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Penn Law graduates are among the most accomplished members of the legal academy. Our office helps connect students with Law School faculty, who provide mentoring and guidance to lead interested students into tenure-track positions and successful academic careers.
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subset: commoncrawl


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On 24th of September, the day of the High Level Meeting on the Rule of Law, Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal chaired a Ministerial Breakfast on "Peaceful Settlement of Conflict".
The meeting focused on the role of the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in settling disputes peacefully, without the threat or use of force. This is a key feature of the Rule of Law, and the Netherlands is host to both institutions. In his introductory remarks Minister Rosenthal focused on arbitration and judicial settlement, as being essential for establishing the Rule of Law at the international level. In promoting the international legal order and Rule of Law, the challenge lies in translating them into concrete action. Accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ is, in the view of the Netherlands, one of the best examples of such action.


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Skip to comments.Psychiatrist: Lanza Was 'Pseudocommando' with 'Wounded Narcissism'
Posted on 12/18/2012 4:12:14 PM PST by servo1969
Psychiatrist James Knoll told CNNs Headline News today that Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, was acting in a ritualistic way during the horrific events. Knoll, who does research at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, said in a recent report that killers like Lanza see themselves as pseudocommandos driven by strong feelings of anger and resentment, in addition to having a paranoid character. He plans out the offense ritualistically, and comes prepared with a powerful arsenal of weapons.
The report continues: [The pseudocommando] most often kills in public during the daytime. And has no escape planned. Pseudocommandos are 'collectors of injustice' who nurture their wounded narcissism and ultimately retreat into a fantasy life of violence and revenge."
Knoll wrote that killers like Lanza have an obliterative mindset his self is already dead and his physical death is of little consequence in his own mind.
Knoll emailed HLN to let them know that psychiatry couldnt do much about these sorts of people. We think far too shallow about these events. We concern ourselves with metal detectors, security systems, 'profiles,' preventing 'the mentally ill' from obtaining firearms. This is shallow, facile thinking. Want to make a material impact? Think deeper. Cultivate a respect for how to teach compassion, nonviolence and personal responsibility in individual minds.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Lanza was in the autistic spectrum and was incapable of having many of the grand issues that this psychoblabber proposes he had.
Autism comes in degrees. With some it can be strong enough to retard their social capabilities but is not strong enough to retard their desire to form meaningful connections with other human beings, which is probably a bit frustrating for some people.
I wonder what role "SW:Revenge of the Sith" had to play.
THAT was one of the best responses I've seen on Freep!I will borrow it. ha.
Kudos!( and no, I'm not smart enough to know where that word Kudos came from, I just use it to sound smart).ha.
Don't they have hours of interviews with these mass killers? (Dahmer, Gacy, Holmes, etc.)
Either the experts are keeping their findings more secret than the Dead Sea Scrolls, or they really don't know how to pre-diagnose it.
How do you cultivate this in someone born without empathy or awareness?
To say these kind of people need intensive therapy is an understatement. However, I'm not sure they're redeemable; their brains are different. In spite of all the hand wringing over gun control, the real issue is treatment of the mentally ill and detection of the dangerous.
I have known people like that- they have that "Oh yeah? well I'm going to show YOU.." attitute
They are sick and twisted
I have Asperger's and my brother had syndromal autism and was low functioning. While I am not as far gone as some Asperger's folks are I still have problems identifying social cues and I've often struggled with sarcasm and metaphorical alliteration.
And autism and Asperger's are a spectrum that ranges from low functioning, medium functioning, to high functioning.
While I have problems with sarcasm I'm sure that you don't and that you're perfectly able to read this post and ferret out where I've implied that you should go have sex with yourself.
Hey, we used to have a huge institution to do just that. It was called Religion.
Applying the word narcissist to a person with autism, regardless of their level of social functioning, is something of a conflict in terms. They can't read people very well or even at all with some. Successful manipulators they are not. Grandiose? They do have their fascinations that could appear that way, but it isn't to impress anyone else, they're just compelled, it seems.
I think this psychologist is talking out of his backside too.
Second, Autism and Asperger's Syndrome (two distinctly different neuro-developmental disorders, despite the DSM-V completely removing the Asperger's label) exist on a continuum from very mild to very severe.
Third, both Autism and Asperger's manifest differently in each case, regardless of the degree of severity of the disorder.
I have for 16+ years worked with children with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. It is possible that Lanza was a person with Asperger's or High Functioning Autism. These individuals are often very bright. I have a son-in-law who is a person with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome (He has a high school aged son from his first marriage diagnosed with Asperger's. He and my daughter have a four year old daughter who, as yet, is undiagnosed, but presents nearly all of the characteristics of Asperger's). My son-in-law works in the ITT department for our local school district. With computers he is extremely gifted. With people and social situations, not so much.
Please, please, please, before commenting regarding the issue of Autism and/or Asperger's Syndrome, do some serious research. Not every person with Autism is retarded (yes, thanks to Obozo, we're not suppose to use that term). They are not all prone to violence. Not all cases of this disorder present the exact same characteristics or symptomology.
How do you teach compassion to someone who, according to educators who knew him, could feel no physical or emotional pain?
This actually describes somebody else I know of.....
Excessive narcissism with a position of near absolute power, what happens when the "I Won" gets seriously offended?
"Please, please, please, before commenting regarding the issue of Autism and/or Asperger's Syndrome, do some serious research."
I've lived with Asperger's all my life and lived with my brother's autism until he died eight years ago from pneumonia.
I'm not a psychiatrist, I just have family who are in the field. However, from what I've gleaned over the years through them, this diagnosis seems muddled in regards to his alleged autism.
Autistic individuals can have violent outbursts in some cases, but they can't have it both ways of him being low functioning autistic as the media tried making it out, and also capable of such planning.
Then again, this could just be the result of pop psychology and the immediate rush to judgement on the MSM's part.
Sorry, that was directed at other people.
LOL... great response.
Sorry for posting to you a second time but I wanted to respond to this:
"First, there is no validated evidence that Lanza had Autism or Asperger's Syndrome."
I appreciate that. At the same time the picture of Lanza that is being shown in the media is pretty typical of someone who is 'in the club'. I really don't have any actual evidence that President Obama is black but then it's somewhat obvious from his picture.
Ditto with Lanza.
Knoll wrote an article about "pseudocommandos." He pretty much owns the term and he's going to trot it out whenever something happens that has the slightest resemblance to his theory.
There's probably going to be a lot of controversy between those who play up the autism/Asperger's theory and those who are looking for other explanations. In an earlier article, Knoll mentioned those who saw Asperger's symptoms in Jeffrey Dahmer, but here he's going out of his way to avoid discussion autism.
The impression I get is that the psychodynamic stuff may have some validity, but this shooter was very, very distant from the rest of humanity and from ordinary feelings.
well said
No worries. (-:
"While I am not as far gone as some Aspergers folks are I still have problems identifying social cues and Ive often struggled with sarcasm and metaphorical alliteration."
Please, I'm not trying to be a moron here, I'm trying to understand something about the behaviour.
In the show "The Big Bang Theory" Sheldon Cooper doesn't get sarcasm and other social cues. He has trouble reading people.
Is this the type of behaviour that you're describing?
If he were completely without the ability to feel pain I'd doubt he'd be very successful with any remotely physical activity, so that sounds like an exaggeration. Medication can provoke neuropathy, but there's usually a sort of nonspecific aching associated with a surface numbness that is more specific. My father had it, nerve pain but his feet were numb, difficulty walking because he couldn't feel iiregularities beneath his feet and it affected his balance.
Many low level autistics exhibit sympoms of personality disorder along with the autism. Within personality disorder, there are a multitude of variations including narcissm. His diagnosis sounds reasonable to me.
Sheldon Cooper is a caricature of a high functioning autistic, yes. The actor is a little too good at it to be entirely acting. Kind of like Ashton Kutcher playing a doofus, you know what I mean?
Please explain. What picture, and what about the picture?
"Kind of like Ashton Kutcher playing a doofus, you know what I mean?"
Thank You
"I have Aspergers and my brother had syndromal autism and was low functioning..."
Well, I don't see how that makes you an expert. Plus, where do you get off using the word spectrum? /s
Thanks for weighing in, BTW.
with examples from the show
I wear glasses. That doesn't make me an optometrist...
He seemed to be smart enough to destroy his hard drive.
I'd like to know if mom brought her children to church or enrolled them in religious studies. Anyone know?
Asked point-blank in this video response on a Variety blog, though, actor Jim Parsons says that he was startled when fan questions led him to descriptions of Asperger's syndrome that perfectly matched the character he'd been hired to play. So does Sheldon have it?
"The writers say no, he doesn't. ..." Parson shrugs in his response, "[But] I can say that he couldn't display more facets of it."
Those are characteristics that are common with the disorder of Autism (High Functioning and PDD-NOS), as well as Asperger's Syndrome. There are other characteristics, such as needing strict routines, having a strong interest in one or two specific areas (one student I worked with was able to at age 7 tell me about every plant in a garden at his day-care provider's home with details on germination, planting season, etc). Difficulty with maintaining direct eye contact, or a complete lack of eye contact. Sensitivity to sound, lighting, fabrics, taste, or texture (we have students where I work who cannot handle the warning bells or fire alarms). They often are extremely rigid with rules, except that they don't always understand how rules apply to them. These individuals often perseverate on things. A middle school student I worked with had to complete any single task or project before moving on to a different task or project, and often they had to follow a particular order. He was working on a geography project where he was to identify regions of ancient Palastine. Jerusalem was a region on the assignment, but because Jerusalem was also a city he could not grasp how it could be a region. He perseverated on the fact Jerusalem was a city, and could not move past that fact.
Marking this for later read
Sheldon Cooper is a fictional character who isn't exactly anything to me because he smiles too much and he's inconsistent with his rituals. In one episode he'll put his tea bag in his cup before he pours the hot water in the cup and then in another episode he pours the water in and then puts the tea bag in. That's just one inconsistency.
Uh the Dead Sea Scrolls are not secret.
Excessive literalism on a thread about aspergers? You made a funny, good for you, lol.
The comments from a high school friend of Lanza's are very revealing.
So where did you get his medical charts from?
You got it! Trust the experts, I always say! (Or rather, "trust the experts!")
I used to know a German (or Austrian) feller named Asberger (true!), and I used to like Mario Lanza. Doesn't that make me a expert or what?!
"Autistic spectrum" is just the latest fad term used to aggregate a number of possibly unrelated conditions. "Schizophrenia" has a similar history. It's just cover for the collective ignorance of the psychiatric profession, which has fallen prey to a puritanical materialism that leads to one scientific dead end after another. Man is hybrid, both machine and spirit, not merely the sum of his chemical constituents, but made in the image of God. Any analysis ignoring this is doomed to wallow in primitive theories of limited benefit to the patient. It is like we have advanced in our biological knowledge in so many good ways, but are still stuck in the "leeches are good for you" stage of psychiatric knowledge. Wasn't it "Bones" of Star Trek who called 20th Century medicine "stone knives and bear skins?" After my brush with the present state of psychiatry, I have to agree with him. We have a long way to go.
Does that suggest (serious question) that people who don't get written sarcasm and irony, and as you probably know there are many around here, may be suffering from Asbergers?
Re: "How do you cultivate this (i.e. respect) in someone born without empathy or awareness?"
Good question, but the big elephant in the room which many psychologists/psychobabblers, TV pundits, and Liberals/Marxists refuse to see is that a person can be "EVIL".
It can be an innate, a birth mental defect in the brain that causes a person to be or become (with age), a sociopath or psychopath. Not their fault as they have no ability to either know right from wrong or to prevent themselves from doing harm to people/animals.
Others become psychopaths through ideological indoctrination, of which the Nazis and Communists were the masters. I might add that back during the time of the Inquisition, for example, religious zealots, in the name of God, performed horrible torture/killings and became psychopaths themselves.
If you study or read about the Cambodian children who were kidnapped by the Khmer Rouge and made to kill their own parents, you will begin to understand one process wherein a normal individual becomes a psychopathic killer. Communism (and Nazism, and Tojoism) kills the learned concepts of good, decent, proper, "normal", respectful, i.e. "morality."
So too does Liberalism in its extremis, which you can see so readily in the output of garbage from Hollywood, the criminal Rap singers, the drug culture, etc.
Psychopaths are both born and created. The devolution of American culture (religious, educational, moral, scientific (i.e. the rise of voodoo science like the Communist "Lysenkoism"), and "selective morality" are gateways to leading "normal" people to deviancy (sociopath and psychopathic mindsets).
Religion, for all its problems, has created some universal moral codes which were meant to develop, in people, a way to being a decent person and practicing decency towards others.
Modern Liberalism, added by the extremes of Fascism, Racial Superiority (Fascism and Japanese Imperialism), and Communism, learned that you must destroy this "decency" and create the "new modern man", a person devoid of personal decency. Instead "decency" is decided and imposed by the "state", and anyone who opposes this totalitarian mode of governance must be destroyed "as an enemy of the people."
If you indoctrinate a child at an early age to kill "the enemy" (whoever the state says it is), they will become state-trained killers. Just look at the barbarism of the North Koreans towards their own people, American soldiers, So. Koreans, etc.
Russia/Red China and Kim Il Song created a nation of psychopaths and prisoners, yet the Obama regime thinks it can deal with them on a rational basis. I'm not sure who's crazier in this case, Obama/Hillary/Rice or the No. Koreans.
The same applies to trying to rationally dealing with harden gangbangers, drug dealers/traffickers, stone-killers/icemen/hitmen, or Ed Schulz. You can try but you can never succeed because they live in a different mental world than we do, devoid of our Judaeo-Christian ethnic and morals.
Some moderate Moslems also live decent lives and don't hurt anyone, but what do you think of the PLO terrorists who slaughtered many Israeli young school children at Maalot in 1974, and elsewhere? And what was the mindset of the Moslem in France who killed three Moroccan soldiers, a Rabbi and his children in the name of Allah?
Was this mass murderer any different in mindset than Adam Lanza was when he shot little children in the face? This French Moslem slit the throat of a little Jewish girl by holding her hair and pulling her head back, and this kind of killing in normal in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Algeria, esp. as committed by Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Did Major Hassan exhibit "morality" when he gunned down fellow American soldiers in the name of "Allah"? I don't know whether he was always a psychopath or became one over time through self-religious indoctrination (aided by Al-Alaki), but the end result was the same, the slaughter of the innocents.
EVIL exists in this world, yet the Liberals too often refuse to acknowledge its' existence in people, thus denying themselves the ability to deal with it in its most terrible forms.
I blame the Quakers for a lot of this "respect" for the deviants of society. They believe that even bad people can be saved. How do you save a Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, the Atlanta child killer (Williams?), Ted Bundy, the Zodiac killers, and Lanza?
Sometimes you can't and you must face the reality that the evil ones must be destroyed, killed, so that they never pose a threat to another human, ever.
Too many Liberals, including psychologists, refuse to accept this reality and make excuses for that which cannot be excused, only somewhat understood.
PS: Many of my relatives died by execution, gas chambers, or other means of the Nazi killing machine during WW2 at Lemberg, Belzec and Auschwitz concentration camps. There was no rational reason why this had to happen but a whole nation was captivated, mesmerized and indoctrinated by a madman named Hitler (or Stalin, Lenin,Trotsky) or Che Guevera, Pol Pot, Kim Il Song and the greatest mass murderer in history, Mao Tse-tung, White House advisor to Obama, Anita Dunn's favorite philosopher.
Some people are born evil like Lanza, but they often kill themselves. Others like Dunn and Van Jones learn it at our schools and universities, then get jobs at the White House.
In the end, the innocent are still dead while some of the "mental" killers find successful careers in destroying America and all that is good in it.
It seems fairly evident that FReepers as a group have a higher than average incidence of Aspergers to me.
Visit any John Semmens semi-satire thread if you don't believe me, lol.
This shrinker's post facto theory and pseudo-medical diagnosis are as good as anybody's, including posters on this thread with life experience in the area, and I see no reason to diss anyone offering an opinion, but perhaps those who seem so anxious to it (diss) suffer from similar psychological maladies as the Lanza boy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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Tips and Tricks on How to Succeed as a Woman in Tech
- By Annelise Reynolds, Corporate Communications
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Key Takeaways from Atlassian's Inaugural Girl Geek Event Two weeks ago we hosted our very first Bay Area Girl Geek Dinner. Typically these events feature a series of lightning talks by several of the hosting company's female engineers on a range of topics from new coding tricks to product demos. But we held event brainstorming sessions with Atlassian women and we heard over and over that they were less interested in discussing company-centric material and instead, wanted to know more about how


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By now, we have all heard enough about how a keratin treatment can zap your clients' frizzies for the summer, but what happens when the weather cools down and humidity abates? Most of the country is staring fall weather right in the face, and it begs the question of whether or not keratin treatments will still be a profitable source of income in the winter months.
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Mark Buzan's PR and Public Affairs Spot on the Web – A new development has come about.
Action Strategies' Principal and Chief Magnifying Officer, Mark Buzan has accepted a long term assignment as Executive Director of the Canadian Dental Assistants Association and is not taking on new long term projects at this time.
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However, with NGOs facing the many different marketing communications options of social media, media relations, advertizing, event marketing, third party endorsements, etc; How does one ensure real ROI is carried through towards advancing an association agenda?
Good communications strategy should aim towards at least two of the following objectives:
- Motivating your key audience(s) towards adapting your message and even better, acting upon your call to action
- Creating a dynamic wherein two-way communication occurs between your organization's leadership and your audience or stakeholders
Getting to the point however of measuring point for point and dollar for dollar in public relations evaluation strategy does require planning and it can vary depending on marketing communications strategies you integrate into your communications plan. When I develop a communications plan, some of the evaluation strategies I undertake can include the following:
|Social media marketing
|Goals and Objectives can include:
|The means of measuring/ evaluating success can include:
|Media relations
|Goals and Objectives can include:
|The means of measuring/ evaluating success can include:
One of the best means of measuring media relations coverage is through Media Relations Rating Points (MRRP) – something Action Strategies leverages
|Event marketing
|Goals and Objectives can include:
|The means of measuring/ evaluating success can include:
The above is just a sample of what is possible. What ever your public relations campaign strategy involves, it is critical to consider the finer points of how you will concretely measure and evaluate that which will deliver marketing ROI for your NGO. What measures is your nonprofit association undertaking?
A while back, a colleague of mine in one of Action Strategies'partnering firms in association governance, management and strategy – Tecker Consultants wrote something that I think is very profound": "Just because you have a plan, it might not be strategic".
With the rise of social media, association executives, legal professionals, and those suspicious of the risks involved for an organization's reputation seem to be raising more concerns about the risks to a nonprofit organisation's reputation. Undoubtedly, there are risks but they are manageable and in may circumstances, avoidable. The mistake: Having social media sites without preparing for disaster.
From a recent study I found, 34% of chief communications officers polled say they experienced a social-media reputation attack in the past 12 months. They now happen so often, they've earned the title of a "flash crisis."
A flash crisis happens when a negative social media communication via a Facebook post, Tweet or negative Yelp review goes viral and the winds of chatter whip it into a firestorm. Before you know it, a social media site has spawned a serious public relations issue.
The trouble is, according to the studies, only one in 3 organizations say they've prepared a standing strategy to tackle reputational threats from social media. A crisis does not usually disappear quickly, especially if there is litigation or law enforcement involved. An association needs to have crisis counsel with it every step of the way to measure what is happening with the media and public opinion ensuring that the crisis does not negatively affect a nonprofit organisation going forward.
This has me wondering though, certainly social media has its risks but in truth, risks to your organization have always existed and will likely continue regardless of social media or not. But this should hardly be enough reason to avoid being present and communicating with your target audiences. In a blog posting and video of last year, I made the point that if your NGO is afraid the presence of social media opens your organization up to criticism, you're actually very naive to believe that the potential for criticism didn't exist beforehand in your media relations, public relations, or other aspects of your brand awareness.
Summer's here and what a better time to for your nonprofit organisation or association to take stock of its training needs in media relations, social media, and lobbying. With school back, new demands on donors, members and supporters, is your message set out from all the rest? With this in mind, Action Strategies is launching a number of Toronto training workshops.
The schedule for these sessions are as follows:
- Toronto: Social Media for nonprofit organisations and associations. August 23, 2011
- Toronto: Media relations for nonprofit organisations and associations. August 24, 2011
- Toronto: Grassroots advocacy and lobbying for nonprofit organisations and associations. August 25, 2011
In essence, this summer's training series is a new venture. Making a break into Toronto, we're offering a three day series of seminars in the basic elements of public affairs for NGOs. Register today for one, two, or three days of intensive training that will magnify your nonprofit or association's message! Summer is over and it's time to capitalize on the return back from vacations.
Mark Buzan's PR and Public Affairs Spot on the Web: December 24, 2011 – It's been a while since I have posted and as such, I hope this message reaches you in time for Christmas and for the coming New Year.
2011 turned out to be a very prosperous year and for that, I thank you – my followers and clients. May this be a very Merry Christmas for you, your family, and loved ones. I truly hope the coming New Year of 2012 will provide you with magnifying opportunities!
In the spirit of continuing last year's tradition of a special video from my wife, Carolina and I, please view this year's special greeting to you.
In 2011 over 85 percent of new handsets will be able to access the mobile Web. Today in the US and Western Europe, 90 percent of mobile subscribers have an Internet-ready phone. Currently, almost one in five people globally accessing the net have access to fast mobile Internet (3G or better) services.
Clearly, mobile SMS marketing is where nonprofit communications, charity fundraising, and nonprofit association membership recruitment and retention campaigns are going in the years to come. If you refer back to a mobile text marketing blog post I published a few years ago, you'll note that the possibilities for getting a nonprofit organisation message out is quite extensive.
Among the common possibilities most experimented with, SMS (short message service) or text messaging and multimedia messaging is becoming popular to accomplish a number of objectives:
- SMS advertising,
- SMS competitions,
- SMS polls,
- Product/service branding,
- Promotion of specials and offers,
- Customer loyalty initiatives
- Chat engines to encourage immediate feedback on a recent company initiative
- Bulk distribution of SMS messages to your existing lists
Mobile marketing has the potential to provide associations and especially charities the opportunity to engage nonprofit association members and recruit charitable donors with a reminder or incentive anytime, anywhere. More often than not, people engage with mobile marketing calls to action in an instantaneous way because they can do so from anywhere. This allows NGOs the opportunity to fundraise for charities or engage association members in advocacy campaigns all on the go or in an impulsive way.
Text messaging is a very targeted, private medium. Because a cell phone number is a unique identification number associated with an individual person, marketers must be respectful of the privacy and preferences of users. In essence, when a person gives someone their cell phone number they are providing an opportunity to be contacted on a device that is carried in a purse or pocket, which makes for a very direct, personal communication channel.
There are a number of ways that mobile marketing is set to take off and strategies I recommend in mysocial media training series for nonprofit organisations but I would welcome your input. Where do you think mobile marketing is going in the public relations or marketing sphere for associations, charities and NGOs?
As demands for non-profit organizations to stand out from the crowd grow, so to will the need for NGO communications strategy need to become more sophisticated. Social media strategy requirements are forcing non-profits to look to the internet as more than a place where they build a static website.
Media relations in a social media world is changing as well. On a recent webinar I facilitated on association branding, I was amazed at the concern professional associations and trade association executives showed for how they can keep their brand relevant and fresh to Generation Y. The list goes on.
From this process of reflection that I am undertaking with fellow training partners in social marketing in the development of training programs and in particular, a year long webinar series on marketing, I would like to know what challenges you are facing.
What areas of training do you feel your non-profit association could benefit from most?
In what marketing communications challenges do you feel your non-profit association most needs training in 2011?
- Understanding social media strategy
- Building more robust and prominent press coverage
- Recruiting and retaining members and supporters
- Revising a new brand/ improving the organization's brand
- Developing new revenue strategies/ streams through better marketing
- Developing a robust and regular contact system with members or supporters
- Mobilizing members and supporters in your awareness campaigns
- Marketing your message to government to become a better lobbying organization
Action Strategies is a leading PR firm, Lobbyist, and public affairs agency for nonprofit organisations, associations, charity organizations, and NGOs. Our speciality services include:
- Social Media Strategy
- Media Relations
- Membership Recruitment and Retention
- Lobbying Government
- Grassroots advocacy
- Stakeholder and Partnership Engagement
- Strategic Communications/ Public Relations


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|Zoom In
HED's C2 clincher technology blew the myth that tubulars are better race wheels out of the water. With a TT win at World's and a victory at the Tour, HED is proving, with actions and not just words, that clinchers have merit. With a 75mm effective rim depth, a low overall weight, and an aerodynamic advantage that's only matched by its rigidity, the Jet 7 Express Clincher is bringing race-day clincher technology to the forefront.
HED constructed the Jet 7 Express from its own blend of lightweight and durable, unidirectional carbon fiber. This composite keeps the weight at around a svelte 1985 grams (not bad for a 75mm depth) without compromising rigidity or aerodynamics in the slightest. To achieve this weight, a host of proprietary technologies are employed by HED. After all, the goal of the Express series is to bring race-ready ride quality to people who have to actually pay for their wheels. So, starting with handling, HED employed its SCT Technology in order to compensate for the Jet 7's 75mm effective rim depth. This means that the wheel has been tuned in accordance to handling at its depth. Ultimately, SCT strikes the ideal balance between crosswind handling and aerodynamic gains without compromising the Jet's weight or natural rigidity. Additionally, the Express features a 23mm rim width design that increases aerodynamics while lowering resistance. HED call this its C2 technology -- representing the two Cs of speed, Crr and Cda, standing for the coefficient of rolling resistance and aerodynamics, respectively. With these two principles in mind, HED designed the Jet to create a more efficient interface with the tire, resulting in the 23mm width at the brake track. This wider-is-better technology isn't a bunch of marketing smoke and mirrors, however. It directly results in an 18% reduction to rolling resistance, and a massive gain to laminar airflow over the 75mm rim depth of the wheels.
For the wheel build, HED incorporated Sapim's aero bladed spokes. The front wheel has received 18 of them radially laced to HED's own hub. The rear gets 24 spokes that have been given a two-cross pattern on the non-drive, and a radial pattern on the driveside. The hubs run on ABEC5 bearings with oversized 12 and 15mm axles. HED spaced the flanges as widely as possible to create a stronger bracing angle that directly results in a heightened level of lateral stiffness.
The HED Jet 7 Express is available in a 700c size and in the color Black with White HED decals. It is available in either Campagnolo compatibility or Shimano/SRAM. Also, the Shimano/SRAM body is compatible with the Shimano Dura Ace 9000 11-speed shift system.


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|The Demise of Dextra & Chaz (Warning: Curse Words)
|Billina (Authenticated as Billina)
|August 18, 2012 at 3:44:21 PM
|Reply to:
|The Build-a-Story Game, Resurrected: ROUND ONE! by Viola Eponine
All right, my story is set in the present, my main character gets into a fight, there is a recurring metaphor/motif of fire/smoke, and I must make a reference to a quote from a book in each round. Obie-kaybie.
Dextra Phillips knew, from the moment she got up that morning, that Chaz was going to break up with her. She could tell from the way he sounded on the phone the night before that he was bracing himself for a, "We can still be friends" talk. Still, she agreed to meet him at Old Town Coffee to hash it out, since it was only fair to let a guy break up with you in person if that's what he wanted. Chaz wasn't much, but at least he was decent enough to meet her face-to-face.
Dextra rolled out of bed and shimmied into a pair of skinny jeans. She had gained a little weight and it showed, mostly in her hips. She sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair, lit a cigarette, and headed out the door to start her Spectacularly Shitty Day.
Old Town Coffee was slow that morning, much to Dextra's relief. Chaz, her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend, sat alone at a table, fiddling with his iPad and drinking a black coffee the size of his head. He waved her over, and she sat across from him.
"You want anything?" he asked her. Dextra shook her head, and Chaz put his iPad away. He folded his hands and stared her in the eye, clearly nervous.
"If you're gonna say it, say it," said Dextra. "Don't keep me waiting."
Chaz blinked.
"So you know?" he asked.
"Yeah, I kind of figured when you called me last night. It was in your voice. So obvious. " Dextra figured that jaded sarcasm was the right attitude to take at this moment. Sarcasm had served her well in her twenty-two years.
"I guess I'm not a hard egg to crack, huh?" he said, a goofy smile spreading across his face. "I should have known you were too smart to not figure it out."
"I suppose," said Dextra. "Look, stop screwing around and just tell me, all right? I have to go to work in a couple of hours. I just want to get it over with."
Chaz's smile wilted a little, but then he laughed.
"Dex, you're unbelievable," he said. "I've never met a girl who would react to it the way you just did."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Chaz?"
"Well," he said, locking her in that stare. "I...want you to move in with me."
"What? You want to what ?" Hardly the smoothest response, but Dextra couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"I want us to live together," continued Chaz. "I know you and I have had a few missteps, but- "
" Missteps ?" said Dextra, the color rising in her face. "Are you fucking serious ? Chaz, you cheated on me just two weeks ago, and now you want me to live with you?"
Chaz calmly took a sip of his coffee.
"I had a feeling you'd bring that up. Dex, I swear, she meant nothing to me. We were both drunk, and shit happens, you know? I love you . That's what matters, isn't it?"
Dextra took out another cigarette and lit it. There wasn't any smoking allowed indoors, but she didn't care.
"What matters, Charles," she said, as coolly as she could. "Is that I didn't dump your ass after it happened, when I really should have. But no, I had to be an idiot and give you another chance. Now you want me to shack up with you, and I don't even...you're a real ASSHOLE, you know that?"
Chaz stirred in his seat.
"That's kind of harsh," he said.
"Well, tough," said Dextra. "You know, I came here thinking you were going to break up with me. You have a lot of nerve."
"The same could be said for you," he snorted. "What kind of person calls their boyfriend an asshole after he tries for a bigger commitment?"
"But that's exactly it, Chaz," she said. "You never would have done this if you hadn't cheated on me, first. You're trying to hang onto something that isn't there, anymore. You grew just as tired of the relationship as I did, so you fucked some stupid chick to get out of it. Just admit it, all right? Stop acting like a phony."
"Okay, Holden," Chaz sneered. "You want to end it? Fine, it's over. Your wish is granted. But remember, you gave up, not me. You couldn't get past ONE lousy hurdle."
Dextra stood up and leaned over, cigarette still burning between her fingers. Her face was inches from his.
"Get past this hurdle, Charles," said Dextra, as she extinguished her cigarette on Chaz's forearm. He yelped as she twisted a burning circle in his white flesh.
"Hey, what the hell is going on there?" shouted the barista behind the counter. Dextra left before anything else could happen. She unbuttoned her skinny jeans and tossed the cigarette butt in the gutter as the sun peeked through the clouds. The Spectacularly Shitty Day wasn't looking so bad anymore.
Well, I didn't follow the rules to a tee, but it's not THAT bad for a story I banged out in ten minutes. :)
"An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way."
-Charles Bukowski
"And by the way, dearie, your punctuation sucks canal water!"
-The ghost of Vivian Vance
This message was edited by the author on August 18, 2012 at 5:44:36 PM
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J75 by Jump Casino Oxford
Sorry, this item is sold out!
Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Item # 269800
The Casino oxford from J75 by Jump will make you feel like a winner. This simple and versatile lace-up may be paired with your best suit or your favorite denim for a fashion forward look.
- Leather upper
- Lace-up closure
- Tapered square toe
- Fabric lining
- Cushioned insole
- Synthetic sole
- Imported
- View more Men's J75 by Jump Shoes
By: JonH
Location: Los Angeles, CA
October 17, 2013
Great look, comfy enough
"It runs much longer than sized, but aesthetically long - not the slip to the front of the shoe with every step type of long. The cuffs around the ankle were pretty sharp and dug in during break in a little, but nothing like those cheap payless shoe store brands. The look definitely keeps the rating up and the sole gives a moderate click so it's not too hard yet not too soft either. Solid pair of laced oxfords, but just not perfect."
By: JLBNYC
Location: New York, NY
June 25, 2013
Runs too Long
"The shoe runs too long. I got holes in the toes of several pairs of socks due to my foot moving around too much until I gave up. Putting in double Dr. Scholl's insoles didn't help."
By: Kite77
May 22, 2013
By: Shasha85
Location: California
March 19, 2013
"Very comfortable shoe and classy!"
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ASICS Rush 33 Lightweight Running Shoe - Mens
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Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Item # 259515
For a comfortable run, look no further than the ASICS® Rush 33™ running shoes. These minimalist lightweight shoes are perfect for lower mileage runs and promote natural foot movement. Perfect for your next 5K and if you are training to run one!
- Mesh and synthetic upper
- Mesh lining
- Padded footbed
- Removable liner
- GEL Cushioning System reduces shock for a smoother step
- AHAR Plus heel plug enhances durability
- Rubber sole
- Weight: 9.63 oz
- Imported
- View more ASICS
- Available in more colors
- Shop all Men's ASICS
By: jcrlubbock
Location: texas
November 26, 2012
runs narrow
"This shoe runs narrow and fits tight in the front"
By: Praxy
Location: Brooklyn, NY
July 05, 2012
Great shoes!
"I love these shoes but they do run a little small and I need to take them to the store to find to find a bigger size."
By: hudson77
Location: dallas
July 03, 2012
good style
"not so comfortable, i've had asics feel better and was a bit disappointed with the fit"
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Prada Patent Leather Studded Sandal
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Item # 289130
With stunning style and rich quality, Prada is one of the top designer brands in fashion history. Keeping in trend with its studded details, this textured leather sandal is perfect for your chic inner fashionista!
- Textured patent leather upper
- T-strap styling with an adjustable buckle
- Stud details
- Almond toe
- Fully lined in leather
- 1" platform, 4½" heel
- Leather sole
- Made in Italy
- View more Women's Prada Shoes
- Online Exclusive!
Tell us what you think!
Everyone has an opinion. Here's your chance to share yours! Be the first to write a review of this product and help your fellow shoppers pick the best of the best.


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Hello Everyone!
Here's a brief report for the Lower Laguna Madre. Water temp's are near the seventy degree mark, it's very close to wet wading time. The fishing has been good up in the shallows, trout fishing has been best, but redfish numbers have not been far behind. Fish definitely have some girth on them and will give you a tremendous fight. Most fish are being caught on topwaters. If you have not had a chance to use TruLoc worm hooks by Brown Lures I highly suggest you do. They are the sharpest hooks I've seen or used. Good fishing to all.
Capt. Ernest Cisneros


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Fergalicious Kinley Wedge Sandal
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Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Item # 281290
Grab a gladiator with fabulous style! The Fergalicious Kinley sliver wedge sandals are metallic and strappy for an effortlessly trendy look.
- Faux leather upper
- Knot accents
- Back zipper
- 1¼" stacked sliver wedge
- Synthetic sole
- Imported
- View more Women's Fergalicious Shoes
By: Snelily
Location: Philly
December 17, 2013
"i got this strappy Fergalicious sandal wedge and loved it especially its color...i wear it all the time and find it goes with various outfits...a comfortable and pretty pair of sandals to walk around in... :)n it luks exactly rather prettier in real! i have attached a pic for reference."
By: DAccountant
Location: Houston, Texas
August 08, 2013
Great sandals
"I love, love, love these sandals. I bought the pewter and have already thought of all the clothes I can wear them with. The small wedge heel allows these shoes to "transition" between various styles. Great buy!"
By: Misstoscana21
Location: Boston, MA
August 04, 2013
Comfy and cute!
"I haven't fully worn this shoe yet out but from trying it on it seemed very comfortable and its a very cute sandal for casual and going out."
By: kideus
Location: Shawnee, KS
July 11, 2013
Good, strappy sandal
"I really like the little bit of a heel, which helps me maintain better posture when walking. The straps are fun. Only downside was that the backside where the zipper is cut into the back of my foot a little bit, so I will be wearing bandaids until I can break them in."
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text: David Regan has used the familiar form of the tureen for a series of works that are parables of the fecundity and violence of nature, and our harnessing of it. As a table centrepiece, the traditional ceramic tureen often took the shape of the animal whose meat it contained, combined with imagery of other produce in a display of abundance and prosperity to be shared. However, such comforting imagery is shattered in Regan's confrontational Eaglecentrepiece, where a double-headed version of the symbol of American power presides over sickening scenes of aggression and violence of the type that now routinely accompanies the modern meal, eaten in front of live television broadcasts. Using a sgraffito technique to depict this imagery, Regan cuts through his black surfaces to reveal the white porcelain beneath, in the manner of bucolic woodcut prints. Their resulting monochromatic graininess, however, links us to the subject in the more intrusive and covert manner of military night-vision imaging technology.


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Annie Alisin Boot
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Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Item # 254878
Add simple sophistication to your wardrobe with the Annie Alisin. This suede boot will dress up any outfit flawlessly.
- Faux suede upper
- Faux leather contrast trimming and intertwined detail
- Round toe
- 10" shaft height, inside zipper
- 11" leg opening with elastic panel for stretch
- 2½" covered heel
- Synthetic sole
- Imported
By: BlondiezMom
Location: San Mateo
February 07, 2013
Shoe is very comfy however large calved women note
"This shoe is true to size (or slightly long) but the heel is very comfortable. However the mid calf length for wider calved women like me if you don't wear knee length socks I found the shoe rubbed a bit. If I wear knee high socks (vs. crew) I don't have the problem. The graphic on the boot is very cute."
By: Ronnie12
Location: Bronx
January 17, 2013
Annie is the best
"this are just right. The heel is right and the comfort is right..."
By: SmittinKitten
Location: Atlanta, GA
January 02, 2013
Classy with a little funk
"These are SO cute, even cuter in person than the picture. I have very small calves and these aren't too floppy on them. Adorable with a dress or even with pants, they give a nice clean line but you don't get to see the cute twisty silver decoration on the side. I'm looking for more dresses to wear them with! :-) Just the right heel height, very comfy for such dressy boots."
By: mojobush
Location: maryland
November 27, 2012
Love this boots!
"I love this boots, very nice looking and comfty!"
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SteelSeries Apex Gaming Keyboard Capsule Review
RGB variants of mechanical keyboards are very popular nowadays, but what about those users that want to stick with a classic membrane keyboard and gamers on a budget? SteelSeries'...19 by E. Fylladitakis on 10/20/2014
The Battle of Bay Trail-D: GIGABYTE J1900N-D3V and ASUS J1900I-C Reviewed
All the recent talk of Haswell-E and high-end refreshes has obscured the more casual computing market. The Bay Trail platform uses Intel's Atom based Silvermont cores and competes directly...60 by Ian Cutress on 10/17/2014
Apple Event (October 2014) - Live Blog77 by Ryan Smith on 10/16/2014
FSP Aurum PT 1200W Power Supply Review
Today FSP Group is launching their newest and most advanced PSU to date, the Aurum PT 1200W. The 80 Plus Platinum certified unit has been designed to compete with...13 by E. Fylladitakis on 10/16/2014
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Review
At this point, the Galaxy Note line needs little introduction. After all, the Galaxy Note is Samsung's biggest success in mobile. While Apple redefined the smartphone and tablet segment...195 by Joshua Ho on 10/15/2014
Nixeus MODA Mechanical Keyboard Capsule Review
Today we're looking at the Nixeus MODA, a tenkeyless mechanical keyboard designed for applications where a compact quality keyboard at the lowest possible cost is the main goal. It...22 by E. Fylladitakis on 10/14/2014
Intel Xeon E5-2687W v3 and E5-2650 v3 Review: Haswell-EP with 10 Cores
During September we managed to get hold of some Haswell-EP samples for a quick run through our testing suite. The Xeon E5 v3 range extends beyond that of the...27 by Ian Cutress on 10/13/2014
The 2014 Razer Blade Review
In early 2014 the Razer Blade got a refresh. The significant updates over the 2013 model are the display, moving from a (rather poor) 1600x900 panel to a 3200x1800...69 by Brett Howse on 10/10/2014
An Introduction to Semiconductor Physics, Technology, and Industry
Learning about semiconductor physics and technology can be a daunting task. While it's easy enough to understand what a transistor does and some of the terminology thrown around, getting...77 by Joshua Ho on 10/9/2014
GIGABYTE BRIX GB-BXi7-4500 Review: Intel Core i7 in a UCFF PC
Over the last couple of years, the ultra-compact form factor (UCFF) has emerged as one of the bright spots in the troubled PC market. Intel kickstarted the category with...27 by Ganesh T S on 10/9/2014
The AnandTech Guide to Video Card Overclocking Software
Video card overclocking has become a very popular topic amongst gamers and PC enthusiasts these days. With the release of next generation games around the corner and the growing...59 by Michael Wilding on 10/8/2014
MSI GT72 Dominator Pro: Performance Preview
NVIDIA just launched their new GTX 980M/GTX 970M GPUs, and unfortunately we were unable to get a notebook in time for testing… which just changed a few hours ago...53 by Jarred Walton on 10/8/2014
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M and GTX 970M: Mobile to the Maxwell
Every year NVIDIA launches quite a few new products; some are better than others, but they're all interesting. This fall, the big news is Maxwell 2.0, aka GM204. Initially...68 by Jarred Walton on 10/7/2014
MSI Z97 Gaming 5 Motherboard Review: Five is Alive
Sometimes it feels odd to review the cheaper elements of the motherboard market. The more expensive models have more to play with, whereas the sub $160 market for Z97...45 by Ian Cutress on 10/6/2014
Antec EDGE 550W Power Supply Review
Today we are looking at Antec's latest PSU series, the EDGE, which the company markets as "the pinnacle of power supplies". Bold statements aside, only medium capacity units are...25 by E. Fylladitakis on 10/3/2014
ASRock Z97 OC Formula Motherboard Review: Less Lamborghini, More Yellow
ASRock is quietly confident of its OC Formula range. We awarded the Z77 version because of its aggressive tactics at the $240 price point and while the Z87 model...20 by Ian Cutress on 10/2/2014
The iPhone 6 Review
With every launch of the iPhone, Apple seems to have everything to lose and not much to gain. Apple's iPhone line accounts for the majority of profits in the...533 by Joshua Ho, Brandon Chester, Chris Heinonen & Ryan Smith on 9/30/2014
The iPhone 6 Plus Mini-Review: Apple's First Phablet
While we've also written about the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus needs its own review in order to really understand the various features of the device that would...191 by Joshua Ho on 9/30/2014
Micron M600 (128GB, 256GB & 1TB) SSD Review
Those that have been following the SSD industry for a couple of years are likely aware that Micron does not sell retail drives under its own brand (unlike, e.g...56 by Kristian Vättö on 9/29/2014
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Review: Featuring EVGA
Last week we took a look at NVIDIA's newest consumer flagship video card, the GeForce GTX 980. Today in the second part of our series on the GTX 900...154 by Ryan Smith on 9/26/2014


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Sexual dysfunction can take various forms for both men and women. If those statistics are right, it is a much bigger problem that I ever thought.
If you would like to know if your marriage is relationship centered or not, the way to find out is to ask yourself about your core values. For example, what is the most important principle of your marriage? Is it your desire for money or pleasure? Do you dream about being comfortable, being honored by your spouse and having a lot of fun?
The good news is that I believe that most marriages can work. Often, all they need is a little guidance and direction, and when necessary, a bit of first aid. I call this simple yet revolutionary idea Relationship Theory, which states that for a marriage to work, both husband and wife need to make their relationship their main goal.
Are you looking for emotional first aid for your marriage? If you are, you're not alone. Today, engaged couples, newlyweds and couples who have been married for years are feeling insecure about their relationships and looking for advice on how to make their marriages work better or simply to heal their relationship wounds.
Whenever I speak at a shul or event I'm usually asked what I think are the vital aspects of good communication, and by implication, what makes for bad communication.
If you are in a difficult marriage and are considering seeking help, you're probably wondering: what would the counselor make us do during the session? Would my counselor know the appropriate technique to use for our specific case? Is our counselor's style suited to our problem?
The country's economic indicators may be falling, but incidents of domestic violence are rising.
Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/family/marriage-relationships/recession-and-domestic-violence/2011/11/16/
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text:
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329 Titles Match Your Query
Showing 1 through 50 of 329
SEDAC Map Viewer, Version 2 [CIESIN_SEDAC_MAP_VIEWER_V2]
The SEDAC Map Viewer, Version 2 is a Web mapping tool that enables visualization of all SEDAC map layers and organizes the map layers into approximately 15 interdisciplinary topics (themes) that users ...
CIESIN Southeast Asian Tsunami - December 2004 Web Page [CIESIN_Tsunami-2004]
The Southeast Asian Tsunami - December 2004 page provides data and maps on the population affected by the December 26, 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia as well as links to articles written by CIESIN ...
GeoServer [GeoServer]
GeoServer is an Open Source server that connects your information to the Geospatial Web. With GeoServer you can publish and edit data using open standards. Your information is made available in a ...
Oil Sands Information Portal [osip]
The Oil Sands Information Portal is a one-window source for individuals interested in the environmental impacts of oil sands development. The portal focuses on the cumulative effects of development ...
smartEditor [smartEditor]
smartEditor is a web based editor to easily create and update ISO19115/19119 metadata documents on geospatial data sets, services, series and applications and many more resources. This tool provides ...
A Parallel Database System for GIS Applications [PARADISE]
The objective of the Paradise project is to design, implement, and evaluate a scalable, parallel geographic information system that is capable of storing and manipulating massive data sets. By applying ...
HoloDraw [HoloDraw]
HoloDraw is free VRML generator software that helps you make rotating 3D images from your data. Downloads are available for Unix, Mac or Windows. The images you make with HoloDraw can be viewed ...
VisIt [VisIt]
VisIt is a free interactive parallel visualization and graphical analysis tool for viewing scientific data on Unix and PC platforms. Users can quickly generate visualizations from their data, animate ...
Visualization Toolkit [VTK]
The Visualization ToolKit (VTK) is an open source, freely available software system for 3D computer graphics, image processing, and visualization used by thousands of researchers and developers around ...
eGranary Digital Library [eGranary-DL]
The eGranary Digital Library provides millions of digital educational resources to institutions lacking adequate Internet access. Through a process of garnering permissions, copying Web sites, and ...
Australian Geoscience Data Cube [datacube]
In 2014, Geoscience Australia, CSIRO and the NCI established the Australian Geoscience Data Cube, building on earlier work of Geoscience Australia and expanding it to include additional earth observation ...
GeoMOOSE - Web Client Javascript Framework for Displaying Distributed Cartographic Data [GeoMOOSE]
GeoMOOSE is a Web Client Javascript Framework for displaying distributed cartographic data. GeoMOOSE has a number of strengths including modularity, configurability, and delivers a number of core ...
iRODS integrated Rule Oriented Data System [DICE_IRODS]
iRODS, the Integrated Rule-Oriented Data System, is a data grid software system developed by the Data Intensive Cyber Environments research group (developers of the SRB, the Storage Resource Broker), ...
Semantic Web for Earth and Environmental Terminology [SWEET-Ontology]
SWEET ontologies are written in the OWL ontology language and are publicly available. SWEET 2.3 is highly modular with 6000 concepts in 200 separate ontologies. You can view the entire concept space ...
ORNL DAAC Advanced Metadata Search [ORNL_ADVANCED_SEARCH]
Mercury is a service oriented web-based distributed metadata management system for finding and retrieving biogeochemical, ecological, and other land-based data. ORNL DAAC's implementation of Mercury ...
HDF Explorer [HDF_Explorer]
HDF Explorer is a data visualization program that reads Hierarchical Data Format files (HDF, HDF-EOS and HDF5) and also netCDF data files. HDF Explorer offers a simple yet powerful interface for the ...
Lake Level Viewer [NOAA_llv]
This tool helps users visualize lake level changes that range from six feet above to six feet below historical long-term average water levels in the Great Lakes, along with potential shoreline and ...
DataONE R Client [dataone_r]
The DataONE R Client is an R package that provides read/write access to data and metadata from the DataONE network of Member Node data repositories. Member Nodes in DataONE are independent data repositories ...
MIG Editor - A Geographical Metadata Editor [migeditor]
The MIG Editor is a geographical metadata editor that implements a subset of the 19115, 19119 and 19139 ISO formats. Based in the Portuguese Metadata Profile and INSPIRE requirements.
Panoply NetCDF Viewer [NASA_GISS_Panoply]
Panoply is a cross-platform application which plots geo-gridded arrays from netCDF, HDF and GRIB datasets. You can: - Slice and plot specific latitude-longitude, latitude-vertical, longitude-vertical, ...
ORNL DAAC Open Access Initiative - Protocol for Metadata Harvesting [ORNL_DAAC_OAI_PMH]
ORNL DAAC's OAI-PMH harvester allows metadata records from the DAAC repository to be exposed as items in an OAI data repository and made available to the data provider for incremental harvesting. ...
Economics National Ocean Watch (ENOW) Explorer [NOAA_ENOW]
The effective management of coastal resources requires an understanding of the ocean and Great Lakes economy. This tool allows users to interact with Economics: National Ocean Watch data, which describe ...
HAZUS: Inventory Collection Survey Tool (InCAST) [HAZUS_InCAST]
InCAST is a software application to facilitate the collection of building-specific data for HAZUS, FEMA's multihazard loss estimation program. The InCAST User's Manual provides ...
NASA's Global Change Master Directory [Glob_Chng_Mast_Direct]
The goal of NASA's Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) is to enable users to locate and obtain access to Earth science data sets and services relevant to global change and Earth science research. ...
Excel to Google Earth Tool [e2g]
The Excel to Google Earth (E2G) tool is easy to install and use. All that is required is an Excel spreadsheet that has geographic identifiers (district, ward, province, etc.) included as part of the ...
Greek Inspire Metadata Editor [GIMED]
GIMED is a metadata editor for geospatial data. It is focused on providing compliant metadata with the ISO19139 standard and INSPIRE directive.
INSPIRE Geoportal Metadata Editor [EU_GEoportal_Inspire_Metadata_Editor]
The INSPIRE Geoportal Metadata Editor is a web application to create INSPIRE-compliant metadata in any of 22 European languages. It has been developed by the Joint Research Centre as part of the EuroGEOSS ...
GEONETCast [EUMETSAT_GEONETCast]
GEONETCast is a global network of satellite based data dissemination systems providing environmental data to a world-wide user community. The current partners within the GEONETCast initiative include ...
ORNL Metadata Editor [ORNL_MERCURY_OME]
The ORNL Metadata Editor (OME) is a Web-based tool that allows users to create and maintain eXtensible Markup Language (XML) files containing key information, or metadata, about the research. Metadata ...
Plumb Design Visual Thesaurus [Plumb_Visual_Thesaurus]
An experiment in language and interface, Plumb Design's Visual Thesaurus is both an artistic exploration and a tool to explore, study, and analyze the structure of language. By displaying the interrelationships ...
Metadata Wizard [Metadata_Wizard]
The Metadata Wizard tool is designed as a resource to help geospatial data users with the creation and editing of metadata compliant with the Federal Geographic Data Committee's 'Content Standard ...
Geomodel - Basic Geospatial Queries in Google App Engine [geomodel]
This project aims to provide a generalized solution for performing basic indexing and querying of geospatial data in Google App Engine. At the core, this solution utilizes geohash-like objects called ...
Metadata Extraction Tool [met]
The Metadata Extraction Tool was developed by the National Library of New Zealand to programmatically extract preservation metadata from a range of file formats like PDF documents, image files, sound ...
GpsPrune - An Application for Viewing, Editing and Converting Coordinate Data from GPS Systems [GpsPrune]
GpsPrune is an application for viewing, editing and converting coordinate data from GPS systems. Basically it's a tool to let you play with your GPS data after you get home from your trip. It can ...
Apache Pig - A Platform for Analyzing Large Data Sets [ApachePig]
Apache Pig is a platform for analyzing large data sets that consists of a high-level language for expressing data analysis programs, coupled with infrastructure for evaluating these programs. The ...
Avro - A Data Serialization System [Avro]
Apache Avro is a data serialization system. Avro provides: - Rich data structures. - A compact, fast, binary data format. - A container file, to store persistent data. - Remote procedure call ...
DNRGarmin [DNRGPS]
DNRGPS is an update to the popular DNRGarmin application. DNRGPS and its predecessor were built to transfer data between Garmin handheld GPS receivers and GIS software. DNRGPS was released as Open ...
OPeNDAP [OPeNDAP]
CHILD SERFs
The OPeNDAP Data Access Protocol (DAP) is a protocol for requesting and transporting data across the web. DAP 2.0 uses HTTP to frame the requests and responses. OPeNDAP has developed a software ...
Enabling Virtual Organizations (EVO) [EVO]
The EVO (Enabling Virtual Organizations) system provides broad support for video conferencing and related services. In addition to standard video conferencing, EVO supports instant messaging, private ...
Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI) Calculator [EVI_Calculator]
The Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI) Calculator is for people and organizations wishing to better understand the issue of environmental vulnerability and resilience as a basis for ensuring ...
Open OceanMap - An open implementation of Ocean Communities 3E Analysis Network [ECOTRUST_OOM]
Open OceanMap is a data collection tool used to effectively collect local expert knowledge in support of marine conservation planning processes. Data collected from resource users like commercial ...
GISPortal.com [HDM_GIS-Portal]
The GIS Portal, presented by the Harvard Design and Mapping Company, provides visitors with over a thousand GIS and map-related links. General areas of interest include breaking news, pointers to ...
NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) [NASA_NEX]
The NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) represents a new platform for the Earth science community that provides a mechanism for scientific collaboration and knowledge sharing. NEX combines state-of-the-art ...
Karma Provenance Collection Tool [provenance_karma]
Provenance (or lineage, trace) of digital scientific data is a critical component to broadening sharing and reuse of scientific data. Provenance captures the information needed to attribute ownership ...
XML Metadata Concept Catalog (XMC Cat) [XMC_Cat]
XMC Cat is a metadata catalog that stores rich metadata describing data objects that are themselves stored in files, storage repositories, or on the web. It is an open source web service written in ...
Metadata Access Tool for Climate and Health (MATCH) [USGCRP_MATCH]
Metadata Access Tool for Climate and Health (MATCH) is a searchable clearinghouse of publicly available Federal metadata (i.e. data about data) and links to datasets. Most metadata on MATCH pertain ...
Open Metadata Registry [omr]
The Open Metadata Registry is a fundamental piece of technical infrastructure for the Semantic Web. While originally built to support the National Science Digital Library (NSDL), the Registry is available ...
Python implementation of the Data Access Protocol (pyDAP) [pyDAP]
Python implementation of the Data Access Protocol This module is an implementation of the Data Access Protocol written in Python from scratch. You can use the module as a client to connect to remote ...
EO-1 Workflow Chaining Service [urnuuid7dc2f809-1d3d-48c4-8d15-db24b96dd39e]
The EO-1 Workflow Chaining Service is a Workflow engine to orchestrate the various web services to generate data products, task satellite assets, and disseminate data.
GIS Toolkit [GIS_toolkit]
The GIS Toolkit is a free java based mapping toolkit, it has the ability to read geographical data from a variety of data sources and display that information to the user. It can directly ...
Showing 1 through 50 of 329
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Skip to comments.High-tech and Humanity: 'English Majors Are What We're Looking For'
Posted on 07/26/2013 10:40:44 AM PDT by Kaslin
Economic anxiety defines the Detroit bankruptcy, and not just in Michigan and the Midwest. Detroit is the urban nightmare, symbolic of America's downward cultural spiral since the 1960s, when optimism about what Americans could accomplish was the national elixir.
The automobile was the national icon: powerful, beautiful and reliable. Detroit's advertising slogans reflected America's immeasurable self-confidence. Cadillac boasted that it was "the standard of the world." Buick promised that "when better cars are built, Buick will build them." Packard, then Detroit's ultimate expression of luxury, smugly advised, "Ask the man who owns one."
The car was the example of infinite American possibility. Americans had just returned from winning two wars, one beyond the Atlantic and the other in the Pacific, and we were liberated to think we could do anything -- in business, engineering, medicine, the law or whatever else struck our fancy. We were free to explore the possibilities of the mind. There was the saying that the first-generation American had gone into business so his son could be a doctor and his grandson could be a professor.
The returning American soldier, getting a college education on the G.I. Bill as the happy alternative to the war he had just won, could look at his reality in a fresh way. Many measured themselves by their ability to make money; others exhilarated in how prosperity freed them to "rise above" money matters to study philosophy and literature. But all that was a long time ago.
The pessimism of the present day affects the way we think about the future in narrower ways. A half-century ago, 14 percent of college students studied the humanities, the reflection of the great ideas that liberated an imagination grounded in what Matthew Arnold, the 19th-century English poet and critic, described as "the best that has been thought and said in the world."
Aristotle said mastering metaphors was a sign of genius. That may have been exaggeration from the man who espoused the golden mean, but the ancient philosopher understood that poetry had its practical virtues (even if his colleague Plato didn't include the poet in his ideal society).
Humanities majors sometimes were referred to as "eggheads," disdained by their more practical brothers and sisters, but mostly they were proud to carry on a tradition requiring that they read the great works from antiquity to modernity. Humanities majors are down now to 7 percent, and they are not exactly high status on campus.
In a digital age, no one much cares that the humanities major is an endangered species. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in a report titled "The Heart of the Matter," makes the case that, like the natural sciences, the humanities feed "mental empowerment." True enough, but the report ignores important reasons why young men and women ignore a humanities major today. Tenured professors smother the beauty and truth of the ancients with arcane jargon, trading the wisdom from the forest for the weeds of multicultural and politically correct revisionism.
That's too bad. Without the passion that stirs the soul with great writing, it's easy to overlook the riches of a liberal arts education. When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, he noted that Apple's DNA was not made up of technology alone. "It's technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our hearts sing," he said.
Jobs was not alone in recognizing that the high-tech employers seek innovators who employ imagination, metaphor and storytelling, all growing from the rediscovery of great works of literature. Michael Malone, author and teacher, tells of inviting a Silicon Valley high-tech entrepreneur to talk to his college writing class. When he told his visitor to go easy on the downside of life for an English major in a tech-savvy world, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur replied: "English majors are exactly the people I'm looking for." The battleground, writes Malone in The Wall Street Journal, has shifted from engineering to storytelling as the means of translating an idea into imagined reality. The study of fine writing and the arts opens the mind to a larger nature, to quality measured not by big data, but by big ideas.
"At a time when economic anxiety is driving the public toward a narrow concept of education focused on short-term payoffs," observes the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, "it is imperative that colleges, universities and their supporters make a clear and convincing case for the value of liberal arts education." That's a hard sell to engineers, economists and politicians watching Detroit slide down the tubes, but there's merit in it. You should channel Steve Jobs.
Mwahahaha! I'm finally recognized as relevant!
High-tech has a SERIOUS problem with language/documentation. I've been highly-desirable in my industry since I graduated because I do what most IT people don't: documentation.
My motto: "You can lead an engineer to documentation, but you can't make him read it."
Good code is its own best documentation.
As an engineering student I struggled mightily to get past the few Introduction to the humanities required courses in my curriculum. But I did learn one thing - and it sometimes seems that I must be the only one who remembers it now. And that is the etymology of the terms Philosopher and sophistry.
- sophist
- 1542, earlier sophister (c.1380), from L. sophista, sophistes, from Gk. sophistes, from sophizesthai "to become wise or learned," from sophos "wise, clever," of unknown origin. Gk. sophistes came to mean "one who gives intellectual instruction for pay," and, contrasted with "philosopher," it became a term of contempt. Ancient sophists were famous for their clever, specious arguments.
- philosopher
- O.E. philosophe, from L. philosophus, from Gk. philosophos "philosopher," lit. "lover of wisdom," from philos "loving" + sophos "wise, a sage."
"Pythagoras was the first who called himself philosophos, instead of sophos, 'wise man,' since this latter term was suggestive of immodesty." [Klein]
If you think that's hard, try to make an engineer write it for his last project when he is just begging to start the next one.
"Hi! Would you like me to interpret some 14th century Middle English poetry while you wait for your latte?"
On what planet? Scientists and engineers are eggheads. I was a history major in the 70s. It was a stupid major then, and it's even more stupid now. Learn a real skill, otherwise there is no hope for you.
You're assuming that developers document their code properly.
As someone who scripts in Powershell, I can tell you that while the big code repositories have decent documentation, pseudo-code is almost non-existent in most public repositories.
I spend more time writing pseudo-code for my programmers than I do actually writing documentation. They don't want to do it. They just want me to tell them how to translate it from what the customer wants to how it needs to be coded.
Tell ya who could use some English majors....the MSM.
The writing is BRUTAL out there!
If you work in the IT gutter like me, you'd be lucky if you get to finish a project.
Last time I spoke to my pal a writer at the software company that exported my job to Bangalore, he told me that they were considering to outsource documentation writing to Singapore.
If all you want is a skill, why go to college?
Pure tech writing, yes. I'm a systems engineer first with a BA in English and a graduate certificate in professional writing (post-grad work). I produce about 100 pages of documentation a month for my team. Granted, most of it's screenshots, but it's documentation that didn't exist.
Documenting a program's functionality for a user is easy to export. Documenting domain structure, services, networks, storage configurations, standards, policies and procedures, etc. is not something that can be outsourced with any efficiency.
There are no English majors any more. Serious literature is deader than a doornail. My tiny clique in college that communicated in Yeats, Pound, and Eliot allusions is a distant memory.
The old problem with software documentation is that it's written by documentation writers, and not by the engineers who write the code, and are typically inarticulate, impatient and secretive when interviewed by the writers. In my career, writing code for internal use (by those same engineers, by the way) we wrote our own documentation, and it was better than any published docs I had ever seen, including the docs for use by the company customers. Our motivation was simple: we didn't want to explain ourselves over and over again. RTFM was our usual answer.
Problem with engineer documentation is that it's not functional or practical for users. I'm guilty of it myself. I have Visio diagrams, Excel spreadsheets, Word documents with procedures all over my local and network disks. My job is to consolidate it for presentation to our non-technical executives. They love that stuff.
I used to have a haircutter who had a masters degree in History. He wasn't all that good at cutting hair, but he always had really good stories. :-)
I find it far harder to get engineers to PRODUCE documentation than reading it.
How hard it is too major in English? When its you're fist language. Arts and cratfts magors is pointless.
That's too bad. Without the passion that stirs the soul with great writing, it's easy to overlook the riches of a liberal arts education. When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, he noted that Apple's DNA was not made up of technology alone. "It's technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our hearts sing," he said. Jobs was not alone in recognizing that the high-tech employers seek innovators who employ imagination, metaphor and storytelling, all growing from the rediscovery of great works of literature.
Ping for later
Are you pulling our leg, lol?
Ditt here. Documentation, training, and communicating with the end user.
err...ditto! DOH!
That's where I come in. heh
A very senior Oracle consultant once said about his new assignment:
"They have all sorts of different systems running here. And as near as I can tell, absolutely none of it is documented. All of the documentation is in the head of an employee named Sri. And, as near as I can tell, if Sri goes out for lunch and gets hit by a bus, this company goes out of business fifteen minutes later."
"If all you want is a skill, why go to college?"
Football games on Saturday afternoons, beer, keggars, college chicks, college chicks and parties, friends from different places with different viewpoints, intramural sports, some liberal arts knowledge to go with useful skills and knowledge, a four year degree to qualify you for grad school in something that will make you employable for a reasonable income. Proper sentence structure is purely optional. :)
What you really want are people with a double major in Math and English. You want people who can write about something they actually understand.
On a more serious note than my previous post, one reason the humanities are in trouble is because they are overrun with Marxists. History and English departments mostly offer lots of courses on the Marxist-Feminist view of this, that, or the other thing. Genuine scholarship takes a back seat to Political Correctness. I'm very glad that I came through a department that wasn't like that (over 20 years ago).
People with both skill-sets are not very common. A rounded education once helped it along, but that's no longer the norm.
Me toooooooo! Loved being an English major, reading books and writing book reports was a blast!
My group did the same. Users rarely had to call to ask how to make something work... it was all covered. We usually only heard something if a bug in the code popped up.
those that don't know history are condemned to repeat it; we need more of you
Yes... that's the same MO here.
I was a composition major. I spent more time writing than reading.
Just an observation :)
"You can lead an engineer to documentation, but you can't make him read it!" classic..
To be certain, we don't like to write stuff down. And reading docs is for wimps. "Hell, no, I didn't read it! Let's fire this baby up, and see what happens!!!!" :-)
However, I'd argue that it's hard to find an English major (recent grad) who can keep up with Engineers. They're certainly better than anything with "Studies" in it, because I'd assume that an English Major at least would be able to read and write English. "Studies" majors? Not so much.
So, if you're technical enough to hang with the geeks, and literate enough to communicate well....you're one of a rare breed, indeed. :-)
"It's technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our hearts sing,"
System documentation is just like blueprints for a construction project like a house or commercial building. The foundation crew, the framing crew, the plumbers, the electricians, drywall, painting, roofing crews; and more; all are following the same blueprints, even if modifications have to be made to the plans during the project.
A software system thrown together without a similar structured project process; without the project documentation created during each phase; without cooperative effort between the various teams and members, without following a cohesive plan and design, is just a tangle of counter-productive trash.
This kind of mindless garbage is why the USA is in a major depression; and is why outsourcing, off-shoring, and bringing in foreign visa workers by the tens of millions, is even a consideration.
I AM one of the geeks. I just happen to have a Bachelor of ARTS degree to my name. My boss ribs me something terrible when I over-write my RCAs and lessons learned, but he appreciates that he can hand them to his superiors and they'll be accepted without question.
That makes Sri a vary valuable person, and compensated accordingly, no?
I've had two jobs outsourced out from under me. Both times, neither company was all that concerned about documentation. "We need to document this, WBill, but first, you need to fix these 57 other things. Do the docs in your spare time." .....then, all of a sudden, documentation percolated up to the top of the list. Always. "Make two afternoons a week available to do nothing else", and so on.
First time I had it to happen, I said "great", since I don't particularly mind documenting, and I didn't realize what was going on. Second time, I spent lots of afternoons self-documenting on my resume and cover letters. :-)
And here I thought I was the only POSH-head on FR!
I'd always tell people complaining of my documentation, "Of course its hard to read, the code was hard to write." But that was back in the days of packing assembly code into 64K blocks.
I have that on my coffee mug.
I knew an old electrician who worked in a steel mill here in Pittsburgh. The only documentation for anything in that mill was in his head. In fact he used to memorize blueprints of stuff done before he got the job then he'd burn them.
"Job Security" to the unionized mind.
He'd also help himself to any company property he wanted as an unwritten part of the contract. And he'd come over and rig your cable box to steal HBO for twenty-five bucks.
I'm not good at it, but I use it every day. I wasn't very good at C in college either, but I struggled through it.
The term, cognitive disconnect, applies to the condition where reality and one's understanding or perception of reality differ.
If a company has American jack-leg coders who cannot (or refuse) to communicate, document, design, and work cooperatively as part of a functioning team, why the heck would they ever hire another illiterate, counter-productive American over a foreign coder who will at least try to read, write, and speak English, and work as part of a team.
I pretty much work out of a PS console and the ISE most of the time. Never had much formal training, but I've managed well enough to make a respectable showing that the Scriting Games the last couple of years. I'm an AD/Exchange admin, but I've been getting more and more programmers coming to my cube for help with Powershell and regex.
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