in depth over at the Quantcha Options Search Engine.
SGMS was recently trading at $22.64 and has an implied volatility of 70.97% for this period. Based on an analysis of the options available for SGMS expiring on 18-Apr-2019, there is a 34.17% likelihood that the underlying will close within the analyzed range of $22.64-$23.92 at expiration. In this scenario, the average linear return for the trade would be 29.26%.
Big 8.38% Change: After closing the last trading session at $20.89, SCIENTIFIC GAMES opened today at $22.10 and has reached a high of $23.05.
Trade approach: A movement as big as 8.38% is a significantly bullish indicator, so this trade is designed to be profitable if SGMS maintains its current direction and does not revert back to pricing on the bearish side of $22.64 on 18-Apr-2019. If possible, the trade has been padded such that slight movement against the trade would still return a profit.
Upside potential: Using this bullish strategy, the trade would be profitable if SCIENTIFIC GAMES closes at or above $22.50 on 18-Apr-2019. Based on our risk-neutral analysis, there is a 54.65% likelihood of this return.
This is an automated post generated based on a market analysis of delayed data at 4/16/2019 10:49:53 AM ET. The analysis does not include brokerage fees or commissions and is not investment advice.


"FRIENDS" is a sitcom that has captivated viewers of different age groups for years. If you are a true friend's fan you'll have fun knowing the following lesser known facts about "FRIENDS".
Monica's and Joey's refrigerators were actually working unlike in many other sets). Monica's fridge contained water bottles, cold drinks and snacks for the entire crew to eat. Joey's was mostly empty until it had to be shown in a particular scene.
Matt Le Blanc had a little bad experience on the sets! In the episode " he One Where Ross Got High" Rachel makes a hideous dessert which Ross tries to finish eating all at once so that Rachel cannot eat it and find out how horrible it tastes. While they were shooting it David Schwimmer ate a lot of it together and spit it out. Matt Blanc was at that moment looking elsewhere and didn't know this. So he took Schwimmer's half eaten food on his plate and ate it! And no one said anything! Only later when they were seeing the bloopers did Blanc realise what he had been put through by the crew!
Between season 5 and season 6 Courtney Cox married David Arquette and changed her name to Courtney Cox Arquette. As a little joke Arquette was added to all the names of the cast and crew in the beginning credits of the episode "The One After Vegas". And here I was thinking it was a typing mistake!
Joey's character was initially not as naïve as we see him. The producers decided to change the character after Matt Le Blanc auditioned for the role.
Mathew Perry was the only cast member who was allowed to sit with the writers while screen writing because he helped out with jokes and punchlines for the script. Perry was funny not only on screen it seems!
Guess what was constant throughout the 10 seasons of FRIENDS- a Thanksgiving Day episode. However, season 2 is the only season which did not have a Thanksgiving Day episode.
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text:
Home Education Suzanne K. Mellon, Ph.D., Appointed Carlow University's 10th President
Suzanne K. Mellon, Ph.D., Appointed Carlow University's 10th President
Following a national search, Carlow University's Board of Trustees today appointed Suzanne K. Mellon, Ph.D., as the institution's tenth president. She succeeds Dr. Mary Hines, who will step down next month after serving as Carlow's president for eight years.
Dr. Mellon comes to Carlow from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, where she has served as Executive Vice President and Professor since 2009. As the chief operating officer and second in command to the President, she had responsibility for all areas of the College, inclusive of academic affairs, advancement, finance, marketing, enrollment, student affairs, athletics, and other administrative areas.
"Without question, Carlow's Board of Trustees believes that it has found a wonderful match in Dr. Mellon, and we are delighted to welcome her as its tenth president," said Board of Trustees Chair George L. Pry. "She has outstanding experience in all facets of higher education administration and proven knowledge of the major issues facing higher education. She is a visionary leader, whose creative outlook will help to strengthen Carlow and inspire others to join her. The Board is confident that Dr. Mellon will advance Carlow's Catholic identity while modeling the values of the Sisters of Mercy."
Said Sister Marie Immaculée Dana, local leader of the Sisters of Mercy and Chair of the Sponsor Council of the Conference for Mercy Higher Education, "In addition to her strong academic background, her experience in all aspects of higher education, and her history of leadership on campus and in the community, Dr. Mellon has lived and understands Catholic higher education, the Mercy mission and values that are fundamental to Carlow University. She will be well positioned to support the continued development of students, staff and faculty as the University moves forward."
Under Dr. Mellon's leadership, Saint Anselm's revenue from foundations and grants grew significantly. She also has demonstrated important fundraising experience in her previous positions. Prior to her tenure at Saint Anselm, she held a distinguished series of faculty and administrative positions at the University of Detroit Mercy and Wayne State University. During her tenure as Dean of the College of Health Professions and McAuley School of Nursing at the University of Detroit Mercy, the College saw significant growth in the number of students and entrepreneurial academic programs were achieved, including the first online program at the University.
"I am delighted to come to Carlow University and the city of Pittsburgh at this exciting time," said Dr. Mellon. "I look forward to immersing myself into the community and meeting the supporters of a university with Carlow's distinctive and distinguished history."
Dr. Mellon graduated summa cum laude from the University of Michigan with a B.S.N. in nursing, a master's degree from the Ohio State University, and a Ph.D.in philosophy from Wayne State University. She is a graduate of the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (MLE) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. As Dr. Mellon assumes the role of president, she will also hold the academic rank of Professor at Carlow.
A leader in higher education, her influence spans multiple arenas. Dr. Mellon is an accreditation evaluator for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. She previously served as an evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and as a consultant for the Ohio Board of Regents. Her scholarship has resulted in published articles in national journals and invitations to present at national and international conferences on a variety of health topics, including the risk for inherited breast/ovarian cancer.
Dr. Mellon is the recipient of numerous professional, leadership and service awards. For example, she was the 2009 recipient of the "Integrity Matters" award from the College of Health Professions Honors Council, University of Detroit Mercy. In 2008, she received the Symond Gottlieb Award for Outstanding Health Care Leadership from the Greater Detroit Area Health Council. Additionally, she was recognized for outstanding contributions to the Urban Health Education Center by the University of Detroit Mercy.
Her community and professional activities have included practice as a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist in several community organizations, service to the underserved in the community, and higher education consultation. Dr. Mellon has served on the Board of Trustees for the Catholic Medical Center, Manchester, New Hampshire, where she is currently the Vice Chair. Additionally, she has served on the Board of Trustees for Manchester's YMCA and on the Board of Trustees for the New Hampshire Higher Education Loan Corporation.
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