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Mawhiba
Leave a comment Posted on May 26, 2011 February 12, 2012 4 Asia, Global Issues
Mawhiba: Gifted Education in Saudi Arabia (Part Two)
This is the second part of a two-part post on Mawhiba, the Saudi Arabian gifted and creative education programme. Part One is here.
In the first instalment we looked briefly at the history of gifted education in Saudi Arabia and the references to it in the country's Ninth National Plan before reviewing three online documents relating to Mawhiba and its parent Foundation.
Part Two takes a closer look at how the structure of Mawhiba has developed, particularly the Mawhiba Schools Partnership, and offers a provisional assessment of progress.
Picture courtesy of S Raj
The Five Strands as Seen by McKinsey
We need to return to the original Mawhiba Strategic Plan Presentation to get a fuller treatment of the five strands of activity they advocated for the Mawhiba Project itself.
Mawhiba Schools Partnerships are not quantified by the number of schools involved, but McKinsey envisages that they will benefit 550 gifted pupils in 2008, 1,700 in 2009, 4,500 in 2010 and 6,600 in 2011.
Provision in these partner schools should include a common programme for all learners up to Grade 3 and, in Grades 4-12, a blend of separate classes for G&T students and mixed ability classes for all students, with admission of students into the gifted cohort following a selection process undertaken in Grades 4 and 7.
The Foundation is advised that schools need incentive systems to manage the performance of their leadership, and that mechanisms should be in place to ensure that disadvantaged students are not excluded.
Action is therefore required to:
develop and administer intelligence and creativity tests to select students;
design curricula to nurture giftedness and creativity and support schools in their implementation;
train teachers to teach gifted classes and principals to lead Mawhiba schools;
set standards for partner schools, select the schools and monitor compliance with the standards;
develop a funding model for the schools linked to the student and/or the teacher; and
establish a parental support unit to secure continued parental engagement in their children's education.
The enrichment programmes will be introduced gradually over the full 15-year period. There will be:
after-school programmes covering Grades 4-12, with admission on the basis of interest but continuation on the basis of performance;
summer programmes, also covering grades 4-12, but open to students from partnership schools and other schools, though eligible students must have passed stage 1 of the Mawhiba selection process. These will be the flagship of the enrichment dimension in the first 5 years; and
competitions and awards covering grades 1-12 and university that are entirely open access.
The Young Leadership and Scholarship Programme should be open to all students entering their final year of high school, with selection based on prior academic performance, submitted essays and interviews. It should provide summer internship opportunities at top Saudi and international companies, supported by an online job portal and career guidance sessions.
There should also be: programmes to build language and entrepreneurial skills and offer research seminars with experts in various fields; mentoring provided by academics or industrialists, including regular 1:1 and group meetings; and scholarships to study at top international universities, as well as support with the applications process.
The Creative Work Environment initiatives will share best practice on nurturing creativity in the workplace by raising awareness, developing best practice material and providing training and workshops
The communications strategy involves getting stakeholders to endorse the strategy, building awareness and understanding across society and growing Mawhiba's reputation as a national strategic organisation.
Outcome targets are defined in terms of numbers participating in each strand. Targets for the end of the initial five year plan are given as:
6, 600 gifted learners in school partnerships
5,000 suitably-qualified participants in enrichment programmes
2,000 eligible students in the young leaders and scholarship programme
so 13,600 beneficiaries in all. (This is broadly similar to the 14,000 cited in the Ninth National Development Plan).
Some fairly dubious assumptions are then deployed to claim that, overall, some 28,000 different students will benefit by the end of this first phase, and that the programme will impact on 10 times as many people in all if one counts the gifted students' fellow pupils and their families. This helps to give the impression that the programme is bigger than it first appears.
To achieve these outcomes it will be necessary for the Foundation to:
undertake concept development – co-ordinating activity across domestic and international partners;
commission programme delivery through implementation partners, setting performance targets and managing partners against them;
secure funding from sponsors and allocate it between projects; and
communicate with and secure buy-in from key stakeholder groups and co-ordinate an awareness-raising campaign.
Picture courtesy of Shabbir Siraj
The structure today
One can find online copies of several tenders for aspects of the Mawhiba programme (though not all of them) but they are not particularly informative, containing only the briefest outline of the programme itself.
The most recent, for the Young Leaders' Programme , was dated 30 April 2011 (though I found it online a week or so before that date). It describes the five strands as follows:
'Mawhiba School Partnerships – work with top private and public schools to introduce a special curriculum for gifted students from Grades 4-12. Schools entering the partnership will receive support to upgrade their curriculum and physical infrastructure and to better train their teachers to deliver advanced curriculum to gifted and talented pupils. Key activities include curriculum design, teacher and principal standards and training, school selection and accreditation, student assessment, and parental support.
Mawhiba enrichment programs – develop summer and after-school programs and support competitions and awards for school-age students. Components of these programs that the selected partner will have to support include developing program content and policies, selection of training and staff, providing technical support and documentation.
Mawhiba Young Leaders Program – develop a program for students in their final year of school to bridge the gap between academic study and professional life. Objectives of the program will be to provide students with internship opportunities, mentorship programs, skill-building programs, and scholarships to top international universities.
Mawhiba Creative Work Environment Initiative – Develop and promote creativity in the Saudi workplace by raising awareness and offering creativity diagnostic tools, developing and sharing best-practice materials and conducting trainings and workshops with companies.
Mawhiba student selection – Develop and administer tests for selecting students for Mawhiba programs. In addition, develop process for selecting the students and support the process through means such as training of staff and expert advisers.'
The first four are pretty much as designed by McKinsey, but the final strand has emerged from under the wing of the Schools Partnerships and grown in significance, reflecting the separate reference to selection tests in the 2009 Brochure.
It is as if everyone has been committed throughout to a five-fold structure for Mawhiba, but no-one could quite agree what should constitute the fifth and final element!
Incidentally, the tender envisages a pilot for the Young Leaders Programme involving just 100 participants, so a long way short of the 2,000 projected by McKinsey for 2012/2013.
Selection Tests, Enrichment and Research
The growing emphasis on selection tests within these overarching descriptions of Mawhiba seems rather at odds with the 'human capital' approach described in Room at the Top:
'KSA believes that it is most likely to develop this critical mass not through selection of a few students and special programmes or schools, but rather through the high performance approach – through the creation of high expectations in school, coupled with systematic nurturing of the advanced cognitive performance characteristics in students. By introducing advanced cognitive performance from an early age they expect to ensure that those with the capacity to excel will do so.' (pp 48-49)
It seems that Mawhiba places some importance on building schools' capacity to provide advanced educational opportunities and encouraging all pupils to achieve them. But there are also selection tests to identify a gifted cohort who are eligible for Mawhiba activities, presumably including scholarships to attend Mawhiba schools.
The emergence of this emphasis on student selection can be tracked back to a 2008 Memorandum of Understanding between the Foundation and the National Centre for Measurement and Evaluation. The two parties agreed to work together to develop and standardise a new test battery to identify gifted and creative students.
Earlier this year, reports suggested that this would expand into a 'national project to identify gifted students', beginning with pupils in Grades 3 to 9 in 16 regional education administrations, but expanding into a comprehensive national database of all gifted students in the Kingdom.
According to one report this project will use 'the NAGC standards of identification' as the basis for developing generic identification tools and procedures and related training for staff who use them. But the references on the Mawhiba site appear to suggest that identification will be confined to science and technology
Meanwhile there are various newspaper reports outlining the continuing expansion of the enrichment programme, especially the summer schools component.
In 2010, there were 27 domestic summer schools in science and technology, all of 2-4 weeks' duration, provided by 22 different universities, colleges and research centres. They were attended by 1,369 students drawn mostly from Grades 5 and 6 and Grades 9-11.
Sixty were based at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), which offered courses in computer programming, mechanics and maths taught by university lecturers.
A further 83 students attended international summer schools held at venues such as Cambridge, Johns Hopkins (CTY), MIT and Oxford.
McKinsey forecast 5,000 participants by 2012/2013. It is not clear whether other smaller-scale enrichment activities have put Mawhiba within reasonable striking distance of this projection.
The Mawhiba website suggests there has been some progress towards the second specific objective identified in the Ninth National Development Plan. The research and policy unit will include among its responsibilities:
Developing and maintaining a database of information about gifted education in the Kingdom, including quantitative data about the performance and progress of gifted students;
Developing written policies for all aspects of the programme; and
Undertaking evaluation of different initiatives, defining performance indicators where necessary
Picture courtesy of Johnrawlinson
The Development of School Partnerships
As far as I can establish, the Mawhiba Schools Partnership (MSP) began with 19 schools, increased by 17 in 2010 to 36 schools and is expected to reach 60 schools by June 2013. All Partnership schools are currently located in Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam.
There were originally 250 scholars spread between the initial 19 schools. The 36 schools currently involved are said to serve 600-700 pupils, depending on the source. These are presumably those Mawhiba Scholars who have successfully passed the selection tests identifying the top 3%. Thiis dimension of the project is therefore undershooting significantly the numerical projections proposed by McKinsey in 2007.
We have extensive information about the process for selecting MSPs because the 'School Selection Handbook 2009/10' is available online.
It begins by setting out the objectives underpinning MSPs, which are to:
Select the schools capable of joining the Partnership and willing to 'fulfil the vision';
Support to improve these schools' effectiveness at developing their students' creativity and giftedness, so securing high performance;
Support the introduction of an 'advanced supplementary curriculum and assessment framework' designed to develop advanced learners, future leaders and creative entrepreneurs;
Introduce a contemporary pedagogy to develop the skills necessary for high performance and entry to world-class universities;
Offer professional development and support provided by international and local experts and through collaboration between member schools;
Select gifted and creative students who will receive scholarships to attend a member school; and
Ensure that parents are involved as partners in their child's education.
Three different levels of membership are described: member, partner and advanced partner. All schools join as members but can then apply for accreditation as partners or advanced partners.
Much of the handbook is taken up with a Standard for Selection based on 'international research into the characteristics of effective schools' because:
'providing a world class education system leading to high performance for the most able students requires integrated provision not just a bespoke programme for a minority of students'.
The standard has been informed by the work of Sammons and McGilchrist, two UK researchers, and benchmarked against international standards including 'Ofsted UK, Investors in People UK, Professional Standards for Teachers in the USA and Australia and the Quality Standards for Gifted and Talented Education DfES, UK'.
Selection depends on schools meeting eight standards: Student Achievement, Leadership and Management, School Ethos, Teaching and Learning, Classroom Management, Student Personal Development; Parental Involvement and Commitment. Each is assessed on a four-point scale:
1 – excellent
2 – good
3 – developing
4 – limited
Member schools need to achieve a minimum of '3 – developing' on every standard except Commitment, for which they need to be rated '2 – good'.
Schools are invited to express interest, then submit a self-evaluation form. An external evaluator visits the school and the leadership team is expected to offer a presentation that demonstrates their commitment. There is also: observation of classroom teaching; discussions with the leadership team, teachers, students and parents; and analysis of students' work and assessments.
These external evaluations are moderated before successful schools are selected by a 'Mawhiba Strategy Group'. They must sign a formal Agreement, while unsuccessful schools receive feedback on how to improve. The handbook says the Panel will also take into account the balance between boys' and girls' schools, the geographical location and the 'required number of places for Mawhiba scholars'.
Partner schools need to achieve a minimum of '2 – good' on every standard. They must submit a further application and self-evaluation form for this purpose providing evidence of progression since the school became a member.
The evaluation also draws on other evidence including: orientation of Mawhiba Scholars, implementation of the advanced supplementary curriculum, feedback from consultants and co-ordinators, lead professional weekly reports, parents' forums and the outcomes of an annual evaluation review. There is a further site visit followed by moderation and final judgement.
Advanced partner schools must already be partner schools, actively engaged in training other schools and achieve '4- excellent' in Leadership and Management, Teaching and Learning and at least two further standards.
Applicants must supply, alongside a further self-evaluation: a case study exemplifying in-school training and development; evidence of professional development through networking; and an outline of how they plan to support and challenge other schools.
The site visit includes a formal interview with the leadership team and analysis of the two Standards that the school has nominated as excellent. There is again moderation before the Strategy Group take a final decision.
Progression through these tiers is slow since, other than in exceptional cases, member schools cannot apply to become partners until the have been in the project for two years – and must wait a further two years to apply for advanced partner status. Moreover, the status achieved must be re-accredited every three years.
Schools are requested to apply annually to become members. The handbook refers to 'a range of incentives' to encourage them but does not spell these out, referring readers instead to the Mawhiba website.
To a UK reader this comes across as excessively bureaucratic, heavily structured and top-down, suggesting that the team is not confident of schools' capacity to self-evaluate. The process requires extensive evidence and, so a heavy investment of time and effort by the school. The demands on assessors' time will also be significant.
This is not of itself a scalable and sustainable model and one might reasonably expect that 'advanced partner schools', once they come on stream, might take on some of the responsibilities currently undertaken by external consultants.
Outstanding Mawhiba Teachers and Leaders
There are separate and parallel accreditation processes for individual teachers and school leaders, known as the Outstanding Mawhiba Teacher Award (OMTA) and the Outstanding Leadership Mawhiba Teacher Award (OMTLA).
According to the 2010-11 Handbook for these,staff in MSP schools can benefit from:
Professional development including courses accredited towards a Masters Degree by the London University, Institute of Education (The London Centre for Leadership in Learning confirms in its Prospectus that it is engaged in designing and leading these programmes);
Specialised courses for science, maths, ICT and English teachers provided by international experts;
ongoing in-school support for all staff and parents by Mawhiba City Co-ordinators (MCCs) including training and support for nurturing giftedness and creativity in the context of whole school improvement;
training in the effective use of the advanced supplementary curriculum (ASC) 'authored by World Class Arena (WCA) international curriculum development experts'; and
the OMTA and OMTLA, each based on a defined standard.
The OMTA Standard:
'defines what an individual teacher needs to do in order to achieve the world class standards of education which Mawhiba Schools aspire to achieve'.
It too is based on international research – the work of Hattie and England's TDA's Professional Standards (currently under review) are particularly cited. It signifies that:
'a teacher has been recognised as an expert teacher within a Mawhiba school and has consistently fostered high levels of performance in students through use of a range of effective, contemporary teaching and learning approaches'.
The OMLTA signifies:
'that a teacher has been recognised as an expert teacher, as outlined above, but has also shown skills and expertise in leading others – within and across schools – to develop their practice in fostering high performance through use of the most effective contemporary teaching and learning approaches'.
The standards appear to be very demanding, as a Blog kept by a newly-appointed assessor reveals:
'Last year only 3 out of 30 candidates won this award as they have to meet international standards. Thank goodness the final OMTA decisions are made back in the UK as I have to work with the Dammam teachers after the fact.'
The Advanced Supplementary Curriculum (ASC)
We also have information about the ASC. A 'white paper' dated April 2009 is available online called 'Designing a Programme for Giftedness and Creativity in Mawhiba Partnership Schools'.
The preface says this: 'brings together the best international practice and three decades of experience from leading work in this area in the United Kingdom'.
It suggests five underpinning principles for curriculum development:
High quality educational opportunities help to enabling gifted and creative students to demonstrate high performance.
While gifted students do not possess 'unique learning strategies', they are more creative and draw to a greater extent on a repertoire of intellectual skills. They deploy metacognition, strategy flexibility, strategy planning, hypothesis, preference for complexity, extensive webbing of knowledge about facts and processes.
We should aim to create autonomous and empowered learners who demonstrate extensive: subject knowledge and understanding, skills, values, attitudes and attributes.
Curriculum is supported through assessment for learning that monitors student progression enabling students to plan next steps with their teachers in the light of their personal strengths and weaknesses.
Provision must lead to qualifications that enable students to progress to leading universities.
It indicates that the ASC will be designed to help students develop expertise in maths, science, ICT and English, but also to generate the:
'learning behaviours that will enable them to develop the high level knowledge, skills and concepts associated with expert performance in these specific subject domains and more generically'.
Students in Grades 4-10 will undertake the supplementary curriculum alongside their normal curriculum; those in Grades 11-12 will follow courses leading to internationally recognised qualifications.
This will be undertaken through a series of curriculum materials, supported by age-related 'curriculum progression standards' (Other material online suggests that Mawhiba Scholars need to achieve in line with these standards each year in order to stay on the programme.)
Learning activities will provide challenge through high expectation and enquiry based approaches that develop analytical, critical and creative thinking skills. Assessment will monitor the overall effectiveness of the programme as well as the progress made by students.
The broad approach to curriculum is illustrated by a table which is also published separately as a poster on the World Class Arena website.
The timetable for the publication of the materials is phased, so that those for Grades 4, 7 and 10 are produced first, followed presumably by Grades 5, 8 and 11 in the second year and then Grades 6, 9 and 12 in the third. All the curriculum materials published to date (Grades 4, 7 and 10 only at the time of writing) are available here including the Teachers' Guides.
Provisional Conclusions
It has not been easy to gather together the information for this post. Given the wide variety of sources (some more reliable than others) and the tendency for key facts to be 'lost in translation', I hesitate to offer any meaningful assessment of either the scope of Mawhiba or the progress that has been made.
It is important to remember that we are only in the fourth year of a 15-year plan. It will take considerable further effort to realise the ultimate ambition of:
'A creative society with a critical mass of gifted and talented young leaders who are innovative, highly educated, and well trained to support the sustained growth and prosperity of the Kingdom.'
However, the early stages seem to be progressing at a slower pace than envisaged in McKinsey's five-year plan and the numbers of beneficiaries are also significantly lower.
There is a huge gap to bridge between 700 pupils in 36 Mawhiba School Partnership schools and a national programme that directly benefits 3% of the Saudi school population – around 140,000 pupils spread across some 26,000 schools – and indirectly benefits all of their fellow learners.
The design is hugely ambitious but the practical delivery to date does not yet begin to match it. The 14,000 participant target in the Ninth Development Plan looks a 'big ask'. The subsequent roll-out process will be critical and very demanding, and it will depend heavily on the urgent development of sufficient homegrown Saudi capacity to support it.
There has clearly been enormous investment in the design of support systems for schools but, even if we assume that all pupils benefit, not just the identified 3%, the current unit cost per pupil must be unsustainable even for a country as rich as Saudi Arabia.
It is surprising that Mawhiba seems to remain entirely separate from the wider Tatweer education reform strategy. One might anticipate that a siloed gifted education programme is much less likely to succeed. Surely Tatweer and Mawhiba need to be brought into a closer relationship than is apparent at present.
I could trace no formal evaluation of the Foundation's performance or of the progress to date on Mawhiba. Evidently it is not customary for Saudis to appear critical of any initiative which carries the name of their King.
Only one commentator is prepared to offer a public critique of Saudi progress on gifted education more generally.
In a presentation called 'The Benchmarks of Gifted and Talented Education in Saudi Arabia' given to an international conference in Abu Dhabi in October 2010, Dr Maajeeny, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at King Abdul Aziz University (KAU), says most parents, professionals and other stakeholders are not satisfied with progress to date because:
only a few gifted students are identified and less than half of those can access provision;
testing is of questionable quality and there is too much small scale practice rather than 'systematic scientific services';
there are too few qualified teachers concentrated in a small number of schools and too few researchers with expertise in the field;
there is limited funding available, limited training and few incentives to encourage staff to engage with gifted programmes;
attention is confined almost exclusively to STEM subjects; older students and adults are not properly served and pre-school services are not yet available;
public awareness is limited, while officials and administrators lack enthusiasm and some are reluctant to accept changes to accommodate the needs of gifted learners; and
effective co-ordination between service providers is 'still random and primitive'.
This view an expert may be contrasted with the picture painted in the article I referenced earlier about educational progress in Saudi Arabia more generally.
This suggests that wider education reforms are facing active resistance from powerful conservative religious interests and that they are at risk of being sidelined as a consequence of changes in national leadership.
While progress may be perceived as too slow by those who understand and support the initiative – and by the gifted learners who stand to benefit – the conservative faction in Saudi society will have the opposite view.
Which is why effective communication, consultation and awareness-raising are going to be so critical to the success of Mawhiba.
Will the Kingdom be able to introduce a full national programme for gifted and creative education, or will it always be a supplementary pathway, confined to relatively few forward-thinking schools?
The international competition is fierce. The Ninth National Plan reports that:
'Efforts to foster talent, creativity, and innovation culminated with the Kingdom ranking 32 among 130 nations covered by the 2008 Global Innovation Index produced by the Business School for the World (INSEAD)'.
This is quite true, but the 2009-10 INSEAD rankings place the Kingdom 54th of 132 nations, a sizeable fall of 22 places. This position is retained in the 2010-11 rankings, with no deterioration, but no improvement either. Saudi Arabia is headed by neighbours like the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. If this is a reliable yardstick, then the Kingdom faces an uphill struggle to improve its relative international competitiveness.
Will Saudi Arabia successfully make the transition to a successful KBE, following in the footsteps of countries like Singapore and South Korea, or is it destined to remain with one foot in the present and the other anchored firmly in the past?
It is simply too early to say.
Gifted Education Mawhiba Organisation Saudi Arabia
15 Comments Posted on May 24, 2011 December 4, 2012 4 Asia, Global Issues
Mawhiba: Gifted Education in Saudi Arabia (Part One)
This two-part post is intended to draw together the information available online about Mawhiba, the Saudi Arabian gifted and creative education programme.
Compiling the post has not been an easy task.
The Mawhiba website is oddly constructed. There are actually two parallel sites – one for Mawhiba and one for the Foundation that preceded and created it – though the latter frequently tips one back into the former. Several of the most significant pages on the Mawhiba side are still 'under construction'.
The online architecture reflects the puzzling real-life relationship between the organisation overseeing Mawhiba (its full name is the King Abdul-Aziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity) and Mawhiba itself.
Sometimes they are treated as quite distinct; sometimes as two sides of the same coin. Just occasionally the Foundation is also called Mawhiba. This can make it hard to interpret parts of the online narrative, particularly when they are generated by third parties whose relationship with either entity is unclear.
This third party material is also rather fragmented. Much of it has to be dredged up through exhaustive keyword searches. Significant chunks are in Arabic. While online translation tools struggle purposefully with the websites, they are not nearly so reliable when invited to tackle the PDFs that typically carry the important factual detail.
So preparing this material has required more detective work than usual. It has felt like piecing together a jigsaw with several missing pieces. I have drawn on all the material I could find at May 2011. If further documentation is published, or if readers have access to additional information that they can make publicly available, I cordially invite them to add it to the record in whatever way they prefer.
This is all rather surprising given the extensive involvement of international contractors in the design and delivery of Mawhiba, most of them working in English so presumably needing to have their work translated into Arabic.
It also shows up the limited depth and penetration of Mawhiba's communications and awareness-raising strand, at least as far as the international audience is concerned.
The dearth of reliable information means that it is all too easy to underestimate or, conversely, to over-estimate the significance of what has been called:
'the most comprehensive educational approach in the world to nurturing high performance and creativity' (Room at the Top, page 48).
The real purpose of this post is to help us get Mawhiba properly into perspective.
Saudi Arabia and its Education System
We should begin with a short context-setting preface, to help those unfamiliar with Saudi Arabia and its education system to get their bearings.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is the largest country in the Arabian peninsula and the 14th largest by area in the world. It covers a land mass similar in size to Western Europe, although over 95% is either desert or semi-desert.
Courtesy of NormanEinstein
The national population is about 26 million, but over 20% of them do not have Saudi nationality, including a huge influx of visiting workers. The capital city, Riyadh, has a population of 4.7 million. Other large cities such as Jeddah, Mecca, Medina and Dammam have populations upward of 1 million apiece.
KSA is governed as a hereditary monarchy: since 2005 the King and Prime Minister has been Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz al Saud. (The Foundation that oversees Mawhiba was established by the King before he ascended the throne and he retained the role subsequently).
The country itself is named after the ruling family, which first assumed power in the 18th Century, although the Kingdom was founded as recently as 1932.
The education system comprises:
Kindergarten (ages 3-5) – non-compulsory and attended by about 11% of the relevant population;
Primary (ages 6-11 covering Grades 1-6). Children take the General Elementary School Certificate at the end of Grade 6;
Intermediate (ages 12-14 covering Grades 7-9). Pupils take the Intermediate School Certificate at the end of Grade 9; and
Secondary (ages 15-18 covering Grades 10-12). Students may attend a general, a religious or a technical secondary school. Those in general schools choose in their second year between three tracks: administration and social science, natural science, and shariah and Arabic studies. Technical schools may focus on industrial, commercial or agricultural studies.
Schools are segregated by gender but males and females follow the same curriculum and take the same examinations.
University students typically take a bachelor's degree after four years of study. A master's degree requires two further years and a doctorate three years more. Technical colleges and institutes offer courses leading to certificates and diplomas of up to three years' duration.
The higher education sector has recently undergone rapid expansion and includes 24 public universities, 8 private universities and 45 technological colleges and technical institutes. There are 4,885 secondary schools, 7,826 intermediate schools and 13,626 primary schools. These serve some 450,000 teachers and around 4.6 million pupils.
(These figures are almost certainly already out of date but they serve as reasonable indicators of the relative size of the system.)
This US Embassy briefing provides additional accessible background material on education in Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom is engaged in a major and many-stranded education reform process, also instigated by the King. This is called Tatweer (meaning 'Development') and has its own website in English.
This recent press report describes vividly some of the shortcomings of the Saudi education system that Tatweer is designed to address, its limited impact to date and the huge obstacles that it needs to overcome. It suggests that some of these reforms will take a decade or even a generation to come to fruition, and there is real scepticism over the prospects of success.
The other Western news articles here and here and the Saudi take here provide more background on the purpose and scope of Tatweer. There is also a detailed delivery plan available online, dating from 2009.
Since 1970, the Saudi Government has set out in a series of detailed five-year plans how it expects to reform and improve every aspect of national performance.
The most recent plans, available in English on the website of the Ministry of Economy and Planning, show how thoroughly the Kingdom has dedicated itself to the development path of a knowledge-based economy (KBE). They also position the national investment in gifted education within that broader context.
The current Plan, the Ninth, covers 2009-2013. Chapter 5 is dedicated to the country's development as a KBE:
'A knowledge-based economy is defined as "an economy that is capable of knowledge production, dissemination and use; where knowledge is a key factor in growth, wealth creation and employment, and where human capital is the driver of creativity, innovation and generation of new ideas, with reliance on information and communication technology (ICT) as an enabler". Moreover, there is a positive correlation and mutual interaction between the "knowledge society" and the "knowledge–based economy". In addition, "knowledge" has become a critical requirement for enhancing competitiveness of countries in the twenty first century.
Theory, experience and present international practices affirm that contemporary global drivers of economic growth are different than in the past. More than ever before in human history, the economy is now dependent on the knowledge factor for growth. To respond positively to these developments and ensure enhancement of competitive capacities of the national economy, it is essential for economic policies to pay attention to knowledge….
The Eighth Development Plan focussed on fundamental developments that laid the basis for heading towards a knowledge-based economy. These included starting implementation of the first five-year plan of the Science and Technology National Policy; adopting the National ICT Plan, the National Industrial Strategy, and the Strategy and Plan for Giftedness, Creativity and Innovation; establishing the Knowledge City in Medina, and the technical zone of the Saudi Organization for Industrial Estates and Technology Zones in Dammam; proceeding with preparation of a new strategy for higher education (AFAQ); and advancing privatization.
The Ninth Development Plan adopts the drive towards a knowledge-based economy through focussing on education, which disseminates knowledge, paving the way for knowledge transfer and accumulation and thereafter knowledge generation, and utilisation of knowledge in various economic and social sectors, particularly in production and service activities. Through these endeavours, the Plan seeks to enhance the comparative advantages of the economy, add to it new competitive advantages, diversify it, and increase its productivity and competitiveness, as well as create appropriate employment opportunities for citizens.'
'A knowledge-based economy is based on utilisation of the outputs of the knowledge system to create new products and services through innovation. Although, according to the Global Innovation Index, innovation in the Kingdom is still a significant challenge, a springboard for development of innovation has been put in place. For example, national industries have developed significantly over the past three decades, and now have strong bases of knowledge upon which to build towards the new economy, particularly with the adoption of the National Industrial Strategy, and its implementation mechanism that espouses knowledge-based economy, and the Strategy for Giftedness, Creativity and Innovation.'
The remainder of the Chapter identifies a series of challenges that need to be overcome, one of which is:
'Giftedness, creativity and innovation: Growing interest in developing talent, creativity and innovation has been manifested in the adoption of a National Strategy for Fostering Giftedness, Creativity and Innovation, the establishment of the King Abdul-Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, and the establishment of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Nonetheless, more efforts are needed to enhance the thrust of the drive towards a knowledge-based economy, and achieve excellence in universities and higher-education institutes, as well as of scientists, technologists and innovators.'
The plan includes two targets specifically relating to gifted education:
'Increasing the number of (male and female) students who benefit from "giftedness and creativity" initiatives, to reach around 14 thousand annually by the end of the Plan.'
and, in the chapter on education:
'Establishing a research unit for the gifted and qualifying existing centres to enable them to design, develop and implement special programmes for the gifted'.
There is also a descriptive piece on Mawhiba in Chapter 21, on Science, Technology and Innovation.
A Brief and Approximate History of Gifted Education in Saudi Arabia
One source suggests that there have been three distinct stages in the history of Saudi gifted education:
development of the National Project for Identifying and Servicing the Gifted;
implementation of that National Project; and
establishing the King Abdul Aziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity.
Elsewhere, we learn that the 'General Document of Educational Policy', produced in 1970, included the following provision:
'It is very important to discover and identify the gifted learners among all Saudi young children and youth, nurture them by all means to unveil their potentials, and pay extra attention and efforts to provide them with special programs and appropriate opportunities that can be integrated easily into the Country's Public Educational System.' (Rule 57)
This led to the introduction of academic competitions and exhibitions, annual awards and scholarships and small-scale research.
More concerted efforts were made from 1991 when researchers from King Saud University and officials from the Ministry of Education and the General Presidency for Girls' Education secured funding from the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology for a five-year programme to develop identification tests and enrichment activities in maths and science.
During this period a Bachelor of Education Degree in Gifted Education was also established in the Faculty of Education at King Saud University.
The Ministry of Education subsequently commissioned members of the same team to establish a 'Gifted Identification and Fostering Programme' in selected schools in some of Saudi Arabia's major cities. The male students' programme started in 1997 and the female students' programme a year later.
These programmes included teacher training, the administration of identification tests, the introduction and evaluation of enrichment activities, and efforts to raise parental and public awareness.
The Ministry established its own directorate for male gifted education in 1999/2000 and, two years later, a parallel directorate for female students. The director of the former is accountable to the Minister of Education (who is also deputy head of the King Abdul-Aziz Foundation).
The directorate for male gifted education includes separate units responsible for Nurturing and Enrichment Programmes, Planning and Training and Discovering and Identification. It brokers a series of enrichment activities and 'gifted Nurturing Centers'. The female equivalent presumably has a similar structure.
The Origins of the Foundation
To support these efforts, the King Abdul-Aziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity was founded in 1999, an independent non-profit organisation based in Riyadh and dedicated to identifying and supporting young gifted and talented Saudis. The King himself (then the Crown Prince) assumed the Presidency.
The Foundation was funded by King Fahad, the Crown Prince and other princes and businessmen. One source says that the total value of the Foundation is £50 million and that it also receives from the Government an annual running costs budget of about £2.5 million.
This record, reporting the first meeting of the Foundation, says that the King, the Crown Prince and Prince Sultan together donated 69 million Saudi Riyals (about £11.4m), 30 million was donated by the King, plus an annual one million Riyal contribution to 'the King Abdul Aziz Organisation for the Care of Gifted Students'. The Crown Prince gave 29 million plus an annual grant of 500,000 Riyals and Prince Sultan a further 10 million Riyals.
Its original goals were to:
facilitate and foster giftedness, invention and creativity;
create professional pathways in medicine, environmental science, communication, education, the arts, telecommunication, engineering sciences and technology;
support and provide enrichment activities;
educate the population (parents, teachers and employers) about methods of nurturing gifts and talents; and
assist educational and professional institutions across the Kingdom to develop G&T education programmes.
Today the Foundation describes its mission thus:
'To support the establishment and development of a creative environment and society so the talented and gifted individuals can harness and exploit their talents to serve the nation.'
And it identifies three main strategic goals: to nurture giftedness and creativity in both males and females; to support national abilities in generating innovative ideas; and to foster young, gifted and creative leaders in the field of science and technology.
Picture courtesy of FlickrJunkie
The Mawhiba Strategic Plan
Mawhiba, which literally means 'gift', 'talent' or 'favour' (and can be used as a name for either a boy or a girl) is essentially the Foundation's 15-year strategic plan, launched in 2008 but prepared the previous year following an extensive consultancy by McKinsey and Company.
One used to be able to find online a Mawhiba Strategic Plan Presentation which appears to summarise the McKinsey work for the Foundation (but it seems to have been taken down since I first published this post).
The underpinning aspiration for the Project is expressed in terms of developing the infrastructure to support giftedness, creativity and innovation throughout the human life cycle. This initial 'lifelong learning' focus is almost immediately scaled back to focus on schooling, higher education and early working life.
The McKinsey team undertook extensive international benchmarking, a literature review and a domestic situation analysis. The benchmarking activity included a review of practice in 20 countries and 90 organisations as well as in-depth analysis of over 20 unnamed institutions in Finland, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland and the UK.
The situational analysis identified four key developments in the Kingdom:
increasing emphasis on knowledge-based industries, so increasing the demand for innovation;
a growing youth population leading to higher levels of youth unemployment;
(rather curiously) the admission of the USA to the World Trade Organisation in January 2005, leading to increased competition; and
more general international competition for highly-skilled workers, leading to a domestic shortage in KSA.
The presentation goes on to list several initiatives already introduced as a response to this scenario, explaining that Mawhiba will complement these by feeding the pipeline that supplies young gifted and talented leaders.
The long term vision, set 15 years ahead in 2022 is:
'To be a creative society with a critical mass of gifted and talented young leaders who are innovative, highly-educated and well-trained to support the sustained growth and prosperity of the Kingdom.'
This vision is to be realised through three consecutive five-year plans, the first completed in 2012-13 (so broadly aligned with the Kingdom's national 5-year plans).
During the initial 5-year phase, five priority initiatives are recommended:
Mawhiba school partnerships covering both the primary and secondary sectors;
Mawhiba enrichment programmes, involving summer schools and after-school activity for the primary and secondary sectors, plus competitions and awards that also extend into the HE sector;
Mawhiba Young Leaders and Scholarship Programme, designed for those in tertiary/higher education and the initial stages of employment;
Mawhiba Creative Work Environment Initiative for those in the early stages of emplyment; and
an overarching awareness and communications initiative spanning the full age range apart from pre-school provision.
There is also reference to a research and policy unit that will offer cross-cutting support.
There is no explanation as to why none of the five initiatives address the pre-school phase: this is presumably set aside until the second five-year plan. A note confirms that there is no automatic transition between the four student-focused elements, each of which has separate selection criteria.
The presentation includes positive comments from several international experts consulted on the draft plan, but they counsel staged implementation, recommending the Saudis to draw initially on international expertise but to concentrate on building domestic capacity in the medium to long term.
The Mawhiba Brochure (2007 Edition)
One can trace the influence of this work on a Brochure subtitled 'Special Issue for King Abdullah University for Science and Technology Inauguration 21 October 2007'.
It confirms that a 'Strategy and Action Plan for Fostering Giftedness and Creativity' has been developed by the Foundation in collaboration with McKinsey which prioritises the development of science, technology and leadership, but also personal and social skills.
It refers to five main components, but these are different to those described in the McKinsey publication. Instead we have reference to the Foundation's existing portfolio of activities:
Programmes and services:
Mawhiba Summer Programmes – enrichment events of four weeks' duration based in domestic and international universities. The summer schools will develop students' cognitive abilities as well as personal, social and emotional skills. The initial series comprised 16 events catering for 550 students.
The 'Imagine Service' which aims to develop innovation in middle and high school students by encouraging them to develop their ideas with online feedback and support from experts in the relevant fields.
The 'Shawer Service' (I'm unclear why it is called this) which provides advice and counselling for gifted students, their parents and educators through an online service, a telephone helpline and face-to-face counselling.
Conferences and exhibitions: in 2006 the Foundation organised the 'Scientific Regional Conference for Giftedness' an international event to raise awareness of gifted education in the Kingdom and in the wider Arab world. In March 2008 it organised with Aramco the first Saudi Innovation Exhibition.
Competitions and awards. There is an annual award for scientific creativity designed for male and female innovators up to the age of 25 and two competitions in robotics.
The National Portal for Giftedness, Creativity and Innovation for young people, their parents, teachers and educators. This is described as 'an electronic oasis' and is not expected to be in place until March 2008.
Finally there is a Customer Service Centre providing support for all those engaged in delivering the services above.
By 2009, the Brochure has undergone substantive revision, but there are still two competing sets of priorities. The five identified by McKinsey are stated very briefly but the second half of the Brochure is an updated version of the 2007 edition, once again outlining the existing Foundation work programme.
This perhaps suggests that the integration of the McKinsey plan into the existing work of the Foundation took some considerable time and no little effort to bring about.
In this version, the Foundation's three fundamental objectives are essentially: improving and expanding the education offer for gifted learners; promoting society's awareness of gifted education and creativity; and supporting the Kingdom's sustainable development.
The document goes on to state several guiding principles that are said to emerge from these objectives:
(as per McKinsey) focusing on all phases of the education system and beyond into employment;
'nourishing the ambition of reaching a shortlist which includes the best 3% of all Saudi students';
building and developing creativity, leadership, critical thinking and innovation and developing advanced skills maths, science and IT;
working in collaboration with any organisation or institution (public or private) that supports the vision;
the importance of admitting candidates from different backgrounds and from all sectors and categories of Saudi society; and
the need to raise awareness of Foundation programmes as well as wider issues relating to giftedness and creativity
There is still material about programmes and services, conferences and exhibitions, competitions and awards. The online portal has become the 'National Electronic Gate for Giftedness and Creativity'
' It aims to provide the users with quality interactive services that enable them to communicate through educational games, a multi-media library, special forums, and chat groups'.
The fifth priority is changed to 'education and enlightenment' but there is no text to describe what it entails. Maybe this is McKinsey's awareness-raising and communication strand.
The Brochure also explains that, in collaboration with the Arab League Educational Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO) the Foundation has established a parallel unified Arab strategy for giftedness with a vision for 2025. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed and the strategy approved at a Tunisia conference in December 2008.
This involves:
Approving national strategies for the sponsorship of giftedness and creativity;
Assigning national agencies and institutions to undertake them;
Improving existing opportunities for educating gifted people and promoting society's awareness of the importance of giftedness and creativity; and
contributing to targeted sustainable development in the Arab countries
I have found no subsequent update on this parallel pan-Arab strategy, which may or may not be proceeding.
May 2011.


Patrick is the President of Kozmic Lazer Show, LLC. located in Nashville TN. He has a Bachelor of Music in Composition and Theory. This greatly enhances his ability to improvise on all genres of music and anticipate on the first hearing. Patrick also is the inventor of all our wonderful toys.
Steve is the Events Logistics for Kozmic Lazer Show, LLC. He has a Bachelor of Communications. Steve's role is to organize logistics on site. His biggest attribute is to plan. He is our Lead Crew Chief on the job as well. It is Steve's ability to use his logic in the field and in the shop, to minimize time and money loss.
Theodore is in charge of Sales and Promotion in the Southeast USA. He has a Bachelor in Political Science. He has the type of personality that everyone enjoys being around. Theodore is also bullet proof to the word "No" or a phone hang up. If the job is out there, watch out fellow competitors.
Michael is in charge of Programming inventions and Trouble shooting them as well. He has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering. Michael best quality is his patience, especially when building all our wonderful toys.
Grergor our Event Coordinator for multi-vendor events. He has a Master's in English and Theatre & Film; and brings an impresssive 11 years of being the Ryman's Stage Manager with him. This background enhances his ability work with our most elite clientèle. He is the one who will make your turn key event run smoothly. Gregor is the newest member of our team.
Jim is our in house Genius. He has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering. Make it work Jim...! "Ok..." I have seen him build a satellite dish with only a mayonnaise jar, one pickle, a fork and some aluminum foil. Jim makes my inventions stop melting into a liquid on the bench and makes them functional. If you are ever stuck on an Island, Jim is the person you want with you.
Mike is our in out of house Genius. He has a Bachelor of Physics. Mike is in charge of circuit board layouts and CAD drawings; long before the inventions are sent into production or released. I forgot to mention, Mike actually builds lasers in his free time.


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Opposition to Marriage
28 March 2014 Written by Aschalew Ashagrie and Martha Belete
As discussed earlier, marriage is an institution to be entered into with the full and free consent of the parties. This assertion suggests that it is primarily the parties themselves who will have a say on whether they should be joined by matrimony or not. However, from our discussion on chapter one, what we can also infer is that the society and the state also have interest in the marriage of the two individuals. The society and the state regulate and provide protection for the institution of marriage. The law, by way of regulating the relationship, has provided certain conditions which are essential for the validity of a marriage. The society as well as the executive organ of the government, on the other hand, has the obligation to oversee the observance of these essential conditions prior to the conclusion of the marriage.
In the following section the discussion will focus on as to who may bring an opposition for the conclusion of marriage, to whom this opposition may be made, when this opposition should be made and the form of the opposition.
Who may oppose?
Depending on the essential condition which is violated, the persons who may oppose to the conclusion of the marriage differ. When the condition violated is age, there are potentially three groups of persons who are given the right to oppose. The first one is the parents of the minor. If one of the future spouses have not attained the minimum marriageable age stipulated by the law i.e. 18 years, then the parents of that minor may oppose to the marriage. In many instances underage marriages are arranged by the parents of the minor themselves. In such situations obviously other persons should be given the right to oppose for the marriage. This is where the public prosecutor comes into picture. Apart from the fact the parents of the minor are involved in the planning of the marriage and hence not opposing to its conclusion; underage marriage is considered as a criminal act. Moreover, the state has also the obligation to see the respect for the essential conditions of marriage. Therefore, the law gives the public prosecutor the right to oppose the underage marriage. Last but very importantly, the law gives 'any other interested person' a right to oppose the underage marriage. Here, one very important question is as to who can this 'any interested person' be. Does it refer to any passerby or it has qualifications?
In civil suits persons who may by plaintiffs are qualified under article 33/2 of the Civil Procedure Code. This article requires a person to have a vested interest in the subject matter of the suit, to be qualified as a plaintiff. That is to say, the outcome of the suit has to affect the person either positively or negatively so that he can be the real party in the suit. Article 18/a of the RFC should also be construed in this manner even if we are not talking about court proceedings. As a result, when the law refers to 'any other interested person' it refers to those parties who may be directly or indirectly affected by the conclusion of the underage marriage. Under this group are included those NGOs which are working on the prevention of underage marriages. If they oppose the conclusion of an underage marriage, it means they are achieving one of the goals of their establishment, and hence making them an interested party.
When the essential condition violated is relationship by consanguinity or affinity, the right to oppose the marriage is given to the ascendants of both or one of the future spouses as well as their brothers and sisters who have attained the full age of 18 years. Apart from these persons, the public prosecutor, as the organ having the obligation to safeguard the interest of the society and the state, is given the right to oppose this marriage.
In cases of bigamous marriages, there are two persons who may oppose. The first one is the previous wife or husband of the bigamous spouse. Bigamy is considered under the criminal code of 2004 as a crime, unless it is justified by the religion or custom of the person. Hence, the public prosecutor has some interest in the prevention of conclusion of this kind of marriage. As a result, article 18 also provides the public prosecutor a right to oppose such marriages.
In the case of judicial interdiction, it is the guardian of the interdicted person and the public prosecutor who may oppose to the marriage.
As we can see from the above discussions, the persons who have the right to oppose conclusion of marriage is different with the difference in the type of condition violated, with the exception of the public prosecutor. One of the functions of the public prosecutor is to see that the peace, security and interest of the general public are fulfilled (respected). The public, on the other hand, has an interest in the marriages of individuals. Hence, the public prosecutor will have the duty to take action (by way of opposition) whenever essential conditions of marriage are to be violated.
The next question to be raised in relation to opposition is 'to whom should it be made?' this is answered by referring article 19 of the RFC. The Amharic version of this article provides that opposition is to be made to the marriage celebrating officer while the English version limits it to the officer of civil status. Following the English version will have its own dangers. First, it makes reference only to civil marriages because it makes only the officer of civil status the competent organ to receive complaints (oppositions). This means, if the marriage is either religious or customary marriage, there is no organ empowered to entertain the opposition, as the officer of civil status is not empowered to celebrate these marriages. Secondly, one of the rules of interpretation of laws as enshrined under article 2/4 of proclamation 3/95 (Federal Negarit Gazeta establishment Proclamation) states that in cases of discrepancy between the Amharic and English version of the negarit gazeta, the Amharic version prevails. Hence, for these two reasons we have to follow the Amharic version of the code.
Accordingly, opposition is to be made to the organ which has the power to celebrate the marriage. If the marriage to be celebrated is a civil marriage, opposition will be made t the officer of civil status. On the other hand if it is a religious or customary marriage, the opposition has to be made to either to religious fathers or to the elderly people celebrating the marriage, depending on the situation.
In order to show the seriousness of the case, the opposition is required to be made in a written form. Hence, there is no oral opposition to marriage. There is also a time limit attached. The opposition has to be made 15 days before the celebration of marriage. In civil marriages, there may not be that much of a problem in the time limit at least as far as the law is concerned. Article 23 of the RFC requires the future spouses to notify the officer of civil status of their intention to conclude marriage, a month before its celebration, and the latter has the obligation to publicize the same. The idea here is everyone will have access to the notification publicized by the officer of civil status and hence within two weeks those interested persons will make opposition. (there will be 2 weeks left prior to the conclusion of the marriage). However, when it comes to the other modes of conclusion of marriage, this kind of stipulation is not provided, making observance of article 19 somehow impractical. The law provided the maximum time within which the opposition has to be made. This limitation takes into account various societal values and the burden on the future spouses. Hence, the observance has to be strictly followed.
The other very important issue in relation to opposition is issue of appeal from the decision on opposition. The person to whom opposition is made has to make its decision within five days. If the celebrating officer rejects the opposition and decides to continue the celebration of the marriage, the decision will be final one. However, if the decision is to accept the opposition and suspended the celebration of the marriage, the future spouses or one of them may appeal to the court against the decision. This article shows the weight given to the right of the future spouses to form family.
in Family Law
More in this category: « Essential Conditions of Marriage Effects of Violation of Essential Conditions of Marriage »

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This circuit is a rewarding first project — with just nine components you can get the satisfying effect of making LEDs light up and blink. The circuit's functionality is charmingly complex despite its simplicity. Understanding how it works will provide a taste of the analog side of electronics, and is a fun puzzle!
You'll need a couple of additional tools and materials in order to put this kit together: a soldering iron (such as this one optionally), and solder. You may like a "third hands" for holding the board while you working on it- or, if you like, you can use the wooden stand to hold the board while you solder. Batteries are not included in the kit, and you can choose to use the alligator clips to hook up a battery or power supply of your choosing, or you can assemble the SMT Battery Clip to the reverse side, in which case you'll want to supply either a 3V 2032 coin cell battery or two 3V 2016s (to form a 6V stack).
Many circuit builders find it helpful to assemble the components from shortest to tallest on the board. Start by inserting the four resistors, R1, R2, R3, and R4. Bend the leads outward to hold them in place while you solder them. You may consider using the wooden stand to hold the board at a pleasing angle while you solder. After this, insert the two transistors, and finally the remaining two capacitors and both LEDs. Then turn the PCB over, and as a final step, attach by soldering the SMT battery clip into place. If you like, you may also choose to clean the solder flux a bit using the alcohol pad, and you can assemble the included rubber feet either onto the circuit board (to give it a bit of grip laying flat) or onto the bottom of the wooden stand for long-term display.
Attach a battery or power supply to this circuit and see the lights turn on and blink!


LOS ANGELES – Cigarette smoking hit a record low in the first three months of the year, with only 15.2% of U.S. adults lighting up on a regular basis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.
That's a significant drop from the 16.8% smoking rate for 2014, the CDC said.
The figure is based on preliminary results from the CDC's National Health Interview Survey. When the data were weighted to account for the actual ages of the U.S. population, it rose to 15.3% – still below the age-adjusted 17% rate for 2014.
Men continue to smoke at higher rates than women – 17.4% versus 13%, the CDC said. However, men also outnumber women among former smokers – 24.3% of men have kicked the habit, along with 19.9% of women. That leaves 67% of women who have never smoked and 58.3% of men.
In early 2015, the smoking rate among younger adults between 18 and 44 was 17%, practically identical to the 16.9% rate for middle-aged Americans between 45 and 64. However, among senior citizens, the smoking rate was only 7.5%, the CDC said.
Latinos (10.4%) were less likely to smoke than whites (17.1%) and African Americans (18.1%), the data show. No figures were reported for Asians or any other racial or ethnic group.
The new report shows a steady decline in smoking rates since 2009, when 20.6% of U.S. adults were current smokers. In 1997, nearly 25% of Americans were smokers.


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"Hurts in the worst way but you live too rich for the #AllTheFeels. Girl – they'll be naming painkillers after you."
Naming Painkillers is a debut collection of poems and short stories that explore modern dating culture, youth, womanhood, love, lust, and loss in New York and in the many cities of Europe. Both raw and entertaining, Naming Painkillers mixes internet and pop culture references like hashtags with allusions to 20th-century poetry.
The stories and poems move between present-day Brooklyn, the author's twenties in Helsinki, and travel back to her eclectic childhood touring in the circus in central Europe.
Naming Painkillers paints a vivid picture of characters and neuroses typical to New York, female insecurities, and the undoing of love affairs doomed by our own demons or timing.
Christine Göös is a New York -based writer who grew up touring in the circus in Central Europe. Drawing inspiration from her unique childhood and studies in western literature, Christine alludes to an eclectic mix of writers and creators from Neruda to Pavese, Girls, Emma Kline and The First Aid Kit. Her writing combines classical symbolism with mundane and often humorous pop culture and internet references.


On the first Monday of Spring each year we like to think that the late Jason Goodwin is looking down on the outstanding line up of lambs at our annual Spring lamb show and feature sale - and we think he may well have been today as the heavens opened up as Simon Burke announced Robert Carey as this year's winner of the 2018 Jason Goodwin Memorial Shield for his export weight (50+kg) lambs. Robert took out the title for his "hand-picked" pen of 70-76 kg, Jan and July shorn lambs,off barley grain and hay sourced from South Australia. They were knocked down by agent Simon Burke to RJ Fletcher for $300 with Robert donating $300 to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.
Robert credited part of his success to Simon's advice to "get them big, really big" and said he was elated to be in such esteemed company of the previous title winners. He also thanked the sponsors for their support, particularly the Douglas Family from Abalene Park Poll Dorsets, whose rams sired many of the lambs today. After supporting the show since it's inception 11 years ago, Simon said there was no more deserving winner than Robert.
The trade lamb (45-49.5kg) category was won by Wheatacres through DCM. They made $278. The light weight (40-44.5kg) category was won by JA Livingston through Pitt and they made $159.
Stuart, Phillip and Mitch Steiger confirmed their place as our premier lamb producers today smashing their own record price for lambs with an outstanding pen of Jan shorn, ten and a half month old lambs off the oats, estimated by buyers at 76kg, sold by Ian Morgan Livestock for $292. We're claiming it as a national record after Wagga claimed the record at $276.20 on 28th June and Dubbo hit $286.20 earlier today.
It comes just 4 weeks after Tarakan set a Tamworth record price of $253, smashing the record they also set on 6th June last year. Stuart Steiger was here to see the lambs sold and was extremely pleased with the result but regretting that there's no more left at home. Congratulations to the vendors on an outstanding result. And good new travels fast - word had filtered through to Dubbo before our sale had even finished today! Click here for the full sale report.
There may be no clouds around but there is definitely a silver lining with a new record price of $253 for lambs sold by IML on account Stuart Steiger, "Tarakan", Cobbadah in Tamworth today, smashing the record price of $232 also set by Tarakan on 5th June last year.
Stuart was on hand to see his lambs sold and, although cautiously optimistic and humble, they were plenty of people tipping they'd make a record price. Stuart was thrilled to break their own record "during one of the worst droughts" he's ever seen, adding "it was pretty hard to get them here because they haven't had much feed." Although he's sold heavier lambs he said "these were heavy enough trying to drag out to crutch yesterday" and with 500 acres of oats sown, and another 50-60 lambs at home, if he gets any rain he'll try to hang on to those, ultimately packing as much weight on them as possible. Congratulations on a magnificent pen of lambs Stuart.
Neil and Beth Higgins, "Old Crockford", Nowendoc have taken out the 5th annual Virbac Weaner Challenge in Tamworth with their outstanding quality Angus x Hereford weaner steers (pictured ) sold through Chris Paterson Livestock and described by judge, Rob McCarthy as "long, big, growthy steers". They were knocked down for $980.
The Higgins break the winning streak of the Haling Family from Woolbrook who have won the past 4 titles and sold their complete drop of weaners today. The best pen of heifers went to Colly Creek Pastoral Co, "Colly Creek" Willow Tree for their Angus heifers sold through Ian Morgan Livestock. In announcing the winners, judge Rob McCarthy commended all vendors on producing "outstanding cattle in some of the worst conditions" and agents said the market was much better than expected given the recent trends and seasonal conditions.


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:: Who we are
ANESI concourses to the vision of the Earth Sciences Education Initiative in Africa to trigger the emergence of the new generation of African earth scientists who are equipped with the necessary tools, networks and perspectives to apply sound science to solving and benefiting from the challenges and opportunities of sustainable development.
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The organizational structure of ANESI is as follows:
The Executive Board will be responsible for decision-making on strategic matters and comprises 12 voting members as follows:-
Five Representatives of Universities and Research Institutes (1 per African region)
One Representative of Earth science related industries
One Representative of funding agencies (Sida)
One Representative of the Geological Society of Africa (GSAf)
One representative of the African Association of Women in Geosciences (AAWG)
One Representative of the Organization of African Geological Surveys (OAGS)
One Representative of the African Union
One Representative of UNESCO
The five representatives of Universities and Research Institutes in the African region are as follows:-
Northern: Prof. Kmar Ben ismail-Lattrache, Université El Manar, Tunisia
Southern: Prof. Moctar Doucoure, Africa Earth Observatory Network - Earth Stewardship Science Research Institute, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Eastern: Prof. Asfawossen Asrat, University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Western: Prof. El Hadji Sow, University Check Anta Diop, Senegal, (Francophone countries)
Prof. Tijani Moshood, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, (Anglophone countries)
Central: Dr. Joseph Victor Hell from the Institute for Geological and Mining Research, Yaoundé, Cameroon
The current members of the Executive Board of ANESI are holding office in the interim. Comprehensive elections will be held at the Colloquium of African Geology (CAG-26) in November 2016 in Nigeria.
The Secretariat, provisionally hosted and coordinated by the UNESCO Office in Nairobi, will be responsible for implementing the decisions of the Executive Board and ANESI's operational activities.
:: Membership
ANESI Members are recruited from earth science department of African universities, earth sciences research institutions, African geological surveys and from earth science related industries
Copyright © 2020 ANESI. All Rights Reserved.
Earth Sciences Unit, UNESCO Nairobi Office, UN Avenue, Gigiri, Block C


But the wait is well worth it!
Gone is the traditional dress and the gilt Singha (half lion, half bird) of their last restaurant, Kin Kao, replaced by black-clad wait staff, burnt orange and black theming and funky but comfortable black faux leather and timber chairs.
After the sale of Kin Kao in 2014, Jon and Tuk took a well-earned holiday.
Heat over high heat until oil is shimmering.Then, in July 2015, John and Tuk started a new restaurant, this time At Thai on Frank with partner Apple Leighton (owner of Thai House, Sanctuary Cove).So far, our favourite lunch dish is Khao Soi (14 a rich coconut curry noodle soup with chicken.(If a cube of bread sizzles when you drop it in, it's orbis casino warszawa ready.) Using tongs, place several chicken tenders in the hot oil without crowding the pan.If the product does indeed do well over a long period of time, and permanently improves the nature of the firm, the bonuses paid to the individual are allowed to be top casino spiele 40 retained by the individual.7, contents, implications edit, the usual objective of a clawback provision is to deter managers from publishing incorrect accounting information.
"Does Voluntary Adoption of a Clawback Provision Improve Financial Reporting Quality?".My Recipe Videos, print.The use of tax incentives for attracting jobs and capital investment has grown over the past twenty odd years to include performance measures from which to gauge a company's growth.Sarbanes-Oxley Act only applied to intentional fraud).They are highly controversial and are utilized as community based guarantees for some expectation of performance.Retrieved February 10, 2018.All dishes are made to order as well, meaning that you may need to wait for your order, plan your timing or phone ahead.


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Tag: CLK DTM
2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM AMG – REVISIT
By Andrew November 15, 2016 November 15, 2016 AMG, Mercedes Benz, Revisit
Back in September I featured the ultra rare and ultra expensive CLK-DTM that was for sale in Florida. To my surprise, another CLK-DTM popped up on eBay and of course it is my duty to report this information to everyone. Seeing as there is a handful of these cars in the United States I figured this had to be the same car. The problem was is that the original ad literally had one sentence of information. The only thing I could go on was the mileage and location. So as I compared the numbers, 2,936 miles on the car back in September while today's car has 2,948 miles and both are in Florida. Bingo. I mentioned this to the eBay seller and to his surprise had no idea this car was listed on Hemmings back in September. His digging found that a broker was using his cars to make their own listings in order to sell this car. He also found out that the Hemmings seller also used a SLS AMG Black Series and Carrera GT of his without his knowledge either. Needless to say he wasn't pleased and will be making some phone calls to said broker.
Now back to this car, it's still for sale in Miami with an asking price of $425,000. I predicted that this was would be listed at over $400,000 and hit it pretty square. I don't know if collectors are licking their lips for a 11 year-old CLK at almost a half a million dollars but then again I don't run in the same circles of people that spend four bedroom home prices on cars either. Do I think prices will ever fall on these cars? Probably not. Is this a blue chip stock that you can sell for a million dollars in 10 years? Probably not as well. If you are looking for an "investment car" there are plenty of Ferraris and Porsches out there will perform better, but if you are a Mercedes nut like I am, this one would be at the top of my list if I had the money to blow on it.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM AMG on eBay
The below post originally appeared on our site September 2nd, 2016:
Tagged 2005, AMG, CLK, CLK DTM, DTM, Kompressor, M113K, Mercedes Benz, V8, W209
2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM AMG
By Andrew September 2, 2016 September 2, 2016 AMG, Mercedes Benz
Move over Black Series, your body work is out classed here. A little over 11 years ago Mercedes took their normally tame CLK and went insane. Modeled after the 2003 CLK which won the DTM championship that year, the road-going CLK-DTM was much more than the typical AMG offerings that simply added on to the standard car that came from Mercedes. This car was totally rethought and the majority of it was re-engineered. That's what makes this car so different from a CLK55 both inside and out. Even more special is that they only produced 100 coupes and 80 convertibles, with none of them being sold in the U.S.. But today we have this 1 of 100 car for sale in West Palm Beach, Florida. So let's take a closer look at this DTM monster for the streets.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM AMG on Hemmings
2005 Mercedes CLK DTM AMG
By Evan December 24, 2010 December 23, 2010 AMG, Mercedes Benz
This week for my post representing what would be awesome to have delivered to my garage by Santa the first thing that came to my mind was CLK DTM. I looked for several days and didn't see what I wanted, after all they only made 100 of these and I want a silver one.
Then call it a holiday miracle one pops up for sale today on eBay.
This isn't the most beautiful car in the world, but it is guaranteed to catch people's eye with its muscular stance. The bulging fenders, deep bumper vents, and big spoiler all speak to the purpose of this machine. The supercharged 5.5 liter puts out almost 600 horsepower, more than its namesake Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters race car. The number is deceiving since many AMG cars these days make so much horsepower, and though not a lightweight the DTM does come in on the scale under most other recent AMG vehicle.
The DTM's weight is partly due to the retained interior comfort features. It does lose the rear seat in favor of an integrated stiffening strut and typical cushy Mercedes front seats are skipped out for significantly racier models with harnesses. A good amount of carbon fiber also helps with weight reduction. Its 220MPH speedometer might help you impress the parking lot crowd. The paddle shift five speed lets you impress those in the passenger seat as you skip to 60 in under 4 seconds on your way to a 200MPH top speed.
The CLK DTM represents some of the rawest most exclusive Mercedes power to ever hit the streets. Not quite on the same level of outrageousness as the CLK GTR, but with far better usability. You can find this kind of power elsewhere for far less money, for instance
this murdered out 2008 CL600 Renntech
with 6000 miles is pushing 645 horsepower and it costs "only" $98,900. You can even spend $100,000 less and still get a brand new top of line AMG, but it won't be as special as one of these.
This dealer is asking $374,900 for the 3500 mile car. That is a hefty premium for rarity. Plus some people might mistake it for a "typical" AMG car or one of the few boy racer clone DTMs that are out there. Cars like these don't change hands all that often so sellers can ask whatever they want. Fortunately a new owner would be able to drive the car around for awhile and then name his own price. If you are a convertible driver you can keep browsing the classifieds as they built 80 topless models too, though they have a limited top speed slightly lower than the hardtop. Seeing a car like this with the top down and the giant spoiler looks very odd. All is forgiven with a blip of the throttle and the awesome exhaust note.
I hope Santa has a big sleigh.
2005 Mercedes CLK DTM AMG on eBay
~Evan
Tagged 2005, AMG, CLK DTM, DTM, low miles, Mercedes Benz


The Monday Blog: Merry Christmas from our LEGO Loving Family!
Merry Christmas from our LEGO Loving Family!
We've been snowed and iced in for the past week and going just a little stir crazy. I was feeling a little desperate for new ways to entertain Jace when I found the site where you can create your own LEGO Minifigure Family.
We had so much fun with it. You can customize up to 13 characters--people or pets--with different skin tones, facial expressions, hair styles or hats and clothes. Jace loved being able to try out all the different looks on the minifigure faces. We decided to go with a Christmas family with Nolan and me as Mr. and Mrs. Claus and the kids as elves. We also added in Jace's special stuffed kitty, our two cats and one dog.
Once you've created all your family members you can select the scene. There were quite a few options to choose from but we chose the classic family home. After you have it all set how you like it it's easy to either download your card or share it through major social networks. I was impressed by how easy it was to create--while my 3 year old obviously needed my help, elementary aged kids could have a lot of fun trying out all sorts of combinations of looks for the people.
LEGO Minifigure Family was a fun activity for us to do. If you have LEGO loving kids, I think they would love it as well!


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