text:
June 23, 2014
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Office of the Prime Minister
Islamabad, Pakistan
Via facsimile: +92-51-2852663
Your Excellency:
We are writing to express our deep concern about the deteriorating climate for press freedom in Pakistan, which undermines recent commitments made by your government during CPJ's mission to the country.
In our meeting with you on March 19, you told us you recognized the scope of the crisis that journalists face in Pakistan and the damage that the country's record of impunity in journalist murders has done to its international reputation. We were encouraged by the exchange and follow-up we had with you and other Pakistani officials.
We urge you to follow your pledges to address media freedoms with meaningful action. A joint government-media commission to review anti-press attacks and improve security, such as the one you pledged to create, would be a great step toward improving the climate for press freedom in Pakistan.
Since our meetings, conditions for journalists working in Pakistan have drastically deteriorated. Only days after we met, unidentified gunmen fired on the car of Raza Rumi, a senior Pakistani journalist, as he was leaving the studio following his TV show. Rumi was not injured, but his driver was killed.
In April, gunmen shot Geo News senior anchor Hamid Mir as he and his driver left Karachi's main airport. Mir survived the attack but sustained wounds to his abdomen and pelvis. His driver survived. The next month, two foreign journalists were expelled from the country after being told their visas would not be renewed. The Hindu correspondent Meena Menon and Snehesh Alex Philip, correspondent for the Press Trust of India, left Pakistan within seven days.
On May 20, some members of Pakistan's Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) announced that licenses for Geo News, Geo Entertainment, and Geo Tez, channels under the Geo TV Network, had been suspended. Later that day, PEMRA issued a press release saying the order had "no legal standing" since the meeting had been attended by only five of its 12 members.
On June 3, Zafar Aheer, an editor of the Urdu-language Daily Jang, was beaten by six armed men as he was returning home from work. The assailants confiscated his phone and fired shots around his car before fleeing. Aheer told BBC Urdu that the assailants accused employees of the Jang group of being traitors, Jews, and Indian agents. He also said he had received death threats in connection with his affiliation with the media group.
Daily Jang, part of the Jang media group, is headed by Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, who is also the top executive at Geo TV. Rahman's outlets have come under increased pressure since Geo TV broadcast allegations that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was responsible for the April attack on Mir. Critics said the coverage was irresponsible.
Staffers at the The News–including Umar Cheema, who wrote critically about the attack on Mir–have received threats. Vans carrying Jang's newspapers have been torched in Lahore, Lodhran, and Rawalpindi.
On June 6, Geo News was fined and given a 15-day suspension by PEMRA. The channel went from providing news to millions of people to a blank screen. PEMRA allowed the channel to begin rebroadcasting after 15 days, but news reports said cable operators were continuing to block the channel.
On June 20, PEMRA suspended Geo Entertainment's license for 30 days and ARY News' license for 15 days and imposed on each outlet fines of 10 million rupees. News reports said Geo was banned for "insulting the religious sentiments of viewers" in one of its morning shows, and ARY was banned for "bringing high courts into disrepute" in connection with a critical program.
This sets a very dangerous precedent and opens the door for future attempts to shut down news channels that are critical of the state and its agencies. More than 7,500 people are employed under Geo, and their livelihoods and safety are directly affected by the threats to Geo.
We call on your government to reinstate Geo's ability to operate and broadcast in the country. Your government should ensure journalists at all news outlets are able to work safely and freely in Pakistan.
The commitments you made provide a clear path forward for media freedom in Pakistan. The recent challenges should not derail your efforts to ensure that journalists are able to do their job without fear.
We left Pakistan with a deep sense of optimism following our mission, and remain hopeful that your government is sincerely committed to ensuring greater press freedoms in the country.
Joel Simon
Executive Director
Kati Marton
CPJ Board member
Ahmed Rashid
CPJ Board member
CC List:
Dr. Nazir Saeed, Secretary, Ministry of Information Broadcasting & National Heritage
Mohammad Azam, Additional Secretary Ministry of Information Broadcasting & National Heritage
S.M. Imran Gardezi, Director General External Publicity Wing
Humera Azam Khan, Director General Human Rights, Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights
Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Washington


text:
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Access all the accompanying digital components for this book
on allango, the language learning platform.
Find out more here:
On Point is a six-level English course for adults and students from beginner to advanced levels (A1 to C1).
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text:
The First and the Last Words
If we were to speak of the very center of spiritual strength in the Church, surely it must be the sacred ordinances of the temple of the Lord.
It is not generally known that almost the first words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph—the intent of the gathering and building up of the Church—and almost the last words of the Lord to the Prophet pertained to temple work.
After the wondrous First Vision of the Prophet in the spring of 1820, three and a half years passed. The next divine manifestation he had was when the angel Moroni appeared to him. He told Joseph about the Book of Mormon.
Because of the preeminence of this message, most people do not realize that Moroni brought another momentous message! First he quoted, with some variation, the prophecy of Malachi:
"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
"And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.
"If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming." (D&C 2:1–3; see also JS—H 1:36–39; italics added.)
Moroni also quoted from Isaiah, Acts, Joel, and "many other passages of scripture." (JS—H 1:41.)
The prophecy of Malachi concerning Elijah was treated differently from all other scriptures quoted by Moroni. It was considered of such unique importance that it now appears as section 2 in the Doctrine and Covenants.1
Moroni's message signaled to the Prophet that Elijah soon would appear. The foreordained events pertaining to temple work began to unroll like a scroll. Less than a year and a half after the organization of the Church, the Prophet dedicated the site for the temple in Jackson County, Missouri (August 1831). But the Saints were prevented from building it.
Then followed a score of significant events pertaining to the building of the house of the Lord. (See chart at end of talk.)
The first temple completed was Kirtland—built under great difficulties. The dedication of this temple was accompanied by the visitation of angels and fire resting upon the temple. Some saw visions and experienced other glorious manifestations.
On the third of April, 1836, one week after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, the monumental event occurred! The Savior appeared and accepted the temple. Moses and Elias also came. Then, Malachi's prophecy was fulfilled—for Elijah the prophet stood before them and said:
"Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—
"To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—
"Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors." (D&C 110:14–16; italics added.)
That event occurred 146 years ago yesterday, on the day that the Jews were celebrating their traditional ritual. For more than two millennia the Jews have looked for the coming of Elijah. Even today, in connection with the feast of the Passover, they will reenact the scene as they have done for centuries: they will set a place at their table, reserve an empty chair, open the door, raise their cups, and rise as if to greet Elijah.
Elijah has returned! Thanks be to God! He bestowed his keys! Work could now commence in the temples to weld eternal links between husbands and wives, between parents and children, through the sealing power of God.
It is essential to obtain the sealing power of the holy priesthood so that whatsoever an authorized officiator shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever he shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (See D&C 127:7.) For in the sacred ordinances and through this sacred power come glory and honor and eternal life. (See D&C 128:11–12.)
It is by this power that husband and wife are sealed in a never-ending bond of marriage. It is by this power that a welding link is forged between children and parents. This is the holy power that is exercised in the temple. It is the power that validates all ordinances in the Church. This is the consummate authority in the kingdom of God.
Without the authority and use of that power, in all ages of the world, none of our Heavenly Father's children can enter His presence or ever become like Him! And if this were not so, the whole purpose of existence would be useless. That is why the Lord said "the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming." (D&C 2:3.)
Almost the last words of the Lord to the Prophet, so far as we can tell, also pertained to temple work. The Lord commanded the Prophet to build a temple in Nauvoo. The Saints set about to do it.
Prior to its completion, the Lord revealed His sacred ordinances, "things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times." (D&C 124:41.) The order of performing baptism for the dead was revealed. Also the Lord required that witnesses verify the performance of ordinances, "that in all your recordings it may be recorded in heaven." (D&C 127:7.)
Finally, the members of the Twelve Apostles were endowed and the sealing authority conveyed to them, thereafter never to be lost. They could now carry on the fulness of the gospel. These crucial things the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph only months before his martyrdom.
From this brief account of significant events in the life of the Prophet, it becomes apparent that his first and foremost duty was to build temples and restore the sealing power to perform sacred and eternal ordinances.
All the prophets since his time have likewise shown a concern for this work. During President Kimball's presidency more temples have been constructed than in any other time. We are now truly taking temples to the people.
And now, brothers and sisters, I want to testify concerning this sacred work. I know that it is true. The principles are eternal. The ordinances are divine—they are eternal—framed before the world was. You and I are responsible to carry on this work. The Lord has no one else to do it.
Surely this is not an onerous burden! It is a privilege. A temple recommend is one of the highest accolades we may receive. To use it regularly permits us to participate in the choicest gifts within the keeping of the Church. Those who attend feel a special spirit there. Peace comes. I know that their service there assists a departed one to gain exaltation. And I know that they in turn qualify for blessings from the other side of the veil. And I know that blessings will follow you home from the temple.
God lives. Jesus is the Christ. This is the consummate work of the kingdom. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Partial List of Events Related to Temple Work, 1831–1843
20 July 1831 |
Temple at Independence, Missouri, announced. (D&C 57:1–3.) |
1 Aug. 1831 |
Missouri and temple site directed to be dedicated. (D&C 58:57.) |
3 Aug. 1831 |
The Prophet dedicates temple site in Jackson County, Missouri. (History of the Church, 1:199.) |
1831 |
Doctrines and principles of the new and everlasting covenant revealed, but not recorded until 12 July 1843. (D&C 132.) |
22 Sept. 1832 |
New Jerusalem and temple prophesied. (D&C 84:1–5.) |
27 Dec. 1832 |
Saints commanded to establish a "house of God" (temple). (D&C 88:119.) |
1 June 1833 |
Saints in Missouri again commanded to build a temple, in which they will be endowed with power. (D&C 95.) |
23 July 1833 |
Cornerstones of Kirtland Temple laid. (History of the Church, 1:400.) |
2 Aug. 1833 |
Further revelation on temple in Missouri, which is to be built after "the pattern." (D&C 97:10–17.) |
21 Jan. 1836 |
Doctrine of salvation for the dead revealed. (D&C 137.) |
27 Mar. 1836 |
Dedicatory prayer for Kirtland Temple recorded. (D&C 109.) |
3 Apr. 1836 |
Elijah comes, sealing keys restored. (D&C 110:13–16.) |
26 Apr. 1838 |
Saints commanded to build a temple at Far West. (D&C 115:7–16.) |
8 July 1838 |
Tithes directed to be used for building temples. (D&C 119.) |
26 Apr. 1839 |
Cornerstones of Far West Temple laid. (History of the Church, 3:336–37.) |
19 Jan. 1841 |
Saints commanded to build Nauvoo Temple. (D&C 124:25–45.) |
1 Sept. 1842 |
Saints instructed to keep a record of ordinances. (D&C 127:5–9.) |
6 Sept. 1842 |
Saints instructed to have witnesses at ordinances; various doctrines and principles explained. (D&C 128.) |
16–17 May 1843 |
Doctrine of Sealing expounded. (D&C 131.) |


text:
Friday, September 23, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
This weekend we were at the Santa Barbara Zoo where something hysterical happened. Some Jerk Eagle was flying around and spotted the zoo and thought "buffet". He was camped out in a tree all day enjoying his Federally Protected Status, while leisurely deciding which exotic delicacy to eat first. The zoo animals and staff were palpably nervous and the zoo even sent out two volunteer ladies in folding chairs to sit by the flamingos and otters and "keep an eye on them". I'm not sure how it turned out but he was still up there when we left and probably wasn't getting any less hungry as time went on.
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Must we decolonise #Open_Access? Perspectives from Francophone Africa
A long read featuring the recent work of Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou and Florence Piron, on how a truly open and inclusive 'Open Access' movement must include those at the periphery
I recently watched the recording of the fantastic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion session at OpenCon, and I was struck by the general theme of how 'openness' isn't necessarily the force for equality that we perhaps think it is, and how issues of power, exploitation, and hierarchy means that it should be understood differently according to the context in which it is applied. In the session, Denisse Albornoz used the expression of 'situated openness' to describe how our Northern conception of openness should not be forced on anyone or any group – it needs to be understood first in individual contexts of historical injustices and post-colonial power structures.
What stood out for me most in this session, however, (because it related most to my work) was Cameroonian Thomas Mboa's presentation, which talked about the 'neo-colonial face of open access'. The presentation employed some very striking critical terms such as 'cognitive injustice' and 'epistemic alienation' to Open Access.
I've always known that the Open Access movement was far from perfect, but at least it's moving global science publishing in the right direction, right? Can working towards free access and sharing of research really be 'neo-colonial' and lead to 'alienation' for users of research in the Global South? And if this really is the case, how can we 'decolonise' open access?
Thomas didn't get much time to expand on some of the themes he presented, so I got in contact to see if he had covered these ideas elsewhere, and fortunately he has, through his participation in 'Projet SOHA' . This is a research-action project that's been working on open science, empowerment and cognitive justice in French-speaking Africa and Haiti from 2015-17. He provided me with links to four publications written in French by himself and his colleagues from the project – Florence Piron (Université Laval, Quebec, Canada), Antonin Benoît Diouf (Senegal), and Marie Sophie Dibounje Madiba (Cameroon), and many others.
These articles are a goldmine of provocative ideas and perspectives on Open Access from the Global South, which should challenge all of us in the English-speaking academic publishing community. Therefore, I decided to share some excerpts and extended quotes from these articles below, in amongst some general comments from my (admittedly limited) experience of working with researchers in the Global South.
The quotes are taken from the following book and articles, which I recommend reading in full (these are easily translatable using the free tool Google Translate Web, which correctly translated around 95% of the text).
Chapter 2 – 'Les injustices cognitives en Afrique subsaharienne : réflexions sur les causes et les moyens de lutte' – Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou (2016), in Piron, Dibounje Madiba et Regulus 2016 (below)
Justice cognitive, libre accès et savoirs locaux – Collective book edited by Florence Piron, Marie Sophie Dibounje Madiba and Samuel Regulus (2016) (CC-BY) ▻https://scienceetbiencommun.pressbooks.pub/justicecognitive1
Qui sait ? Le libre accès en Afrique et en Haïti – Florence Piron (2017) (CC-BY) (Soon to be published in English in Forthcoming Open Divide. Critical Studies of Open Access (Herb & Schöpfel ed), Litwinbooks
Le libre accès vu d'Afrique francophone subsaharienne – Florence Piron, Antonin Benoît Diouf, Marie Sophie Dibounje Madiba, Thomas Hervé Mboa Nkoudou, Zoé Aubierge Ouangré, Djossè Roméo Tessy, Hamissou Rhissa Achaffert, Anderson Pierre and Zakari Lire (2017) (CC-BY-NC-SA)
Une autre science est possible. Récit d'une utopie concrète dans la Francophonie (le projet SOHA) – Revue Possibles, 2016 (CC-BY)
Piron et al's (2017) article starts with a stinging critique of those of us in our Northern scholarly publishing community cliques, and our never-ending open access debates over technicalities:
"… there are many debates in this community, including on the place of open licenses in open access (is an article really in open access if it is not freely reusable in addition to being freely accessible?), on the legitimacy of the fees charged to authors by certain journals choosing open access, on the quality and evaluation of open access journals, on the very format of the journal as the main vehicle for the dissemination of scientific articles or on the type of documents to be included in institutional or thematic open archives (only peer-reviewed articles or any document related to scientific work?).
Viewed from Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa, these debates may seem very strange, if not incomprehensible. Above all, they appear very localized: they are debates of rich countries, of countries of the North, where basic questions such as the regular payment of a reasonable salary to academics, the existence of public funding for research, access to the web, electricity, well-stocked libraries and comfortable and safe workplaces have long been settled." Piron et al. (2017)
… and their critique gets more and more scathing from here for the Open Access movement. OA advocates – tighten your seatbelts – you are not going to find this a comfortable ride.
"… a conception of open access that is limited to the legal and technical questions of the accessibility of science without thinking about the relationship between center and periphery can become a source of epistemic alienation and neocolonialism in the South". Piron et al. (2017)
"Is open access the solution to the documented shortcomings of these African universities and, in doing so, a crucial means of getting scientific research off the ground? I would like to show that this is not the case, and to suggest that open access can instead become a neo-colonial tool by reinforcing the cognitive injustices that prevent African researchers from fully deploying their research capacities in the service of the community and sustainable local development of their country." Piron (2017)
Ouch. To understand these concepts of 'cognitive injustice' and 'epistemic alienation', it helps to understand this 'world system' and the power relationship between the centre and the periphery. This is based on Wallerstein's (1996) model, which Thomas featured in his OpenCon slides:
"… a world-system whose market unit is the scientific publication circulating between many instances of high economic value, including universities, research centers, science policies, journals and an oligopoly of for-profit scientific publishers (Larivière, Haustein, and Mongeon, 2015)." Piron et al. (2017)
"… we believe that science, far from being universal, has been historically globalized. Inspiring us, like Keim (2010) and a few others (Polanco, 1990), from Wallerstein's (1996) theory, we consider that it constitutes a world-system whose market unit is the scientific publication. Produced mainly in the North, this merchandise obeys standards and practices that are defined by the 'center' of the system, namely the main commercial scientific publishers (Larivière, Haustein, & Mongeon, 2015), and their university partners are the US and British universities dominating the so-called world rankings. The semi-periphery is constituted by all the other countries of the North or emerging from the South which revolve around this center, adopting the English language in science and conforming to the model LMD (license, master, doctorate) imposed since the Bologna process to all the universities of the world with the aim of "normalizing" and standardizing the functioning of this world-system. The periphery then refers to all the countries that are excluded from this system, which produce no or very few scientific publications or whose research work is invisible, but to whom the LMD model has also been imposed (Charlier, Croché, & Ndoye 2009, Hountondji 2001)". Piron et al. (2017)
So, the continuing bias and global focus towards the powerful 'center' of the world-system leads to the epistemic alienation of those on the periphery, manifesting in a 'spiritual colonisation':
"… this attitude that drives us to want to think about local problems with Western perspective is a colonial legacy to which many African citizens hang like a ball." Mboa (2016).
So where does Open Access fit in with this world-system?
"… if open access is to facilitate and accelerate the access of scientists from the South to Northern science without looking into the visibility of knowledge of the South, it helps to redouble their alienation epistemic without contributing to their emancipation. Indeed, by making the work of the center of the world-system of science even more accessible, open access maximizes their impact on the periphery and reinforces their use as a theoretical reference or as a normative model, to the detriment of local epistemologies." Piron et al. (2017)
Rethinking Northern perspectives
This should be an eye-opening analysis for those of us who assumed that access to research knowledge in the North could only be a good thing for the South. Perhaps we need to examine the arrogance behind our narrow worldview, and consider more deeply the power at the heart of such a one-way knowledge exchange. Many of us might find this difficult, as:
"The idea that open access may have the effects of neocolonialism is incomprehensible to people blind to epistemological diversity, who reduce the proclaimed universalism of Western science to the impoverished model of the standards imposed by the Web of Science model. For these people, the invisibility of a publication in their numerical reference space (located in the center of the world-system) is equivalent to its non-existence. The idea that valid and relevant knowledge can exist in another form and independently of the world-system that fascinates them is unthinkable." Piron et al. (2017)
Having spent a little time at scholarly publishing events in the Global North, I can attest that the mindset described above is common. There are kind thoughts (and a few breadcrumbs thrown in the form of grants and fellowships) towards those on the periphery, but it is very much in the mindset of helping those from the Global South 'catch up'. Our mindset is very much as Piron describes here:
"If one sticks to the positivist view that "science" is universal – even if its "essence" is symbolized by the American magazine Science – then indeed African science, that is to say in Africa, is late, and we need to help it develop so that it looks more and more like the North". Piron (2017)
And whilst in the North we may have a lot of respect for different cultural perspectives, genuine reciprocal exchanges of research knowledge are rare. We are supremely confident that our highly-developed scientific publishing model deserves to be at the centre of our system. This can lead to selective blindness about the rigorousness of our science and our indexed journals, in spite of the steady drip drip drip of reports of biased peer review, data fraud and other ethical violations in 'high-impact' Northern journals, exposed in places like retraction watch.
North/South research collaborations are rarely equitable – southern partners often complain of being used as data-gatherers rather than intellectual equals and partners in research projects, even when the research is being carried out in their own country.
"These [Northern] partners inevitably guide the problems and the methodological and epistemological choices of African researchers towards the only model they know and value, the one born at the center of the world-system of science – without questioning whether this model is relevant to Africa and its challenges". Piron et al (2017).
These issues of inequity in collaborative relationships and publication practices seem inextricably linked, which is not surprising when the ultimate end goal of research is publishing papers in Northern journals, rather than actually solving Southern development challenges.
"In this context, open access may appear as a neocolonial tool, as it facilitates access by Southern researchers to Northern science without ensuring reciprocity. In doing so, it redoubles the epistemic alienation of these researchers instead of contributing to the emancipation of the knowledge created in the universities of the South by releasing them from their extraversion. Indeed, by making the work produced in the center of the world-system even more accessible, free access maximizes their impact on the periphery and reinforces their use as a theoretical reference or as a normative model, to the detriment of local epistemologies, which generates situations absurd as, for example, the use of a theoretical framework related to wage labor in the Paris region to analyze the work of women in northern Mali" Piron (2017)
"The resulting consequences are, in particular, the teachers of the Southern countries who quote and read only writers from the North and impose them on their students and the libraries of our universities who do everything to subscribe to Western scholarly journals while they do not deal with our problems. (Mboa Nkoudou, 2016 )"
This is also a striking example:
"It is very sad to note that geographers in Ouagadougou are more familiar with European work on the Sahel than those at the Higher Institute of Sahel in Maroua, Cameroon." Piron (2017)
The lack of equity in research knowledge exchange and collaboration is also caused by another one-way North to South flow: funding. Research in the South is often dependent on foreign funding. Big Northern donors and funders therefore set the standards and agendas in research, and in how the entire research funding system works. Southern partners rarely get to set the agenda, and researchers rarely get to develop the research questions that guide the research. They have to learn to jump through administrative hoops to become credible in the eyes of the Northern donor (for more information see 'Who drives research in developing countries?').
Southern institutions are also compelled, via league tables such as the World Unviersity Rankings, to play the same game as institutions in the North. Institutions are ranked against each other according to criteria set in the North, one of which is citations (of course, only citations between journals in the Web of Science or Scopus, which is overwhelmingly Northern). And so to stay 'competitive', Southern institutions need their researchers to publish in Northern journals with Northern language and agendas.
Northern agendas and local innovation
Whilst it is tempting to think that the issues and criticism described above is mostly a problem for the social sciences and humanities, there are also real issues in the 'hard' sciences – perhaps not so much in their epistemological foundations – but in very practical issues of Northern research agendas. For example, Northern research, being based in Europe and the US, is overwhelmingly biased towards white people, in diversity of leadership, diversity of researchers, and most importantly in the whiteness of clinical trial subjects. This is problematic because different ethnic populations have different genetic makeups and differences due to geography, that mean they respond differently to treatments (see here, here and here). Are African and Asian researchers informed of this when they read research from so-called 'international' journals?
Furthermore, these Northern agendas can also mean that research focuses on drugs, equipment and treatments that are simply not suitable for developing country contexts. I was reminded of a discussion comment recently made by a Pakistani surgeon on the Northern bias of systematic reviews:
"There is a definite bias in this approach as almost all of the guidelines and systematic reviews are based on the research carried out in high income countries and the findings and the recommendations have little relevance to the patients, health care system and many a time serve no purpose to the millions of patients based in low resourced countries. e.g. I routinely used Phenol blocks for spasticity management for my patients which were abandoned two decades ago in the West. Results are great, and the patients can afford this Rs 200 phenol instead of Rs 15,000 Botox vial. But, unfortunately, I am unable to locate a single systematic review on the efficacy of phenol as all published research in the last decade was only on the use of Botox in the management of spasticity." Farooq Rathore (HIFA mailing list, 2016).
Similarly, I've read research papers from the South that report on innovative approaches to medical treatments and other problems that utilise lower-cost equipment and methodologies (in fact, as is argued here, research in low-resource environments can often be more efficient and innovative, containing many lessons we, in the North, could learn from). This point is also made by Piron et al:
"… the production of technical and social innovations is rich in Sub-Saharan French-speaking Africa, as evidenced by the high number of articles on this subject in the Sci-Dev magazine, specializing in science for development, or in the ecofin site, an economic information agency turned towards Africa. But these are mostly local innovations that mobilize local resources and often recycled materials to, for example, introduce electricity into a village, better irrigate fields or offer lighting after sunset. The aim of these innovations is to contribute to local development and not to the development of international markets, unlike innovations designed in the North which, while targeting the countries of the South, remain highly marketable – just think of milk powder or GMO seeds. The issue of open access to scientific publications is a very secondary issue for local innovators in such a context". (Piron et al. 2016)
These examples of innovation aside, there are many cases where the 'epistemic alienation' described above leads to 'the exclusion or contempt of local knowledge' (Mboa, 2016), even amongst researchers in the global South.
"In fact, Western culture abundantly relayed in the media and textbooks is shown to be superior to other cultures. This situation is pushing Africans to multiply their efforts to reach the ideal of life of the "white". This situation seems to block their ability to think locally, or even to be reactive. Thus, faced with a given situation specific to the African context, many are those who first draw on the resources of Western thinking to propose elements of answers." Mboa (2016)
Free and open access as 'showcasing products'
The Research4Life (R4L) programme also comes in for criticism from Piron et al. which will come as a shock to Northern publishing people who often use the '… but they've got Research4Life' line when faced with evidence of global research inequalities.
"… while pretending to charitably provide university libraries in the Global South with free access to pre-defined packages of paid journals from the North, this program, set up by for-profit scientific publishers, maintains the dependence of these libraries, limits their understanding of the true network of open access publications and, above all, improves the market for the products sold by these publishers." Piron et al (2017)
"… this program encourages the continued reliance of these libraries on an external program, designed in the North and showcasing Northern products, while it may disappear as soon as this philanthropic desire is exhausted or as soon as trading partners will not find any more benefits."
Whilst I still think R4L is a great initiative (I know many researchers in the Global South who are very appreciative of the programme), it's difficult to disagree with the conclusion that:
'… this program mainly improves the opportunities of Northern publishers without contributing to the sustainable empowerment of university libraries in the South … this charity seems very hypocritical, let alone arbitrary, since it can stop at any time." Piron (2017)
Of course, the same could be said of Article Processing Charge (APC) waivers for developing country authors. Waivers are currently offered by the majority of journals from the big publishers (provided according to the same HINARI list of countries provided by Research4Life), although sometimes you have to dig deep into the terms and conditions pages to find them. Waivers are good for publishers to showcase their corporate social responsibility and provide diversity of authorship. However, they are unsustainable – this charity is unlikely to last forever, especially as they rely on the pool of Southern authors being relatively limited. It should also be noted that developing countries with the most active, growing researcher communities such as Nigeria, South Africa and India do not qualify for either R4L access or APC waivers.
Speaking of APCs, something I observe regularly amongst Southern researchers is a confusion over the 'Gold' OA author-pays model, and this too is noted:
"In northern countries, many researchers, especially in STEM (Björk and Solomon, 2012) [ 7 ], believe (wrongly) that open access now means "publication fees charged to authors" … this commercial innovation appears to be paying off, as these costs appear to be natural to researchers." Piron (2017)
This also appears to be paying off in the Global South – authors seem resigned to pay some kind of charge to publish, and it is common to have to point out to authors that over two-thirds of OA journals and 99% of subscription journals do not charge to publish (although, the rise of 'predatory' journals may have magnified this misunderstanding that pay-to-publish is the norm).
It may be tempting to think of these inequalities as an unfortunate historical accident, and that our attempts to help the Global South 'catch up' are just a little clumsy and patronising. However, Piron argues that this is no mere accident, but the result of colonial exploitation that still resonates in existing power structures today:
"Open access is then easily seen as a means of catching up, at least filling gaps in libraries and often outdated teaching […] Africa is considered as lagging behind the modern world, which would explain its underdevelopment, to summarize this sadly hegemonic conception of north-south relations. By charity, Northern countries then feel obliged to help, which feeds the entire industry surrounding development aid [….] this model of delay, violently imposed by the West on the rest of the world through colonization, has been used to justify the economic and cognitive exploitation (Connell, 2014) of colonized continents without which modernity could not have prospered." Piron (2017)
To build the path or take the path?
Of course, the authors do admit that access to Northern research has a role to play in the Global South, provided the access is situated in local contexts:
"… African science should be an African knowledge, rooted in African contexts, that uses African epistemologies to answer African questions, while also using other knowledge from all over the world, including Western ones, if they are relevant locally." Piron (2017)
However, the practical reality of Open Access for Southern researchers is often overstated. There is a crucial distinction between making content 'open' and providing the means to access that content. As Piron et al. 2017 say:
"To put a publication in open access: is it, to build the path (technical or legal) that leads to it, or is it to make it possible for people to take this path? This distinction is crucial to understand the difference in meaning of open access between the center and the periphery of the world-system of science, although only an awareness of the conditions of scientific research in the Southern countries makes it possible to visualize it, to perceive it."
This crucial difference between availability and accessibility has also been explained by Anne Powell on Scholarly Kitchen. There are many complex barriers to 'free' and 'open' content actually being accessed and used. The most obvious of these barriers is internet connectivity, but librarian training, language and digital literacy also feature significantly:
"Finding relevant open access articles on the web requires digital skills that, as we have seen, are rare among Haitian and African students for whom the web sometimes comes via Facebook … Remember that it is almost always when they arrive at university that these students first touch a computer. The catching up is fast, but many reflexes acquired since the primary school in the countries of the North must be developed before even being able to imagine that there are open access scientific texts on the web to make up for the lack of documents in the libraries. In the words of the Haitian student Anderson Pierre, "a large part of the students do not know the existence of these resources or do not have the digital skills to access and exploit them in order to advance their research project". Piron (2017)
Barriers to local knowledge exchange
Unfortunately, this is made even more difficult by resistance and misunderstanding of the internet and digital tools from senior leadership in Africa:
"Social representations of the web, science and copyright also come into play, especially among older academics, a phenomenon that undermines the appropriation of digital technologies at the basis of open access in universities." Piron et al. (2017)
"To this idea that knowledge resides only in printed books is added a representation of the web which also has an impact on the local resistance to open access: our fieldwork has allowed us to understand that, for many African senior academics, the web is incompatible with science because it contains only documents or sites that are of low quality, frivolous or entertaining. These people infer that science in open access on the web is of lower quality than printed science and are very surprised when they learn that most of the journals of the world-system of science exist only in dematerialized format. … Unfortunately, these resistances slow down the digitization and the web dissemination of African scientific works, perpetuating these absurd situations where the researchers of the same field in neighboring universities do not know what each other is doing". Piron et al. (2017)
This complaint about in-country communication from researchers in the South can be common, but there are signs that open access can make a difference – as an example, in Sri Lanka, I've spoken to researchers who say that communicating research findings within the country has always been a problem, but the online portal Sri Lanka Journals Online (currently 77 open access Sri Lankan journals) has started to improve this situation. This project was many years in the making, and has involved training journal editors and librarians in loading online content and improving editorial practices for open access. The same, of course, could be said for African Journals Online, which has potential to facilitate sharing on a larger scale.
Arguably, some forms of institutional resistance to openness in the Global South have a neocolonial influence – universities have largely borrowed and even intensified the Northern 'publish or perish' mantra which focuses the academic rewards system almost entirely on journal publications, often in northern-indexed journals, rather than on impact on real world development.
"The system of higher education and research in force in many African countries remains a remnant of colonization, perpetuated by the reproduction, year after year, of the same ideals and principles. This reproduction is assured not by the old colonizers but by our own political leaders who are perpetuating a system structured according to a classical partitioning that slows down any possible communication between researchers within the country or with the outside world, even worse between the university and the immediate environment. For the ruling class, the changes taking place in the world and the society's needs seem to have no direct link to the university." Mboa (2016)
Mboa calls this partitioning between researchers and outsiders as "a tight border between society and science":
"African researchers are so attached to the ideal of neutrality of science and concern of its 'purity' that they consider contacts with ordinary citizens as 'risks' or threats and that they prefer to evolve in their 'ivory tower'. On the other hand, ordinary citizens feel so diminished compared to researchers that to talk to them about their eventual involvement in research is a taboo subject …" Mboa (2016)
Uncolonising openness
So what is the answer to all these problems? Is it in building the skills of researchers and institutions or a complete change of philosophy?
"The colonial origin of African science (Mvé-Ondo, 2005) is certainly no stranger to this present subjugation of African science to northern research projects, nor to its tendency to imitate Western science without effort. Contextualization, particularly in the quasi-colonial structuring of sub-Saharan African universities (Fredua-Kwarteng, 2015) and in maintaining the use of a colonial language in university education. Considering this institutionalized epistemic alienation as yet another cognitive injustice, Mvé-Ondo wonders "how to move from a westernization of science to a truly shared science" (p.49) and calls for "epistemological mutation", "rebirth", modernizing "African science at the crossroads of local knowledge and northern science – perhaps echoing the call of Fanon (1962/2002) for a "new thinking" in the Third World countries, detached from European model, decolonized." Piron et al. (2017)
For this to happen, open access must be about more than just access – but something much more holistic and equitable:
"Can decentralized, decolonised open access then contribute to creating more cognitive justice in global scientific production? Our answer is clear: yes, provided that it is not limited to the question of access for scientific and non-scientific readers to scientific publications. It must include the concern for origin, creation, local publishing and the desire to ensure equity between the accessibility of the publications of the center of the world system and that of knowledge from the periphery. It thus proposes to replace the normative universalism of globalized science with an inclusive universalism, open to the ecology of knowledges and capable of building an authentic knowledge commons (Gruson-Daniel, 2015; Le Crosnier, 2015), hospitable for the knowledge of the North and the South". Piron et al. (2017)
Mboa sees the solution to this multifaceted problem in 'open science':
"[Cognitive injustice comes via] … endogenous causes (citizens and African leaders) and by exogenous causes (capitalism, colonization, the West). The knowledge of these causes allowed me to propose ways to prevent our downfall. Among these means, I convened open science as a tool available to our leaders and citizens for advancing cognitive justice. For although the causes are endogenous and exogenous, I believe that a wound heals from the inside outwards." Mboa (2016).
Mboa explains how open science approaches can overcome some of these problems in this book chapter, but here he provides a short summary of the advantages of open science for African research:
"It's a science that rejects the ivory tower and the separation between scientists and the rest of the population of the country. In short, it's a science released from control by a universal capitalist standard, by hierarchical authority and by pre-established scientific classes. From this perspective, open science offers the following advantages:
it brings science closer to society;
it promotes fair and sustainable development;
it allows the expression of minority and / or marginalized groups, as well as their knowledge;
it promotes original, local and useful research in the country;
it facilitates access to a variety of scientific and technical information;
it is abundant, recent and up to date;
it develops digital skills;
it facilitates collaborative work;
it gives a better visibility to research work.
By aiming to benefit from these advantages, researchers and African students fight cognitive injustice. For this, open access science relies on open access, free licenses, free computing, and citizen science." Mboa (2016).
But in order for open science to succeed, digital literacy must be rapidly improved to empower students and researchers in the South:
"Promoting inclusive access therefore requires engaging at the same time in a decolonial critique of the relationship between the center and the periphery and urging universities in the South to develop the digital literacy of their student or teacher members." Piron et al. (2017)
It also requires improving production of scientific works ('grey' literature, as well as peer-reviewed papers) in the South for a two-way North/South conversation:
"Then, we propose to rethink the usual definition of open access to add the mandate to enhance the visibility of scientific work produced in universities in the South and thus contribute to greater cognitive justice in global scientific production." Piron (2017)
And providing open access needs to be understood in context:
"… if we integrate the concern for the enhancement of the knowledge produced in the periphery and the awareness of all that hinders the creation of this knowledge, then open access can become a tool of cognitive justice at the service of the construction of an inclusive universalism peculiar to a just open science." Piron, Diouf, Madiba (2017)
In summary then, we need to rethink the way that the global North seeks to support the South – a realignment of this relationship from mere access to empowerment through sustainable capacity building:
"Africa's scientific development aid, if it is needed, should therefore be oriented much less towards immediate access to Northern publications and more to local development of tools and the strengthening of the digital skills of academics and librarians. These tools and skills would enable them not only to take advantage of open access databases, but also to digitize and put open access local scientific works in open archives, journals or research centers." Piron (2017)
So what next?
Even if you disagree with many the above ideas, I hope that this has provided many of you with some food for thought. Open Access must surely be about more than just knowledge flow from North to South (or, for that matter the academy to the public, or well-funded researchers to poorly funded researchers). Those on the periphery must also be given a significant voice and a place at the table. For this to happen, many researchers (and their equivalents outside academia) need training and support in digital skills; some institutional barriers also need to be removed or overcome; and of course a few cherished, long-held ideas must be seriously challenged.
"These injustices denote anything that diminishes the capacity of academics in these countries to deploy the full potential of their intellectual talents, their knowledge and their capacity for scientific research to serve their country's sustainable local development". Piron et al., (2016).
What do you think…?
#édition_scientifique #OA #open_access #Afrique #Afrique_francophone #décolonisation #post-colonialisme


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Regular Trader Joe's shoppers will have noticed that TJ's has added a new item to their baking section in the past few weeks: Baker Josef's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. They've had a good Gluten Free Brownie Mix that has been around for quite a while now, and this all purpose blend should give gluten free bakers a few more options for gluten free baking at home. The popular brownie mix uses rice flour as its primary grain, and so does this flour mixture, which is made with whole grain brown rice flour, potato starch, rice flour and tapioca flour. It's a small bag – only 16 ounces – so you only get about three cups of flour (give or take) to play with at a time. The bag states that it can be "substituted cup for cup with all purpose wheat flour in most recipes."
I find that rice flour is often the base for many gluten free flour blends when they're intended use is dessert baking, as opposed to heartier bread recipes. I tried the flour in several recipes, including a cake and the cookie recipe that comes on the back of the bag. The cake had an extremely tender, soft crumb and a good flavor – but it also had a slightly sandy texture from the rice flour (common, with rice flour) that kept you from forgetting that you were eating a gluten free cake and not a regular one. The blueberries in blueberry muffins tended to sink down a bit, since they didn't get as much structural support from the batter as they do in regular muffins, but they looked beautiful and were still tasty. The cookies worked out very well, and were just a touch more crumbly than you might expect regular chocolate chip cookies to be. The sandiness that comes from the rice flour was much less noticeable in cookie form.
Overall, I found this to be a good and versatile GF all purpose flour option. It worked well in both the specifically gluten free recipe on the bag and in recipes where I simply substituted it for all purpose flour. I do feel that saying it can be "substituted cup for cup" in most recipes might give bakers who aren't familiar with gluten free flours some difficulty, as I definitely feel that you'll get better results in some types of recipes than others. For instance, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this for a layer cake because the layers would likely be very difficult to handle when you try to stack them if you're not very careful (although if you're careful and or have something like a cake lifter you probably won't have any problems). It would be a great choice for many cookies, brownies, muffins or single-layer cakes where you should get good results with most recipes.


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Extension cord safety: What to do and what to avoid
Don't let your extension cords become potential fire hazards.
Extension cord safety is a common and convenient way to bring power to electrical devices. But used without proper caution, they can become fire hazards and pose risks to your personal safety.
Follow these tips to help keep your home safe when using extension cords.
Selecting extension cords
- Purchase only cords that have been approved by an independent testing laboratory.
- For outdoor projects, use only extension cords marked for outdoor use.
- Read the instructions (if available) for information about the cord's correct use and the amount of power it draws.
- Select cords that are rated to handle the wattage of the devices with which they'll be used. A cord's gauge indicates its size: The smaller the number, the larger the wire and the more electrical current the cord can safely handle.
- Consider the length you'll need. Longer cords can't handle as much current as shorter cords of the same gauge.
- Choose cords with polarized or three-prong plugs.
- For use with larger appliances, thick, round, low-gauge extension cords are best. For smaller appliances and electronics, you can use thin or flat cords.
Using extension cords
- Never remove an extension cord's grounding pin to fit into a two-prong outlet.
- Avoid powering multiple appliances with one cord.
- Never use indoor extension cords outdoors.
- Don't plug multiple cords together.
- Don't run extension cords under rugs or furniture.
- Never tape extension cords to floors or attach them to surfaces with staples or nails.
- Don't bend or coil cords when they're in use.
- Cover unused cord receptacles with childproof covers.
- Stop using extension cords that feel hot to the touch.
Caring for extension cords
- Always store cords indoors.
- Unplug extension cords when they're not in use.
- Throw away damaged cords.
- Pull the plug — not the cord — when disconnecting from the outlet.
Why are extension cords a safety hazard?
- If the extension cord is covered, heat is unable to escape and could result in a fire.
- Make sure extension cords are visible and, if at all possible, not running across highly trafficked areas. They can be a trip hazard for people walking through the area.
- When an extension cord is used, take extra precautions to prevent electric shock. It's important to make sure that it's not in water or snow. If you're using an extension cord outdoors, purchase a cord rated for outdoor use.
And remember that extension cords are intended as temporary wiring solutions. If you find you're using them on a permanent basis, consider updating your home's electrical system.


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The i-Hunting app includes Michigan Hunt Planner with vector topo maps, public lands, parcels, hunt zones, elevation contours and several other map layers designed to make hunt planning easier. The hunt app includes all advanced features of a standalone hunt GPS unit. The hunting GPS maps for Michigan are fully customizable. All individual hunt map layers can be enabled selectively or downloaded for offline use.
Michigan Hunt Planning Layers
Michigan Hiking Trail Maps
The i-Hunting topo maps include detailed topographic contour maps, trail maps, spot elevations and other structures for all national and state parks in Michigan. All the trail maps are fully vector, can be downloaded offline to the device. Vector hiking topo maps are reduced size maps, that can be zoomed in without any pixelation and take very little space on the device.
- Isle Royale National Park Topo and Trail Map
- Keweenaw National Historical Park Topo and Trail Map
- Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Topo and Trail Map
- River Raisin National Battlefield Park Topo and Trail Map
- Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Topo and Trail Map
Michigan public and private land stats
Government Lands | 14968.10 square miles |
Percent Government Lands | 25.67 percent |
Private Lands | 43350.95 square miles |
Percent Private Lands | 74.33 percent |
Michigan Hunting Regulations
The following website contains hunting regulations/seasons and details on purchasing / acquiring hunting /fishing licenses / permits. Please visit the following website directly to find more details regarding hunting regulations for Michigan


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Flutter Shirt
WUKOgals flatters women everywhere in our signature Flutter Shirt. Built for comfort, we designed the top of our dreams with a jersey modal knit fabric on the back and sleeves so it feels like your favorite tee shirt. The front of the shirt is where the magic happens, made from a silky textured woven that is dressy and versatile. Put those two delicious fabric elements together and voila, the WUKOgals Flutter Shirt! We all love a little coverage in the back, so we elongated the back panel to gracefully sweep over your favorite bottom for coverage and an elongated look. Tuck in or out, its lightweight fabric is perfect for season to season wear. This top can easily be worn casually with denim or for a night out, try it over our WUKOgals tube skirt!
Model is 5'7 and is wearing a size small
- Easy fit shirt with high low hemline for more coverage on the backside.
- Rounded modest neckline.
- Versatile and Can we worn tucked in or out.
- Long Fitted sleeves.
- Fabricated from Poly laundered silk and rayon Jersey Modal.


text: A water-reactive and pigment ink fusion that creates an oxidized effect when sprayed with water. Use with stamps, stencils, and direct to surfaces. Available in a variety of colors, each sold separately. This package contains one Tim Holtz Distress Oxides Ink Pad, 3x3 inches. Non-toxic. Acid free. Conforms to ASTM D 4236. Made in the USA.


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Dunham Lake Australian Terriers
About Us
Contact Us
Our Australian Terriers
Show News
Performance Dogs
Imported Dogs
Blue Ridge Australian Terriers
Puppies and Litters
Upcoming Litters Planned
Breed Information
Photo's and Video's
June the Otterhound
Popular Sire Syndrome
A very important warning to those that breed their male dogs over and over in a small gene pool such as the rare Australian Terrier Breed. It can have devastating results. We are always doing research here at my home. Trying to learn and do things properly for our breeding program and the betterment of our breed. It's an ongoing process one we will be doing forever.I was recently researching what the top Reproductive Specialists are currently saying about breeding frequency. I have studied the work done by both Dr. Hutchison and Dr. Threlfall at Ohio State University.
Through my research, I discovered an excellent article written by Jerold S. Bell, DVM (A Clinical Associate Professor of Genetics Department of Clinical SciencesTufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine).
His study regarding Genetic Diversity and over use of the stud dog, he calls Popular Sire Syndrome. A different topic than what I had been researching, but I found his aritcle so important that I felt the need to share it with you.
I think if you are a breeder you must read this article. Pay attention to the gene pool and NEVER over use your male dogs particularly in a small breed such as the Australian Terrier.
If you are looking for a puppy, you need to ask the breeder how many litters and puppies has their dog sired and in what time frame. Make sure you get a copy of the pedigree and have the breeder explain it to you, so you have an understanding of the genetics behind your puppy.
Here is the article, reproduced with permission from Dr. Bell.
Small Population Breeds and Issues of Genetic Diversity
Jerold S Bell DVM, Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
(This article was originally published in the March 2007 AKC Perspectives' Delegates Newsletter.)
Issues of genetic diversity are a concern to dog breeders, and this can especially be so for breeds with small populations. The concern is whether there is enough genetic variation within a breed's gene pool to maintain health and vitality. Breeders should be concerned about genetic diversity, because there are examples where damage has been done to a breed due to breeding practices. Restriction of genetic diversity can also occur in large population breeds.
All genes come in pairs: one from the sire and one from the dam. Each gene in the pair is called an allele. If both alleles in a pair are of the same type, the gene pair is homozygous. If the two alleles are different, the gene pair is heterozygous. While each dog can have a maximum of two different alleles at a gene pair, many different alleles are potentially available to be part of the gene pair. The greater the number of alleles that are available at each gene pair (called genetic polymorphism), the greater the genetic diversity of the breed.
If there is no breed diversity in a gene pair, but the particular homozygous gene that is present is not detrimental, there is no negative effect on breed health. The characteristics that make a breed reproduce true to its standard are, in fact, based on nonvariable (that is, homozygous) gene pairs.
The origins of breeds have a lot to do with genetic diversity. A breed established with a working phenotype tends to have diverse founder origins, and significant diversity. Even with substantial population bottlenecks, the breed can maintain considerable amounts of genetic diversity. This was shown in a molecular genetic study of the Chinook breed, which was reduced to 11 modern founders in 1981. Breeds established by inbreeding on a limited number of related founder individuals could have reduced diversity. Many breeds have also gone through diversity reducing bottlenecks; such as occurred during World War II. For most of these breeds, their gene pools have expanded through breeding for many generations, resulting in a stable population of healthy dogs.
There are two factors that must be considered when evaluating genetic diversity and health issues in a breed; the average level of inbreeding, and detrimental recessive genes. With a small population, there is a tendency to find higher average inbreeding coefficients due to the relatedness between dogs from common ancestors. There is, however, no specific level or percentage of inbreeding that causes impaired health or vigor. The problems that inbreeding depression cause in purebred populations stem from the effects of deleterious recessive genes. If the founding population of a breed produces a high frequency of a deleterious recessive gene, then the breed will have issues with that disorder. This can be seen as smaller litter size, increased neonatal death, high frequency genetic disease, or impaired immunity. If these issues are present then the breed needs to seriously consider limited genetic diversity.
The issue of high average inbreeding coefficients is one that all breeds go through during their foundation. As the population increases and the average relatedness of dogs goes down (based on a fixed number of generations), the average inbreeding coefficient for the breed will go down. The effect of initially higher inbreeding coefficients in small population breeds will depend on the presence of deleterious recessive genes that will be expressed when homozygous.
Some breeders discourage linebreeding and promote outbreeding in an attempt to protect genetic diversity in their breed. It is not the type of matings utilized (linebreeding or outbreeding) that causes the loss of genes from a breed gene pool. Rather, loss of genes occurs through selection: the use and non-use of offspring. If a breed starts narrowing their focus to breeding stock from a limited number of lines, then a loss of genetic diversity will occur.
The process of maintaining healthy lines, with many breeders crossing between lines and breeding back as they see fit, maintains diversity in the gene pool. If some breeders outbreed, and some linebreed to certain dogs that they favor while others linebreed to other dogs that they favor, then breedwide genetic diversity is maintained. It is the varied opinion of breeders as to what constitutes the ideal dog, and their selection of breeding stock based on their opinions, that maintains breed diversity.
The most important factor for diminished genetic diversity in dog breeds is the popular sire syndrome. The overuse of a popular sire beyond a reasonable contribution through frequent breedings significantly skews the gene pool in his direction, and reduces the diversity of the gene pool. Any genes that he possesses - whether positive or negative - will increase in frequency. Through this founder's effect, breed-related genetic disease can occur. Another insidious effect of the popular sire syndrome is the loss of genetic contribution from quality, unrelated males who are not used for breeding. There is a finite number of quality bitches bred each year. If one male is used in an inordinate amount of matings, there will be fewer females left for these quality males that should be contributing to the gene pool. The popular sire syndrome is a significant factor in both populous breeds and breeds with small populations.
The best methods for ensuring the health and diversity of any breed's gene pool are to: 1) Avoid the popular sire syndrome. 2) Utilize quality dogs from the breadth of your population to expand the gene pool. 3) Monitor genetic health issues through regular health surveys. 4) Do genetic testing for breed-related disorders. 5) Participate in open health registries, such as CHIC (
) to manage genetic disorders.
This article can be reprinted with the written permission from the author:


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Hillary Clinton offered some leadership advice to women in public roles during an event at New York University on Friday.
"One of the best pieces of advice that I've ever heard from anyone is Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1920s, who said that women in politics or in public roles should grow skin like a rhinoceros," she said.
Joined on stage by her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, and philanthropist Melinda Gates, the former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate-in-waiting discussed the importance of learning from criticism.
"There's that old saying, 'Your critics can be your best friends' if you listen to them and learn from them but don't get dragged down by them."
The comments came after personal documents from one of Clinton's late friends were released, revealing new insights into how Clinton dealt with setbacks in the White House during her time as First Lady.


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28 March 2016
Etihad Airways Engineering to host AE&M Conference in Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways Engineering will be the host sponsor of MRO Network's upcoming Airline Engineering & Maintenance: Middle East conference, taking place in Abu Dhabi on April 26-27, 2016.
Exploring MRO growth is at the heart of the discussions at this conference which has a 20-year history of gathering key stakeholders in the MRO value chain – airlines, OEMs, MROs and suppliers – to network and discuss a range of aftermarket issues.
Topics range from the developments in the Middle East Air Transport Market, an MRO industry forecast and how airlines engage with their MRO partners and suppliers.
Among the industry leading speakers is Jeff Wilkinson, Etihad Airways' Senior Vice President, Technical, who said: "It is our pleasure to host delegates of Airline Engineering & Maintenance in Abu Dhabi – the emerging hub of aerospace and aviation in the Middle East."
Off the back off a successful show last year, Etihad Airways Engineering will once again be holding a tour of its facility exclusively for conference delegates at the conclusion of the conference, introducing delegates to the Etihad Airways Engineering management team and offering the opportunity to visit hangars and various workshops within the facility.
"We are organising an escorted tour of Etihad Airways Engineering state-of-the-art workshops and hangars, one of the largest MRO facilities in the region. This will include Hangar 6 which accommodates up to three A380 aircraft simultaneously."


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Do you see the tiny Snowflakes creating the Beautiful Monogram Letters? This pattern is light and airy with amazingly low stitch count, which means you can stitch this design in a jiffy. Change the thread color of Mr. Snowman`s hat and scarf to match your favorite project!
This monogram is part of the Snowflakes and Snowmen Monogram Combo
Hoop: 4" x 4" and 5" x 7"
Designs: 2 designs included
Size: (H) 3,17 x (W) 2,98" and (H) 4,11 x (W) 3,88"
Stitches: 6974 - 10,311


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All Good Things Must Come to an End, or at Least a Semi-End (Yes, Semi-End is a Word Now)
I feel like I should go to confession: "Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned; it's been a year since my last regular blog posts." But I'm not Catholic, and even if I were, let's be real, I would not remember to go to confession. (I don't have houseplants because I can never remember to water them, even though I'd see them on a daily basis.) And if I did go, I would have so many things to confess, I would get tripped up trying to prioritize them -- Worst first, to get it out of the way? Or cushion the blow with a few throw-away sins (Do those exist? I hope so!)? –- and figuring out what to wear that I'd have to design some kind of spreadsheet to keep me on track and confession alone would become essentially a part-time job…
Perhaps the above paragraph provides useful context for my non-shocking announcement that follows.
Some longtime Serial Drama followers, particularly those with an ability to read, may have noticed that my posts are few and far between lately; by which I mean I've posted about a dozen times in two years. I keep thinking that soon I'll have time to watch the shows and post, but invariably each month in a panic I watch the shows to write our Soap Opera Digest column and then freak out about making that deadline while a bunch of them from my day job linger as well.
So, after four and half years on Serial Drama and four with Soap Opera Digest, I'm happily bowing out. Or more specifically, I'm leaving my half of our SOD column in the capable hands of the lovely and hilarious Louise Schwartz. And I'm playing professor and going all emeritus-style on the blog, hoping to pop in occasionally with a disjointed gripe or two about kids today while wearing a tweed sportcoat with leather elbow patches*, but turning over official co-blogger status to Louise as well. (* This statement is simply an attempt at humor. I would never, ever wear such a thing.)
Five years ago I was just a budding blogger who watched and hated General Hospital and watched and puzzled over Days of Our Lives' boringness, and today I leave you…well, I still live hate GH. Nobody said progress had to be forward moving, people! Except the dictionary, and I think we can all agree that it is horribly biased. (For an example, please look up "inept" and see if you see a photo of anyone involved in running ABC Daytime.)
In actuality, there has actually been some forward movement in my life. For those who are interested – and I realize that's a minority of you! – I can provide some reasons for my absence. Over the last year and a half or so, I:
- Got promoted
- Joined a fancy gym; even got up in time to shlep downtown for 7am sessions with trainer (yes, y'all: it was SERIOUS)
- Finished 8-year-long home remodeling project (possibly involved procrastination)
- Repeatedly and at length pondered the hotness of James Scott and Jason Thompson; wondered whether it had something to do with "J" names
- Got promoted again
- Met Great Guy (bonus: also Hot Guy)
- Started dating Great Guy
- Traveled a lot for work
- Moved in with Great Guy
- Surprised everyone by marrying Great Guy while on vacation, after dating for a whopping eight months (Disclaimer: Well, we surprised almost everyone, except our immediate families, who were there, and a couple of friends, including Mallory, who was a voice of sanity and fashion advice. Disclaimer #2: Our wedding was at a ski lodge and one of my fellow soap-watching friends pointed out that from the photos it reminded her of Grant and Vicki's wedding on AW, so now I have THAT to deal with.)
- Watched my soaps as required for our SOD column; had several GH-related rage-induced blackouts
- Got a puppy (He is crazy adorable. I would put photos up here, but I'd rather not give you concrete proof that I've lost my edge, showing my progression from posting screencaps like this to posting ones of an adorable widdle pupppyyyyy. I will instead post them on Facebook, where people who would mock me face the immense threat of being defriended by someone who logs on once every three months.)
- Got a fancy new steam front-loading washer and dryer (Okay, this one hasn't affected the time I have to dedicate to the blog or column, but it just happened last week and they are AMAZING and, I'm reasonably certain, life-changing.)
So, there you go. Lots of changes, basically all wonderful, but my "free" time all but disappeared or was re-allocated to things that had to take priority over mocking the many mockable aspects of daytime dramas -- so you know they HAD to be good things, because seriously...
And now having already engaged in that narcissistic bulleting, let me go all out. I don't want to sound like a phony Emmy-speech or anything, but I'm going to just "spontaneously" pull a printed index card out of my sweaty hand to thank:
- The fabulous-in-every-way Mallory for being the best co-blogger a girl could ask for, and an even better friend, if that's possible.
- Stephanie Sloane at Soap Opera Digest for finding our little blog and giving us a magazine column, which STILL sounds ridiculous (in a delightful way) when I type it out. Thanks to Steph also for letting me speak my hypercritical and biased mind over the years with almost no editing (except for grammatical and punctuation errors, which I imagine were many but that she's somehow managed never to comment on).
- Louise for stepping in with her wit and soap-wisdom to bring OLTL fans to the blog, and taking on a new soap to cover here and in the magazine.
- All of you, dear readers, for providing awesome feedback and insight about the shows you love so much. (Er, and those you hate so much...so very, very much.)
- Soaps, especially Days of Our Lives and General Hospital, for hooking me as a youngster and providing such great grist for our bitchy mill.
- katie f, for keeping me grounded.
So all that is my long-winded way of saying thank you, and please don't talk too much crap about me after I'm gone.


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Riverland Motor Group
Riverland Motor Group - Location
1 East Terrace,LoxtonSA5333
Phone: (08) 8584 7262
Fax: (08) 8584 5262
Trading Hours
Welcome to Riverland Motor Group - Loxton, SA
Thank you for visiting our online dealership. Located in Loxton, South Australia we are your #1 choice for Ford, Kia and quality pre-owned vehicles. We have been serving Loxton and the surrounding area for many years. Our website contains up-to-date information on the popular range of vehicles available at all of our dealerships. As a dealer with a number of years' experience, Riverland Motor Group strives to provide you with the latest and greatest vehicles, which are designed to thrill, provide safety and comfort and can help meet the demands of daily life.
Explore our extensive showroom to see the exciting range of Ford, Kia vehicles, including the latest models. Check out our current New, Demonstrator and Used vehicles and latest local special offers. If you require vehicle finance or vehicle fleet advice, contact our business manager to discuss what option is right for you.
Your safety and taking care of your investment is important. That's why we have made booking your next service quick and easy to do. Simply complete the online form on our Service page and we will contact you with a time available to drop your vehicle in.
We use only Genuine Parts - which are available to order from our comprehensive catalogue. Have something specific in mind? Simply complete our online form on our Spare Parts page and the team at Riverland Motor Group will get back to you as soon as possible.
No matter what you need, our team of experienced sales staff at Riverland Motor Group are here to help.
Why not book a test drive in the vehicle you have always wanted! You can do it all at your leisure, on our Ford, Kia websites, over the phone or here on Riverland Motor Group.