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The AI920 Flash drive is a super-slim and ultra-light multi-purpose storage device, primarily for iOS devices. It features Lightning and USB 3.1, delivering high speed performance for all content types, with support for Live Photos, diverse multimedia, and subtitles – a great plus for movie and TV fans. The AI920 offers instant storage and simple sharing, made strong with water and dust proofing and extra-convenient thanks to extended-clearance connectors and even one-touch backup. For style, versatility, and reliability, the AI920 is a sure plug in.
* Note: This product is currently only available in Obsidian Black 32GB, and the website pictures are for illustrative purposes only.
Compact and Slim
At just 6.9mm thin and 3.6g light, the AI920 is slimmer than pretty much any smartphone on the market right now. When connected, it doesn't look like a bulky attachment nor does it add bothersome weight. Instead, it's a sleek extension of devices that never gets in the way of enjoyment or productivity and always adds much-needed storage
New in tough Jet Black
The AI920 brings classic usability, so fittingly it's available in a classic deep black look. We've added the Jet Black version to showcase the ever-relevant need for great connectivity, achieving a striking glossy look through advanced finishing that also resists routine scuffing, scratching, and that occur in daily life. A delight for the senses, the Jet Black color scheme is highlighted with gold for a premium feel
High speed USB 3.1
Five times faster than USB 2.0, the AI920 handles content with great efficiency and saves you the need to wait while data moves. It is also able to work with individual files larger than 4GB each – perfect for Full HD and Ultra HD media
Recording and directly saving
The AI920 supports all the file formats and standards that power contemporary smartphone photography. This includes support for Live Photos on iOS, burst mode, and action shots. The AI920 allows you to save precious moments, but doesn't get in the way
Image filters and effects
Complementing ever-improving iPhone camera capabilities, the i-Memory app has added its own dedicated camera section, with a variety of filters, mood effects, and other tweaks that can be applied to photos. For yourself or sharing on social media, modify images for a special touch, choosing elements such as black and white, retro, vivid, and many others
Dust and water resistant
Sturdy chip on board (COB) construction and demanding ADATA tests ensure the AI920 is highly dust and water proof. From sandy beaches to refreshing waterfalls, your memories and content are in good hands with a well-protected and insulated design that keep water and particles out
Always-fit extended connectors
We thoughtfully designed the AI920 to connect seamlessly even if you choose to have a thick cover on your smartphone. The extended connector provides enough clearance to easily plug into ports whether devices are uncovered or protected by a thick cover or sleeve. No more disappointment or compromise
Strong encryption
With independent, the AI920 protects all stored content against unauthorized access. It works smoothly in conjunction with phone, app, and file encryption systems, adding to overall safety without creating redundancy or conflicts
One-touch backup
Working with the ADATA i-Memory app, the AI920 enables backing up content from your smart device with one touch. Simply highlight and click, and the app does the rest to save you time and hassle
Media playback subtitle support
The AI920 adds to its list of media-friendly features with support for major subtitle formats. Watch movies and TV shows without losing out on accurate subtitling and get the full experience in more languages. Precise, fully synced, and clear subtitles are essential for true media fans, and the AI920 delivers
Live Photo backup
Simply connect the AI920 to your iOS device and directly back up Live Photos for completely intuitive and easy usage. The AI920 caters to more than just still shots – with Live Photos, it's perfect for sharing moment in living detail
Lossless, high fidelity audio enjoyment
Due to file compression and decompression, in most cases we don't get the full experience when listening to music on electronic devices. Formats such as MP3 tend to be "lossy" on the majority of devices due to basic data algorithms, or codecs. With the AI920 we've integrated advanced lossless codec processing to encompass the entire sonic spectrum. Whether an opera fan or big bass lover, you'll get hear songs the way they were recorded with full impact
iOS device to TV via Chromecast
In addition to Airplay mirroring on Apple TV, the i-Memory app supports iOS mobile device content display on TV using Chromecast. With a few taps, enjoy content from iPhone or iPad on big screen TVs through easy casting that delivers movies and videos in full, uncompromising audio visual detail


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Watch these videos from the despicable South Korean dog meat trade: http://youtu.be/ldblUoQ2tvohttp://youtu.be/aiWE4brZWe0
Dear prospective attendees of the 26th 2016 Scientific Meeting of International Society of Hypertension in Seoul, South Korea:
I urge you today to please boycott the 26th 2016 Scientific Meeting of International Society of Hypertension in Seoul, South Korea and stand against the appalling and despicable cruelty committed against the millions of innocent dogs in South Korea every year.
Harriet Beecher Stowe said, "It's a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done."
In South Korea, 2 million dogs are tortured and eaten every year. Even though the country has established an Animal Protection Law for companion animals, dogs are still beaten, hanged, electrocuted and treated abominably by farmers and slaughters. And dogs and cats are still being beaten and boiled alive for so-called elixirs, which do not have medical properties except in the minds of naive customers.
These sickening practices have no place in the modern world. Other countries in Asia have banned the eating of dog meat and the cruel industry that goes with it many years ago: Taiwan in 2001, Hong Kong in 1950, Philippines in 1998, Thailand in 2000,... Why does South Korea lag behind these countries and other civilized societies?
It's the responsibility of the South Korean government to once and for all end the cruel dog and cat meat industries. Now is the time to cast off the absurd myths and propaganda surrounding these industries and their vile products. Now is the time to leave behind backward and unnecessary traditions.
And now is the time for South Korea to start taking animal protection seriously and show that it really does have a compassionate and ethical society. That means it is time for the South Korean government to better educate the public about the importance of spaying and neutering, about not abandoning animal companions, and about treating animals respectfully.
Until these things are done, South Korea's reputation in the international community will continue to suffer, despite its dazzling modernization and global thinking. Its citizens will continue to face shame and embarrassment.
There is no appropriate animal-protection legislation to prevent the animal cruelty currently taking place in South Korea. As someone who believes strongly that animals should not be treated in this way, I urge the South Korean Government to strengthen the Animal Protection Law to prevent animal cruelty and to introduce basic animal-protection regulations. It must also provide penalties for violations and ensure that mistreated animals can be legally seized from abusers and given immediate refuge. I request that the South Korean Government create an enforceable law to ban the torture, killing, sale, and consumption of dogs and cats.
Dear prospective attendees of the 26th 2016 Scientific Meeting of International Society of Hypertension in Seoul, South Korea,
You have the power to make a difference for these poor animals who are forced to endure the most agonizing and unimaginable suffering. Would you please stand by these animals today and be their voice?
South Korea's dog meat industry where all kinds of dogs are tortured and eaten: http://youtu.be/_JPYK3yTqWY (Part 1 of 2)
http://youtu.be/hXe3GV0GOB4 (Part 2 of 2)
Sora Yun
This petition closed almost 4 years ago
The $2 billion dollar-a-year South Korean dog and cat meat industry, which extinguishes the lives of approximately two and a half million dogs a year for meat or gaesoju, a dog wine or broth, and...
The $2 billion dollar-a-year South Korean dog and cat meat industry, which extinguishes the lives of approximately two and a half million dogs a year for meat or gaesoju, a dog wine or broth, and thousands of despised and doomed cats for so-called "health" tonics or goyangyeesoju, and soup, operates in a sordid and illicit world where farmers and butchers kill with frightening impunity in the most abominable fashion. Dogs are killed with high-voltage electronic rods (220 volt electrocution to the mouth which does not kill immediately), hanging, or even beating the dog to death at the request of customers who believe that the meat is more tender and tastier the greater the dog suffers (one of the most pernicious of myths) and that the medicinal properties are enhanced. They are most often killed within sight of their cage mates. They are then thrown into a tub of boiling water, often still alive, and then into a rotating drum for the removal of their fur, and finally blow torched. At Moran Market, South Korea's largest open air-market for dog meat, dog carcasses are on display next to the cages of live dogs. If sales are slow, dogs will remain caged for days or even weeks.
Cats are thrown into boiling water while alive. At the farms, dogs are fed germ-infested, rotting, and fermented human leftovers, a health risk to both the dogs and those who eat them. In South Korea, dogs and cats' lives are short and ferociously heartless until they tremble no more at the hands of their slaughterers as cage mates look on.
In S. Korea, farmed dogs live for less than a year, often raised in 'over the ground' cages. Although these cages are designed so waste can drain away, in reality they are rarely cleaned, resulting in a filthy build-up.
The dogs are usually fed on scraps from neighboring restaurants or – as a WSPA-funded report discovered – even on other dogs, risking the spread of disease. Fighting over the meager food supply causes aggression and injury. The future holds nothing but hours or even days crammed in a small wire transport cage with up to 12 other dogs, heading to market.
The South Korean dog and cat meat industry, with its deliberate and indefensible cruelty, is about the implacability of profit and the South Korean government's granitic indifference to the pervasive rot and stink of human injustice. Dogs are not officially recognized as livestock for slaughter and processing, meaning their meat cannot legally be sold. But enforcement is weak and many dog meat restaurants remain open. But a conflagration is brewing across South Korea and the world that inspires an almost messianic commitment among animal advocates to pursue a ban on dog and cat meat.
A country possessed of an intricate culture soaked with politics and tradition, it recoils when the subject of dog and cat eating arises, experiencing a soul's unease with the very subject. South Korea is at once the most proud and ashamed, a country in which a sense of a rising global status alongside the ignominy of such cruel practices are indissolubly fused, and whose contradictions and dualities reflect the most exigent of its desires: to be accepted into the world community as an equal and to be without shame about its sordid, corrupt, and technically illegal dog and cat meat industry.
One of the most effective ways to pressure their government is to impact their economy. That means we must boycott all South Korean products, tourism and international events such as this meeting being held in South Korea. Please sign this petition to show your support for the campaign against this horrific industry and help to end this once and for all.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

subset: commoncrawl


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|Wimbourne Wasps
|Quidditch Team information
Horizontal yellow and black stripes with a wasp on the chest
|Most Glorious Hour
When one of their Beaters batted a wasps' nest towards the opposing Seeker, who was so badly stung he had to retire.
|Won Championships
British and Irish Quidditch League Cup (at least eighteen times)
|Known Players
|Behind the scenes
|First appearance
The Wimbourne Wasps were a Quidditch team in the British and Irish Quidditch League, based in the town of Wimbourne, Dorset. Founded in 1312, their robes are horizontal yellow and black stripes with a wasp on the chest. The team has won the League Cup at least eighteen times, and have twice been semi-finalists in the European Cup.
The team adopted the wasp as their emblem after a game against the Appleby Arrows in the mid-seventeenth century, in which one of their Beaters batted a wasps' nest towards the opposing Seeker, who was so badly stung he had to retire. Their fans are known as Stingers , and they make loud buzzing sounds to distract opposing Chasers taking penalties.
Ludo Bagman was originally a member of this team, and was congratulated by a juror during his trial for his performance in one of his matches for England against Turkey, but eventually left and became the Head of Department of Magical Games and Sports. The Wasps won the League Cup three times in a row when Bagman played for them.[1]
Behind the scenesEdit
There is a famous rugby team whose name is London Wasps. It may be a reference. Both teams are based in England and both teams wear yellow and black striped robes. The mascot and the logo of the teams are similar.
Also JK Rowling is from a village called Winterbourne near Bristol and could have gotten the name from this.
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mentioned only)
- Quidditch Through the Ages
Notes and ReferencesEdit
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Chapter 9, The Dark Mark)


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|Located at the corner of Old Kersey Road and Route 255 in Kersey, PA, The Red Fern
is your perfect choice for:
|Amenities at The Red Fern include a towering cathedral ceiling, charming stone
fireplace, unique lighting fixtures, an expansive loft and a beautiful wood interior. The
shining length of polished dance floor invites even the most reluctant dancer to take to
their feet. The resultant effect is one combining grandeur and elegance with warmth
and charm.
A wide wall of windows brings the beauty of the surrounding countryside indoors. The
appeal of any gathering will be enhanced by a full view of Mother Nature's splendor in
spring greenery, summer wildflowers, autumn leaves or falling snow.
Catering services are included with any get-together at The Red Fern. Our experienced
chef offers a complete range of culinary options from hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, to
buffets, to elaborate, formal, sit-down dinners.
Group or Individual Rentals Welcome
Available for corporate or individual rentals, The Red Fern's accommodations suit many
personal preferences and business needs. Open seven days a week, the facility
includes a smaller separate room, The Studio, in addition to the large, main hall. The
Studio offers wireless Internet access, and a projector, screen and flip charts are also
available for use by our guests. Any meeting or event can be complimented by The Red
Fern's breakfast (a continental breakfast or full breakfast buffet, available for a
minimum of 25 guests), lunch or dinner alternatives.
The Studio provides the intimacy and privacy necessary for up to ninety guests, while
the main banquet hall comfortably holds up to four hundred. Flexible seating
arrangements are available to provide a unique atmosphere for any occasion. The
Studio is an ideal location for a rehearsal dinner, even if you choose a different location
for your wedding reception.
Our experienced staff would be happy to take the time to discuss your particular
preferences. As dozens of rehearsal dinners and wedding receptions have taken
place within these walls, some might consider The Red Fern simply to be a banquet
hall. But, The Red Fern is much more than that - and it has hosted gatherings of state
and local agencies, and capitalized on its central Pennsylvania location for seminars for
groups with members from Ohio, New York and West Virginia. We recognize that every
group or organization is different, and we are happy to work with you to utilize The Red
Fern to compliment that style.
Catering by The Red Fern
We also offer off -site catering for breakfast, lunch or dinner, bringing the convenience of
a tasty meal to your doorstep. Our chef has prepared a full menu of options that can be
served at your site, providing a refreshing alternative to the same old meals. The
catered meal is delivered to your site, and a members of The Red Fern staff remain on
site to serve the meal and address any issues that might arise during dining.
For more information on how The Red Fern can exceed your expectations, or to book
your next event, please contact:
The Red Fern Banquet and Conference Center
421 Old Kersey Road, Kersey, PA 15846
Mailing address:
P. O. Box 516, St. Marys, PA 15857
Phone 814 834-1910
The Red Fern is a non-smoking facility.
|The Red Fern
Banquet and Conference Center


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Blocking is an integral part of the knitting process. It evens out your stitches, manipulates the size of your finished piece, and produces a smooth, polished looking garment. My third knitting project ever, as an obviously uneducated knitter, was a cabled baby blanket knit on US3 needles. Sigh. That thing was my albatross. When I was finished, I was dismayed to see that my reverse stockinette was lumpy and uneven, that my cables were bunchy and drew the fabric in too tightly in columns down the length of the blanket. My friend and teacher, Amy, shrugged and said, "Just block it!".
I was mystified and had her send me step by step instructions. There's something really scary and seemingly counter-intuitive about plunging your FO into a sudsy bath. What if it's ruined?! When I pulled it out, it was so fine and even that it felt like a bed sheet (but not so fine that the cables disappeared). It was perfect, and I was hooked. I block every single thing I make. At the top of this post is Appledore, a shawl from our Spring 2011 booklet of accessories and small garments, High Seas, knit in Firefly. Below are some pictures of it on the blocking board.
Do not be deceived, fellow crafters, not all blocking methods are created equal. They range from a subtle spritzing to aggressive plunging. For wool and wool-like fibers like alpaca and camel or llama, wet blocking or steaming is recommended. I often wet-block, and find it suits me quite well. The supplies I make sure I have at the ready are a tape measure, my pattern's schematic, tons of pins, a flat slightly puffy surface to pin to, and either a cup of coffee or a beer depending on the time of day. No, seriously. This might take a while, so I make sure I have provisions, coffee and/or beer being staple liquids in my household.
Here are the steps I take:
1. Soak your piece in tepid water for 15 minutes. You can use a no-rinse gentle wool cleanser if you wish. I use Eucalan or Soak, and the delicate smells make me feel oh-so-professional.
2. Your piece will be fragile! Carefully squeeze, do not wring, the water out of it.
3. Roll it in a towel to remove most of the water. For large pieces, I forgo the towel and put it in a pillowcase in the washer on spin cycle only. The centrifugal force will squeeze the water out for you.
4. Lay it out flat on a surface you can pin. I use my bed--I have a great quilt with lots of linear blocks that help me keep it straight. Some people use foam core that you can get from Staples, or even a blocking board made specifically for this very purpose.
5. Pin to your desired size using T pins or straight pins with colored heads, which I find are easier to track down.
6. Let dry thoroughly.
I take these steps after weaving in ends, but before snipping them too close, and before I seam my pieces. I make sure to measure each piece carefully according to my schematic, every last measurement including shoulder slope. Do not block your ribbing! That is designed to stretch, right? So don't stretch it out before it's on your body!
Otherwise, check out these guidelines for blocking methods:
Mohair/Angora/Wool Blends: wet block by spritzing with water and pinning out.
Synthetics: just a note, these often don't possess the elasticity of a natural fiber and blocking doesn't have the same magical effect. This is why I avoid using synthetics for lace or even some cabling, I know I can't have the luxury of stretching and evening out my finished object. Ask me how I know.
Cotton/Linen/Hemp: Wet block or steam with a warm/hot steam press. You can also dampen a cloth and place it on top of your pieces. Then hold your hot steamy iron right over, not on top of, the cloth.
To block or not to block?
4 comments:
your appledore looks amazing - and the steps you documented are the exact same ones I follow (even down to "not trimming the ends" :-) and tell my students to follow.ReplyDelete
Good article. What is the pattern for the shawl you are blocking?ReplyDelete
Hi jneely, the shawl is called Appledore and it was published in the Spring 2011 booklet, High Seas. You can follow the link in the second paragraph for more information!ReplyDelete
What great tips you have provided, they will certainly come in handy!ReplyDelete
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Louisiana Grills CS 680 Pellet Grill/Smoker
* Product can not be shipped *
This Item is available for PICK UP OR LOCAL DELIVERY ONLY!
FREE ASSEMBLY and FREE DELIVERY to within 30 miles of 02532.
Or schedule an appointment to pick up at our store location in Cataumet, MA.
Cook delicious smoked entrees for a crowd with the LOUISIANA GRILLS CS 680 COUNTRY SMOKER WOOD PELLET GRILL. This powerful pellet grill is perfect for the camp ground or picnic areas, as well as home entertaining - its combination of two leveling legs and two wheeled legs will add to the stability of this grill, while providing added mobility. Additionally, you'll enjoy a range of cooking options, because it employs CONVECTION COOKING FOR EVEN GRILLING RESULTS. The temperature ranges from 180°F to more than 500°F, allowing you to cook your brisket low and slow, while also having the option to broil steaks at higher temperatures.
The LOUISIANA GRILLS CS 680 COUNTRY SMOKER WOOD PELLET GRILL has been designed to complement convenience. It includes a bottom shelf for extra storage of your grilling instruments, as well as the mounting capability for a purchasable side shelf to add extra room to your cooking space. The dome thermometer comes standard on this model to allow for precision cooking, whether you want to smoke, sear, grill, or bake your favorite foods. Additionally, its AUTO START ELECTRIC IGNITER is accurate, easy to operate, and dependable to a fault.
The benefits of wood pellet grilling are countless. Perhaps most notable is the added smoked flavor that comes from hardwood grilling. This is especially enhanced by the CHIMNEYLESS DESIGN of the LOUISIANA GRILLS CS 680 COUNTRY SMOKER WOOD PELLET GRILL - this smoker has been constructed to force the smoke around the food before exiting through small holes at the back of the grill, giving your food rich BBQ flavor every time. Additionally, because pellets are a clean-burning renewable resource, they also offer an earth-friendly method for outdoor grilling.
- Durable 14 gauge steel construction
- 680 sq. in. of cooking area
- Dome thermometer featuring Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales
- Arched flavor guard allows for charbroil technique
- Fan cooled hopper and feed system


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Jetting I bought loads of jets off eBay some even had a dellorto stamp on them but it was still spluttering so I bought a check size checker I couldn't believe it 155 main jet was bigger than my 160 so now I buy genuine dellorto from here they are a very good price think you get it wrong a top end go's bang (26/01/2016) Paul - Hull
Dont by cheap eBay jets! I was buying cheap jets of EBay trying to set up my Aprilia RS125. I fitted a Arrow pipe, but kept having set up issues? I called up Luke@pjme for advice, he told me that the cheap jets can vary in size and the Dellorto jets are calibrated, once i had the genuine jets i set the bike up easy. (27/06/2012) Dan West - Shropshire
PJ Motorcycle Engineers - Specialists in 2 Stroke Engines


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Current Location:GlobalChange Location
Home > Services > Investment Sales & Acquisitions
For investors looking to sell or buy investment grade properties or portfolios, we offer comprehensive and research-driven global transaction solutions. We deliver outstanding results by seamlessly combining capital markets expertise with a unique ability to develop customized solutions for individual clients.
Our investment professionals have specialized knowledge in all major property types with advisors deployed on the ground in all major markets around the world. We advise all types of investors ranging from private individuals to institutions with a focus on assets with a value of $10 million or larger.
We work with investors that are looking for top-tier solutions to help bring them into the real estate holdings market or investors that want to divest assets or portfolios.
You may require any of the following:
If you are looking to transact in the real estate capital markets, our team of experts will guide you using extensive due diligence reporting and real-time market data, coupled with on-the-ground professionals who understand every aspect of real estate investment in their respective markets.
You may be looking to acquire a property investment for short, medium or long-term gain. We can identify the most suitable opportunities in the market, regardless of sector.
If you are an owner, you may be looking to release poor-performing investments or simply to divest from an asset or a market to seize gains. We will advise you on the best strategies available to help you achieve a maximum return on your property or portfolio and minimize your transaction risk.
We are a global leader in investment sales. This activity and standing puts Cushman & Wakefield at the forefront of capital markets transactions around the globe and creates an unsurpassed current database of assets, buyers and sellers, and pricing information. With this knowledge, our investment and acquisition experts from around the world put their collective power to work for you.
We assist investors in a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to, office, retail, industrial, multi-family, hospitality, senior housing, and healthcare. In addition to our capital markets expertise, we draw on our related capabilities in leasing, asset management, operations and valuation to create optimized and integrated solutions for clients.
We act locally but we think and coordinate globally. Our expert teams have the knowledge, skills, and professional acumen to handle investment/divestment strategies and options in any part of the world. Our network extends across the globe so that your specific investment carries the power of our full platform.
Holistic approach
Along with unparalleled commitment to each individual investor, we also draw upon the power of other Cushman & Wakefield experts to help not only with your acquisition and investment advisement, but to also advise you on fiduciary elements like senior debt and mezzanine financing, recapitalization, joint ventures, securities underwriting, equity placements, loan syndications, and more.
We believe that every asset or group of assets is unique and we develop specific plans for your specific needs. Our combined group of experts develops a strategic action plan that includes the most current information on market conditions, capital flows, local market intelligence and emerging trends to determine the exact metrics needed to successfully achieve your objectives.
We are always aware of both national and international opportunities, and we advise on investments from every corner of the globe. We provide access to international capital and real estate markets and bring investors from our global network together.
With offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, our Investment Sales and Acquisitions professionals leverage global market knowledge and local investment expertise to enable investors to meet their goals.
Commitment, dedication, knowledge, and reach are just some of the reasons clients have been working with us for nearly 100 years. Year after year we transact some of the biggest deals across the globe, achieving significant financial returns for owners and identifying compelling opportunities for investors.
Cushman & Wakefield Ranked NYC's #1 Building Sales Firm For The 14th Consecutive Year
Creating a data center strategy is a daunting task for enterprises, developers, operators and investors. Cushman & Wakefield has created the global Data Center Market Comparison, a unique way to assess and score primary and emerging data center markets.
Cushman & Wakefield's Demographics Report extends a global viewpoint and takes the perspectives of both occupiers and investors to identify opportunities and challenges that will be encountered by 2030, and analyzes four key issues.
Outlook 2020 addresses the key challenges and opportunities that will define the future of European commercial real estate in 2020 and beyond.


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Catchy, isn't it? The whole Do Less Be More thing sounds inviting. Is it really possible? There's a secret to achieving it.
First, you decide that's what you want. So you choose "Less".
Then you get to say "no" to other stuff. No to some things magically allows you to say yes to other things. It's kind of like math without any numbers. My sister actually wrote a great post about this very thing last week.
For the past 2 years my sister and I have made Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon rolls together. She was here at Thanksgiving and we had all of the supplies to check off year number three but we both just wanted to sit and laugh instead. We did less, and it was better. So in a way we didn't meet our goal, but in reality the goal is simply sister time {ever since I was 10 we called it getting in laughing shape}.
Emily and I wrote about Doing Less and Being More over at the DaySpring Catalog. I'd love for you to click over and read it if you have a spare few minutes. But first you can read the rest of this because if you choose to click all these links that's a lot of doing.
In the spirit of giving DaySpring wants to provide you with beautiful, intentional objects for your home. I used the Giving Thanks Hurricanes on my mantel and filled them with flowers week and then added lights.
A lovely way to incorporate the Nativity. Plus, you can slip off the silhouettes and use the Nativity Hurricanes year around. So unless you are saying "no" to entering giveaways {and I understand if you are} you are invited to join in the last Nesting Place giveaway of 2010. DaySpring is giving away the pair of Giving Thanks Hurricanes for every 100 entries, plus, THREE $100 shopping sprees.
Leave a comment telling us something you are NOT doing this Christmas season to enter to win.
Curious? Find out what Emily and I are not doing this season over at the online catalog {and look around some of your other favorite bloggers are hanging out there as well }.


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Storm Relative 1 km Geostationary Visible Imagery - Archive
To view a loop of all images from this storm, click any of the "Loop" buttons without selecting any specific images. To select a specific range of images click an option for "Starting Image" and "Ending Image", and then click any of the "Loop" buttons.
Clicking on an "Image" link will display the image for that specific synoptic time.


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OpenSRS and Enom are Tucows' wholesale domain name providers, focused exclusively on the needs of resellers. Through a combined network of over 40,000 web hosts, Internet service providers and Web companies, we manage domain names, email addresses and digital security products for millions of end users worldwide. We offer white-label, brandable end-user interfaces, easy-to-use management tools, extensive technical documentation, scalable, reliable systems, competitive pricing and outstanding customer support.
Ting started five years ago offering smart, honest and friendly cell phone service to people conditioned to expect the opposite. We continue to grow by bringing clarity, usability and savings to mobile phone service. We save individuals, families and businesses money on their monthly cell phone bill with some innovative ideas and some obvious ones.
With the success of mobile that makes sense, we turned our attention to another industry in desperate need of a smarter approach. Ting Internet offers crazy fast fiber Internet: Symmetrical gigabit fiber Internet access for select towns and cities around the US. We're solving the problem of middling speeds delivered over aging copper infrastructure while helping to sow the seeds of innovation outside of the major metros.
We simplify domain management
Get yourself a great domain name.
In a sea of uncertainty, complexity and pushy sales pitches, Hover offers domain and email owners a breath of fresh air. Hover makes it easy to buy, manage and use domain names and email addresses. With smart, usable tools, step-by-step tutorials and a warm, knowledgeable staff, we are the first choice for customers who want to get neat stuff done on the Internet without the hassles that have become commonplace in the industry.


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The DS1013GC-SK is a starter kit containing the DS1013GC (including its usual accessories, i.e. GPRS antenna, terminal block adapters, mounting kit and waterproof secondary cover kit), a U.S. power supply, a DB9F-to-DB9F null modem serial cable (for connection to PC), and a straight-through Ethernet cable.
The DS1013GC-SK has all the features of the DS1003SK with the addition of WiFi and GPRS capability. The wireless connectivity means that you can build fail-safe control systems that switch communication types automatically. For example, if Ethernet goes out, it can switch to WiFi; if Ethernet and WiFi are out, it can switch to GPRS.
The DS1013GC is a 4-port programmable industrial controller designed primarily for serial-over-IP and serial control projects. It comes pre-loaded with a fully functional open-source serial-over-IP application.
The four opto-isolated ports of the DS1013GC can be programmed for RS232, RS422 or RS485. Four terminal block adapters are included for you to use instead of the DB9 connectors built in.
The DS1013GC is programmable in Tibbo BASIC and/or Tibbo C which also provides a complete IDE for debugging. The functionality of the DS1013GC is determined by whatever Tibbo BASIC/C application it is running. It is perfectly suited for work as an intelligent serial controller, a serial device server, or a serial communications gateway.
It requires 10-18V DC power, which can be provided through a 3.5mm coaxial jack (center positive) or a two-pole screw terminal. The power supply provided with this kit will plug into the coaxial jack.
View the TIDE, TiOS, Tibbo BASIC and Tibbo C Online Manual.
View Tibbo BASIC Introduction Videos.
View a video of the Serial-over-IP application showing WiFi support.
View a video of the Tibbo Connection Wizard showing how to create a Virtual Serial Port and link it with the Device Server.


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Guvnor Media Video Library
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Delight in this enthralling trek to Harihar Fort, Igatpuri with friends and family. The most remarkable thing about this fort is that it appears to be rectangular in shape from the base village, built one triangular prism of rock – the edges of this stunning fort is absolutely vertical, further adding to the uniqueness of this stunning ancient fort.
Rock carved staircases lead you to the fort! Delight in the ancient beauty of this fort while trekking through picturesque landscapes accompanying you throughout your Harihar Fort trekking. Walk through the rocky staircase that hangs below a steep drop. Feel your heart racing as you climb these stairs while enjoying the grand view of the surrounding colossal ranges.
Once you make it to the top, enthrall in the beauty of the elongated plateau which holds a beautiful temple of Lord Hanuman. A perfect place that reminds you of a fairy-tale story you read in your childhood. Sit and enjoy the stunning beauty of the pond, in front of the temple – a view that makes all the climb worth the effort. Enjoy the scenic beauty of this land with a trek to Harihar Fort, Igatpuri.


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Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles - Troparion & Kontakion
Troparion — Tone 4
O fervent Protectress, / Mother of the Lord Most High; / You intercede for all before your Son Christ our God, / Granting salvation to all who seek refuge in your protection. / Protect us all, O Queen and Sovereign Lady, / For we are stricken with grief and wounded by sin. / With tears we stand before your pure Icon, / Praying with contrite souls and humble hearts. / All our hope we place in you, / May we be delivered from evil. / Grant to all what is expedient, / And save all, O Virgin Theotokos: / For you are the Holy Protection of your servants!
Kontakion — Tone 8
Let us run to the gracious and quiet haven / The fervent helper, ardent and eager to save all. / Let us run to the Virgin's protection and hasten to repentance. / The pure Theotokos grants us unfailing mercy / She comes to help all, delivering her faithful servants from tribulations!


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Hi guys!
I know it has been a while but I have another video to hsrae with you guys!
I order the Roland poster and just like I did with the book, I decided to shoot a First Look Vlog for the poster too.
If you don't wanna see how I look like then don't watch it.
Here's the link:
Hope you guys like it!
It's so cool!


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We already noted the absolutely stunning surge in reported Household Survey jobs which "added" 873,000 jobs, or the most since 2003 and the second most in the past decade, which was just a little bit off the Household Survey used in the monthly NFP jobs changes, which came at 114,000, or about 8 times less. But what was the reason for this epic jump in Household survey jobs? Simple, and those who have read our series on America's transition to a part-time worker society know the answer. The reason is that the number of part-time people employed for economic reasons soared by 582,000 to 8,613,000, the most since October 2011, and the largest one month jump since February 2009, when "restoring" confidence in the economy was all the rage... and just before the Fed announced the full blown QE1 in March of 2009. Odd symmetry.
So putting it all together, what does this mean for the true state of the US economy? Recall back in September one of our Charts of the Day was the number of Unemployed and Underemployed for the month of August, which was 25.8 million. Readers may be surprised to learn that when putting it all together, in September this number increased to 26.2 million.


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Hearings and Business Meetings
May 19 2010
NATIONAL PARKS SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: to receive testimony on the following bills: S. 349, S. 1596, S. 1651, S. 1750, S. 1801, S. 1802 and H.R. 685, S. 2953 and H.R. 3388, S. 2976, S. 3159 and H.R. 4395, S. 3168, and S. 3303 (Hearing Room SD-366).
SD-366 Energy Committee Hearing Room 02:30 PMThe purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills:
S. 349, to establish the Susquehanna Gateway National Heritage Area in the State of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes;
S. 1596, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the Gold Hill Ranch in Coloma, California;
S. 1651, to modify a land grant patent issued by the Secretary of the Interior;
S. 1750, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the General of the Army George Catlett Marshall National Historic Site at Dodona Manor in Leesburg, Virginia, and for other purposes;
S. 1801, to establish the First State National Historical Park in the State of Delaware, and for other purposes;
S. 1802 and H.R. 685, to require a study of the feasibility of establishing the United States Civil Rights Trail System, and for other purposes;
S. 2953 and H.R. 3388, to modify the boundary of Petersburg National Battlefield in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and for other purposes;
S. 2976, to designate as wilderness certain land and inland water within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in the State of Michigan, and for other purposes;
S. 3159 and H.R. 4395, to amend Public Law 101-377 to revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park to include the Gettysburg Train Station, and for other purposes;
S. 3168, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire certain non-Federal land in the State of Pennsylvania for inclusion in the Fort Necessity National Battlefield; and
S. 3303, to establish the Chimney Rock National Monument in the State of Colorado (Hearing Room SD-366).
If you are having trouble viewing this hearing, please try the following steps:
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- If the above two steps do not help, please try another browser. Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge have the highest level of compatibility with our player.
Witness Panel 1
United States SenateSenBurrisonS1802051910.pdf (118.1 KBs)
The Honorable Michael BennetU.S. Senate
The Honorable Barbara BoxerU.S. Senate
The Honorable Thomas CarperU.S. Senate
The Honorable Robert CaseyU.S. Senate
Witness Panel 2
Department of the InteriorWhitesellTestimonyCombined.pdf (85.6 KBs)
Deputy Chief of the National Forest SystemForest Service, Department of AgricultureHoltroponS3303051910.pdf (26.9 KBs)
Witness Panel 3
Commissioner of Archuleta CountyMoomawtestimonyonS3303051910.doc (25.5 KBs)
DirectorDivision of Historic and Cultural Affairs for the State of DelawareSlavintestimonyonS1801051910.doc (27.5 KBs)
PresidentSusquehanna Gateway Heritage AreaPlattstestimonyonS349051910_M.pdf (611.1 KBs)


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and 2 contributors
UR::ObjectV001removed - restores changes removed in UR version 0.01
use UR::ObjectV001removed
Extends the UR::Object API have methods removed in the 0.01 release.
If you upgrade UR, but depend on old APIs, use this module.
For version 0.xx of UR, APIs may change with each release. After 1.0, APIs will only change with major releases number increments.


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South African Journal of Education
On-line version ISSN 2076-3433
Print version ISSN 0256-0100
S. Afr. j. educ. vol.32 n.4 Pretoria Jan. 2012
Drawing on resilience: piloting the utility of the Kinetic Family Drawing to measure resilience in children of HIV-positive mothers
L EbersöhnI; I EloffI; M FinestoneI; I van DullemenI; K SikkemaII; B ForsythIII
IDepartment of Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa firstname.lastname@example.com
IIDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham
IIIDepartment of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven
In this article we describe how using a visual, child-friendly measure of resilience in a randomised control trial (RCT), the Kgolo Mmogo (KM) project, resulted in representative insights on resilience in a mother-child relationship where the mother is HIV-positive. We used the existing psychological method Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) to measure resilience of young children in the qualitative phase of the concurrent mixed method RCT as the children represent cultural groups for whom standardized measures have not been developed. We use the case example of baseline KM assessment data of 6 year olds (n = 11; 3 female, 8 male). The results of the study demonstrate that the visual and qualitative data from children (KFD) added to quantitative information obtained from mothers (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, VABS). Additional information from the KFD had interpretation value for VABS scores and provided a child's perspective regarding resilience. Contrasting information from the KFD problematized mothers' perspectives as indicated in the VABS. The absence of significant information in KFD results regarding VABS sub-domains indicates differences in the cultural/contextual conceptualization of resilience. This exploratory study indicates initial support for the cross-cultural utility of the KFD to measure resilience in young children faced with adversity.
Keywords: cross-cultural measurement, cross-national research, cultural relevance, HIV&AIDS, indigenous psychology, Kinetic Family Drawing, measurement, mother-child relationship, resilience, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, visual data
In wellness studies more individualized conceptualizations of resilience have only been validated for a slight minority of the world's population, despite current literature speaking to more ecological definitions of the concept (Ungar, 2006). However, these validated measures are used in global studies, with implications for cross-cultural measurement. How do researchers measure resilience in psychology research when we work with participants beyond cultural dominant group s for whom measures have not been standardised? How do researchers demonstrate awareness of cultural variation and the potential for cultural bias in our selection of, use, analysis and interpretation of imported assessment tools (Carter, Lees, Murira, Gona, Neville & Newton, 2005)? Even more significantly, how do researchers measure resilience cross- culturally in young children when studies on resilience have indicated that culture modifies the ability of particular strengths to affect outcomes (Lightsey, 2006; Park & Huebner, 2005), thereby problematizing the cross-cultural conceptualization and operationalization of psychological resilience among young children.
Kgolo Mmogo (KM) (Setswana meaning: 'growing together') is a 5-year randomized controlled intervention trial investigating resilience in HIV-infected mothers and their young children. In KM researchers faced measurement challenges (especially related to children's self-report resilience measures) as the team of cross-national researchers partnered with participants from cultures for whom existing measures have not been validated. Although the KFD is commonly used in South Africa as a psychological measure, its cross-cultural utility, specifically with regard to measuring resilience, has not been explored. Thus, assumptions were that, (a) the KFD could be a way to "reduce bias in traditional testing practices and utilize authentic and alternative assessment procedures" (Ortiz, 2002:1328), (b) through the KFD, young children would be able to draw/express their nested experiences of resilience in the mother-child relationship from an emic perspective, and (c) the KFD expressed emic experiences could be compared to scores derived from teachers' and parents' etic perspective Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) scores to examine utility.
The aim of this article is to describe an exploratory study (as a subsection of the KM study) by taking a preliminary look at the extent to which the KFD, as a visual instrument with a child, can be used as an instrument for non-discriminatory assessment and contribute to an increase in understanding of child adaptive functioning. Objectives of this article are (i) to explore the extent to which the KFD (a validated measure) affords young children an opportunity to express resilience from an emic perspective; (ii) to compare resilience as measured with children in the KFD from an emic perspective with resilience as measured with mothers on the VABS from an etic perspective; and (iii) to explore the utility of the KFD as culturally appropriate measure of resilience in young children from an indigenization framework.
Visual data generation: Kinetic Family Drawing
The KFD is one of many drawing techniques classified as a performance measure of personality. Like other performance measures (Dana, 2007), the KFD instrument was primarily developed for English, Caucasian middle-class populations rather than for other cultural groups. The KFD is an unstructured projective technique revealing a child's emotions in relation to individuals whom he/she regards as most significant and whose influence is most powerful in their lives (Madigan, Ladd & Goldberg, 2003; Hojnoski, Morrison, Matthews & Brown, 2006; Bekhit, Thomas & Jolley, 2005; Piperno, Di Biasi & Levi, 2007; Dunn, O'Connor & Levy, 2002; Fury, Carlson & Sroufe, 1997; Handler & Habenicht, 1994). The KFD can serve as a metaphor or symbol for what a child wishes to express at a specific point in time about a specific situation. The KFD has been used to measure resilience as reported by young children (Di Leo, 1983; Thomas & Jolley, 1998) within child-clinical psychology settings as a valid interview and assessment aid for children to express themselves. In developmental studies the KFD has been indicated as a valid index of children's thoughts, feelings and perspectives (Madigan et al., 2003). Similarly, Roe, Bridges, Dunn and O'Connor (2006) found that children's drawings observe pictorial principles and cultural rules of what defines a family although the authors also point out that the KFD has been criticized as a method to obtain information since the interpretation of drawings are open and establishing validity and reliability of data remains complicated.
Regarding the use of KFD in research, various studies have used pictures to investigate interpersonal interactions and emotional relationships in family (Anning & Ring, 2004; Roe et al., 2006; Kortesluoma, Hentinen & Nikkonen, 2003; Skybo, Ryan-Wenger & Su, 2007). The KFD is viewed as non-threatening, as this known activity lessens children's anxiety and puts them at ease to express themselves. As some children have difficulty in verbalizing their feelings, drawing enables them to convey experiences.
Psychology practices (assessment and therapeutic) are dominated by western psychological world views and epistemologies, particularly positivism. In terms of conceptualizing psychology, issues of individuality and materialism are often foregrounded, and understandings occur in terms of quantification and objectivity (Dalal & Misra, 2010). Within such conceptualizations of psychology, the scope for non-western perspectives in psychology has often been marginalized.
Indigenization signals a move towards deconstructing psychology to no longer be decontextualized, but rather embrace cross-cultural, ethno, indigenous and cultural psychological approaches (McCubbin & McCubbin, 2005). In this way indigenization of psychology denotes 'indigenizing' the prevailing Euro-American discipline to be more culturally attuned, socially relevant and aligned with the ethos of individuals using the science. Psychological pluralism (Levers, 1997) contests western-psychology hegemony, but likewise opposes an 'either-or-stance' with western and non-western structured as dichotomies. Malott (2008) indicates how 'versus' stances dim discourses of challenges related to cultural differences within cultural groups.
By implication, indigenization also indicates revised strategies of inquiry in science and scientific enterprise. Because of views that psychological engagement cannot be immune to cultural context, psychological research and practice have seen an increase of qualitative methods (relying on subjectivity, human experience and constructivist approaches to human understanding) (Dalal & Misra, 2010).
Measuring resilience across cultures
Resilience (Luthar, 2003) indicates both processes that lead to well-being when individuals face significant adversity (such as HIV&AIDS in the specific population selected for this article), as well as outcomes associated with positive adaptation under stress (the latter of which is the focus in the VABS). Ungar (2006) and Seccombe (2002), however, offer a less individualistic focused, and more ecologically sensitive definition of resilience. Ungar (2006) in particular explains resilience as one's capacity to navigate their way to health-promoting resources, as well as the capacity of one's physical and social ecologies to provide resources meaningfully. Viewing resilience ecologically means that not only does a child require personal agency (adaptive functioning), but that family and community resources have to be available. Ecological views of resilience would also resonate with cross-cultural assessment approaches foregrounding situated cognition.
An ecological definition also means that resilience can be considered from an emic (not only etic) perspective. In this regard resilience from an emic perspective (Brislin, Lonner & Thorndike, 1973) would strive for understandings of resilience from within a cultural frame from whence the concept becomes apparent. In contrast, an etic perspective on resilience would entail an evaluation of resilience as phenomena by assuming cultural neutrality or objectivity in the use of the concept of resilience across settings (Ungar, Liebenberg, Boothroyd, Kwong, Lee, Leblanc, Duque & Makhnach, 2008). Most scholars agree that insight into nuances of resilience is probably best rooted in designs embracing both emic and etic perspectives during measurement (Cheung, Cheung, Zhang, Leung, Leong & Yeh, 2008; Trickett & Birman, 2000).
Although some scholars have been searching for decolonized ways to understand, portray and operationalize the plurality of well-being (Smith, 1999; Ungar, 2006), discourses regarding resilience are still dominated by perspectives of those outside western Eurocentric cultures. In this regard much has been written on ways in which children's experiences may be measured across cultures by adapting validated measures (Brandt, 2005; Butcher, 2004; Casillas & Robbins, 2005; Herdman, Fox-Rushby & Badia, 1997), as well as developing indigenous psychological measures (Adair, 1999; Adair, Puhan & Vohra, 1993; Carter et al., 2005; Condly, 2006; Ho, Peng, Lai & Chan, 2001).
More and more, however, an emic perspective is supported as researchers recognize culture and context as meaningful during knowledge production. The presence of ecologies of knowledge in studies indicates scholars' increased awareness that existing understandings of positive development probably lack cultural and contextual complexity (Alegria, Vila, Woo, Canino, Takeuchi, Vera, Febo, Guarnaccia, Aguilar-Gaxiola & Shrout, 2004; Dawes & Donald, 2000; Elliott, Menard, Rankin, Elliott, Huizinga & Wilson, 2006). In the same way scholars have attempted to not only encapsulate international understandings of well-being amongst youth (Brown, Larson & Saraswathi, 2002; Carey & Ungar, 2007; Wong & Wong, 2006), but also to localize investigations regarding wellness in less studied settings (Donald, Dawes & Louw, 2000; Ebersöhn, 2008; Lee, 2005; Van Hoorn, Komlosi, Suchar & Samelson, 2000).
Kgolo Mmogo
In Kgolo Mmogo resilience is viewed from the perspective of adaptive behaviour, where the latter denotes the efficiency with which people achieve a level of individual independence, as well as social accountability (Perry & Factor, 1989; Sparrow, Cicchettim & Balla, 2005). The KM concurrent mixed method design incorporated various measures that were culturally adapted and translated prior to administration with mothers and teachers. In this paper we report on insights gleaned in KM from using the KFD and VABS. In KM the VABS measures resilience from an etic perspective, and the KFD measures resilience from an emic perspective. For cross-cultural assessment purposes (Van Widenfeldt, Treffers, De Beurs, Siebelink & Koudijs, 2005) both the VABS and KFD were translated into Sepedi, isiSotho, isiZulu and Setswana and the VABS was culturally adapted. Both the qualitative and quantitative measures were completed concurrently at the time of baseline assessment.
The KM sample is characteristic of a South African urban sub-section of the population from Sepedi, isiSotho, isiZulu and Setswana groupings. For this phase of KM we made use of purposefully sampled baseline assessment data of young children (n = 11, 3 female, 8 male) between the ages of 5 years 6 months and 6 years 11 months. As KM specifically aimed to understand resilience where mothers' HIV-status is positive, participants were (i) children, namely HIV-negative children of mothers infected with HIV and involved in KM, and (ii) their HIV-positive mothers. Other data (VABS) for both the mother and child had to be completed and the KFD picture had to be clear and be accompanied by a transcribed interview with a research assistant. The child-participants were mostly in Grade 0 (Kindergarten), Grade 1 or Grade 2.
As culturally sensitive approaches to research design posits indigenization (Dalal & Misra, 2010; Duncan, 2008), it was decided to include a visual method, the Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) as a qualitative and emic way of measuring children's resilience from their perspective in the KM research design. The choice of the KFD aligns with notions that "young people's patterns of coping are embedded in the complex social ecologies of their families and communities" (Ungar et al., 2008:167).
In this study we used the KFD as a visually-guided aid for interview (storytelling, narrative) with children to draw, talk about and interpret their experiences of resilience in terms of their family-context. Research assistants instructed children (in their mother tongue) to "Draw your family doing something". After the child had drawn the picture the research assistant asked the child to explain the picture by asking: "Who are the people in the picture?", "What are they doing?", "What did they do beforehand?", "What will they do afterwards?" The interview was audio-recorded and verbatim transcriptions were translated prior to thematic analysis.
Narrative analysis links with thematic apperception techniques, from a personological assessment paradigm, attending to the intra- and interpersonal processes underpinning personality development (Esquivel & Flanagan, 2007). Specifically we viewed the KFD data through Handler's (1996) lens as children's psychological images characteristic of themselves and demonstrated graphically "to represent self-in-the-world, or innate skills and strategies for daily living described by stylistic and symbolic representations" (Dana, 2007:236). Visual data were analysed by the researchers in terms of an integrated analysis framework based on Wegmann and Lusebrink (2000), as well as Klepsch and Logie (1982).
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale
KM included the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS), Second Edition (Vineland-II) Survey Interview Form (Sparrow et al., 2005) to establish children's level of adaptive functioning behaviours from the mothers' perspective. In the VABS adaptive functioning behaviour is conceptualized as the execution of daily activities necessary for personal and social adequacy as defined by the expectations and standards of significant others (Sparrow et al., 2005). In addition, adaptive functioning behaviour is not viewed as constant, but as influenced by external and internal factors pertaining to a specific child's circumstances. As with the KFD, research assistants administered the VABS. Raw scores were compared to appropriate age norms to depict adaptive functioning behaviour in terms of four behaviour domains (each with sub-domains): communication, daily living skills, socialization, and motor skills.
We compared results obtained with the VABS with results obtained with the KFD (Table 1).
In addition we determined the extent to which KFD results provided additional, contrasting or no significant information as compared to VABS scores (Table 2 and Table 3). The results obtained with the KFD indicate adaptive functioning behaviours both within the child and external to the child (in the family environment) that serve as protective resources buffering the child's resilience.
Images 1-6 indicate various child-participants' renditions of their families. We provide relevant extracts which emerged based on discussions of the drawings (as a probe for the drawing-directed child interview).
Internalized adaptive functioning behaviours include positive emotions (happiness, confidence, perseverance), participation in constructive activities, responsibility (takes care of him/herself). Examples of relevant verbatim accounts are:
"I was getting ready to go and play outside";
"I am seated on my chair in front of the coal fire";
"We cleaned the chairs";
"Ja, I like this sister."
External resources buffering adaptive functioning behaviours denote taking care of a child (basic physical and nurturing needs), functional activities within the family, communication and engagement in the family, and the expression of positive emotions in the family. Examples of statements relating to this include:
"She went to fetch a taxi";
"Mother and father took her to a crèche";
"We slaughtered the goat to eat";
"They were building a house";
"She (mother) was walking and laughing";
"She was helping my grandmother."
Internalized maladaptive functioning behaviours include passivity/inactivity, resistance/ reluctance to communicate, distractibility and feeling excluded from the family. Examples include the following statements:
"Nothing, nothing - doing nothing";
"I was tired and started watching cartoons on television";
"He stays home";
"She's (mother) not there."
External factors contributing to maladaptive functioning behaviours consist of expressions of passive/disengaged families. The following phrases are characteristic of this result:
"They are just standing around";
"He stays home."
The case of Lerato, Participant 302
We provide the example of a five-year, six-month old Sepedi girl, Lerato (a pseudonym), to show the utility of the KFD-instrument to increase understanding of child adaptive functioning. Based on the VABS scores we know that Lerato's strengths are similar to the rest of the group in terms of using language to gather and provide information, interacting and using time constructively. Different to the rest of the group, she is exceptional in household chores (VABS items include: is careful around the stove or an open fire; helps prepare foods that require mixing and cooking (pap, cakes); helps with simple household chores like dusting, picking up clothes or toys, sweeps, mops, or vacuums floors). Lerato also shares growth areas with the rest of the group. As with other children in the sample, Lerato needs to develop a sense of responsibility and sensitivity, and the ability to use money and the telephone. In comparison to the rest of the group, the VABS scores suggest that Lerato is one of the children who still needs to develop skills to listen and understand, to learn to eat and dress independently, and grow in her motor skills (ability to use her arms and legs).
From the KFD we observe various protective resources buffering Lerato's resilience. Regarding her family, she thinks her family meets her physical needs and she has a close relationship with her father. Accordingly she views her family as a place of comfort and belonging. Intra-personally Lerato experiences positive emotions. In the KFD risk factors are also present and serve as barriers to Lerato's resilience. In this regard Lerato experiences the family as inactive, and disengaged from one another. Lerato expresses distance between herself and her mother. The drawing also indicates limited spatial organization.
Based on both measures it would seem that young Lerato lives in a family where the close bond with her father, as well as the fulfilment of her physical/material needs, means that she feels integrated into a comforting family. Accordingly both her father and the family at large are protective resources buffering her resilience. As reported by her mother, Lerato's resilience is demonstrated by a higher score than her peers for household chores, and (like her peers) excellent interactive skills and outstanding time-management. These intra-personal skills also indicate protective resources.
On the other hand, the distance Lerato indicated on the KFD between herself and her mother is a risk factor plausibly signalling a barrier to her resilience. The mother-child distance may be either a cause or a result of general passiveness in the household - family members individually and collectively appear to be more sedentary. This family-system passivity may compound risk by limiting productive opportunities to develop gross motor skills and personal dressing and eating skills. The fact that Lerato is exceptional in household chores could possibly mediate the otherwise placid energy-levels in the household. Although she excels in speaking, Lerato struggles to listen and understand, po ssibly presenting one explanation for the reported need to develop sensitivity and responsibility.
Results obtained with the KFD can be used to further interpret scores obtained with the VABS. Children's responses with the KFD clarified mothers' perspectives of their children's adaptive functioning behaviours. As in other studies (Anning & Ring, 2004; Burns, 1982; Dunn et al., 2002) visual data provided additional information including vignettes of buffers and barriers on the subject of children's resilience (Fury et al., 1997). Results obtained with the KFD support findings from other investigations (Roe et al., 2006; Klepsch & Logie, 1982; Handler & Habenicht, 1994) that children draw and talk about culturally familiar and age-appropriate behaviours, also as related to adaptation. Space- and person-specific images support the notion that indigenous psychological measures render suitable cultural data (Adair, 1999). Also, from their frame of reference, children provided contextually relevant data of what adaptive functioning behaviours constitute. Therefore the results from the KFD enriched the scores obtained from the VABS.
Additional information from the KFD also provides hypotheses for some causes of (mal-)adaptive functioning behaviours. As an example we associate children's limited personal, domestic and motor skills (VABS) with the high incidence of family-members (not children) performing household chores and providing for children's basic needs. Contextually, it seems that children were not required to engage in tasks where they could have acquired related adaptive behaviours. The possibility exists that culturally/contextually personal and domestic skills may not be viewed as relevant adaptive tasks for this age group.
Contrasting information from the KFD and VABS indicates differences in mothers' and children's views of adaptive functioning behaviours, specifically with regard to communication. Results obtained with the KFD support previous claims (Skybo et al., 2007; Thomas & Jolley, 1998; Wegmann & Lusebrink, 2000) that the KFD has utility in measuring expressive and receptive communication skills, although written communication was not measured by the KFD. All but one of the subjects' expressive and receptive communication results on the KFD contrasted with those of the VABS. Other than differences in opinion, a further possibility is that a mother may provide favourable answers to VABS items (as seems probable when comparing scores of the two measures for subject 390). Other potential reasons for contrasting scores include that mothers may not have understood communication items of the VABS, or research assistants may have experienced difficulty in administering or scoring the communication items
Besides the absence of written communication, results from the KFD also submitted no significant information on certain VABS sub-domains. The absence of telephones and money (indicated as Community Skills in the VABS) in both pictures and narrations could indicate the absence or insignificance of these objects in the life-worlds of children-participants, or could be a result of the prompt ('Draw your family doing something'). Results obtained with the VABS indicated that mothers perceived the majority of children to have limited responsibility and sensitivity (coping skills). Correspondingly children did not express coping skills on the KFD. Although two incidences occur where personal (443) and domestic skills (604) appear in results from the KFD, these sub-domains are on the whole absent in data from the KFD. The absence of these themes could indicate that community, coping, personal and domestic skills may not be perceived as age appropriate adaptive functioning behaviour in the relevant cultural groups. This supposition echoes assertions in other studies (Brandt, 2005; Casillas & Robbins, 2005; Ho et al., 2001) that translating existing measures may not suffice for cross-cultural use. Rather, these same authors argue for culturally adapting existing measures. We infer that culturally tailoring related items in the VABS may contribute to measuring adaptive behaviours in comparable South African groups.
There are some clear limitations to the study. We report on a small sample of children of several cultural groupings within one township in one African country of whom their mothers are HIV-positive (facing a specific, highly stigmatized adversity). Thus generalization to other similar cultural groupings is risky. We therefore recommend replication of findings with other groups to determine the utility of the KFD to explore children's emic-perspectives of resilience.
At the heart of this article lies the notion that research needs to be culturally relevant, meaning an indigenization of praxis. Using the KFD as a visual method provided rich information of adaptive functioning behaviours in children. The KFD, as a child-completed instrument, added to our understanding of resilience in this group of children by providing supplementary information enriching understandings of scores obtained with the VABS. Themes that emerged from analysing the KFD presented possible causes of adaptive and maladaptive functioning behaviours as identified by their mothers. The drawings and narrations obtained with the KFD foregrounded protective resources buffering resilience in the sample of children. Conversely, the visuals and narrations also indicated risk factors causing stumbling blocks for resilience in children. Contrasting results from the VABS and KFD pose questions, amongst others the suitability of translating the VABS for use in similar South African groups. Consequently, instead of translating existing measures for cross-cultural use, differences in the conceptualization of adaptive functioning behaviours may call for either developing indigenous psychological measures of resilience, or culturally tailoring (indigenization) the VABS for use in similar South African groups.
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text:
By Samuel Shen and Norihiko Shirouzu
SHANGHAI/DETROIT (Reuters) - The world's biggest auto market will likely sustain the momentum it regained in 2013, helped by an anticipated array of economic stimulus measures and robust demand for cars in smaller cities of China's interior regions, according to industry executives and analysts.
The new year should mark a second year of double-digit growth for China after sales expansion rates slumped in 2011 and 2012 to 2.45 percent and 4.33 percent, respectively. In the previous 10 years, auto demand in China often surged 30 to 40 percent annually.
Those hyper growth days are over, but last year the Chinese market rebounded convincingly. In 2013, sales in China rose 13.9 percent to 21.98 million vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
"We believe clearly for anybody working in the automobile industry, if there's one place to be, it's China," Hubertus Troska, head of Daimler AG's Greater China operations that include Mercedes-Benz, told reporters in Beijing on Thursday, describing growth in 2013 as being quite strong.
"If things continue well, there's a good chance that the automobile market in China will grow again double-digit this year," said Troska, who is also a member of Daimler's management board.
The revived strength of China's auto market, which will be a popular topic of conversation at this week's Detroit auto show, is a relief to global automakers whose business is still impaired by sluggish demand in Europe and an anticipated slowdown in growth in the United States this year.
Volkswagen AG (VOW3.DE), for example, had forecast vehicle demand in China to grow at annual rates of between 5 and 7 percent over the next five years. Jochem Heizmann, head of Volkswagen's China operations, said he believes the German automaker might have been too conservative.
As demand appears poised to expand much faster, "we could sell more (cars) if we have more capacity," Heizmann told reporters in Guangzhou in late November.
LMC Automotive forecasts an increase of 11 percent this year in China's overall automobile market for passenger cars and commercial vehicles - a forecast echoed by Shanghai-based consulting firm Automotive Foresight. IHS Automotive, another consulting firm, predicts demand to grow 9 percent.
CAAM said China's overall demand for automobiles will likely grow 8 to 10 percent this year.
The main support for auto sales, experts say, will likely come from continued strong economic growth in China's interior provinces, as opposed to the previous decade and a half when the bulk of growth was generated in the country's coastal provinces.
Another supportive factor is a series of fresh stimulus measures seen likely to be implemented this year by China's new leadership under President Xi Jinping.
Those factors, combined with steady personal income growth backed up by falling vehicle prices, will help ensure a second straight year of double-digit growth, according to Yale Zhang, head of Automotive Foresight.
"The market is going to grow most definitely more than 10 percent again this year," he said.
The Chinese market should be able to comfortably overcome demand-sapping pressures such as auto sales restrictions now being implemented in a growing number of big cities, Zhang and others said. Those sales caps in cities including Shanghai and Beijing are aimed at cutting air pollution and congestion.
Among global automakers, Volkswagen, General Motors Co (GM) and Ford Motor Co (NYS:F) are likely to benefit most from a second year of relatively strong growth. Volkswagen, GM and Ford market some of China's best-selling cars, such as the Volkswagen Lavida, the Buick Excelle, and the Ford Focus.
The future for Japanese automakers in China, by contrast, remains clouded. Japanese brands led by Nissan Motor Co Ltd <7201.T>, Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> and Honda Motor Co Ltd <7267.T> are seen unlikely to benefit fully from China's renewed strength because of lingering political tensions between Beijing and Tokyo that have fanned anti-Japan sentiment and depressed their sales in China.
Sales on a month-by-month basis recovered to pre-crisis levels for many Japanese brands toward the end of last year. Toyota for instance forecast 20 percent growth in China sales to about 1.1 million vehicles this year, compared with year-on-year
growth of 9 percent in 2013.
Still, some industry executives and analysts doubt a convincing reversal of fortunes for Japanese automakers. The main source of worry comes from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit last month to the Yasukuni war shrine that is seen by critics as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression, which infuriated China and South Korea and prompted concern from the United States about deteriorating ties between the North Asian neighbors.
"The political tension will likely continue," said He Caiman, deputy secretary general of the Guangzhou Association of Automobile Manufacturers, citing Abe's Yasukuni visit. "For Japanese automakers, this is the biggest risk to their growth, and something out of anyone's control."
Already, the collective Japanese share of China's passenger car market fell to 16.6 percent in 2013 from 23 percent in 2011, according to LMC Automotive, following the flare-up of anti-Japanese sentiment triggered by the territorial dispute in late 2012. That year, Japan's share fell to 19.2 percent.
To reverse the trend, Japanese brands are gearing up for a big new product blitz this year after spending much of the past year and half on the sidelines.
Nissan, for instance, plans to launch production of upscale Infiniti brand cars in China and launch the redesigned X-Trail SUV this year while also adding new models under the Venucia brand it jointly runs with Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd <0489.HK>. Toyota, meanwhile, late last year launched the redesigned Rav4 SUV, as well as the redesigned Yaris and Vios - a trio of key strategic cars aimed at entry-level buyers, a group that is multiplying in China.
"This is our year to jump forward. Our biggest fear is China's retaliation in response to Abe's recent visit to Yasukuni," a senior Beijing-based Toyota sales executive said. "It's usually tit for tat."
Honda, meanwhile, is expected to launch the significantly redesigned Fit this year, along with other new models, which a Honda official said are likely to include a compact SUV and a full-size minivan.
"Japanese brands are going all-out to appeal to almost every segment of the Chinese consumer diasporas," said Namrita Chow, a Shanghai-based analyst for IHS Automotive.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis)


text:
Publication Archive
This archive contains all documents published by cep over the last few years:
cepAdhoc: Incisive comment on current EU policy issues.
cepPolicyBrief: Concise 4-page reviews of EU proposals (Regulations, Directives, Green Papers, White Papers, Communications) – including a brief summary and economic and legal assessments.
cepInput: Impulse to current discussions of EU policies.
cepStudy: Comprehensive examination of EU policy proposals affecting the economy.
The Commission presents its ideas on how to safeguard adequate, safe and sustainable pensions in the Member States. The Commission sees urgent need for action in pay-as-you-go pension schemes – which are mainly public – of Member States in order to address demographic change. With regard to funded schemes the Commission mainly calls for an EU-wide regulation and supervision.
The EU legal framework for promoting the use of renewable energies will expire in 2020. The European Commission now presents considerations - which are open-ended as regards their outcome – if and how the use of renewable energies should be encouraged beyond 2020. It will draw up guidelines to facilitate the cross-border trade with renewable energy and, if necessary, for an adjustment of the funding policies of Member States.
In lack of EU rules on the application of national road infrastructure charges levied on light private vehicles, Member States are free to introduce national vignette and toll systems. The Commission wishes to clarify by means of guidelines how Member States could shape their vignette systems for light private vehicles to be in line with EU law. It calls, in particular, for the introduction of short-term vignettes to prevent the discrimination against drivers from other Member States.
The Commission wishes to improve the pharmacovigilance rules of 2010 by amending the pharmacovigilance system. New transparency and information obligations for authorisation holders are to be introduced. The initiation of the urgent union procedure is to be automatised and the list of drugs for additional surveillance is to be extended.
The Green Paper serves for the Commission as a basis for discussion. It wishes to find out what exactly shadow banking entities are, which activities they exercise and which benefits and risks are related to them as well as what a future regulation of shadow banking could look like.
If a motor vehicle is already registered in a Member State, e.g. cross-border workers or car-rental companies are obliged to register it again in the Member State in which the motor vehicle is used. Now, the Commission proposes to determine the Member State in which a motor vehicle must be registered, to shorten the re-registration procedures and to simplify the data exchange between national registration authorities.
The Commission has published a Directive Proposal which is to replace the existing Procurement Directive (2004/18/EC). The Commission's proposal aims to eliminate legal uncertainty in the procurement between public entities and their cooperation. Moreover, it is to facilitate access to public procurement for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). Public procurement will continue to be used in support of societal and environmental goals.
South-Europe's creditworthiness keeps eroding as demonstrated by the latest assessment of the cepDefault Index. Italy's erosion consolidated in 2011; as regards Greece, the negative trend did not only continue but declined even further; Spain is somewhat crumbling but – apart from the banking crisis – not doing too badly.
In Portugal, however, the vigorous structural reforms now bear fruit – an upward trend is soon to emerge. It is very likely that Portugal will regain its full creditworthiness in 2015.
All other South-European countries need to improve their competitiveness through structural reforms too.
The Commission aims to implement a fully integrated payment market in the EU. In its Green Paper, the Commission presents action plans for the market integration.
Motor vehicles and their exhaust systems are subject to an EU-wide type-approval procedure which, among other things, prescribes noise emission limits and a uniform test method. The existing test method is to be replaced, since according to the Commission the test procedure does not reflect real world driving behaviour. At the same time it wishes to lower the noise limit values in order to ensure a high level of environmental protection and public safety.