text: Water and Pool Safety for Parents and Caregivers Did you know… The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates each year nearly 300 children younger than five drown in swimming pools and spas? More than 3,000 children of that age go to hospital emergency rooms due to non-fatal submersion injuries? An unknown number of these hospitalizations result in permanent disability, including brain damage. Use these tips to ensure that you and the children in your care are safe around water: Always actively supervise children in and around water. Don't leave, even for a moment. Stay where you can see, hear and reach kids in water. Avoid talking on the phone, preparing a meal, reading and other distractions. Children should swim only in designated and supervised swimming areas. Teach children never to swim alone. Use barriers to keep kids away from water when you're not around. Four-sided isolation fencing, at least five feet high and equipped with self-closing and self-latching gates, should be installed around all pools (including inflatable pools) and spas. Fencing should completely enclose the pool or spa and prevent direct access from a house or yard. Install barriers of protection around your home pool or spa in addition to the fencing, such as pool alarms, pool covers, door alarms or locks. Never prop open the gate to a pool barrier. Don't leave toys that could attract children in or around a pool. Empty buckets, wading pools and other containers immediately after use, and store upside down and out of reach. Keep toilet lids down and locked and doors to bathrooms and utility rooms closed when not in use. Pool drains are an often-overlooked drowning hazard. Teach children never to go near a pool drain, with or without a cover, and to pin up long hair when in water. Install multiple drains in all pools, spas, whirlpools and hot tubs. This minimizes the suction of any one drain, reducing risk of death or injury. Regularly check to make sure drain covers are secure and have no cracks. Replace flat drain covers with dome-shaped ones. Know where the manual cut-off switch for the pump is in case of emergency. Consider installing an approved .safety vacuum release system. (SVRS), a tool that quickly and automatically turns off the pump (and stops the suction) when something is trapped in or blocks the drain. Use life jackets and other safety gear, but know that any child can get in trouble in the water, even if he is wearing a life jacket or has taken swimming lessons. Always wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation devices while on boats, in or near open bodies of water or participating in water sports. A PFD should fit snugly and not allow the child's chin or ears to slip through the neck opening. Air-filled swimming aids, such as water wings and inner tubes, are not safety devices and should never be substituted for PFDs. Learn CPR and keep rescue equipment (like a lifesaving ring), a telephone and emergency phone numbers poolside. Everyone should know the water safety rules. Make sure children take swimming lessons when they're ready, usually after age 4. Check with the local department of parks and recreation or Red Cross chapter to find a certified instructor, and look for classes that include emergency water survival techniques training. 44 states have laws that require children to wear PFDs while participating in recreational boating. The U.S. Coast Guard has also issued a rule requiring children under 13 to wear PFDs on board recreational vessels on Coast Guard waters. The rule applies to states without PFD laws. Recreational boats must carry one properly sized, U.S. Coast Guard-approved PFD, accessible and in good condition, for each person onboard. Teach kids the safe way to help someone in trouble in the water: call for help and throw the person something that floats. Don't let children dive into water less than nine feet deep, and no one should dive into a river, lake or ocean. Children ages 16 and under should never operate personal watercraft. For more information, please visit the following websites: Play the Pool Safely Game: Safety Steps for Kids & Parents Pool Safely Campaign Fact Sheet Pool Safely Simple Steps Fact Sheet Free posters that outline basic safety tips are also available through the CPSC: English (full version) Spanish (full version) English (short version) Spanish (short version) Videos: Simple Steps to Safer Pools NC Now (UNCTV) Water Safety Special


text: The Portsmouth City School Board holds their regular meetings in the City Hall Building, which is accessible to persons with physical disabilities. Individuals who are disabled and who require reasonable accommodations in order to attend or to participate in the meetings should contact Kathy L. Chambliss the Clerk of the Board, at least 72 hours prior to a scheduled meeting. She can be reached by telephone at 757-393-8200.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Rent a ARRI Alexa Mini
1 for rent from
Compact, lightweight and self-contained, the ARRI ALEXA Mini is a versatile additional tool in the ALEXA camera range. Crews will find that the ALEXA Mini perfectly complements their ALEXA shooting kit, eliminating the complications of working with t… Read more
EliteExperienced Vendors
Great prices from recognized vendors.
Rental HouseRental House
Rely on professional facilities and services.
1-1 of 1
ARRI Alexa Mini rentals
Filtered by:
Austin, TX
1-1 of 1
ARRI Alexa Mini rentals
Do you have a ARRI Alexa Mini?
ARRI Alexa Mini Articles
EF vs PL Lenses
If you've looked into renting cinema cameras these days, you've probably noticed the majority come in two flavors: EF or PL. The RED Weapon, Ursa Mini Pro, and even the C300 Mark II are all available in both mounts. But what is the difference?
How to Shoot 200fps on the ARRI Alexa Mini
The Alexa Mini is a powerful, beautiful camera that shoots up to a whopping 200fps. But there are some strange limitations that you may not be aware of.
ARRI Alexa Mini Reviews (1)
Brent BarbanoElite
35 items for rent
35 items for rent
3yr agoArguably one of the best cinema cameras in the market
I love ARRI. As a DP the way they've simplified cinema cameras for us is brilliant. They took the analog feel of a film camera and did their best to apply it to a digital camera...no easy feat. But it works. There's a re… Read more
Join The Camera Sharing Community


text:
Sheet music downloads have become the preferred method of acquiring classical music repertoire. Created by professional musicians, EveryNote.com presents classical sheet music download of over 20.000 popular and hard-to-find music scores over 1000 composers. A major Internet provider of classical sheet music files download online, EveryNote.com offers the largest and most complete digital sheet music download library on the Web in the world. Instantly download, view and print your favorite classical music score. Everynote.com currently offers thousands of classical music compositions for Piano, Violin, Cello, Flute, Clarinet, Classical Guitar, Voice, Chamber and Choral music.Many more instruments, composers, genres added every day! EveryNote.com has been featured in The New York Times, Globe and Mail, Musical America and many other publications.
Camille-Marie Stamaty
(1811 – 1870)
Camille-Marie Stamaty short biography
A French pianist, composer and teacher, Camille-Marie Stamaty was a student of Fessy and Kalkbrenner. Stamaty became an acclaimed piano virtuoso. Stamaty later took composition lessons from Mendelssohn in Leipzig. Stamaty was a remarkable piano teacher; his students included Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Camille Saint-Saëns. Stamaty was admired by Robert Schumann, especially for his piano concerto and variations. In 1862, Stamaty became a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur.
More Piano sheet music download on EveryNote.com
Piano sheet music download on EveryNote.com
Web design by Web design SEO & Hosting Company - iGenii inc


text:
I had the pleasure of photographing eleven of the cutest bulldog puppies today. I was this close (imagine my index and thumb 1mm apart) to taking one (or three) home. The cuteness was overwhelming.
I haven't sifted through all the photos yet but these are my favorites so far.
I left with a new appreciation for Lily's indifference towards the camera.
And to address my absence without going into too much detail. The past eleven days I…
-Read The Hunger Games Trilogy (The last book sucked.)
-Got tattooed
-Drafted a jacket pattern (The mock up will be put together tomorrow if time allows.)
-Got a nasty cold + fever combo
-Finished the body of my sweater
-Started Christmas knitting (Freaking out like last year.)
-Started a second Skeleton Key Slouchie Hat
-Sewed together most of my coat
-Taught three friends to knit (I think. They can do a mean long-tail cast on.)
-Visited the Il Teatro Alla Moda exhibit (It wasn't as big as I thought it'd be but there were some awesome pieces. My favorites were from Gianni Versace!)
Clearly I live a very interesting life. 😉
November 12, 2011 9:59 pm
Daaaaw! How funny, I plowed through the first 2 HG books and never finished the last one, I think it's at like 85% on my kindle


text:
Chicago Bears NFL Cheerleader Uniform size: Medium, Pets First
$20.30 $24.99
Pets First Chicago Bears Team Cheerleader Dress is an official NFL licensed pet outfit with screen printed team name and logo. The festive team dress is a must-have for any true NFL fan who loves their dog as much as they love their team. You and your furry pal can celebrate your favorite team together, strengthening the bond between pet and Pet Parent with decorated team graphics you'll both love! Features: Velcro closure, Two toned pleated skirt Includes: 1 Chicago Bears Cheerleader Dress Intended For: Dogs Gender: Girl Color: White, Blue, Orange Material: Polyester Care Instructions: Machine wash cold. Do not bleach. Line dry. Do not iron print. Caution: This item is intended to be used for short duration and under close supervision. Available Sizes: X-Small Small Medium
Browse all deals at PetSmart
See more in Dog Supplies
* This offer may contain time-sensitive information and offers. Please check with PetSmart to confirm actual price & availability.
Please enter your name
- Be the first to comment!
1 location
520 Range Line Rd
520 Range Line Rd
Joplin, MO 64801


text:
Western blot analysis of extracts from various cell lines using Argonaute 1 Antibody.
|Product #
|100 µl
|$ 268
|H M R Mk
|MW (kDa)
Product Information
|Western Blotting
Supplied in 10 mM sodium HEPES (pH 7.5), 150 mM NaCl, 100 µg/ml BSA and 50% glycerol. Store at –20°C. Do not aliquot the antibody.
For western blots, incubate membrane with diluted primary antibody in 5% w/v BSA, 1X TBS, 0.1% Tween® 20 at 4°C with gentle shaking, overnight.
NOTE: Please refer to primary antibody product webpage for recommended antibody dilution.
From sample preparation to detection, the reagents you need for your Western Blot are now in one convenient kit: #12957 Western Blotting Application Solutions Kit
NOTE: Prepare solutions with reverse osmosis deionized (RODI) or equivalent grade water.
Load 20 µl onto SDS-PAGE gel (10 cm x 10 cm).
NOTE: Loading of prestained molecular weight markers (#13953, 5 µl/lane) to verify electrotransfer and biotinylated protein ladder (#7727, 10 µl/lane) to determine molecular weights are recommended.
NOTE: Volumes are for 10 cm x 10 cm (100 cm2) of membrane; for different sized membranes, adjust volumes accordingly.
* Avoid repeated exposure to skin.
posted June 2005
revised June 2020
Protocol Id: 10
This protocol is intended for immunoprecipitation of native proteins for analysis by western immunoblot or kinase activity utilizing Protein A magnetic separation.
NOTE: Prepare solutions with reverse osmosis deionized (RODI) or equivalent grade water.
10X Cell Lysis Buffer: (#9803) To prepare 10 ml of 1X cell lysis buffer, add 1 ml cell lysis buffer to 9 ml dH2O, mix.
NOTE: Add 1 mM PMSF (#8553) immediately prior to use.
A cell lysate pre-clearing step is highly recommended to reduce non-specific protein binding to the Protein A Magnetic beads. Pre-clear enough lysate for test samples and isotype controls.
IMPORTANT: Pre-wash #73778 magnetic beads just prior to use:
Carefully remove the buffer once the solution is clear. Add 500 μl of 1X cell lysis buffer to the magnetic bead pellet, briefly vortex to wash the beads. Place tube back in magnetic separation rack. Remove buffer once solution is clear. Repeat washing step once more.
IMPORTANT: The optimal lysate concentration will depend on the expression level of the protein of interest. A starting concentration between 250 μg/ml-1.0 mg/ml is recommended.
IMPORTANT: Appropriate isotype controls are highly recommended in order to show specific binding in your primary antibody immunoprecipitation. Use Normal Rabbit IgG #2729 for rabbit polyclonal primary antibodies, Rabbit (DA1E) mAb IgG XP® Isotype Control #3900 for rabbit monoclonal primary antibodies, and Mouse (G3A1) mAb IgG1 Isotype Control #5415 for mouse monoclonal primary antibodies. Isotype controls should be concentration matched and run alongside the primary antibody samples
Proceed to one of the following specific set of steps.
NOTE: To minimize masking caused by denatured IgG heavy chains (~50 kDa), we recommend using Mouse Anti-Rabbit IgG (Light-Chain Specific) (D4W3E) mAb (#45262) or Mouse Anti-Rabbit IgG (Conformation Specific) (L27A9) mAb (#3678) (or HRP conjugate #5127). To minimize masking caused by denatured IgG light chains (~25 kDa), we recommend using Mouse Anti-Rabbit IgG (Conformation Specific) (L27A9) mAb (#3678) (or HRP conjugate #5127).
posted December 2008
revised April 2018
Protocol Id: 410
Argonaute 1 Antibody detects endogenous levels of total Argonaute 1 protein.
Human, Mouse, Rat, Monkey
Polyclonal antibodies are produced by immunizing animals with a synthetic peptide corresponding to residues surrounding Lys400 of human Argonaute 1 protein. Antibodies are purified by protein A and peptide affinity chromatography.
Small non-coding RNAs are important regulators of gene expression in higher eukaryotes (1,2). Several classes of small RNAs, including short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) (3), microRNAs (miRNAs) (4), and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) (5), have been identified. MicroRNAs are about 21 nucleotides in length and have been implicated in many cellular processes such as development, differentiation, and stress response (1,2). MicroRNAs regulate gene expression by modulating mRNA translation or stability (2). MicroRNAs function together with the protein components in the complexes called micro-ribonucleoproteins (miRNPs) (2). Among the most important components in these complexes are Argonaute proteins (1,2). There are four members in the mammalian Argonaute family and only Argonaute 2 (Ago2) possesses the Slicer endonuclease activity (1,2). Argonaute proteins participate in the various steps of microRNA-mediated gene silencing, such as repression of translation and mRNA turnover (1).
Explore pathways + proteins related to this product.
UniProt ID: Q9UL18
Entrez-Gene Id: 26523


text:
Recently, an Atlantic Monthly article detailed the difficulties that still remain for female professionals attempting to "have it all" – powerful leadership roles at work and a fulfilling family life – as the feminist assertion from the 1970s promised women they could.
Like women in other industries, having a rewarding professional career and home life remains challenging for female scientists and physicians. During the past decade, in an attempt to address this issue, the Einstein administration has sought to provide greater support that will allow more women within the College of Medicine to compete for top-level jobs while also juggling a busy personal life.
Dr. Nadine Katz Dr. Susan Band Horwitz"Difficulty with work-life balance is often a reason why women drop out of competition for leadership roles," said Dr. Susan Band Horwitz, one of just two female academic department chairs at Einstein who is distinguished professor and co-chair of molecular pharmacology. "Working as a basic scientist and having a normal life is not easy. Women are still the major care providers for their kids, and medical research is time-consuming and difficult."
She recalled, "When I arrived at Einstein in 1967 as a postdoctoral fellow, I worked three days a week for three years, until my twin sons entered the first grade. Academia needs to be more receptive to parents with young children. One way to do this is to make it more acceptable to maintain a flexible schedule."
Einstein has made strides to do so, also offering a child care program and a special room for nursing mothers in recent years. And the administration continues to seek ways that it can encourage and support women toward achieving leadership roles.
"We've opened our eyes to see excellence irrespective of gender," noted Dr. Edward R. Burns, executive dean at Einstein. "We're interested in having top-qualified women among our leadership, and are actively recruiting them for departmental chair and dean positions."
Currently, 6 out of Einstein's 14 associate deans are women, as are half of its 10 assistant deans. Dr. Horwitz is the only female chair among the basic science departments, while Dr. Ellise Delphin oversees the department of anesthesiology. There also are a number of women who head divisions within clinical departments and who serve as directors of clinical and educational programs.
"About a decade ago, we realized there was a need to help women and underrepresented minority faculty members develop skills so they could advance," explained Dr. Nadine T. Katz, currently senior associate dean for student academic affairs, who was instrumental in bringing a number of important programs to Einstein designed to help women advance their careers.
When she was assistant dean for faculty career development, Dr. Katz introduced Einstein's Career Development Day for Women and Minority Faculty, which is now in its tenth year. The College of Medicine holds this annual, all-day retreat for approximately 100 junior minority and women faculty to help them build the skills they need to have successful academic careers.
For example, when Dr. Francine Einstein was finishing a fellowship at Einstein in 2001 she had a one-year-old daughter and was pregnant with twins. "They knew I would have three children under age two," recalled Dr. Einstein, now an associate professor of obstetrics & gynecology and women's health. "The College of Medicine definitely took a chance on me."
In doing so, her bosses pulled out the stops to help the dedicated working mother succeed. Instead of holding Dr. Einstein to a fixed schedule, they assessed her based on her productivity rather than whether the work was done during daytime hours at her desk.
Dr. Francine Einstein Dr. Ellie Shoenbaum"They trusted that I would get the job done, even if it meant working nights and weekends," she recalled. "They realized I was committed and they invested in me, giving me the opportunity to do what I wanted to do." This included studying factors including aging, glucose metabolism and regulation of the genome in the laboratory while also providing clinical care in high-risk obstetrics.
Dr. Einstein is one of a growing number of women at the College of Medicine who are benefitting from the administration's intensified commitment to providing opportunities for qualified women to move into leadership roles.
Among other efforts, Dr. Katz sought support for the participation of select female faculty members in the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Early and Mid-Career Women Faculty Professional Development Seminars for Women in Medicine and Science (EWIMS/ MIDWIMS), three-day retreats, held at conference centers in Washington, DC and Austin, Texas and attended by about 150 women from across the country.
"They provide women in academic medicine with the specific knowledge and skills they need to become leaders," noted Dr. Katz. In addition to classes on negotiation, conflict resolution, career mapping and more, participants gain access to a broad network of powerful women who can mentor them.
Having such role models is key to success, according to Elizabeth Coakley, director of Women in Medicine and Science at the AAMC. "Women are often not as comfortable as men tooting their own horns," she said. "So if a woman wants to be associate dean for student affairs at her institution in five years, it's important to have her leadership skills polished so she can jump at the opportunity."
Each year, the administration also supports a senior member of the Einstein faculty applying for acceptance to the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM), a competitive, year-long program, offered to women in academic medicine across the country at Philadelphia's Drexel University College of Medicine. The aim of ELAM is to help prepare women faculty to hold senior leadership positions at their institutions. Women in the program participate in three, weeklong residence periods in Philadelphia. They also complete assignments and take part in online discussions and conference calls, all geared to helping them become leaders.
"My career has been transformed thanks to ELAM," noted Dr. Ellie Schoenbaum, Einstein's most recent graduate of ELAM. (Dr. Julia Arnsten is the current ELAM Fellow from Einstein.)
As part of the application process, Dr. Schoenbaum, who directs the clinical research training program at Einstein, proposed development of a new research training program for medical students that would leverage her research background. She was accepted to ELAM and, throughout her fellowship, received mentoring from Dr. Allen M. Spiegel, Einstein's Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean.
Dr. Schoenbaum will put her training program into action with the class of 2016. "When I was selected to take part in ELAM, it was very auspicious," she said.
During the fellowship, she worked with colleague and ELAM graduate Dr. Marti Grayson on developing a new program for medical students, called SOAR. In her new role as director of medical student research, Dr. Schoenbaum will expand research opportunities for approximately 160 students each year.
"I'll be bringing faculty members together to help the students in ways I haven't done before."
Despite such success stories, many people say women in academic medicine still have it tougher than their male counterparts. "Sexism is still a problem," said Ms. Coakley. "Fifty percent of medical school students are female, yet the higher you get up the food chain, the more women taper off." As proof, she cites the fact that at the 137 American medical schools that belong to the AAMC, fewer than 14 percent of deans are female.
Dr. Genevieve Neal-PerryTough challenges notwithstanding, many women who work at Einstein are proud of the effort the College of Medicine is making to recruit, support and retain talented women. Dr. Genevieve Neal-Perry associate professor of obstetrics & gynecology and women's health is one of them.
Dr. Neal-Perry grew up in Jersey City, NJ, in a family with very modest means. Although neither of her parents attended college, they made sure she valued education and encouraged her to strive for the highest goals.
"My mother once told me that many people, create their own hurdles and restrictive boundaries for success because they are afraid to fail. She reminded me that failure is an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and that I should never limit my own growth by second-guessing my strengths."
When she was accepted to Dartmouth College, she patched together grants, scholarships and loans, and took jobs around the school to fund her education. Her diligence as an undergraduate led to a full scholarship to Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where she became the first African American woman to receive a combined M.D.-Ph.D. degree.
As a member of her department's Division of Equity in Women's and Perinatal Medicine (DEW Point) Program, which was created by department chair Dr. Irwin R. Merkatz, she had the opportunity to do clinical work, while also conducting funded research and developing her administrative skills as part of a network of young investigators with similar goals.
"My accomplishments are directly attributable to the commitment and selflessness of my many mentors, most of whom have been women who saw a bit of themselves in me," she said.
Those accomplishments include her appointment last September as associate dean for diversity mentoring. She is now in a position to mentor younger faculty members who need encouragement and support, as well as to create mentoring experiences similar to ones that positively affected her career trajectory.
"I'd like Einstein to be a super magnet for people who have diverse backgrounds, are invested in mentoring and are interested in the advancement of medicine and science," she said. "It's a particularly important goal for an institution like Einstein, whose origin is based upon creating an enriched academic environment that would be inclusive of all people, regardless of religion, gender or race. It's important to recruit, retain, mentor and support the career development of diverse individuals, so that we can continue Einstein's legacy of academic excellence and inclusion."
Even when institutions like the College of Medicine support them, she observed, "women who want to become leaders must actively seek and take advantage of all mentoring opportunities that come their way and plot their career goals early."
"Too often," agreed Dr. Schoenbaum, "women have a tendency to 'put their noses to the grindstone,' and trust that they will get ahead simply by working hard."
She cautioned, "That's not necessarily true. You have to look up from your work and see what's going on around you! Einstein's support allows us to do that."
Posted on: Friday, August 03, 2012


text:
At Chapman, we value parents and families as partners with us in our work to provide students with a highly personalized education and prepare them for success in life. We hope this site will be a valuable resource in navigating your family's journey from enrollment through graduation.
Important dates, events and deadlines for parents and families of students at Chapman University
Parent Resources and Contacts
Links and contact information regarding campus services and departments, including the Chapman University Family Handbook
Tuition Payments
Access Chapman's ePay system to make a tuition payment or view a current statement
Student Health and Safety
Learn about the wide variety of services Chapman University provides to promote the physical and mental well-being of our students.
New Families
The Office of Parent Engagement is here to help new families with the transition into college life.
Get Involved
There are many exciting opportunities for parents and families to get involved at Chapman. Learn more about how you can take an active role in your student's time at Chapman University by volunteering your time.
Support Chapman
Find out more about how your gift to Chapman supports not only your student, but also Chapman students for generations to come.
Update Your Contact Information


text:
Is it me, or does the article seem to be downplaying the development on the map? It seems pretty damn good to me. Hopefully, this will stabilize, if not lower a bit, prices.
Is it me, or does the article seem to be downplaying the development on the map? It seems pretty damn good to me. Hopefully, this will stabilize, if not lower a bit, prices.
well sort of... First they talk that 2004 is going to be lower that 2003... Marcus & Millichap, the real estate investment brokerage company, said there will be 3,190 units in Manhattan in 2004. in 2003 there were 5,900 units completed. If is true then that seems to be low. But then Fritz Frigan, director of leasing at Halstead said that there will be 4,000 rental units coming to the market this year. That is alot if you add the condos units which Fritz didn't mention.Originally Posted by billyblancoNYC
I seem confuse here. But the map shows alot of new stuff for 2005. I dont' know how many units but there is alot of activity in neighborhoods that are becoming hot right now.
It looks like condo's are still on the boards for Max Capital at West 32nd Street. I would like to know if it will be a 67 storey tower as was once planned?
Do you guys noticed that the Trump Organization plans to built something on 33 West End Ave with 234 units. If it is on West End Ave. than it is not part of the Riverside Blvd development. Where is it then? What is the cross street? Is this where the Gaseteria site was? :?
The Trump building on West End is only 14 stories and by Costas Kondylis & Partners. The gas station site is at 2-10 West End.
Does anybody know what is being built between 65 and 66 street on west end ave. 8)
234 units on only 14 floors? That's about 16 per floor. Very tight, especially for a Trump project.Originally Posted by Derek2k3
We are not talking about 120 Riverside Blvd right? The one that is under construction right now. It is a little more that 14 stories I think. How do you know about the 14 story building planned on West End by Trump?Originally Posted by Derek2k3
How a building is financed, by where its built
By Carl Unegbu
July 2004
Residential developers in Manhattan have benefited from low interest rates and government programs such as Liberty Bonds to help get their projects built.
But when it comes to financing, knowing one's market is everything and a developer could lose his shirt unless the financing matches the project. Anyone who knows the game can tell where a developer is getting his money just by where he is breaking ground for his project.
Developing a co-op in Manhattan North (an area that includes all areas above 96th Street) is a different ballgame from doing a condo project on the Upper East Side or a rental development Downtown.
In Manhattan North, the Richman Group is an active participant in the area's six-year-old New Housing Opportunity Program, a subsidized program run by the city's Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to encourage home ownership in the area. The program uses land provided by the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
"Most of our work is on affordable housing with low income tax credits," said Richman president William Traylor, whose company is doing three different co-op projects in the area using HDC financing.
In Downtown, an emerging market with a lot of renters, subsidized financing is an attractive financing option. Rockrose Development Corp., an entrenched player and pioneer in residential development in the area, has made the most of this kind of funding.
"We like areas where we see long-term growth - undervalued areas where values will go up over time," said Jon McMillan, the company's director of planning.
The company is big on rentals, and current projects include 2 Gold Street, a Liberty Bond-financed project consisting of 650 units on 52 floors, which is scheduled for completion next year. "Rockrose does like to retain ownership of its properties, so we don't do many condos, which require market prices that are higher than the rental prices," McMillan said.
For its Downtown operations, McMillan said his company uses about 70 percent Liberty Bond financing with another 25 percent coming from the 80/20 program run by the state Housing Finance Agency (HFA) and HDC. However, since last September, Rockrose has ventured outside its Downtown niche with a market rate-financing project in Queens.
But for developers like the Athena Group, which focuses on high-end luxury properties on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, subsidized financing is all but out of the question. One of its largest projects sits across from Lincoln Center at 43 West 64th St., where an old warehouse was converted into a 140,000-square-foot mixed-use development, with over 110,000 square feet going to condos and another 35,000 square feet for retail space.
With prices averaging about $1,250 per square foot on the property (Athena's in-house research shows the average price per square foot in the city at $831), subsidized financing hardly makes sense. In 2001, the company's project at 838 Fifth Avenue fetched an average of $13 million per apartment, or $2,250 per square foot.
"We couldn't be as competitive, for instance, on building multifamily units by using conventional financing, which would require some subsidy or tax exempt bonds," said Louis Dubin, Athena's president, who added that his company's typical deal was $60 million to $120 million.
But Athena's future plans also include a project that goes against the grain, which Dubin said might shock some people. He said his company plans to build a privately financed high-rise luxury condo in Harlem within the next 12 months, saying he believes there is a market for that kind of project.
Glenwood Management Corporation, a builder of luxury apartments in all sections of the city, utilizes a varied pattern of financing in different sections of Manhattan.
Gary Jacob, executive vice president at Glenwood, said the company's 30-story 227-unit rental development, the Grand Tier at 1930 Broadway, was done with 100 percent market rate financing. The Upper West Side project, which opened in mid-June, required that market rate money because of the substantial amount of retail space - 90,000 square feet - involved in the project, which killed any chances of subsidized financing.
Glenwood also used Liberty Bond financing for its Liberty Plaza project in Downtown Manhattan and 80/20 program financing for a rental project in East Harlem. Jacob said the biggest difference among the three properties were the rents that could be obtained, ranging from the much higher Upper West Side rents to the considerably lower Downtown rents and even lower Harlem rents.
The structure of financing for residential development has changed from a decade ago, when there was easy availability of 100 percent financing, developers said. Today, most lenders require developers to contribute as much as 35 percent in equity contributions to get market rate financing.
McMillan said 100 percent financing in the late 1980s caused the development of unnecessary projects and overbuilding in the market, which eventually led to many developers losing their buildings to lenders. He said the new equity requirements simply weed out those who don't have the resources to do the work. In Athena's projects, Dubin said his company typically puts in between 25 percent to 35 percent of its own money as equity, with debt making up the difference.
While financing options might differ in different sections of the city, developers agree that construction costs are the same in all areas. However, those costs have been rising lately, thanks to the diversion of building materials for Iraq's reconstruction and the overall building boom. Dubin notes that construction costs have shot up an average 20 percent since the past year, especially for raw materials such as copper and wood.
Copyright 2003-2004 The Real Deal.[/b]
New Building by Neighborhood
One developers take on best and worst areas to build
By Stuart W. Elliott
July 2004
While planned new construction in Manhattan this year and in 2005 is spread out over the island, several areas are attracting noticeable concentrations of new buildings.
Kenneth Horn, president of Alchemy Properties, which currently has four projects underway in Manhattan (two in Chelsea, one in Noho and one in Gramercy Park) ranging from 10 to 65 units, had this to say about the some of the areas where development looks set to occur:
High teens/low 20s (Btwn 6th and 7th Avenues)
The area is seeing an influx of families. "In our project that we just completed (the Paradigm at 146 West 22nd Street), we were limited to one unit per floor," Horn said. "We decided to make big family apartments, and we attracted a wide range of buyers, because there are a lot more families moving to Chelsea."
But there are obstacles. "Some of the wholesale prices are becoming prohibitive for developers," said Horn, who is just beginning a 67-unit building at 121 West 19th Street.
One large building is now asking north of $350 a square foot, which Horn thinks is too high. "We didn't have to pay that," he said. "It might mean things happen in fits and starts rather than all at once."
Low 50s along 10th Avenue
"I think it's going to take a while," said Horn. "You're going to need a real pioneer in that neighborhood. There are no residential services, and I don't think you'll ever displace the commercial tenants there."
"We thought the migration was going to be east over Lafayette," said Horn of the rationale behind his company's development of 57 Bond Street, which is nearing completion. "The plan was to attract people that did not want to live in Soho or Tribeca because it's too established. Big players are now moving into the area," he said.
Lower East Side
AvalonBay Communities' Avalon Chrystie Place is going up at the corner of Bowery and Houston on a three-acre piece of property. "To find a mass of space like that, you can basically transform the entire neighborhood by yourself. Three years from now, it won't look the same," Horn said.
"But it's very hard to find development sites in the whole area." he added. "We'll see people seeking infill opportunities for the most part."
Upper East Side and Upper West Side
"Those are the golden areas. We bid on a property there recently and we were outbid by 40 percent," Horn said.
Copyright 2003-2004 The Real Deal.
Robert DeNiro Hires Stribling for new development
116 Hudson Street
July 26, 2004
Stribling & Associates has been appointed the exclusive sales agent for the Loft Residences at 116 Hudson, the latest of actor Robert DeNiros TriBeCa developments.
Sales began earlier this month with prices starting at $2.3 million.
The project involves combining an existing vacant 19th century brick structure with a new glass and metal curtain wall structure. There will be 4 full-floor, two-bedroom apartments as well as a duplex penthouse and 4,000 square feet of retail space. Each apartment will occupy both the brick and glass sectors of the building, combining modern and traditional elements.
Stribling senior vice president Sean Murphy Turner is handling the assignment.
Arthur Fefferman, president of AFC Realty Capital, is developing the project along with DeNiro. DeNiros other projects in TriBeCa include the TriBeCa Film Center, as well as TriBeCa Grill and Nobu.
Copyright 2003-2004 The Real Deal.
By BRADEN KEIL
July 27, 2004
Despite persnickety boards and intrusive applications, the number of Manhattan co-op apartment sales has reached an all-time high, according to an industry-wide report.
In its second-quarter report, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) which compiled data from several of the city's top real-estate firms has found that co-op transactions have increased 51 percent from a year ago to 1,113, breaking the 1,000 barrier for the first time since the group began tracking residential sales 11 years ago.
"The improved economy, coupled with the threat of rising interest rates, has caused New Yorkers to act quickly to snatch up apartments," said REBNY President, Steven Spinola.
The report also found that co-op apartment prices rose an average of 14 percent to $1.020 million, the second consecutive quarter with prices above the $1 million level. The median sales price, representing the mean value between the highest and lowest prices, rose 11 percent to $585,000.
While the co-op numbers are impressive, they still lag behind Manhattan condominiums.
"Those numbers are surprising, considering the stiff anti-co-op sentiment that's out there," said Douglas Elliman managing partner Dolly Lenz. "I know plenty of co-op owners, and former owners, who will never buy in a co-op again."
A number of recently released six-month in-house reports by the top real-estate brokerage firms show condo prices rising over 30 percent more than double the increase for co-ops.
Also notable was a 60 percent spike in co-op sales in northern Manhattan, defined as sales above 96th Street to the east and above 110th Street on the west.
The reports also found record median per-room apartment price hikes: 12 percent for studio and one-bedroom apartments, 16 percent for two-bedroom apartments and 25 percent for three-bedroom places.
Copyright 2004 NYP Holdings, Inc.
Rental market in "full swing"
By Stuart W. Elliott
July 2004
There is no question that rentals are rebounding, but how fast and how far will they go?
Boosted by increased hiring and refugees who had given up on the frenzied sales market, the rental market first started to show signs of life in February, said Fritz Frigan, director of leasing of Halstead.
Now the market - which has been largely downtrodden since the dot-com bubble burst - is going strong.
"Things are in full swing," said Frigan. "After four years, this is not going to be just a seasonal thing."
Frigan said his data showed a 1.5 percent increase in rents from October 1 through March 31, the most recent data available. Rents had actually been dropping from October to January, so the numbers for recent months are even stronger than they first might appear, he said.
Going forward, Frigan said he expects 5 to 6 percent growth in price of rents between the start of this year and the start of 2005.
Andrew Heiberger, president of Citi Habitats, now a division of Corcoran, said rents have gone up with lower-priced units as well as at the upper end of the market.
"We're starting to see rents rise on units that go for $1,600 to $2,500," he said. "Properties at the high end, above $6,000 per month, are doing well as a result of the overinflated condo market."
Frigan said the high-end rental market, which drew buyers who grew
disgruntled with the sales market, heated up first, and "now the small one-bedroom prices are going up as well," largely as a result of more hiring by companies in the city.
Heiberger said the vacancy rate for rental apartments in Manhattan is "well under 2 percent," and added he expects the market to get "tighter and tighter."
Many landlords have stopped paying brokers' commissions or offering other incentives such as one or two months' free rent.
Heiberger said that of 500 buildings offering incentives at the beginning of the year, one-third had dropped off the list as of mid-June.
"We might see OP [owner paid] concessions drop out by summer's end," said Heiberger. "If they don't, we'll probably have to wait until January of next year."
Last month, Glenwood Management, which has more than 20 luxury apartment buildings in Manhattan, said it would no longer pay fees to brokers for two- and three-bedroom apartments. The company said the move was prompted by the turnaround in the rental market in the past six months.
Glenwood said it would continue to pay broker fees for large apartments in its three new buildings: Liberty Plaza in the Financial District, Hampton Court at Gracie Point and the Grand Tier across from Lincoln Center, however.
While new projects have generally offered the most incentives, some "lower quality walkup buildings" are still paying brokers' fees, though it's "going in the direction of less and less," Frigan said.
The Hell's Kitchen area, site of new rental construction, still offers considerable incentives.
"Secondary locations like Clinton still need work," said Neil Binder, principal of Bellmarc.
The overall strength of the rental market has lead some brokerages focused on sales to get into the rental game.
The merger in which Corcoran bought Citi Habitats seems well timed from the point of view of taking advantage of the improving rental market.
J.C. DeNiro & Associates, a boutique firm in Chelsea, decided to start up a rental program for the summer, presumable to grab a piece of the action.
Rentals normally represent only 5 percent of the firm's business, partner and co-owner Christopher Mathieson said.
The "summer sales associate program" involved recruiting students at colleges to work as rental agents for the summer. The group of seven associates started in early June, and some already plan to stay on past the summer, Mathieson said.
"We got a huge amount of response," said Mathieson. "They're fully licensed and trained, and it's a stimulating way to spend a summer and make money."
Copyright 2003-2004 The Real Deal.
36 Hudson Street condo underway
36 Hudson Street
July 28, 2004
36 Hudson Street The sign on the scaffolding at 36 Hudson Street says, "The wait is over." Since the mid-1990s, the Mohawk Building has been considered for a number of uses, including cooking school and hotel, the Daily News reports. Now, work has begun converting the seven-story building into 12 condos, which will be priced from $2 million and up.
Copyright 2003-2004 The Real Deal.
Mohawk rising
July 28, 2004
The sign on the scaffolding at 36 Hudson St. says, "The wait is over."
Those are welcome words for Tribeca residents, who've been waiting - since the mid-1990s - to see what becomes of the Mohawk Building. Think apartments. Big apartments, priced at about $2 million and up.
Celebrity chef David Bouley had other uses in mind for the handsome seven-story brick building - first a cafe, cooking school and food-research institute, later a boutique hotel. Then Sept. 11 happened.
Now architect/developer Joseph Pell Lombardi, who took over the 1890s-vintage building, is converting it into 12 condos over the next 18 months. "We're aiming for the happy ending," he said. Corcoran Group's Jim Brawders is marketing it.
All contents © 2004 Daily News, L.P.


text:
Hey everyone!
For my final post this year, I would like to share a "behind the scenes" look at "American Hustle".
When I received the call from "Boston Casting" advising me they wanted me to play a Camden teenager on the set of "American Hustle", I was thrilled. When the day arrived I discovered that being on the set was like being transported back to a time where my mother was my age (18). It was a cultural shock to say the least where there were no cell phones, cars were big and clunky and all the guys had curly hair. African Americans all had bigger then life hair – Afros they were called. My mother was on the set the same day that I was and although we had separate scenes, she helped me to understand the culture of the 70's and why it was a cool time to be a teenager.
For example, when I voiced my concern about the about the jean jumpsuit wardrobe had assigned to me as I initially thought it be very unfashionable, Mom laughed and talked about how much she rocked the same type of outfit back in the day. My hair is long with a slight wave to it and I generally wear it down so when the hair people pulled it up tight to a neat little bun, it certainly generated a very unique look that I was not used to. After Hair, Wardrobe and Makeup were finished, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and saw the transformation to a 1970 teenager. I was curious to understand more about the era questions about the 1970's so I could better understand the character I was to play.
Some of the more shocking points of information were:
1. The cool phone of the day was a "princess" phone (preferably a wall unit)
2. Microwaves and calculators were just being introduced
3. The first proto-type computer was a strange large unit that took up an entire wall (My grandfather was a Navy Officer and had brought my Mom to the base where they lived in Coronado, CA). Most people hadn't even heard of computers.
By the time I was called for my scene, I was excited to see the set and hoped that it was true to the seventies. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. The set was simply amazing – and as the filming began, I submerged myself into character. I became the 1970's teen that my Mom was 35 years ago. We were on the streets of Worcester, MA where a lot of the architecture of the shops and surroundings has remained the same for several decades creating a unique ambience. My role was to be a pedestrian. I was paired up with a woman and I was to play her daughter for the scene. We slowly walked up and down the sidewalk and conversed. Because we were not principles in the scene when we talk, we really just lip sync. A few of my fellow acting friends were there that day so it was fun sharing the set with them. Also – Jeremy Renner was in the scene and although we aren't allowed to talk to the actors (because they are busy working as well), he made a point to come over and say hello which was very cool. It was one of the best sets I have ever worked on witnessing the amazing Director David O. Russell and his assistant Shelly was inspirational. Mr. Russell was flowing with creativity, and Shelly ran tight controls on the crew so everyone met Mr. Russell's expectations. Mr. Russell was very personable and friendly and it was clear to me that he had a vision of what was necessary for each scene.
My day on the set ended far too soon and although I was happy to put my modern day outfit back on, the experience of being a teen in the 70's, will always be with me. It is rare that people have a chance to live in another era and thanks to the magic of moviemaking, I was granted that opportunity. I am extremely grateful for my day on the set of "American Hustle' as it opened my mind to a time period long gone but now, thanks to my day on the set, will never be forgotten.
2013 was a great year and I am looking forward to an equally exciting 2014.
Happy New Year !


text:
Doctors who take preventive health measures such as cancer screening advise patients to do the same, a B.C.-Israeli study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has found.
The study, led by Dr. Erica Frank of the University of B.C.'s School of Population and Public Health, found physicians who adhered to recommended cancer screening or vaccination practices were more likely to counsel and have patients sign up for flu shots, colorectal cancer screening and cholesterol testing. Forty-nine per cent of patients of physicians who received a flu shot also got the vaccine, compared with 43 per cent of patients whose physicians did not.
The first study of its kind delved into the electronic health records of nearly 1,500 Israeli family doctors and the corresponding practices of their 1.9 million adult patients. Interventions included blood pressure testing at certain increments; mammography for women aged 50 to 74; and pneumococcal (pneumonia) vaccination for people 65 or older or with health problems.
Doctors who don't have healthy tendencies have the same old excuses as everyone else, about the lack of time and the inconvenience of it all, Frank said.
So does this mean patients should seek out doctors who appear to be the picture of health? Should they ask doctors about their personal practices? Should they go so far as to avoid doctors who don't make time for such measures?
"All other variables being equal, the answer is yes," Frank said, noting previous research has shown female doctors are more likely than male doctors to recommend preventive health tests, as are primary care doctors over specialists.
As to whether patients should ask doctors about their personal practices, she said: "I don't know. That might be a question of etiquette."
Because of her research focus on preventive health care and physician health, Frank said she would personally be "put off" by a doctor who didn't seem too avid about living — and practising — evidence-based, preventive health care.
"People do expect doctors to be models of healthy practices," she added. Previous studies have shown that patients don't have as much trust in doctors who appear visibly unhealthy, or even overweight.
"It's hard to avoid that perception because of human nature," Frank said.
She said there's plenty of room for improvement and she hopes policy-makers pay attention to the results.
"The point of this is that by targeting a relatively small group — physicians — you can improve the health of the whole population. Physician health programs do work," she said, noting that in a previous study on medical students, those who were counselled about a healthy diet and exercise were shown to be more likely to counsel patients about them.
While physician health programs tend to focus on strategies that promote mental health, the study concludes that going beyond that would pay bigger dividends:
"(W)e should improve physicians' preventive practices because patient health could substantially benefit if we do so."
Frank decided to collaborate with the Tel Aviv University researchers after she met one of them at an international conference on physician health. The country's electronic health records — and system in which patients are assigned to doctors — lends itself to such data collection on doctors and their patients and researchers were able to go back several years to observe whether there were appropriate intervals between tests.
Previous studies on the association between physician and patient health practices had been based on self-reported practices; this was the first to use actual health records.
Sun Health Issues Reporter


text:
The Learning Registry and JLeRN at the CETIS Conference: Report and Reflections
In late February, the JLeRN team, along with Steven Cook who is working with us from the Jorum team, attended the annual CETIS Conference, and participated in the Learning Registry: Capturing Conversations About Learning Resources session. See this previous post for our presentation slides.
Our intention was that the CETIS Conference would be a significant point of reflection for the project: a chance to evaluate what JLeRN has achieved so far in light of community discussion and feedback, and a chance to get some pointers on how we should spend the next five months, since we finish at the end of July.
This week I'll be meeting with Amber Thomas, our JISC Programme Manager, to write up an interim report for JISC, so I'm hoping this post will help me start to crystalise what I think personally, and what I'm hearing from the community. Skip right to the bottom of this post to see some bullet-pointed suggestions for further work from participants!
Firstly, can I just give a big shout out to Phil and Lorna from CETIS, and also to John who has now left CETIS but who helped a lot with organising the session. It was great! Phil was particularly heroic in filling in for Dan Rehak by interpreting his slides for us. Also thanks to Walt Grata from the US Learning Registry team who came all the way to Nottingham just to hang out with all of us for a couple of days: it was absolutely invaluable having him there in person to advise, inform and have a laugh with.
Stepping Back: An Overview
As previously mentioned, Phil started us off with an overview of the Learning Registry. He presented some slides developed by Dan Rehak, which included diagrams peering into the Learning Registry model and concepts from a number of different angles. I'm getting the hang of it now, but I don't doubt there were some baffled faces in the room at this point (I was at the front, and I didn't look around). I keep reassuring people that you need to go through this stuff a few times using a few different resources to get a grip on it. However, speaking for myself, it was really useful to step back out of JLeRN and be reminded of how the Learning Registry is conceptualised by its creators.
The best thing for me about Dan/Phil's presentation was being reminded of the Big Use Case. In the US, massive amounts of federal money is spent on educational resources which are then held in numerous silos, e.g. Nasa, PBS, NSDL, the Department of Defence may all hold different versions of the same resource. And therefore paradata, or usage data, about those resources may also be split into these different silos. Each portal only knows about a subset of what's happening around their resources. How to pull it all together? The Learning Registry hopes to be a solution. This is highly relevant to Jorum here in the UK, which already shares resources with other services like Ireland's National Digital Learning Repository.
We were in imminent danger of getting dragged into discussing definitions of paradata versus other kinds of data and metadata but Amber pulled us back from the brink, reminding us that we are not in the business of classifying types of data around resources: the nice thing about the Learning Registry is that it's all in scope. Walt agreed, noting that "As long as you can express it as a string, and in JSON" it's in scope. Walt also pointed out that even though there is a paradata specification available in the Learning Registry documentation, it's not something that is required or validated; it's just one suggestion to get folk going. "You can make up whatever you want", he said.
Some Participants Chime In
This discussion led to Fred Riley from the SONET repository at Nottingham University, and Terry McAndrew from TechDIS asking some questions about how they could get involved. Fred would like to publish his repository's OERs into the JLeRN node. There will be more on this in a later blog post, but the basic upshot is that this bespoke repository coded by Fred himself offers an RSS feed but not OAI-PMH, and until this point we'd been talking about publishing repository OAI-PMH feeds into our node. This was a timely discussion as Pat Lockley had just been working on a way to publish RSS into the Learning Registry, so it was a bit of edtech speed dating there.
Terry reiterated some of his ideas from the Hackday in January, following up with questions about how teachers can pull together stuff they have in a range of places (e.g. WordPress, Delicious, Posterous) to publish to the Learning Registry. All of this prompted some reminders about what an early stage proof-of-concept technical infrastructure project the Learning Registry is: some tools for developers and others are starting to emerge, but at this point just listening to these kinds of requests is all we can do. Walt noted that in the US there is work going on developing a few plug-ins and apps to work with various things teachers use to publish their content. Pat Lockley here in the UK also has some stuff on the go.
Terry also asked at a later point whether we can harvest from JISCmail as a source of data: folk can then see contributions that they've already made being used. Amber (from JISC) agreed strongly but noted that there are currently limitations- Brian Kelly has advised JISCmail to make their data harvestable.
Lorna on JISC / CETIS Interest in the Learning Registry
Why are JISC and CETIS interested in the Learning Registry? Folk are asking all the time whether they should get involved: is now the right time? Lorna noted again that this is an ongoing project; it's being built right now. We don't know how successful it will be. From CETIS's point of view, it appears to be an interesting development that's addressing problem we've had for ages.
Just for context, Lorna showed us a new OER timeline resource being developed by Lou McGill, which gives a graphical representation of the history of learning resources within JISC and CETIS. She noted that they used to recommend open standards for educational content, but that they were tricky to implement. Metadata for learning resources has been particularly problematic: describing educational context is very difficult. With the advent of the JISC OER Programmes, they decided to ask for descirptions of a few key aspects of resources, but not in standardised way.
The key questions that are still hard to answer are: How do we know where resources have gone, how they've been used, have they been remixed etc. So JISC and CETIS are interested in Learning Registry, because it acknowledges that we can't normalise the mess of data. We need to get it into a network, and let clever people build services and tools to query the data. CETIS like that it's dealing with the reality of the way the world is.
Amber on the Wider JISC Context
JISC supports the sharing of learning materials and digital library materials. Amber noted two other JISC Programmes that have looked at this stuff: the Activity Data and Discovery programmes. They are interested in open metadata; encouraging the flow of data. If you have data more openly available, makes resources more visible, this is a virtuous circle making discovery easier.
Andy Powell (who wasn't present) Tweeted a question asking if we are talking about #bigdata at the Conference. This is about identifying patterns in data; it resonates with the Learning Registry model of the benefits of opening up data. The Managing Research Data programme has similar issues.
There is a question around how much effort are people willing to put into describing, rather than having that data inferred/extracted/derived. Amber name-checked Zoe Rose from the BBC on whether we should even try to describe educational resources, or at least the educational aspects of educational resources: Zoe thinks not, it just gets sketchy.
So, Amber reiterated again: JLeRN is not a pilot, it's an experiment. Mimas run a node to be point of reference; JISC are not planning to necessarily turn it into a service. The questions starting to arise for her with her JISC hat on are: What are skills issues involved? What sorts of developers can start to learn these skills? It's a capacity issue, and an appetite issue. Who are the people who want to make apps and widgets? What are their skillsets? JLeRN won't be sustainable unless people get involved.
JLeRN's Presentations
I refer you back to our slides and handout here. I like to think we've made a bit of a contribution to the resources helping folk understand what the Learning Registry is doing with these, so please do have a look.
Some Projects and Ideas
The next session was presentations on some work folk are doing or hoping to do around the Learning Registry and/or JLeRN. Hope to get some slides and links in here later.
Scott Wilson (Bolton University / JISC CETIS) on SPAWS: Sharing Paradata Across Widget Stores
– There are 3 educational widget stores sharing paradata (reviews, ratings, downloads) using the Learning Registry. The reason why 3 stores have been developed is because they are for different audiences, have different policies etc.
– The same widget in different stores would have paradata in different places. So they want to use the Learning Registry to bring together this paradata.
– Paradata includes downloads, ratings, embeds, reviews. It's the same structure of information across different stores, so there are no ontology arguments. They are working on a shared architecture.
– Noted: there is a problem with how paradata is managed in Learning Registry. Their question is how to normalise paradata because the Learning Registry isn't doing normalisation.
– They put in a bid to JISC OER Rapid Innovation for SPAWS.
Terry McAndrew mentioned that we need to identify good reviews of content rather than quick comments. There may be an opportunity for text mining in the middle, to bring out something more useful than Wordles. It worries him that there's loads of info about resources: but it doesn't include specifically meaningful stuff.
Scott responded with an example review: "I tried this in IE6 it doesn't work", noting that getting any comment is such a struggle, he'll be happy with anything. If other organisations are interested in more in-depth stuff that's fine, SPAWS just want enough to make it useful.
Owen Stephens noted that there are also stats about bias in reviews; that you could get many more bad reviews than good, but Scott felt that there is enough context around reviews for folk to interpret them. People don't just say "oh 2 stars, it's crap".. you can leave some nuance to the reader.
Martin Hawksey said that as soon as he publishes anything, he gives himself 5 stars; so the system is open to gaming. Scott responded that if someone games it as positive and you use it and it's rubbish, you are more likely to review it yourself; it balances itself out.
Phil Barker asked if there would be information on who is providing reviews; Scott noted that this will depend on the policies of the widget stores, whether they ask folk for permission to share their reviews; there may be some tracing of user activity. Some stores have to have control over user experience.
Amber noted that these issues of using paradata are fairly new and require some teasing out. It's a different sort of architecture: it's more distributed; it's different from building a big website with the functionality inside it. We are separating it out; people don't know how their reviews might be used. It's still difficult to get our heads round it. People will need to re-calibrate how things are tweaked and used.
Terry McAndrew (TechDis): Learning Registry – Opportunities for Accessibility?
Terry shared some ideas at the Hackday in January about possibly using the Learning Registry to capture accessibility data about resources; perhaps simple reviews by people stating how well a given resource met their accessibility requirements as a start. This time, rather than showing a tool or app, or even a use case, Terry presented a "problem environment": to enable participants understand what accessibility requirements might be.
– TechDis gives Inclusion Technology Advice across very broad range of education, including offender learning, so there are a broader range of issues and constraints than JISC projects even normally look at. The focus is on issues easily overlooked – accessibility.
– TechDis want conversations between developers, tutors and users about resources to be laterally available- live dialogue rather than end of year review, and available to all, to boost accessible development, and to expose issues around resource and practice early (including good and bad accessibility factors).
– Quality of data is extremely important.
– Terry asked whether we could get Learning Registry output through Google; noted the Xerte philosophy- doesn't look glossy but gets lots of data through.
– Terry also noted that efforts around visualising OER use needs all the stakeholders' invovlement. We need graphics that illustrate different types of users in different environments to see how the traffic is moving.
Amber noted the validity of this view being wider: there's accessibility, there's usability, there's mobile. Are there underlying characteristics that can go together? So not about boxing accessibility into one thing? Usability and mobile need similar things as a lot of accessibility.
Terry responded that this is where a controlled vocab would help, but Amber noted that questions of control and vocabulary happen before the data goes into the Learning Registry. The Learning Registry can then get the mass of developers around it to work on it.
Walt Grata from the Learning Registry: Harvesting Tool and Landing Pages
Walt talked about two things he has been working on for the Learning Registry to help developers: a harvesting tool and landing pages.
Harvesting Tool:
This tool can be used to harvest from any Learning Registry node that you want, and cache the data locally for analysis, mashing up, etc. Point the tool at a node's HTTP endpoint, do a bit of config; it does a periodic harvest. You can get it all out in whatever format you want. He's working on validation- and he noted that anyone who wants to try it out can raise an issue on GitHub and he will get to it. This work came about because he found he was writing bits of code for developers to use in Java, CSharp, JavaScript, etc., so he wanted to make all this available to just be plucked from GitHub.
Landing Pages:
Walt wanted to make available simple landing pages for resources, including backlinks for SEO, that are indexable by Google, so folk can find Learning Registry stuff through Google.
There was some discussion around the relationship between the Learning Registry work and Google, touching on whether we are trying to create a parallel universe to Google, whether Google was interested in what the Learning Registry was doing, and to what extent the schema.org Learning Resource Metadata Initiative work might help (see Phil Barker at CETIS for more on that; Phil also noted that schema.org are coming out with other potentially useful vocabularies, e.g. to do with ratings). Lorna shared the interesting background that Google may have had a role in encouraging the Learning Registry project at the highest levels of the US administration: they were concerned about not being able to get to the swathes of educational content in silos.
There is also the question of how to identify unique resources in the Learning Registry given some resources will be available in different silos at different URLs. At the moment resources are only identifiable by having the same URL; Walt noted that they are currently looking at using RDF triples with "sameAs".
Pat Lockley: Services Built Around the Learning Registry
See Pat's slides here. Pat talked about two services he's been working on:
– A Chrome extension for Google searches returning Learning Registry hits, that will display attributes about the resource in your search results. This could be what CC licence is applied to the resources, but as the Learning Registry develops, it could also include paradata, or data from the resource's activity stream.
– A WordPress plugin that will let you display Learning Registry node content (accessed via "slice", which is the Learning Registry search function) in your WordPress blog (I know, let's try that in this blog! Watch this space).
Steven Cook from Jorum: Getting Paradata Out of Jorum and into the JLeRN Node
We've published all of Jorum's metadata into the JLeRN node (that's >15,000 resources), but we've also been looking at how to get paradata, initially just as some simple statistics and usage data, out of Jorum into the node. Steven Cook's been exploring this as he is Jorum's resident expert in extracting statistics.
Steven has been working on creating a CakePHP DataSource ("DataSources are the link between models and the source of data that models represent") for the Learning Registry API, because CakePHP is being used to build the Jorum statistics Dashboard, and because CakePHP is designed for rapid development, is ideal for prototyping Web applications.
The Learning Registry DataSource abstracts away the connection requirements and the intricacies of the API and helps connect Cake developers directly to the Learning Registry, allowing them to simply "plug in" to a node and use the data obtained directly in their developments.
With the read capabilities of the DataSource he hopes to create a simple Web interface that will allow users to search the LR for resources. He also talked about "mashing up" this data with other sources across the internet including Topsy, Twitter, Names, Google, Klout. There are DataSources available for these other services and he has already written one for Topsy for the Jorum Dashboard.
Watch this space: Steven will be blogging on this soon here!
When asked how scalable the CakePHP approach is, Steven responded that he probably won't end up using Cake- but that it was a good way to gain understanding of how the Learning Registry works. He will probably port it to something else. He noted that the Learning Registry doesn't give you exactly what you want and is not completely RESTful. In future he would cache on his side.
If You Could Have One Thing From or For the Learning Registry
We had a few minutes left at the end of the session, so I prevailed upon Lorna to ask everyone to say one thing they would like to see happen in the Learning Registry space. Here are the ideas shared, sans attribution! Contributors are welcome to expand on these, or add to them by commenting on this post!
- Simple software libraries for a range of languages to interact with LR.
- An OAI Explorer which allows you to poke at a node see what's there.
- The ability to get learning resources out by a simple search- e.g. of activity stream; what's trending.
- Would like to see my institution release Dynamic Learning Maps data for LR.
- Developer how-tos.
- How to deal with backdated paradata; website used for years, all that usage data- do I submit individual records for every single event? Don't want to crush the node by submitting 50,000 uses.
- Hide the hard stuff.
- Can we get some good stuff from Google Scholar?
- Accessibility dialogue.
- How can we really make use of Google to get to LR content.
Finally, Lorna announced that JISC are running a DevEd event in Birmingham: a 2-day hackday focusing specifically on educational apps. Keep an eye out for further announcements, and put 29-30 May in your calendar!


text:
Today Big Buddha is offering a pair of their Zig platform sandals in yellow, to one lucky winner!
You're '70s-chic-tastic with the Zig sandal from BIG BUDDHA. This groovy shoe features a pair of twisted straps at the toe and a buckled ankle strap. A thick platform wedge offers a bold boost. A perfect partner to modern flare denim, also pair this shoe with shorts, minis and cute summer dresses. (source)
To enter:
- For one entry, be a follower of Sometimes Sweet, and leave a comment with your name and email address.
- For a second entry, tweet about this giveaway using the tweet below and then leave another comment with a link to that tweet, and your name and email:
- And for a third entry, blog about this giveaway, leaving one more comment with that link, and your name and email again. Feel free to use the images above.
Good luck to all who enter!


text:
I consider myself a knife guy. Not like the guys that have an obsession with collecting every knife out there, but in that I always have one with me and I really appreciate a quality knife. Over the years I've moved from fixed-blade knives to folders and back to fixed-blades. In the backcountry I definitely appreciate the reliability and sturdiness of a good fixed blade knife. Others have reviewed knives from Helle and they usually get pretty positive reviews, so in my search for a great outdoor knife for backcountry use I really wanted to get my hands on one to see what the hype was about. I wasn't disappointed.
I met with the guys from Sport Hansa at the OR Winter Market in Salt Lake City last January, they are the distributor for Helle Knives in the US. I talked to them in length about the knives and what makes them special. I followed up after the show and asked if they'd be willing to send one out for review and they graciously sent me the Helle Eggen…one of Helle's most popular all around outdoor knives.
First Impressions
Out of the box this is a gorgeous piece of hardware. The Curly Birch handle is very attractive and fits nicely in the hand in any position. The blade is a beautifully executed, polished steel and is easily the sharpest knife I've ever had without taking it to a stone myself. At about 4oz it's a light knife but doesn't feel flimsy or weak like a lot of lighter knives. The leather sheath is a really nice addition as well. It's well made with some simple yet attractive tooling on it.
I'm no major collector but I've had (have) probably 40+ knives in my time and this blew away a lot of the competition straight out of the box.
- Blade Material: Triple Laminated Stainless Steel
- Handle Material: Curly Birch
- Blade Length: 3.9 in
- Overall Length: 8.3 in
- Weight: 4.2 oz
- Knife Style: Fixed Blade
- Blade Style: Drop Point
Field Use
Over time you get used to handling knives. I admit I underestimated the blade on this knife and cut myself the first time I took into the field. It was barely a nick, but that blade is so damn sharp it didn't matter. I learned to be more aware when handling the Eggen.
I look for a couple distinct things in an outdoor knife. First, how does the knife handle? Knives are multipurpose tools and they are never held or used in a single specific way. It has to be comfortable in many positions, cutting from different angles, in varied conditions. The Eggen performs well all around. The handle is shaped well for any grip position and the Curly Birch performs dry or wet. The blade is the perfect length and wide enough to give you leverage without being so wide as to compromise precision. I like the drop point blade design and the slight overall curve of the knife.
I also look for durability. I've only had the knife for about six months and had it in the field with me on a little over a dozen trips. I've used it to cut rope, leather, rubber, plastic, wood and food (I've even used it to shave). The edge has held up amazingly well and the handle and blade look brand new. It will take a lot more time to really judge durability but I've had much more expensive knives that have shown wear and tear earlier and faster than the Eggen.
If you're looking for a nice fixed blade outdoor knife you can't go wrong with the Helle Eggen. If all Helle Knives are produced as well as this one then I see a few more of these in my future. I have been extremely happy with the performance and handling of this knife and it's a beautiful piece of equipment. All Helle Knives are made in Norway with the same attention to detail and quality they've maintained since the Helle brothers started production on their farm 1932.
Bottom line…I would trust my life with it.


text:
Last week was Spring Break. We had all nine grandchildren in the house for almost a week. Sickness struck halfway through and two of them came down with the flu. So did Grandma.
On the last day, Sunday, our eldest daughter took her four children home to Indianapolis, to be ready for school Monday morning. For the remainder of the day I was the only functioning adult in the house, with a sick wife (Grandma) and three young children, one of whom is only ten months old.
It was quite a day!
I'm thankful to say that the two oldest boys, 5 and 4, were perfectly well behaved and the baby was no trouble at all.
On the Friday I was able to take my wife to Urgent Care, where they confirmed a diagnosis of influenza. Hers was a particularly bad strain. The doctor tactlessly added that it could be very serious "at her age." She also added that she would be contagious for five days and should remain in bed. Just as well – she did not have the strength to move.
Each day of Spring Break, I made it a point to take our four granddaughters out for some fun. The girls are all 10-12 and are generally happy doing things together. The first day the local library had a free session called "Game On" where children of their age could come together and play electronic games.
On the Wednesday morning, another library offered a free magic show which was, apparently, very good. I was there, but I made the mistake of taking one of the 4-year-old boys with me – and he had difficulty sitting still, which meant that I could not sit still, either. From there, we had to rush back to go to another library for their Spring Carnival, games for children of all ages.
Thursday, the same library offered a Lego afternoon. I used to play Lego with our children 30+ years ago, but now I find it extremely challenging as all the Lego pieces seem to get under my feet and cause me grievous bodily harm. So our two daughters took the boys, while I took the girls bowling, followed by milkshakes at Steak and Shake (half price shakes from 2-5). We had a lot of fun.
On the Friday, our son took all four girls to a bouncy place, while I took Grandma to Urgent Care. (This was due to the flu, not the grandchildren!)
Why do I mention all this?
Because almost everything was free the entire week. When you check out the library, there are so many "events" on over Spring Break, none of which cost anything. Before leaving "Game On" on the Tuesday, I asked two of the girls to check out the DVDs and see what we could take home to watch. They chose all four "Home Alone" movies. You didn't know there were four? Neither did I, but I spent each evening watching them with the girls and quite enjoyed them. 8-year-old Kevin reminded me of 4-year-old Leeson – Leeson would definitely give any intruders a hard time! All five boys together are a more effective deterrent than the most vicious Rottweiler. Again, as with the activities, the movies were free.
So if you are a grandmother about to host nine grandchildren for a week, remember the library. Even if it's a place of refuge while you leave the grandkids at home with Grandpa.
I love these weeks when we are all together. They don't happen very often. Which is just as well – with all the "kids" here, I did not find time to write my blog, or even to keep up on the news. One thing I've learned, though, as a grandparent, is to give the grandchildren 100% of my time when they are with us. Nothing is more important than building good relationships within the family.
Our ten-month-old grandson Hayden is not up to joining in any of the activities his older siblings and cousins are into, but he has taken a decided liking to the "Baby First" channel while he bounces up and down in his bouncer. The channel is produced with babies in mind – and their parents, who are ready to spend lots of money on that first baby! They have lots of singing of familiar nursery rhymes, cute little lambs running around on a farm in Wales and endless reruns of "Harry, the Bunny." The channel will certainly entertain your baby, but how many grandparents have been driven nuts watching it is what I want to know???
WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS (Matthew 24:6)
A more serious matter is the never-ending wars we see each night on television.
Syria and Iraq continue to dominate the news. It's difficult to understand the full complexity of the fighting that goes on and on, year after year, in both countries.
The West is appalled that President Assad has dropped chemical weapons on "his own people." I should mention that he denies doing anything of the kind and has even asked "where are the dead?" when TV viewers everywhere have witnessed dozens of children convulsing, struggling to breathe and even dying on camera. Secondly, westerners need to learn that, to Assad, these are not his own people. His own people are Alawites, who number 11% of Syria's population. The chemical weapon attack was on a village in Idlib province, which is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, with a significant percentage of Christians.
Assad's wife is from a Sunni background, but she seems to be in denial of everything that's going on.
We should remember, too, that what's going on is the direct result of our meddling in the Middle East. We don't need Mideast oil any more and Israel can take care of itself. Why are we there?
The origins of the disaster that is the current Middle East go back a century to the Great War, otherwise known as World War One. The war led to the collapse of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, the last Caliphate. It gave independence, freedom (supposedly) to new nations like Syria and Iraq. Artificially created and not fully taking into account sectarian boundaries, the result has been a disaster.
Interestingly, a hundred years after the fall of the Ottomans, the present Turkish president seems to want to restore the old empire and is projecting Turkish power into neighboring countries. He is also seeking more power for himself with a referendum on Sunday.
A few days ago, on April 8th, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in France for the centenary commemoration of the battle that was Canada's coming of age, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, in which thousands of Canadians died and many more suffered serious injury. The PM had this to say:
"One hundred years ago, on a gentle slope in France, the four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought for the first time as one. They were ordinary – yet extraordinary – men, from all corners of the country: Francophone, Anglophone, new Canadians, Indigenous Peoples.
"On Easter Monday, April 1917, battling through snow, sleet, and constant machine gun fire, they broke through an impregnable fortress and achieved a historic victory. They succeeded where other armies had failed – but at a great cost. Nearly 3,600 Canadians lost their lives. Over 7,000 more were wounded. The Battle of Vimy Ridge remains one of the bloodiest battles in Canada's history.
"Despite these losses, Canadian bravery and ingenuity won the day and led to one of the most decisive victories in the First World War. The innovative fighting techniques used so effectively by our soldiers at Vimy Ridge would contribute to the final Allied victory a year and a half later."
Mr. Trudeau continued: "Many of the soldiers wearing the Canadian uniform that day were immigrants to this country. People of many languages and backgrounds, representing every region in Canada, fought for the values we hold so dear: freedom, democracy, and peace. In the words of one veteran: 'We went up Vimy Ridge as Albertans and Nova Scotians. We came down as Canadians.'
"Today, as we gather to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, we remember the thousands of Canadians who gave their lives far from Canada's shores. We pay tribute to the 100th anniversary of a pivotal battle that has left an indelible mark on our history. And we thank every Canadian who has answered the call to serve for their selflessness and sacrifice."
On the surface, these two paragraphs seem well motivated, but they overlook a simple fact. Amidst all the talk of people from many languages and backgrounds fighting for Canada is the simple fact that Canada has radically changed. A century ago Canada was very much a Dominion of the British Empire, sharing the ideals of Great Britain and its other dominions, Australia, New Zealand and, at the time, South Africa. These nations were committed to freedom and all fought together from Day One of what, at the time, was the greatest war in history.
The nations were bound by a common loyalty to the Crown. Indeed, Prince Charles, the future King of Canada, was present at the same ceremony. So were both of his sons, who have served in the British military.
What has changed is this: Canada is now much more multicultural. The very word originated in Canada, coined by a royal commission back in 1971. Today, immigrants are more likely to come from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, than from Europe.
In the event of another conflict like World War One (or Two), would all these people be so willing to die for the values Canada has traditionally held?
The prime minister's speech ended with the traditional words used at events commemorating wars: "Lest we forget." Sadly, the contribution made by Britain and the British dominions has been forgotten.
This is also the centenary of America's entry into world affairs. The country declared war on Germany on April 6th, 1917. After the war the US withdrew from further international involvement until 1941.
Stefan Lofven is the Prime Minister of Sweden, the country that witnessed its worst-ever terrorist attack a few days ago when a migrant from Uzbekistan in central Asia drove a truck into a big department store. Sweden has had the most generous open-door policy in Europe during the migrant crisis. The prime minister has now said that will change.
But nothing has changed, either in Sweden or anywhere else. It seems that western politicians are incapable of changing immigration policies.
According to the late Albert Einstein (died 1955), this means that our politicians are mostly mad. Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." Western nations endure one terrorist attack after another, yet they continue to allow Muslim immigration!
It's the same on the American side of the Atlantic. Mark Twain once said: "Suppose you are an idiot and suppose you are a Member of Congress; but I repeat myself."
Neither of these two men was addressing Islamic immigration, but what they said is certainly applicable.
So, what should a Christian do?
I Peter 2:17 instructed Christians to "honor the king." Today, most countries have presidents, not kings, but the principle still applies. The Apostle Peter wrote while under the yoke of Rome, an empire that produced the occasional emperor of unsound mind. In 64 AD, following the Great Fire, which he himself started, an intense persecution of Christians was started by Nero, who blamed the new sect for the destruction of 70% of the imperial city. Yet Christians were still told to "honor the king."
Western leaders are certainly guilty of upholding erroneous ideas. They can even be said to be of unsound mind. It's doubtful either Einstein or Twain would alter their famous statements.
In theory they should be voted out of office. But even when that happens (as with Brexit and Trump), it's clear that very little is likely to change.
>It's 50 years since the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors, a war which ended in a decisive Israeli victory and the fall of Jerusalem to the Israelis. Russia has now recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, at the same time recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent Palestine. Will the US follow?
>>AFGHANISTAN continues in the news, as the US has dropped its most powerful non-nuclear bomb on an area of the country with a very active ISIS presence. Three dozen were killed. Will ISIS be defeated with this more aggressive approach? If they are, will that be the end of Islamic fundamentalism? Doubtful.
>>Another war may be brewing in the Far East, as North Korea pursues its nuclear program and threatens the South, Japan and the United States. Some voices in the US want war with the North. It should be remembered that, after three years of war from 1950-53, North Korea was not defeated and the US was forced into a stalemate.
>>Libya continues to be engaged in a civil war, which has had a major impact on its economy. Reports this week are of African migrants being sold in the market-place as slaves, one way for locals to make money. In an appalling twist, those being sold are giving slave traders their cell phones so that captives can call home to ask for money. Relatives must listen while their sons and daughters are being tortured.
>>Torture is the best way to describe a recent incident in Detroit, which will undoubtedly become more common with the numbers of Muslims increasing. A female Muslim Detroit doctor has been charged with performing GFM (Genital Female Mutilation) on two 7-year-old girls, a custom common in some Islamic nations. No feminists have yet raised their voice to condemn the incident in Detroit.
One person who had this surgery performed on her when she was a child was Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somalian who now lives in the Washington DC area and is constantly warning of the dangers from Islam. Her latest book is "The Challenge of Diwa." Note the following extracted from her book by Giulio Meotti, published by the Gatestone Institute, 4/10: "According to one estimate, 10−15 percent of the world's Muslims are Islamists. Out of well over 1.6 billion, or 23 percent of the globe's population, that implies more than 160 million individuals."
>> Headline in today's MEMRI: "Women Arrested In Iran For Dressing As Men In Order To Attend Soccer Game; Khamenei Issues Fatwa Against Women Riding Bicycles In Public."
Today is Good Friday, the day most Christians believe is the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified. When I was growing up, nothing was open on this day. We certainly had no school and I remember a discussion with one of my teachers a day or two before in which I asked why it's called "Good" Friday. It was certainly a somber day and we all knew it.
I've just returned from the bank and a store. Both were crowded.
Times have certainly changed. The only god worshipped in today's western world is the god of materialism. Nothing else seems to matter any more.
We would do well to remember Acts 4:12: ". . . there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Having forgotten this, the western world fails to see clearly the threat from Islam, thinking that all religions are equally valid or equally ridiculous, depending on your point of view.