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How to compute composite reliability
Mplus Discussion
Confirmatory Factor Analysis
posted on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 6:47 am
After standardizing, there are two kinds of parameters: Std and StdYX based on different standardizing methods. Should I use StdYX to calculate composite reliability? What is your suggestion?
Definition of composite reliability:
Li= the standardized factor loadings for the
Var(Ei)=the error variance associated with the
individual indicator variables.
posted on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 7:42 am
I am not familiar with the formula for composite reliability, but it would seem that the summation of item loadings without weighting them would require that they are standardized, and probably using StdYX.
posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 7:41 am
Prof.Muthen, I wanna compute 4 factoes' reliability following your method(Multilevel CSA, 1994), may I and how I get each level 2 and level 1 factors variance and their related error variacen by Mplus 3.0 output? for level 2 factore reliability, is the formula above the right one? sorry I can
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 1:54 pm
If you are asking how to obtain model estimated variances for your factors, ask for TECH4 in the OUTPUT command.
posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 11:41 pm
does TECH4 can also give the error variance related on specific factor? or a I have to compute the total/error variance for each factor?
thanks for your guide!
by the way, how can I register this disscussion list?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - 9:49 am
TECH4 gives the model estimated variances for the latent variables in the model. Go to Getting Started under Documentation in the left margin to get an account.
posted on Wednesday, December 28, 2005 - 8:27 am
how should we compute composite reliability by spss and what is the rule of choosing an item for weighing?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, December 28, 2005 - 9:16 am
You should ask SPSS support this question. I don't use SPSS.
Ramin Azad
posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 3:27 am
Dear Sir/Madam
I am wondering how I can compute composite reliability and Average Variance Extracted by SPSS or AMOS?
Kind regards
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 8:49 am
I am not sure how these are defined in SPSS and AMOS. You should check their user's guides.
Tor Neilands
posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 6:19 pm
Hi, Bengt.
Good to see you at AERA a few weeks ago.
I am interested in computing the composite reliability of a number of survey items that I have analyzed in a CFA model fitted via Mplus.
In a series of SEM Journal articles, Raykov demonstrated that the composite reliability for a set of continuous items is explainable as:
var(true) / [var(true) + var(residual)]
within a CFA model where var(true) is equal to the sum across items of the variance explainable for each item and var(residual) is the sum of the residual error variances.
This is essentially an intraclass correlation coefficient. Of note, if the CFA model postulates a single factor with equal loadings and equal residual values, the value of this expression is identical to Cronbach's coefficient alpha. When loading values are unequal, this measure will yield more accurate reliability estimates than alpha (alpha will be underestimated).
In my present situation, however, I am analyzing ordered categorical outcomes. It is possible using MODEL CONSTRAINT in Mplus to compute var(true) and var(residual) for ordered categorical outcomes, just as one can do for continuous outcomes.
I asked a colleague at AERA for his opinion of the usefulness of this practice, and he expressed doubt that the resulting statistic would be in interpretable as a measure of composite reliability of the observed items. He thought it would instead be an index of reliability of the underlying latent y* values rather than the y values themselves. I am curious about this conclusion, though, given that direct modeling of the y's is mathematically identical to modeling of the y* values, per the discussion in the Mplus user's guide technical appendix.
I'm just getting started researching this issue in the literature, but did come across the following article:
Roberts, Chris & McNamee, Roseanne. Assessing the reliability of ordered categorical scales using kappa-type statistics. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 2005, 14: 493-514.
On page 498, they present what they refer to as an intraclass kappa coefficient for ordered categorical data and express it as the ratio of between-subject to total variance.
Do you have any thoughts/opinions you can share about the usefulness of the approach I proposed above (computing the explained variance / [explained variance + residual variance] in Mplus) and the appropriateness of interpreting the resulting coefficient as a reliability estimate of the composite of the y values?
Thanks so much,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, May 04, 2006 - 11:11 am
Big topic. In factor analysis with categorical outcomes, the logit or probit regression of an item on the factor(s) is a regular logistic or probit regression and therefore can be expressed in terms of a y* dependent variable that has a linear regression on the factor(s) and that is crudely observed by a categorical y. While those 2 formulations are identical for regression relations, reliability is another matter. The y* variables have residual variances, although they are not identifiable parameters, but instead remainders adding up to a y* variance of one. So, one can formulate reliability in terms of y* and this was done by Linda Muthen in her 1983 dissertation. Others have picked up that idea too; I think Marcoulides wrote something on it later on. This type of reliability is indirectly relevant for the observed items. But you have to ask what kind of aggregation of the items you are interested in getting the reliability for. Is it for the sum? Or shouldn't you simply ask - what is the reliability of the factor scores that you get? The answer to that question is in the IRT literature and points to information curves, the graphics of which is something that will be included in the soon forthcoming Mplus version 4.1
Tor Neilands
posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 11:23 am
Thank you, Bengt. This is very helpful. Do you have any favorite references that discuss the use/interpretation of information curves as they will be implemented in Mplus 4.1? It would be helpful to read up on these in advance of the release of v4.1 of Mplus so that I can hit the ground running when 4.1 becomes available.
Thanks again,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 11:33 am
Two good sources are the books:
Hambleton & Swaminathan (1985). Item Response Theory.
du Toit (2003). IRT from SSI.
Fernando Terr�s de Ercilla
posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 3:55 am
I'm trying to replicate with Mplus Raykov's procedure for evaluating reliability, as shown in
The (more or less) direct translation from Lisrel to Mplus of his model for a noncongeneric scale is:
r1 BY
r2 BY
r3 BY
r4 BY
r5 BY
r6 BY
f1 BY r1* (l1)
r2-r4 (l2-l4);
f2 BY r3* (m1)
r4-r6 (m2-m4);
f3 BY;
f3 ON
f4 BY;
f4 ON f1 (o1)
f2 (o2);
f3 WITH
Model constraint:
Where the first factor loads on items y1-y4, and the second factor loads on items y3-y6. The reliability of the sum score of the observed variables is estimated by the quotient between the estimate of the true composite variance (F4) and the variance of the composite (F3), both reported in TECH4.
Now, I want to use this model with ordinal data (and the WLMV estimator), and a very similar noncongeneric scale with 6 items and two factors. My question is: what adjustmensts do I need to make?, is it possible to run this model under the delta parameterization?, and if it is necesary to use the theta parameterization, what other adjustmensts do I need to make?
Thanks in advance,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 5:33 pm
Without me getting into the tech doc you refer to, here are some reactions, first regarding the setup you show for continuous outcomes and then for categorical outcomes.
Do you really need to complicate the input by defining the factors r1-r6 behind each observed outcome? Why not have f1 and f2 measured by y1-y6 directly?
I don't think statements of the kind
work. You can define the factor by any observed variable and not adversely impact the model by fixing the loading @0.
When switching to categorical outcomes, the question is if you want to work with ML or WLSMV estimation - which is also a choice between a logit and a probit model. I guess in this situation it makes a difference if you put a factor behind each of the outcomes because the regression of f3 on r1-r6 is a regression on continuous latent response variables, whereas the regression of f3 on y1-y6 is a regression on categorical outcomes with ML (continuous latent response vbles with WLSMV). Which to choose is a research question that I don't get into here. With WLSMV, I don't see that the Delta/Theta choice makes a difference.
Fernando Terr�s de Ercilla
posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 4:23 am
Thank you very much for your quick and enriching answer and � Wonderful!, I did a direct translation from Lisrel to Mplus (and it worked), but I forgot that Mplus is more flexible, so in Mplus the r1-r6 aren�t needed.
The code reduces to:
f1 BY y1* (l1)
y2-y4 (l2-l4);
f2 BY y3* (m1)
y4-y6 (m2-m4);
f3 BY;
f3 ON
f4 BY;
f4 ON f1 (o1)
f2 (o2);
f3 WITH
Model constraint:
And it gives the same reliability results as Raykov�s.
The statements: f3 BY; and f4 BY;, do their work perfectly (and they give the same results that, i.e. f3 BY
When trying this model with ordinal data (y1-y6), and the WLSMV estimator, I receive the message: �The model is not supported by DELTA parameterization. Use THETA parameterization.�. I have done it, and then the model works.
Nevertheless, when using the ML estimator you get an error, �Internal Error Code: PR1004 - Parameter restriction split problem�.
Many thanks, Fernando.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 3:49 pm
Thanks for exploring - I learned something new. I see now that Theta parameterization won't work, because the model falls into the category described in the User's Guide as "categorical dependent variable is both influenced by and influences either another observed dependent variable or a latent variable." The ML issue is one of Model constraint implementation where currently parameters of certain different types cannot be part of the same constraint.
Adam Benson
posted on Friday, June 13, 2008 - 3:22 pm
When using Mplus, AVE is calculated by taking the standardized estimated loadings for each item within its respective construct. The value of the estimate is squared, and then summed to create the numerator of the AVE statistic. The same value for the estimate is used in the denominator, only this time the estimate and 1 minus the estimate are used. You acn refer to Gefen, Straub and Boudreau (2000) who use the symbol lowercase lambda, l, to represent the value of the estimate. I'll use "E" to represent sigma. The formula for generating the AVE statistic is then
AVE = (Eli^2)/((Eli^2)+(E1-li^2))
You then take square root of the resulting statistic and places it within the correlation table of the latent constructs, which is generated using the �tech4� option in the Mplus output command. That value is compared to the correlations of that construct to the other constructs in the model. If the square root of the AVE for a construct is above .50 and larger than its correlation with other constructs, convergent and discriminant validity are said to be shown (Gefen et al. 2000).
Hope this helps!
tina freyburg
posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 - 9:23 am
Dear all,
I) With the help of your posts, I transfered Raykov's scale reliability into this command:
F1 BY item1* (l1)
item2-item5 (l2-l5);
item1-item5 (ve1-ve5);
RELIABF1 = (l1 +l2 +l3 + l4 + l5)**2/
((l1 +l2 +l3 +l4 +15)**2 + (ve1 +ve2 +ve3 +ve4 +ve5));
OUTPUT: Standardized tech4;
However, I get an error message:
Parameter 25 refers to
Still, values for estimates, residual variances and reliabF1 are given. If I calculate reliab. by hand (squared sum of unstand. estimate/(squared sum of unstand. estimate+sum of residual variance) result is .80 instead of given .040 (?!)
II) I wasn't sure whether the first line in model command needs to be
F1 BY item1* (l1) or simply F1 BY item1.
If I do so, I get same error message but lower reliab. (.76) calculated by hand.
Thanks&warm wishes
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 - 10:58 am
It sounds like you have categorical outcomes in which case free residual variance parameters cannot be identified, but are fixed at 1.
tina freyburg
posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 - 12:16 pm
Thank you very much for your answer, Bengt.
It is true that I have categorical items measured by 5.-Likert scales. If I understood it correctly, the produced factors are then continous latent variables, right?
I am very sorry, but I didn't understand in what way I can use your answer to take the error message into account.
I would appreciate it very much it you explained it to me.
Thank you very much!
tina freyburg
posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 - 12:48 pm
I forgot to say, that parameter 25 is theta of the first item. It doesn't matter whether I conduct the analysis separately for my three subscales or altogether. It is always the same error message that occurs, and the corresponding parameter is always the first item.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 - 1:08 pm
You say:
item1-item5 (ve1-ve5);
But I assume you have stated:
categorical = item1-item5;
in which case those residual variances are not identified. You should remove the line:
item1-item5 (ve1-ve5);
I also assume that you are using the WLSMV estimator in which case these residual variances are deduced (not estimated as free parameters) from the model and are printed when requesting the Standardized solution in the Output command. So your Model Constraint section will have to use those printed values instead of ve1-ve5.
tina freyburg
posted on Saturday, March 21, 2009 - 8:12 am
Bengt! Great, thanks! This clarifies a lot. I indeed defined the items as categorial and I also used WLSMV estimator.
Unfortunately, I do not know how to use the printed values for residual variances in model constraint command.
I tried it by removing the line that provides label for error variances for each item and replacing (ve1 + ve2 + ve3 + ve4 + ve5) by (y1 + y2 + y3 + y4 + y5) in the model constraint command.
However, I receive the message that parameter label y1 is unknown. How do I refer to the residual variances? Would be great if you helped me once more.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Saturday, March 21, 2009 - 10:37 am
Instead of "ve1" etc, you put the values that are printed for them.
Mr Mo DANG-ARNOUX
posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 2:28 am
Dear Prof Muthen,
By the Residual Variances do you mean the so named column in the R-SQUARE section of the output file, for item1 to item5 ?
This information seems to be printed whether the Standardized option is requested or not.
BTW, why is the R-SQUARE section not printed when PARAMETERIZATION = THETA?
Thank you in advance for your attention,
Mr Mo DANG-ARNOUX
Intern in Public Health
Grenoble Medical School, France.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 11:00 am
Yes. This is printed both with and without the STANDARDIZED option.
There is an R-square with the Theta parametrization.
Mr Mo DANG-ARNOUX
posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 9:14 am
Dear Linda,
Thank you very much for your prompt answer.
Actually, with the THETA parametrization, the R-square section seems to be printed only if STANDARDIZED is requested in OUTPUT (I am using Mplus version 6.1).
Anyway, I managed computing Raykov's composite reliability formula by starting from Tina's syntax and applying Bengt's advice. Since the line
item1-item5 (ve1-ve5);
is removed, the THETA parametrization is no longer needed.
The issue remains however somewhat unclear to me, of how we may interpret Raykov's reliability in the case of ordinal items? In my understanding, it somehow measures the part of true variance in the underlying responses y*_i. How to we relate that to the internal consistency of the actual ordinal responses y_i? I have asked the question on SEMNET, and am waiting for an answer there.
Best wishes,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, July 28, 2011 - 10:33 am
Tenko Raykov just emailed this response:
I am afraid I don't have a direct answer to the question of composite
reliability with highly discrete items unless they're all binary (in which
case our paper with Tihomir and Dimitrov, SEM, 2010, outlines a method of
point and interval estimation as well as of the change in it due to
revision; see also below in this message).
A procedure for approximate point and interval estimation of reliability of
the sum score of discrete items (with up to say 5 levels/values possible) is
outlined in our recent book with Marcoulides, Intro to Psychometric theory,
2011, NY: Taylor & Francis. That procedure is not exact and has a potential
limitation of not giving a single estimate for the scale's reliability
(simple sum score's reliability), as discussed there. With 5 or more
levels/values on each item, there's a better procedure outlined in the book
for point and interval estimation of the scale's reliability, which uses ML
Mr Mo DANG-ARNOUX
posted on Friday, July 29, 2011 - 3:35 am
Dear Bengt and Tenko,
Many thanks for your prompt response to an actually rather complex issue!
Do you authorize me to forward your response to SEMNET in order to complement the discussion I started there?
Tenko, having browsed your 2011 book with Marcoulides on Amazon, it seems to fit very well my current needs indeed. It should provide me a solid reference to understand fundamental issues in psychometric studies and models, esp. from the latent variable viewpoint. And a detailed treatment of advanced topics such as reliability of ordinal items. I am definitely ordering it!
I think works such as your book should help towards a more widespread adoption of better suited alternatives to Cronbach alpha. Still, given the familiarity of most non-statistician researchers with alpha, I am wondering whether using alternatives will be readily understood when submitting research in non-methodologically oriented journals?
Best regards,
Brandon Earl Fleming
posted on Monday, August 08, 2011 - 5:50 am
I am new to Mplus but I want to calculate the confidence interval for AVE and CR.
There is a paper: A Comparison of Three Confidence Intervals of Composite Reliability of A Unidimensional Test (YE Bao-Juan 2011) that mentions in the abstract (English) that "...results could be directly obtained by using SEM software Mplus that automatically calculates the confidence interval with Delta method and presents the confidence interval." However, the paper itself is written in Chinese, which I am unfamiliar with.
How do I calculate these statistics with their corresponding confidence intervals?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, August 08, 2011 - 1:33 pm
This question is for a more general discussion forum like SEMNET. Once you determine how to calculate these statistics, you can use the CINTERVAL option to obtain confidence intervals.
Brandon Earl Fleming
posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - 9:18 am
Oh thank you for the reply. I have already calculated the statistics (AVE and CR)in Excel. But from my understanding to use CINTERVAL I would need to calculate them directly in Mplus. Is this correct?
What are the steps to reading the parameter estimates and error variances into a formula in Mplus?
Could you direct me to a page in the User's guide, or an example online.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - 10:35 am
Yes, to obtain confidence intervals, the parameters need to be part of the model. See MODEL CONSTRAINT in the user's guide.
Brandon Earl Fleming
posted on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 - 6:48 pm
Thank you, that was incredible helpful. I was able to get the factor loads into model constraint but how do you get the outputted values for the error variances into model constraint?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - 1:09 pm
I think you have a residual variance in your model but want to use the variance in MODEL CONSTRAINT. If that is so, you must define the variance as a new parameter using the components from your model.
Stephen Teo
posted on Thursday, March 14, 2013 - 9:28 pm
Is it possible to compute AVE on mplus?
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Friday, March 15, 2013 - 9:02 am
The is no option for AVE but people have computed it. You may want to ask on SEMNET to see if someone has the input for that.
Gwo-Bao Liou
posted on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 3:31 pm
I am new trying to calculate composite reliability and average variance extracted.
The ways to estimate them are:
Composite Reliability = (Sum of standardized loadings)**2/ ((Sum of standardized loading) **2 + Sum of indicator�s residual variance))
Average Variance Extracted = Sum of squared standardized loadings/ (Sum of squared standardized loadings + Sum of indicator�s residual variance)
My questions are:
1) If the ways estimating Composite Reliability and Average Variance Extracted have anything incorrect, please let me know.
2) Should I use �standardized� residual variances of the indicators in the processes? Or should I use �raw� residual variances of the indicators in the processes?
3) I set seven indicators as categorical items in the CFA analysis (the default estimator for categorical data analysis is WLSMV in Mplus). Mplus outputs showed no residual variance for these categorical items. Is there a way to obtain the residual variances for these categorical items. Or should I use the other ways to estimate composite reliability and average variance extracted for these categorical items?
Thank you very much!!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 6:04 pm
1) That looks correct. The reliability formula assumes that the factor variance is set to 1. You can also check these general issues which are not Mplus specific on SEMNET. See also the Raykov-Marcoulides book "Introduction to Psychometric Theory".
2) Use raw estimates
3) I don't this reliability formula is for categorical items. Again, ask on SEMNET.
Gwo-Bao Liou
posted on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 9:58 pm
Dear Dr. Muth�n:
A lot of thanks for your rapid response!!
Your valuable comments are very helpful to me.
I just got the book that you suggested from Amazon four days ago. :D
Thank you very much again!!
Gwo-Bao Liou
posted on Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - 11:12 am
Dear Dr. Muth�n:
Sorry to bother you again for the same question!!
I discuss with my friend (who also using Mplus) about selecting �standardized� or �raw� estimates in calculating composite reliability and average variance extracted. My friend suggested that we should use all raw estimates or all standardized estimates for both factor loadings and indicator�s residual variance in the two processes. Is my friend right? Or should I use �standardized� estimates in factor loadings, but use �raw� estimates in indicator�s residual variance?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - 2:21 pm
Yes, use raw estimates everywhere.
Gwo-Bao Liou
posted on Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - 3:01 pm
Dear Dr. Muth�n:
Thank you very much for your rapid interpretation!!
I am deeply appreciated for your teaching!!
Tyler Moore
posted on Thursday, September 04, 2014 - 9:36 am
Hi Bengt/Linda,
I'm estimating a straightforward bifactor model with continuous indicators, and was wondering if the latest version of Mplus can output coefficient omega. Also, I heard it is fairly simple to get confidence intervals for omega using Mplus output, but am having trouble finding specific instructions for that. How do I get those CIs?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, September 04, 2014 - 2:33 pm
There is a FAQ on our website for estimating omega with a single factor:
Omega coefficient in Mplus
This follows the formulas in the Raykov-Marcoulides book.
With a bi-factor model you have to decide what the "true score variable" is - is it the general factor or the general plus the specific? Not sure if the book covers that.
Madison Aitken
posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - 12:03 pm
I'm attempting to request the composite reliability for factors in a CFA. Each factor has 5 categorical items (0, 1, 2). I used the input above kindly provided by Tina Freyburg but get results that differ from my hand calculations according to the Raykov formula. Following Dr. Muthen's suggestion above, I have used the values from my CFA output under the R-SQUARE Residual Variance heading rather than the ve1 etc. in computing the values.
My input is as follows
F1 by Y1* (Lam1)
Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 (Lam2-Lam5);
F2 by Y6* (Lam6)
Y7 Y8 Y9 Y10 (Lam7-Lam10);
NEW (Rel_1 Rel_2);
Rel_1=((Lam1+Lam2+Lam3+Lam4+Lam5)**2)/(((Lam1+Lam2+Lam3+Lam4+Lam5)**2) + (0.861 + 0.374 + 0.393 + 0.598 + 0.496));
Rel_2 = ((Lam6+Lam7+Lam8+Lam9+Lam10)**2)/
(((Lam6+Lam7+Lam8+Lam9+Lam10)**2)+ (0.690 + 0.333 + 0.612 + 0.503 + 0.322));
I would be so grateful for any insight into why this might be happening and how I can fix it. Thanks!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - 2:02 pm
You don't mention what "why this might be happening" refers to.
Note that the formula you use here is for continuous items, not for categorical items. The latter case is more complex and studied in
Structural Equation Modeling, 17:265�279, 2010
Evaluation of Scale Reliability With Binary
Measures Using Latent Variable Modeling
Tenko Raykov
Michigan State University
Dimiter M. Dimitrov
George Mason University
Tihomir Asparouhov
posted on Saturday, April 04, 2015 - 11:36 pm
Hi Muthen,
I have 3 different measures here (eg., belief, behavior and knowledge). I conducted CFA on this three measures using MPlus. My first objective is to check the validity using CFA (measurement models), and then the next stage is to run a SEM model (obj2) based on the result form the measurement models (obj1). In my obj 1, is it necessary to calculate the composite reliability and AVE (average variance extracted)? Fit indices from Mplus output for the measurement model indicate fit. However the AVE is quite low for some subscales/factors. I just wonder can I proceed to obj 2 (SEM model), even though my AVE is quite low for some factors (eg say 0.40 < recommended 0.50?). I have seen many articles using CFA analysis had only reported the fit indices and very rare author will report the composite reliability and AVE. My question is the fit indices provided in Mplus are sufficient enough to judges a measurement model is valid?
posted on Saturday, April 04, 2015 - 11:38 pm
Hi Muthen,
Sorry, I have another 2 questions:
(1)Regarding the knowledge scale which is binary (yes/no). In Mplus, I run CFA using estimator WLSMV. The standardized correlation between two factors is 1.012 which is more than 1. What can I do, should I delete more items? Does it mean that these two factors are highly correlated? Can you use the word �correlated� for binary measure?
(2)If I want to calculate the composite reliability and AVE, what formula should I use for knowledge which is a binary measure? From your previous discussion, composite reliability should refer to Raykov et al 2010. How about AVE? Can we calculate AVE for binary measure?
posted on Sunday, April 05, 2015 - 8:00 pm
Dear Muthen,
I had read Raykov�s paper on �evaluation of scale reliability with binary measures using latent variable modeling�. The scale reliability coefficient formula stated in the paper (page 269, formula (14)), can it be applied if WLSMV estimator is used in CFA? Is there any way I can compute AVE (average variance extracted) for binary measure (yes and no response)?
Cesar Daniel Costa Ball
posted on Monday, April 06, 2015 - 9:00 am
How to write the syntax to calculate the reliability in a CFA?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, April 06, 2015 - 5:00 pm
Cheng, you had many posts. I will order the answers time-wise.
1. Sat 11:36
Q1: No.
Q2.: Yes.
Q3: Yes.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, April 06, 2015 - 5:03 pm
Cheng, Sat 11:38
(1) Factor correlation greater than 1 implies that only one factor is needed. This can also happen when the CFA structure is too strict.
(2) I would not encourage using composite reliability of AVE with FA for binary items.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, April 06, 2015 - 5:04 pm
Cheng, Sun 8
Please email Raykov to see what he thinks.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, April 06, 2015 - 5:06 pm
Answer to Ceasar Ball
See the FAQ "Omega coefficient in Mplus" on our website.
posted on Monday, April 06, 2015 - 6:08 pm
Thank you very much for all your answers. Really appreciate it.
Cesar Daniel Costa Ball
posted on Monday, April 06, 2015 - 6:58 pm
I found the following:
"Estimating coefficient omega in Mplus for a 1-factor model with continuous items"
The same formula for categorical or continuous data used?
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2015 - 7:31 am
That formula is for continuous outcomes. Raykov has also written about this for categorical outcomes. See the 2010 SEM article with Mplus code:
Evaluation of Scale Reliability With Binary
Measures Using Latent Variable Modeling
Cesar Daniel Costa Ball
posted on Tuesday, April 07, 2015 - 9:25 am
thank you very much
Alexander Tokarev
posted on Sunday, September 25, 2016 - 9:48 am
Dear Drs. Muthen,
I wanted to ask you 2 questions regarding reliability.
1) From reading earlier comments and your responses, I have noted an Mplus code for calculating Omega reliability for a latent factor with continuous indicators. I was wondering, if I have ordinal indicators measured on a 5-point Likert scale, would that be ok to use the same code or do I have to necessarily use the code you suggested for the categorical/binary indicators from: "Evaluation of Scale Reliability With Binary
Measures Using Latent Variable Modeling"?
2) From your experience would the procedures for ordered categorical (e.g.5 point likert scale) and continuous indicators give very different or somewhat similar results?
3) Given the omega code for continuous indicators, how would one adopt this formulae for measuring a second-order latent factor omega that has 3 first order latent factors and 4 indicators per factor. I thought I could first calculate omegas for the 3 first order factors.But then I am not sure how to proceed next, i.e. how they should be combined and a second-order factor taken into account.
Thank you
Kind regards
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, September 26, 2016 - 12:47 pm
1) You will need special code for categorical outcomes.
2) I don't have experience with this but I doubt it.
3) Check articles by Tenko Raykov or email him. One question is how one defines reliability here - for one of the factors only or all factors jointly.
Alexander Tokarev
posted on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - 4:55 am
Thank you for your prompt reply
posted on Sunday, March 19, 2017 - 11:27 am
Good day,
I have performed a bifactor ESEM on data.
1. Is it appropriate/necessary to calculate omega coefficient hierarchical and the explained common variance for the global and specific factors? I don't see it in many of the papers reporting bifactor ESEM.
2. If yes, is there a place where I can find code / guidelines for this? (I have calculated the above for standard bifactor CFA, but I am not sure that my generalisation to the bifactor ESEM case is in correct.)
Aurelie Lange
posted on Friday, June 01, 2018 - 2:24 am
Dear Dr. Muthen,
I am trying to compute omega using the code on the website. However, I would also like to control for non-independence in the data using type=complex, and I need to use only a subsample of the data.
I have tried the input file below, but it doens't run, giving errors. Could you point me to the problem?
Thank you so much!
ANALYSIS: estimator = wlsmv;
bootstrap = 1000;
adh by q04 q05 q08 q09 q13 q14 q19 q22 q24 q25 q26 q27 q28 (load1-load13);
q04 q05 q08 q09 q13 q14 q19 q22 q24 q25 q26 q27 q28 (resv1-resv13);
model constraint:
new (omega_adh);
omega_adh = (load1+load2+load3+load4+load5+load6+load7+load8+load9+load10+load11+load12+load13)^2/((load1+load2+load3+load4+load5+load6+load7+load8+load9+ load10+load11+load12+load13)^2
+resv1+resv2+resv3+resv4+resv5+resv6+resv7+resv8+resv9+ resv10+resv11+resv12+resv13);
OUTPUT: cinterval(BCBootstrap);
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Friday, June 01, 2018 - 5:38 pm
We need to see the full output - send to Support along with your license number.
posted on Monday, June 11, 2018 - 2:31 am
Dear Dr. Muth�n,
I am performing a single group CFA for ordered data and I am looking for a way to retrieve item residuals (needed for calculating McDonald's Omega coefficient).
names are J1-J25;
categorical are J1-J25;
estimator=wlsmv; !=default
Em by J3 J8 J13 J16 J24 (load1-load5);
So by J6 J11 J14 J19 J23;
Co by J5 J7 J12 J18 J22;
Hy by J2 J10 J15 J21 J25;
Pr by J1 J4 J9 J17 J20;
output: standardized tech1 Modindices(ALL);
On this forum I read a response by Linda Muth�n stating 'In a single group analysis with the Theta parameterization, the residual variances are fixed to one.'A more recent post, however, states that the R-SQUARE table produced by the STANDARDIZED output request contains a column with item residuals. The R-SQUARE table in my output does not seem to contain such a column.
Am I making a mistake? Or is there another way to retrieve item residuals?
Kind regards,
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Monday, June 11, 2018 - 5:43 pm
See our 2 FAQs
Reliability - Omega coefficient in Mplus
Reliability - binary and ordinal items
Residual variances are printed with the default Delta parameterization.
Jessi Hinz
posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2018 - 11:34 am
I am new to Mplus and wondering how I can simplify this formula for calculating composite reliability. Below is the numerator for the equation (full equation was too long to post here). Is there are a shortcut for summing loadings? Is there a shortcut for calculating AVE where each loading needs to be squared before summed? Thank you!
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2018 - 5:18 pm
There is no such simplifying function.
Seamus Harvey
posted on Thursday, September 06, 2018 - 12:27 pm
Dear Dr. Muthen,
I just performed Multilevel Bayesian Structural Equation Modelling with informative approximate zero cross loadings and residual correlations, finding good model fit and acceptable parameter estimates for a three factor model.
I'm hoping to use the intended factor loadings and residual variance of each item (as reported in the output) to calculate the multilevel composite reliability of each factor. Is this the correct approach? I ask as the residual variance as reported in the output is not equal to: 1 minus the factor loading squared. Should I use the latter as the indicator of error in the composite reliability formula instead?
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Bengt O. Muthen
posted on Thursday, September 06, 2018 - 3:29 pm
1 minus squared factor loading is only correct if you use standardized loadings. Also, the reliability formula needs modified if a variable loads on more than one factor.
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Honda Car Forum
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Acura Announces Pricing for All-New 2007 MDX Luxury Performance SUV
Completely Redesigned MDX Features Class-leading Performance, Innovative Styling and Advanced Technology
TORRANCE, Calif. - Sep 15
Acura today announced pricing of the all-new 2007 MDX seven-passenger luxury performance SUV. Making its debut next month at Acura dealerships on October 17th, the 2007 MDX will have a manufacturer's suggested retail price starting at $39,995. Track-tuned at the famed Nurburgring racetrack in Germany, the MDX is poised to once again set the benchmark in the luxury SUV segment.
Featuring Acura's most powerful engine in its history, a 3.7-liter VTEC® V-6 engine coupled with the innovative Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ system (SH-AWD™), the MDX pushes the limits of SUV performance while retaining the functionality currently enjoyed by the award-winning first generation MDX. The best-in-class engine produces 300 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 275 lbs-ft of torque at 5000 rpm making it competitive with many V-8 engines without sacrificing fuel economy or low emissions. A new 5-speed automatic transmission with Sequential SportShift and an available Active Damper System sport suspension is designed to satisfy the most performance-oriented drivers.
"The 2007 MDX gives Acura its most powerful lineup ever," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president sales. "With its track-tuned development, bold styling and cutting-edge technology coupled with generous SUV utility, the MDX skillfully balances performance with functionality."
The MDX offers a comprehensive list of standard electronic and convenience features that clearly put it ahead of the competition. The MDX is equipped with a tri-zone automatic climate control system with humidity control, the HandsFreeLink™ wireless telephone interface, a 253-watt, 8-speaker Acura Premium Sound System with a multi-format 6-disc changer, XM® Satellite Radio and a convenient MP3/auxiliary input jack for connecting personal audio players.
The MDX's class-leading performance and cutting edge technology complements its state-of-the-art safety features. An Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure enhances passenger protection by helping to absorb and disperse the energy of a frontal impact while directing it around the passenger cabin to preserve the passenger space. It also helps to minimize misalignment in frontal collisions with vehicles of differing sizes, helping prevent override and enhancing the safety of passengers. Inside the MDX, a full complement of passive safety features are found, such as the latest generation of dual-stage, dual-threshold airbags for the driver and front passenger, side airbags for the driver and front passenger and side curtain airbags with a rollover sensor for all outboard occupants.
While the MDX is generously equipped right from the start, it is also available with three option packages. Priced at $43,495, the MDX with Technology Package engages the tech-savvy buyer with a 10-speaker, 410-watt, Acura/ELS Surround® Premium Sound System engineered by legendary recording producer Elliot Scheiner to create an unmatched listening experience. In addition, the Technology Package also includes several visual and audio communications features such as the Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™ and rearview camera and the AcuraLink™ Satellite Communication System with Real Time Traffic.
The MDX with Sport Package, priced at $45,595, includes all features found in the Technology Package. It also adds the breakthrough Active Damper System sport suspension, which gives the MDX outstanding levels of handling responsiveness while maintaining refined levels of ride comfort. Also included in the Sport Package is upgraded leather interior trim, a unique alloy wheel design, auto-leveling Xenon headlights and exclusive interior trim.
The available Entertainment Package includes a factory installed DVD Rear Entertainment System along with a 110V outlet, heated second row seats and a remote-linked power operated tailgate, all of which can be added to the Technology Package or Sport Package for an additional $2,200.
Based on a sales weighted average, pricing for the generously equipped 2007 MDX increases 6.17% or $2,546.50 when compared to the previous generation MDX. The all-new MDX offers a whole new level of luxury and provides additional standard equipment including Super Handling All-Wheel Drive ™ (SH-AWD™), a larger displacement engine, HandsFreeLink™, Tri-Zone climate control, in-dash 6 disc CD player, HID Xenon headlights and a host of others. In addition, the 2007 MDX is available with a substantially higher level of optional features.
The destination and handling charge for all 2007 Acura vehicles is $670. For additional information about the new MDX and other Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com. For media inquiries and high resolution images of the MDX and other Acura vehicles, please visit www.acuranews.com.
2007 Acura MDX Pricing
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subset: commoncrawl


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Datacom's Orbit Data Centre located in Auckland's North Shore is a purpose-built Rated-3+ facility independently certified by the Uptime Institute and others. No other data centres in New Zealand have this level of certification and approval. The scores achieved put Orbit in the highest echelon of data centres worldwide for the effectiveness of our management and operational practices.
We have absolute commitment to data centres, as seen through the investments we have made; we designed, own, build, manage and run Orbit ourselves. 'Enduring performance' is a key phrase in our data centre vision. We are sure that our data centres can deliver everything you ask of them, not just now but for the next 20 years.
Orbit data centre is designed to be fault tolerant, so there are no single points of failure. We can handle any piece of equipment failing without an outage to the IT equipment. It's also concurrently maintainable, meaning we can maintain, or even completely replace, any system or plant without suffering an outage. We never expect to have to ask you for an outage in the lifetime of the facilities.
We provide Telcos with the ability to deliver fibre into both the Orbit and Kapua data centres via fully diverse paths into the buildings which offers the ability to run synchronous SAN to SAN replication and other high speed network services.
At Datacom we believe that establishing an eco-system of IT service providers at our data centres provides unequalled flexibility and choice for our customers. For that reason we are committed to long-term neutrality, be that for network providers, service providers or cloud systems.
Datacom's Kapua Data Centre located in Hamilton is a purpose-built independently certified Rated-3+ facility.
Conveniently located in central Wellington this Rated-2, 300-rack facility supports key Government and business clients.
100 percent service availability is the hallmark feature of Datacom's Christchurch data centre.


text:
"Let the Wizard do the Talking"
By Justin Gerard
In my
last post
I gave a preview of this month's painting describing a situation we've all been in before: You're making your way down to the grocery store for pop tarts and there's a some dragon blocking the pass.
Today I will be going through a few of the development stages for this painting so you will hopefully get a feel for how you might get around something like that.
Line Drawing
The 16" x 20" drawing was done on reliable Strathmore 500 vellum bristol. Still one of my very favorite papers to watercolor on. It's only flaws: it is too nice to people, and works too hard while on the job.
Digital Color Comp
My color comp is fairly saturated here, and laughably ambitious for a watercolor on bristol. I may want to get this saturated in watercolor, but I'm not an actual wizard. I'm just an average guy who won a wand and pointy hat in a game of No Limit Texas Hold 'Em once while running guns in Peru. I know good and well that when it comes to it I likely won't hit this kind of saturation in watercolor, so here I am mainly planning around my final digital image.
While I am working in watercolor I will print out a black and white version of this color comp to use as a general value guide. I will revisit this color comp when I scan the final image in.
Finished Watercolor detailed in Acryla-Gouache
After finishing the watercolor itself I lay in opaque passages and highlights using Holbien Acryla-Gouache, which blends really well with watercolor. It offers the smoothness of gouache, but the permanence of acrylic. You can see in the images above how much of the detail and dimensionality the Acryla-gouache pass brings to the image.
I will say that this product is noticeably less smooth than gouache and watercolor alone, but I find that I have an easier time controlling it than I do gouache. It works well for what I need it to do.
The image below shows the stages of the painting:
The order of events:
Drawing in Caran D''Ache Pablo Pencils
Watercolor and Acryla-gouache
(Photoshop) Multiply and Soft Light Layers
(Photoshop) Color Dodge layers
(Photoshop) Screen layers with saturated colors
(Photoshop) Opaque Normal layers
There isn't a great deal that changes from the watercolor to the digital final. It is mostly that the values and colors are punched up and sharp details refined. (However, this last part is hard for me to overstate. I have the approximate vision of a mole rat or a very deep sea-dwelling creature. Being able to zoom in close to the image means that I can finally give these details the treatment they deserve.)
The bulk of the time is spent working on highly transparent layers to bring more vitality and dimensional heft to the image.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!
Justin Gerard


text:
Wine grapes to star in WOTIF campaign Encouraging visitors to the wine regions of the Riverina
Posted on 10 Aug 2015 under Blog & Industry News
In a bid to encourage visitation to the Riverina through the accommodation search and booking engine WOTIF, Riverina Tourism have partnered with Riverina Wine Grapes Marketing Board to promote the romance of wine in a rural landscape.
This 4-week promotion across the nation is an investment of $50,000, expected to reach over 1.5 million potential travellers. It is scheduled to start on 24th August 2015. Riverina Tourism has welcomed the participation and dedicated management of the region's operators to create unforgettable experience bundles for this campaign. Bookings can be made through the Riverina Tourism website, Accommodation page, with the green WOTIF motif link to the campaign.
The Riverina boasts a timeless heritage in winemaking, wine production and farming families, including world-renowned Griffith and Leeton winemakers. Their stories are diverse and interesting and are an important ingredient in their wine produce. With one in four glasses of Australian wine made in the Riverina, the industry is now embarking on a campaign to captivate the wine-lover market with their Riverina Wine Collective. For more information click HERE.


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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
The 2013 Great Lakes Seaway Trail Travel Magazine is packed with ideas for exploring the 518-mile National Scenic Byway that hugs the freshwater shoreline of New York and Pennsylvania.
The leisure driving and boating route spans five distinct areas along the coastline: the Erie Bayfront and Presque Isle in Pennsylvania, the Western NY Lake Erie metropolitan hub of Buffalo-Niagara Falls, the expansive Lake Ontario shoreline and its centerpiece at Rochester, the recreation-rich Eastern Lake Ontario waterfront, and the international 1000 Islands-St. Lawrence Seaway.
Feature articles in the free, 64-page, glossy magazine highlight 30 historic lighthouses; War of 1812 battle sites; cultural heritage attractions and quilt shows, classes, and exhibits; events and festivals; and volkswalking, biking, kayaking and 75 geocaching opportunities trailwide.
The 2013 Great Lakes Seaway Trail Travel Magazine includes Niagara County highlights: the historic War of 1812 battles fought at Queenston and Old Fort Niagara, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the war Aug. 31 to Sept. 1 with a living history encampment and night battle; lighthouses at Fort Niagara and Golden Hill State Park; offering overnight stays in the 30 Mile Point Lighthouse Cottage; and Twelve Mile Creek draws for outdoor sporting enthusiasts.
The travel magazine is found at approximately 50 Great Lakes Seaway Trail kiosk units on the byway; at information centers, accommodations and attractions throughout the byway region; and at visitor centers and interstate rest areas in Upstate New York and Pennsylvania.
The magazine is also online at www.seawaytrail.com and can be requested by phone at 315-646-1000, ext. 200.


text:
Table of Contents: September 2007
2007 Scouting Report
We asked 10 people who explore for a living to reveal the places that they've recently "discovered"--in other words, the best places you've never heard of (and, frankly, neither had we). Go now, before the rest of the world catches up.
• Meet the Experts
• Expert's Travel Tips
Hush-hush Europe: La Cerdanya
Straddling France and Spain, the region of La Cerdanya is where Europeans go when they want peace and quiet and really good jam.
• Barcelona Menu Decoder
Destination Unknown
We decided to send two travelers somewhere they knew nothing about...and we weren't telling them where until the day before they were leaving.
Buzz Worthy: Montenegro
The former Yugoslavia has one more secret up its coast: Montenegro is a newly independent country that's small in size, but big on the next-destination map.
• Montenegro Slide Show
Inside Knowledge: Hotel Chains
Many Americans don't realize that there's a world of hotel chains beyond Marriott and Motel 6.
Road Trip: 10 Coolest Small Towns
A little bit hip and a little bit homey, these up-and-coming towns guarantee a fun detour on your next road trip. You'll be browsing the local real estate pages before you know it.
• Real Estate Slide Show
40 Best Vacations
From a Tanzanian game reserve and untouched Incan ruins to a wealth of adventure tours, here are the Real Deals right now.


text:
Across the country, the rape kit backlog is making headlines. Journalists are uncovering backlogs, jurisdictions are implementing reforms to track and test rape kits and citizens are taking action. In the Media Center, you'll find the latest information about the backlog, including: commentary from the END THE BACKLOG staff and backlog reformers, first-person testimonials from those impacted by the backlog, an archive of news articles, op-eds, investigative reports, legislation and government publications we've identified, and more.
ENDTHEBACKLOGSeptember 23, 2013
A courageous survivor named Helena and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy appeared alongside Mariska Hargitay to shed light on the backlog. Helena waited 14 years for justice. Worthy is working to address the backlog of over 11,000 in Detroit.


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EXPRESS GOLD RUSH UNAVAILABLEwith chosen options.
Gold plating a mouthpiece gives it warmer, slicker feel that allows the lips to easily slide into place. Gold plating is also great for players with nickel allergies.
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Gold plated mouthpieces are Special Order and are Non-Cancelable / Non-Returnable. Read More →
This is a modification service only. You will need to send us your mouthpiece for custom work.
This is a modification service only. You will need to send us your mouthpiece for custom work.
Click Here to purchase a mouthpiece with modifications.
Make your favorite mouthpiece an even better fit by modifying it to suit your needs!
Important Information: DO NOT send us your one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable mouthpiece. Accidents happen - especially when using industrial machinery. If your mouthpieces is damaged during the modification process we will replace it with a mouthpiece of like model and wear.
You are purchasing the modification service only- not the mouthpiece.
Please make us aware of any previous modifications that have been done to your mouthpiece.
The shipping charges are for shipping your mouthpiece back to you. It is your responsibility to get your mouthpiece to us.
When will my mouthpiece be shipped back to me? The time estimate at the top when selecting the desired service(s) reflects the time it takes for that modification to be completed after it has arrived to us.
Mouthpieces should be in like-new condition with minimal scratches, nicks, or dings. Remember: gold plating won't "fill in the cracks." Click Here for examples and view the key below.
If you have any questions about your mouthpiece please Contact Us.
Once we have received your mouthpiece we may deem it to be unfit for certain or all modifications. This may be because of wear-and-tear of the mouthpiece or becuase previous work on the mouthpiece hinder further modifications. If this is the case, we will return your mouthpiece and issue a refund minus the cost of shipping.
Modification orders are considered Special Order thus your Credit Card/PayPal account will be charged immediately.
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We do all gold plating in-house using 24k gold!Gold options include:
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text:
Web-based project management systems are changing the way architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms collaborate. By sharing critical documents, schedules and logs over the Internet, efficiency and accountability is improving dramatically. Web-based systems provide a centralized repository to store and manage RFIs, change orders and submittals. Additionally, they give stakeholders a single view of the status of all projects, as well as budgets and spending across those projects.
Here's what we'll cover:
What Is Online Construction Management Software?
What Type of Buyer Are You?
Benefits and Potential Issues
The Vendor Landscape
Market Trends to Understand
Online construction software (or cloud construction software) streamlines communication among project managers and subcontractors, enforcing accountability and allowing managers to take action on problems as they arise. These systems will be designed for the construction industry, containing all the terminology used by AECs and ensuring regulatory compliance, document control, inventory, scheduling, project management, customer relationship management and/or budgeting specifically for this industry.
What distinguishes a top cloud-based construction software from an on-premise system is that the program will be hosted entirely by the vendor. Rather than buying and installing the system on the contractor's computer (or multiple computers), software-as-a-service (Saas), users pay a monthly or annual fee, effectively leasing the solution. The benefit of this is reduced upfront costs, less maintenance and the ability to access the information from anywhere with a Web browser.
When selecting a system, contractors need to consider what modules or functionality they need. There are a lot of systems that focus on one core feature. For example:
Other programs offer a full-suite, or integrated, solution, combining some or all of these features. Although these systems may come with a higher price-tag, they offer tighter integration between the various departments and will be less expensive and more efficient than using multiple different programs for each type of application.
Before looking at the details of cloud construction programs, identify yourself with one of the buyer types outlined below. Most buyers fall into one of these groups:
General contractors. These buyers are looking for robust functionality that will support bid solicitation, budgeting, document management, inventory, scheduling/deployment of subcontractors and even accounting capabilities.
Speciality and subcontractors. Since these buyers specialize in a particular market and perform the hands-on work, they need to focus on a niche area, as well as maximizing crew performance and minimizing liability. This requires good scheduling functionality and document control.
Estimators. Estimating software focuses less on project management and scheduling and more on the cost and inventory features associated with this type of system. For a Web-based solution it will enable sharing of content and research to ensure accuracy in bidding.
Accountants and office managers. The folks in the office of the construction company, if they're not looking for a full-suite product to cover all elements of construction management, will want a separate solution that provides accounting and office management capabilities without extra features that cost more and clutter up the interface. These programs will have inventory and ledger control specifically designed for construction projects.
Customer relationship managers. This includes anyone working in sales, marketing and customer service, who want a CRM solution to manage client relationships. There are CRM programs dedicated specifically to the construction industry, tracking new and potential projects and nurturing relationships for long-term business growth.
Online construction management software offers a number of benefits over traditional locally installed software. For example:
Better data accessibility. Contractors deal with all sorts of data: bid proposals, inventory, time tracking, costs, revenues, subcontractors, customer profiles, project status and the list goes on. Having a Web-based construction management tool allows the user to access this data from anywhere, ensuring it's always entered immediately and accessible whenever necessary.
Improved collaboration. A Web-based system allows project participants to work together closely. From initial bid through execution and follow-up, users can review and mark-up plans and proposals and connect bid estimates and project time tracking to management, accounting and other departments.
Cost amortization. Compared to an on-site software solution, a Web-based construction management program will be far less expensive in terms of up-front costs. SaaS also eliminates the need for an IT infrastructure to manage upgrades and to get the product up and running when problems arise.
Since SaaS construction software programs charge a monthly or annual fee, there is the potential that the user will pay more in the long run than they will for an on-site solution. However, this tends to be the case only for larger companies with bigger budgets and dedicated IT personnel.
Another important consideration when purchasing any kind of construction management system is the implementation plan. Every user will need to be trained on the product, and often the adoption may be met with some kind of resistance from people who are comfortable doing things the old way. Therefore, it's valuable to get horizontal and vertical buy-in among peers, executives and field users, making sure they can all see the benefits of the software and get excited about using it.
Although the following list oversimplifies the buying process, the top-rated programs indicated, in general, will be good Web construction software for the specific type of buyer.
|This type of buyer...
|Should evaluate these systems
|General contractors
|HeadsUp, Paskr, PMWeb, Primavera, Procore, Prolog, Sage
|HomeDev Pro, GiddyUp, Red Rhino, EarthWorks, SmartBidNet, eBid eXchange, Pipeline Suite, e-Builder
|Specialty contractors & sub contractors
|Project DocControl, BuilderTREND, Aconex, BuildTools, IFS, BUILD2WIN FIELD, EarthWorks, eSub, ConstructJob, Procore, Oracle Primavera, Project DocControl
|Accountants & office managers
|HomeDev Pro, attolist, Deltek Vision, Foundation for Windows, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Maestro, Budgetrac, Computer Guidance, Contract Manager, Profitool, EADOC
|Customer relationship managers
|BTBuilder by BuildTopia, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, GiddyUp, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage SalesLogix, Cosential, Sales1440, BlueFolder
These market trends should be considered as you select a product and vendor.
Mobile applications. Contractors spend most of their time in the field, requiring managers be able to connect to their system remotely. Between that and the popularity of smartphones and tablet devices, demand is huge and rising for mobile apps that integrate with construction management software. Web-based programs will usually have stronger capabilities in this area, but it's still important to pay attention to the mobile apps available and platforms supported when selecting your product.
LEED tracking. Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification is growing in popularity, but requires diligent tracking before, during and after construction. For that reason, more and more systems are offering LEED tracking applications. These automate detailed tracking of points required to achieve certification. Firms that will be building LEED projects should carefully evaluate the LEED tracking capabilities of the software products they consider.
Our service is simple and 100% free to customers like you because software vendors pay us when we connect them with quality leads. You save time and get great advice. Vendors get great referrals. It's a win for everyone!


text:
I'm kind of giddy announcing this, but I just hopped on board as a writer over at one of my daily must-read sites, Commute By Bike. They just signed on a few other new writers as well. I'm genuinely excited to see what CBB holds in store for the upcoming year and I'm proud to be a part of it.
Also in the cool department was a 19 degree homeward commute that I nailed spot-on in the clothing department. Chamois, base layer top and bottom, wool socks, Seirus Thermax balaclava, Specialized Deflect gloves, with cargo pants and my ski coat rounding out the mix. The sidewalk on the way home was just a big sheet of blighted, rutted ice. It was a very difficult ride, putting every ounce of bike handling skill I've amassed to the test. In the end, it was a fun ride, but was mentally and physically draining, requiring unwavering attention to my line, and a lot of work from my upper arms to keep balanced as I allowed the bike to float where it wanted within my chosen path while keeping it upright.
In hindsight, I probably should have opted for the perceptibly perilous passage otherwise known as the traffic lane of Quivira Road at rush hour.
Random Tunage:
God Lives Underwater - Rearrange
Enya - Sail Away
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Some more cool stuff to kick off 2K8
I'm kind of giddy announcing this, but I just hopped on board as a writer over at one of my daily must-read sites, Commute By Bike. They just signed on a few other new writers as well. I'm genuinely excited to see what CBB holds in store for the upcoming year and I'm proud to be a part of it.
5 comments:
Congradulations on CBB. Had to bookmark that.Saw you by Genghis Khan's today. BRR. They had a fire today.No food for awhile. After 8 months I got an e-mail back from The JO. They cannot install bike lockers in MO. So, I e-mailed The Metro. Decided to send one to Funky too. He is for Green. We'll see if I get past the e-mail gate keepers.
- January 02, 2008 6:47 PM
- Noah said...
I rode by Khan's just to witness the carnage. I heard the sirens last night but didn't think anything of it until my wife told me that there were fire trucks at the strip maul when she got home early this morning.
Good luck on bike lockers downtown. You should probably contact Deb Ridgway. If you need her email addy let me know. She's the official KCMO Bike/Ped guru, and she's very well plugged into the advocacy network here in the greater KC area.
Truth be known, I didn't really care for Ghengis Khan anyways, but it still sucks that they burst into flames. I'd never wish that on anyone. I'm just saying after the first (and only) time my wife and I ate there, I wouldn't bother going back. The Tailor shop that also got smoke/water damage is where the lady works that fixes all my torn-up bags and panniers though.
Cheers, and maybe I'll see ya back out on the road again soon.
- January 02, 2008 7:18 PM
- Dan said...
Congrats! I look forward to reading your stuff over there.
- January 02, 2008 8:53 PM
- dvicci said...
That's fantastic news! Definitely look forward to seeing what you get out there.
- January 03, 2008 11:21 AM
- Apertome said...
Great! CommuteByBike is a cool site. I haven't visited it for a while, but I always enjoy it when I do. Looking forward to seeing some content from you over there.
- January 03, 2008 11:36 AM
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DENVER—The Associated Press emphasized its efforts to strengthen state news reports and investigative and accountability journalism in its annual presentation to media executives Thursday.
AP leaders told the members of the Associated Press Media Editors that the news cooperative continues to beef up state news reports, despite staff reductions and budget pressures shared with the industry.
The news cooperative is continuing its "Broken Budgets" multimedia series launched this year. The joint reporting project with AP members expands statehouse coverage to explore cutbacks in state budgets. The series has examined dozens of aspects of state finances, from spending on roads and schools to the nuts-and-bolts of how states borrow and spend.
The AP has also changed staffing in some areas to expand early morning news.
"We have to take that breaking news and drive it faster than we ever had before," said Kathleen Carroll, executive editor and a senior vice president for the AP.
The AP also told media executives that the company has expanded state photo reports and reaffirmed its commitment to investigative journalism, highlighting an award-winning "Aging Nukes" series that detailed problems at U.S. nuclear plants.
AP leaders said the company has never placed a higher priority on accountability journalism, putting a greater emphasis on seeking public records and fact-checking claims by political candidates and public officials. Across the company, AP staffers filed some 1,500 requests for public documents last year, said Kristin Gazlay, AP vice president and managing editor for financial news and global training.
Political editor Liz Sidoti said the AP is bulking up analysis pieces to check statements by politicians, at times assigning a dozen reporters to scrutinize facts at a single presidential debate. She told news executives to expect more analysis to guide political coverage, especially as politicians step up claims about the economy.
Sidoti said the cooperative considers its top assignment over the coming to year to cover "the economy intersecting with the presidential campaign."
She predicted a lively year.
"We're all going to have a very competitive presidential race to cover next year," Sidoti said.
AP Director of Photography Santiago Lyon told the executives that increased cooperation has meant many more photos in the U.S.
Lyon said domestic photo transmissions were up 9 percent in the second quarter of this year. He also said AP is better sharing photo coverage plans with members to avoid overlap.
"We continue to make good progress toward increasing the quality, and the volume, of the state photo reports," he said.
AP also presented a good-natured look at its famed AP Stylebook, created in 1953 and the definitive style guide for publishers in all formats. AP in the last year added a new guide on food and recipes to its 2011 Stylebook, and quizzed media executives on some of the year's style changes.
Every hand in the room went up to identify the correct style on "email." The editor of the AP Stylebook, David Minthorn, said it was the best-known style change of the year.
"It was the dropped hyphen heard by copy editors around the world," he said.
Later Thursday, nine members were elected to the governing board of the Associated Press Media Editors Association by the group's membership.
Bob Heisse, executive editor of the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa., took over as acting president.
Elected to at-large positions were: Michael Days, managing editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer; Kurt Franck, executive editor of The (Toledo, Ohio) Blade; Laura Kessel, managing editor of the News-Herald of Willoughby, Ohio; Aminda Marques Gonzalez, executive editor of the Miami Herald; Martin G. Reynolds, editor of The Oakland (Calif.) Tribune; and Jan Touney, executive editor of the Quad City Times in Davenport, Iowa. Elected to represent small newspapers was Bill Church, executive editor of the Salem (Ore.) Statesman-Journal. The online representative is Joe Hight of The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City, and the new broadcast representative is Jim Farley, vice president for news and programming at WTOP-FM in Washington, D.C.
The group also gave an awards luncheon for journalism award winners named earlier this year. The group also gave Robert G. McGruder Awards for Diversity Leadership to Sherrie Marsall, editor of The (Macon, Ga.) Telegraph; and Gregory Moore, editor of The Denver Post.
APME, an association of senior editors at newspapers served by AP in the U.S. and by The Canadian Press, works closely with the AP to strive for journalism excellence. APME also supports training and development of editors and promotes programs in online credibility and diversity.
Follow Kristen Wyatt at http://twitter.com/APkristenwyatt


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Surveyor 7
Goals: Since its predecessors gave NASA all the data needed for the upcoming Apollo missions, Surveyor 7 was dedicated to purely scientific investigation. It was to land and take pictures in different terrain from the other Surveyors and conduct various experiments on the lunar soil.
Accomplishments: Surveyor 7 was the only spacecraft in this series to land in the lunar highland region, where it took more than 21,000 photos (many in stereo), used an alpha-scattering instrument to analyze the components of the soil and conducted at least 16 surface-bearing tests. Its TV camera registered 2 lasers aimed at it from observatories in California and Arizona, demonstrating that lasers could be used to precisely measure the distance between Earth and the Moon, as was ultimately done using reflectors installed on the Moon by Apollo and Soviet Lunokhod missions.


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Don't forget to check out the Sunsational Stamps Facebook group found HERE.
Sunsational Stamps also has a new card challenge that can be found HERE for a chance to win awesome prizes.
Sunsational Stamps Arctic Critters Stamp Set
Spectrum Noir Markers: EB2, EB3, True Black
Hammer Mill Color Copy Digital Cover paper
White Card Base 5x5"
43/4 x 2 1/2" Orange Cardstock
4 1/2 x 4 1/2" White Card Stock
4" x 4 1/2" Blue Pattern Paper
Thoughts and Prayers Stamp
Mediterranean Blue ink
3M Foam tape
ATG Adhesive
Thanks for stopping by please come back again soon~ Carla


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If there is such a thing as flipping a switch for a team, the Mets will have to do it now. After starting their second half collapse by losing 12 of 17 since the All-Star break, they'll have to turn it around now.
Out of 162 games, the season will boil down to six games for the Mets. Three in Atlanta starting tonight, then three in Philadelphia over the weekend against the Phillies. For a team that has been horrid all season on the road, they pretty much have to run the table to make any kind of dent.
If they win two of three, they'll only pick up one game, so what good is that?
Whatever pride this team has left, they'd better find it now if they have any hope of playing meaningful baseball in September.
The confidence level in this team has to be high tonight because of Johan Santana, but overall, considering how they mailed it in yesterday in being mauled by Arizona it's low. With all that is on the line for the Mets, to come up with such a showing is shameful.
How does a team that says it is a contender only win one of six games against a team like the Diamondbacks? Shameful. It inspires no confidence for this week.


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The other day we told you guys about a little project called Hemlis. It's an upcoming app that promises to keep your communication secure and private. They had a period of funding where they raised over $150,000 dollars to develop the app for Android and iOS. They had only planned on raising $100,000, so they had asked the community what to do with the extra $50,000. You said they should build a Windows Phone app. Their response?
The article from the other day about Hemlis gathered over 330 comments here. Plus you guys and gals took to the internet to let them know on Facebook and Twitter that there is demand for Hemlis to come to Windows Phone. Topping it all off, Daniel Gary offered to build the app for them for free. Yes, that Daniel Gary.
Hemlis and Daniel Gary are apparently in communication. But Android and iOS remain their priority at this time. Here's what Hemlis has been saying across their social media accounts:
To all of you that requested a windows phone client. We hear you, but we have to start somewhere. After that let's see!
So there you have it folks. Wait and see. In the meantime, check out this article over at XDA about Hemlis and security. Maybe this isn't the secure messaging platform we want or need afterall. You be the judge.
Thanks for the tip tmjwid!


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Guy Fisher a.k.a Da Kid L Fishburne ( Feat The Winner of MTV's "A Double Shot at Love" Trevor Lord) - Gangstas Make Noise / Ay Ay Ay [Unsigned Hype]
W reports "Guy Fisher aka Da Kid L Fishburne is the new King of Queens. Guy's exclusive music video featuring the winner of MTV's reality show "A Double Shot at Love" Trevor Lord"
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


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Alma Mae Hembree
Alma Mae Hembree, 97, went to be with the Lord on July 22, 2013. Alma resided in the Rockwall Nursing Care Center in Rockwall, Texas where she and her husband of 71 years, Gene, had lived since September 2005. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 28, 2013 at First Baptist Church, Stinnett, Texas.Alma along with her twin brother, Elwin were born December 15, 1915, in Seymour, Texas, the fifth and sixth child of twelve children born to William and Murtice (Henyan) Hudgens. Alma met her darling Gene at a country dance. They married on November 18, 1935, in Thalia, Texas.. They moved to the Sunray area in 1942, and lived in Stinnett for 34 years before moving in 1999 to the Lake Sam Rayburn area to be near family. Mrs. Hembree dedicated many years of her life to raising her five children in Sunray and Stinnett. Though she was unable to take the time to finish high school, she took a writers course and began writing beautiful poetry. She began painting and developing her skill with oil painting many pictures which her family treasures. She published and obtained the copy right for many poems and her poetry and writing was published in the book "Salt Pork to Sirloin". She loved the Lord and many of her poems had a religious theme. She also wrote the words and music to the song "The End of the Darkest Hour" which she published with Lygia Fogle of Stinnett. She was proud to be the cousin to the famous song writer and King of Western Swing, Bob Wills. . Alma and her husband, Gene, loved to go fishing on Lake Meredith and loved raising their garden. They shared many hours canning fresh vegetables. She loved organic foods before the term organic became popular. She is survived by her children, Fred Hembree and wife Brenda of Bonham, Jeanette Foshee and husband Dean of Lake Sam Rayburn, Mike Hembree and wife Lynette of Houston and Mary Chavanne of Round Rock, and sisters, Louise Meeks of Oceanside, California and Eloise McCoy of Abilene; 11 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and recently a great-great granddaughter. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gene, her daughter, Beverly Wilson, and her son-in-law, Richard Chavanne along with 6 brothers and 3 sisters.


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Last night I made the
cutest spookiest silhouettes of my kids to put up on the mantel.
Aren't they great?
Here's the How to. First, take a profile picture of your child. Make sure you have a light background. Mine was a piece of poster board.
Next, print those photos off and color their faces in with a Sharpie. I added eyelashes to the girls.
Add on any spooky embellishments, or leave it alone. I added a witches hat to this one, but you will see another has medusa hair, and my son was turned vampire. These characters have nothing to do with their personalities in real life. lol.
Cut around the silhouette and glue it on to white cardstock.
Stick it in a frame! I was a little disappointed that mine were a wee bit bigger than my frame. So make sure you take that into consideration when printing the picture. I also thought that Bride of Frankenstein and Frankenstein would be great, too.
Most important, have fun!
Linked today to Todays Creative Blog, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Chef in Training, Sugar Bee Crafts, Home Stories A to Z, Centsational Girl, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Dot Dot Dot, At Home with K, DIY by Design The Idea Room


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The Best of Omaha™ contest, sponsored by Omaha Magazine, began in the mid-'80s. It started with votes from the magazine staff but eventually expanded to the public in 1992. Readers could vote for their favorite Omaha businesses and services on paper ballots and fax or mail them. Today, all of the voting is done electronically. By switching to online voting, the contest became more secure and added a sense of validity, allowing only one log-in per IP address during the voting period (July 1st – Sept. 30th).
As the contest gained more popularity, the categories also began to expand. There are currently 176 Best of Omaha™ categories with around 425,000 votes from around 20,000 voters. The five most popular categories are Grocery Store, Mexican Dining, Pizza, Bank, and Italian Dining. Most of the Best of Omaha™ winners don't actually advertise with Omaha Magazine, so the businesses and services nominated in the contest can't gain any headway by advertising.
The Best of Omaha™ results come out every year in Omaha Magazine 's January/February issue with a readership over 115,000 during the two month shelf-life.
Use this search form to find a particular company.
Past Winners >> Year:2014


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The great Mosque and the Alhambra, by moonlight
Nocturnal visit to the Great Mosque of Cordoba
Nocturnal visit to the Alhambra. Granada
Pepe Marín. Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife
Court of the Myrtles by night. The Alhambra Palace, Granada
Alberto Caballero. Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife.
Generalife by night. The Alhambra Palace, Granada
Discovering monuments such as the Alhambra in Granada and the great Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba is always a pleasure. But if the visit takes place by night the experience is even more special. This is one of the options available to you when you choose to visit the region of Andalusia in southern Spain.
Both of these monuments have been declared World Heritage sites by the UNESCO, and both offer the chance to enjoy an original visit by night.
In the case of the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, this innovative proposal features tours in groups of a maximum of 80 people. It begins in the Orange-tree Courtyard with an audiovisual screening explaining the history of the monument and the city. Visitors are then taken around the rooms in the Mosque, and are shown a sound and light show. At the same time you can hear a narrative describing particular aspects of the Mosque through your headphones, available simultaneously in eight languages: Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Arabic. This is a delightful way to observe the great halls of columns and bi-coloured arches, and to find out all about the different forms of worship which this monument has seen throughout the centuries. The visit lasts approximately one hour, and you are guaranteed to feel privileged indeed as you stroll around the interior of this monument, opened exclusively for your group.
The Alhambra in Granada offers two types of nocturnal visits to this monumental site: a tour of the Nasrid palaces, and a tour of the Generalife Gardens and Palace. Both are separate and mutually incompatible as they take place at the same time. These tours are a wonderful opportunity see these sites fully illuminated, and to take a more intimate look at one of Spain's loveliest architectural treasures.
For more specific information about times and prices, we recommend that you visit the following official websites: http://www.turismodecordoba.org/ and http://www.alhambra-patronato.es/
Things to remember: Times for the nocturnal visit to the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba: January and February: Fridays and Saturdays. From March to October: Monday-Saturday. November and December: Fridays and Saturdays. January and February: 8pm and 9.30pm. March: 9pm and 10.30pm. April and May: 9:30pm and 11pm. June, July and August: 10pm and 11.30pm. September: 9pm and 10.30pm. October, November and December: 8pm and 9.30pm. Times for the nocturnal visit to the Nasrid palaces: 15 March to 14 October, Tuesday-Saturday: 10-11:30pm. 15 October to 14 March, Friday-Saturday, 8-9:30pm. Times for the nocturnal visit to the Generalife Gardens and Palace: 15 October to 31 March, Tuesday-Saturday: 10-11:30pm. 1 September to 14 October, Tuesday-Saturday: 10-11:30pm. 15 October to 14 March, Fridays and Saturdays, 8-9:30pm.
Kunne du bruge disse oplysninger?


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Lifting the 'metaphoric veil' on Colleen Browning
Enigmatic, mysterious and intensely private might best describe Realist painter Colleen Browning.
Fabulously famous in 1950s and '60s American art circles, the Englishwoman is now virtually unknown to collectors and museum-goers.
"Up until recently, there may have been 100 people in the United States who might have recognized the name," said art scholar Philip Eliasoph, of Fairfield, author of "Colleen Browning: The Enchantment of Realism" (Hudson Hills Press, 2011).
But why?
"The Colleen Browning story has the elusive elements of a Marlene Dietrich film script -- intrigue, beguiling seduction and artistic independence," Eliasoph said.
Eliasoph's most recent book (and he has written many throughout his career on various artists) is accompanying an international tour that reassesses the life, work and times of the recently rediscovered artist (1918-2003), who had been a significant player in the Realist movement in mid-20th-century America.
The nine-stop tour honoring Browning -- born in Essex, England, of Irish ancestry -- fittingly opened in Dublin, Ireland -- and makes its way to Fairfield University, where Eliasoph is a professor of art history.
In Fairfield, the collection will be shown in two exhibitions at two venues:
"Colleen Browning: The Early Works," focusing on pieces completed by 1960, will be on view at the Bellarmine Museum of Art, while "A Brush with Magic," featuring pieces from five decades of her later life, is slated for display at the Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. Together, the exhibitions will cover seven decades of artistic productivity.
Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Whole Foods Market, the exhibits will open Thursday, Jan. 24, and run through Sunday, March 24. Free opening receptions will take place on Jan. 24 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bellarmine Museum and from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Walsh Gallery.
More InformationIF YOU GO The Bellarmine Museum of Art is on the lower level of Bellarmine Hall on the campus of Fairfield University. It is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and some Saturdays. 203-254-4046; www.fairfield.edu/museum. The Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery is at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays noon to 4 p.m. (Closed Mondays). The gallery also is open one hour prior to curtain and during intermission of Quick Center performances; closed on university holidays. http://www.fairfield.edu/arts/qc_walsh.html Both facilities are near the 200 Barlow Road entrance to the Fairfield campus. Admission is free.
A child prodigy, Browning was determined to be an artist from a very young age and was still a teenager when she first exhibited in London. She would go on to study at London's prestigious Slade School of Fine Art on a scholarship.
In 1948, while vacationing on the Island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples, Browning met Geoffrey Wagner, an English writer and college professor. They spent a total of 72 hours together before deciding to marry nine months afterward in America, where Wagner had been hired to teach at the University of Rochester.
After disembarking from the steamship that carried her across the Atlantic Ocean from England to Manhattan, Browning reunited with Wagner; a few hours later, they were married in a civil ceremony.
"She was passionate, perhaps fanatically so, to two things in her life -- her art and her husband," Eliasoph said, adding that the couple were married for 53 years. Browning died in 2003, Wagner in 2006.
Her work was featured on the pages of Time, Newsweek, Glamour, the New York Times, Arts Magazine, Art International and American Artist. Her work was collected by museums and art-lovers. She exhibited in the Whitney Museum of American Art's prestigious annual exhibition in 1952 and had her first U.S. solo exhibition a year later at the Edwin Hewitt Gallery in New York. "With her instinctive, innate gift to render and draw" her work attracted great praise, he said.
Browning's life, like her art, was "enjoyed under a metaphoric veil of illusion." She frequently told the press that she was a decade or more younger than her actual age. After their marriage, she and Wagner became exceedingly private, living alone in their Manhattan apartment. They did not have children.
Eliasoph noted that in preparation for his book, he spent about two years "diving, plunging and sleuthing" through love letters, documents and photographs to paint an accurate picture of the artist, who was trying to grow and survive in a very biased, closed art world of white men. As part of the legwork, he sifted through more than 1,000 snapshots -- and not one included anyone beyond the very attractive couple.
Following Wagner's death, paintings, drawings and other works were bequeathed to the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, in Pennsylvania, which had long recognized Browning's gifts and is described as "the world's foremost repository of Browning's work." SAMA, said Eliasoph, contacted him about writing the book in an effort to save Browning from obscurity.
At a time when Jackson Pollock and avant-garde American artists were abandoning realism in favor of Abstract Expressionism, Browning stayed true to her Realist vision, which perhaps resulted to her lack of lasting fame, some scholars have said.
For Eliasoph, "It has been a joy and a privilege to do this book about this woman of exceptional talent, who deserves to be recognized."
Free special programs
The university has programmed the following free events in conjunction with the two exhibitions:
Lecture, "Colleen Browning: From London to Broadway: My Fair Lady," presented by Philip Eliasoph, Thursday, Jan. 31, in the Diffley Board Room, Bellarmine Hall.
"Family Day: Street Life," designed for children 4 and older from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 9, at Bellarmine Museum.
Gallery talk, "Colleen Browning: Jumping Aboard the Art World's Uptown Express," presented by Eliasoph, Wednesday, Feb. 13, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Walsh Art Gallery.
The Bellarmine Museum of Art is on the lower level of Bellarmine Hall on the campus of Fairfield University. Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and some Saturdays. 203-254-4046; www.fairfield.edu/museum.
The Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery is at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays noon to 4 p.m. (Closed Mondays). The gallery also is open one hour prior to curtain and during intermission of Quick Center performances; closed on university holidays. http://www.fairfield.edu/arts/qc_walsh.html
Both facilities are near the 200 Barlow Road entrance to the Fairfield campus. Admission is free.
firstname.lastname@example.com; 203-330-6284; http://twitter.com/PhyllisASBoros


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(Originally posted on the Inside BlackBerry Developer's Blog)
As you've been following the Inside BlackBerry® Developer's Blog over the past few months, you've probably noticed that the BlackBerry® Java® SDK v7.0 is available for download in BlackBerry Developer Zone, as well as BlackBerry smartphone simulators for the recently announced BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810 smartphone, BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 smartphone, and the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone, all running BlackBerry® 7 OS. Along with the tools, there's also supporting documentation guiding you through the work of migrating an existing BlackBerry Java app to BlackBerry 7.
While BlackBerry smartphone simulators do provide a very accurate representation of what the experience will be like on a live device, there's just no substitute for the real thing. Or is there?
Perfecto Mobile, a global provider of cloud-based testing, automation and monitoring solutions for mobile applications, is starting a special limited-time offer to test your applications on BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones, using Perfecto Mobile's cloud-based mobile application testing solution. The exclusive promotion offers you a free 2 hour testing trial period on Perfecto's MobileCloud™ for BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones and additional testing hours can be purchased at a discounted rate of $4 USD plus tax per hour beyond the initial 2 hour period.*
How does it work? Perfecto Mobile essentially hosts live BlackBerry smartphones and provides you remote access to them, allowing you to install and test your app on real devices, on real carrier networks.
To get started with this free trial and see how your applications run on the new BlackBerry 7 OS, check out Perfecto's MobileCloud for BlackBerry 7 Smartphones. Once you've tested your app, submit it to the BlackBerry App World™ storefront! Also, make sure you check out the MobileCloud for BlackBerry webpage for updates on more supported smartphones coming up, including the newly announced BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones.


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Aurora University is committed to informing and educating its students, faculty and staff in the prevention of identity theft. To promote this program and in accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which requires that colleges and universities protect the privacy of student records and student identity, it is Aurora University's policy to NOT release certain information to anyone other than the student unless the student has given us express written permission to do so. This limitation includes PARENTS and SPOUSES.
To submit a completed FERPA authorization form, the student must log on to their account on WebAdvisor and click on "FERPA Release Information." This form allows students to provide other named individuals with access to the following information:
- Academic Information (registration, academic progress, enrollment status, attendance, academic probation)
- Center for Teaching and Learning (tutoring received)
- Class Schedule or Grades/GPA
- Financial Aid (awards, application data, disbursements, eligibility, financial aid academic progress status)
- Residence Life (housing information)
- Student Accounts (billing information, charges, credits, payments etc.)
- Student Insurance (enrollment status, claim status)
Currently this form does not include Judicial Affairs/student conduct information, which requires a separate release of information, available from the Office of Residence Life.


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Etsy Spotlight: Leah DuncanPosted by Alexa
I love Leah Duncan's cute little Etsy shop. I ordered a tea towel from her as a Christmas gift last year and it reminded me of something you'd see tucked away in a little white country kitchen. These art prints are pretty too. They would be a perfect compliment to a little reading nook, wouldn't they? Leah also has gorgeous pillow covers.
16 comments:
- Rachel {little bits of lovely} said...
Oh these are really lovely! Thanks for the introduction, I'm going to check out her etsy store! xx
- April 26, 2012 at 3:05 PM
- Michelle said...
Love these! Off to check out more!
- April 26, 2012 at 4:20 PM
- Amy @ Five Kinds of Happy said...
Cute! Love the graphics and colours!
- April 26, 2012 at 4:45 PM
- theolivetree said...
these are stunning!
- April 26, 2012 at 4:53 PM
- -Courtney Lane- {blog} said...
Ooo! Thanks for telling us about her shop, definitely heading over to check it out! Love that whale one!
- April 26, 2012 at 7:46 PM
- Elle Sees said...
ooh, pretty, pretty. happy weekend!
- April 26, 2012 at 10:08 PM
these are great, now I just need the reading nook, walls and pillows to go with it... :)
have a great friday!!
- April 26, 2012 at 10:57 PM
- Hannah said...
I love these! They would look great in an all white room.
- April 26, 2012 at 11:30 PM
- Fash Boulevard said...
love these. fabulous post, love. as a thank you to everyone for helping me win Lauren Conrad's favorite blogger contest, I'm having a fabulous giveaway I'd love for you to enter. Swing by for all the details. xo
- April 27, 2012 at 1:35 AM
- Mary Jo at TrustYourStyle said...
They are lovely, especially love that whale one!
xo Mary Jo
- April 27, 2012 at 1:53 AM
- Tara said...
love Leah Duncan...you showcase such great artists! She has long been a favourite of mine. Her tea towels always make great hostess gifts.
- April 27, 2012 at 3:02 AM
- Nicole Rene said...
Ohh thanks fr sharing! I love all these prints! :)
- April 27, 2012 at 8:39 AM
- Sarah O'Brien said...
love these so much i'm going to the etsy shop right now to explore! happy friday to you two fabulous girls!!!!
- April 27, 2012 at 10:21 AM
- Nikki @ The Ginger Diaries said...
Oh my these are SO pretty! =)
- April 28, 2012 at 1:27 PM
- Lucinda said...
Gorgeous work!!!
- April 30, 2012 at 5:55 AM
- kristina said...
these are just all kinds of sweet = love!!
- May 1, 2012 at 9:10 AM


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Team Maggie Update Day 16 AM Update
8:30 AM Update - Counts are stable, which means Neutrofils are over 500 for the 2nd day in a row! One more day and Maggie will be considered engrafted!
How's this for progress?
The transplant coordinator came in to talk to me about what needs to be done before Maggie can be discharged to the Neely house. There is a certain criteria Maggie has to meet and although we aren't there yet our goal is to work towards that. She said possibly by the end of next week but not to get our hearts set on it because a lot could change that. I am honestly taking it day by day and will do whatever needs to be done for Maggie's best interests! When they say we can go we go..until then we make the most of it!
Maggie was very playful and active today...lots of hugs were given out and smiles. Makes me sooo happy!! I am so proud of her!!
We want to again say thank you to anyone who has sent cards or anything. The nurses are in shock over how much mail Maggie gets on a daily basis! It's incredible to see the love and support surrounding my beautiful girl. We love and appreciate all of you who care for our family! Your support, thoughts and prayers mean the world to us!
The belly aches may be due to a UTI or a side effect from the blood pressure patch.
Lots of ghost stories were told last night. Check out this picture, you can just hear Mom and Lauren saying "Ooooooooooooooooooo"
Mark your calendar for Monday, August 19th, because that night will be a Team Maggie Night at Miguel's Mexican Restaurant on the Hogan Road in Bangor. They will be donating 10 percent of all the dinner sales to Team Maggie, and there will be a 50/50 raffle. If you would like to help with the planning, please call Chris Popper at 941-1994 or email me at firstname.lastname@example.com
Maggie turns 5 on August 19th. She will be in the hospital still on her birthday. If you'd like to send a card or a gift, her address is
BMT Unit Floating 6
Attention: Maggie Rudnicki
750 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111
I asked Maggie's mom what she likes and this is Lauren's reply
"She loves the Boston bruins, lip gloss and scary things (ghost stories, vampires, goosebumps books etc) those are a few favorites but honestly just well wishes are all she needs!"
Please keep praying. Prayers do work! They've made those little white cells grow, and those white blood cells are what's making Maggie feel so good. The change in in the past week has been nothing short of miraculous! Pray for a peaceful day and weekend ahead. Pray for a sense of calmness for Maggie, Lauren and the entire Rudnicki family. Pray that those white blood cells continue to grow, and grow quickly! Pray for healing, pray for strength! Pray that they can be discharged to the Neely House soon!
You can make a donation to help defray the medical and travel costs associated with Maggie's care. Maggie has been down in Boston for 3 weeks. If you want to make a donation, click HERE for the details
We now have over 100 photos of Team Maggie support up on the site. If you want to send your picture, you can upload it HERE or just click HERE to view them all.Please note, if you do upload them, they don't appear instantly, as we are moderating all pictures, just to insure appropriate content. You can also send me your pictures directly at email@example.com.
More later. Keep the faith Team Maggie!