text:
Servicios Personalizados
Links relacionados
- Citado por Google
- Similares en Google
Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology
versión On-line ISSN 1445-7377
versión impresa ISSN 2079-7222
Indo-Pac. j. phenomenol. (Online) vol.13 no.2 Grahamstown abr. 2013
The lived experiences of professional clinical psychologists who recently started a new academic career
Graham A. du Plessis; Larise M. du Plessis; Carol Saccaggi
Employing an adapted Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) method, the experience of practicing Clinical Psychologists entering academia is explored. The article explores the recursive process between individual and institution as professional and academic identities develop in the context of a multiplicity of trajectories emerging at the intersection of professional and personal boundaries of identity, rhetoric and reality. The three authors, all of whom are practicing Clinical Psychologists new to academia and who constitute the focus of this study, engaged in a hermeneutic discussion regarding their experience. Exploration of the data gathered from this discussion using the adapted IPA methodology evidenced three central themes, namely: (1) The 'nuts and bolts' of academia; (2) Surviving versus thriving; and (3) It's always personal. These themes are discussed in the context of contemporary literature exploring the experiences of new academics in general and Clinical Psychologists entering academia in particular. The pharmakon (sic.) that carts the Clinical Psychologists interviewed in the study from professional practice to academia is positioned in the context of an emergent meta-theme where the questions are asked: "What is good and what is not good?" and "who will teach us these things?" In the process of contextualizing, exploring and analyzing the emergent themes, the researchers/ participants gradually evidence a response that is less of an answer to the conundrum than it is a koan whereby the questions lose meaning as growth in identity has taken them to the point of the rhetorical response: "Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?"
In Plato's (c. 360 BC/2002) the Phaedrus, Socrates meets Phaedrus on the outskirts of Athens where "sick with passion for hearing speeches" (p. 78) he engages with Phaedrus in a dialogue that spans a plethoric and diverse range of topics. Much of the dialogue centres on themes of madness, occult virtues, cryptic depths and divine inspiration, the ambivalence of which refuse to submit to analysis (Culler, 2003). It is Plato's only dialogue that places Socrates outside of Athens where operating through the seduction of the pharmakon (sic.) Socrates is drawn from his general, natural, habitual paths and laws (Culler, 2003) and placed at a crossroads of madness, wisdom, non-identity and inspiration.
Before lying down to the dilemma, he laments that "a hungry animal can be driven by a dangling carrot or a bit of green stuff in front of it; similarly if you proffer me speeches bound in books I don't doubt that you can cart me all round Attica, and anywhere else you please" (Plato, c. 360 BC/2002, p. 80). Whether for the simple attraction to speeches bound in books or for some other pharmakon (sic.) concoction of madness, wisdom, non-identity and inspiration, the decision by Clinical Psychologists to leave their habitual paths and laws for the halls of academia results in singular dialogue and multiplicity of constructions. In this research article we examine this decision and reflect on our own experiences as Clinical Psychologists embarking on academic careers.
Review of Existing Literature
In their work The Compleat Academic: A Career Guide Darley, Zanna and Roediger (2004) reflect on the formal and informal processes of operation that are evident in academia in general and academic psychology in particular. They stressed the critical importance of the informal, usually unwritten, processes that go beyond the formal delimitations of department and faculty. Bootzin (2004) underscored the potential complexities and multiplicities that may confront Clinical Psychologists in academia in particular; emphasizing the "interactions at the boundaries and across subareas" (p. 329) as the crucial crossroads at which Clinical Psychologists in academia are able to flourish. In essence, his argument posits the necessity of managing a multiplicity of roles that undeniably stray from the general, natural, habitual paths and laws of the Clinical Psychologist in private practice. It is in this straying that Clinical Psychologists entering academia enjoin processes and challenges that are particular not only to new academic staff in general but specifically to the crossroads of their professional identities and interrelated psychological and academic responsibilities.
Challenges to new academic staff in general
In her editorial for the International Journal for Academic Development, Taylor (2010) reflected on the collective call by contributors to examine the values, past experiences, and current practices that shape the diverse identities of development specialists and faculty members. She underscored the importance of dynamic and reciprocal interactions between staff with each other and the academic institutional policies and practice. It is arguably this dynamism that informs a leading interest in using reflexive processes within programmes for new academics (Kahn et al., 2008; Smith & Fernie, 2010). Kahn et al. (2008) reviewed research literature on approaches drawing on the use of reflection processes within programmes of initial professional education for new academic staff. These authors found that while attempts were made to structure such education within a manner that facilitated dynamic reciprocal interaction, there was a "potential gap between rhetoric and reality" (p. 170). The outcome of such a gap, within the context of a dynamic and reflexive process, has seen many researchers finding that a wide range of trajectories for new academics are strongly shaped by personal histories and individual experiences of negotiating their way into and across communities of practice. Jawitz (2007, 2009) conducted a number of studies into the experiences of new academic staff in a South African university. Many of his findings underscored both the multidirectional nature of trajectories of identity construction that characterise new academics, and the significant role of individual character and agency in determining those trajectories within the context of the academic community (Jawitz, 2007, 2009). These findings are echoed by numerous researchers such as Gravett and Petersen (2007), who investigated a sample of 20 new academics and found that the considerable changes, accommodations and developments in perceptions, expectations and identity were the function of a "highly individualized process" (p. 193). Their findings reaffirm three central considerations that permeate a general experience of new academics, namely:
1. There exist considerable complexities in terms of a variety of demands that new academic staff must negotiate in order to meet competing pressures of contemporary academia (Archer, 2008; Green & Myatt, 2011);
2. These negotiations are a function of a reciprocal recursive process between the individual and the institution;
3. There exist a multiplicity of trajectories that are a function of these recursive processes.
In addition to the generic challenges facing new academic staff there are a variety of demands that must be negotiated and the nature of the competing pressures are necessarily particular to both institutions and disciplines, especially in the case of staff entering academia from professional practice.
Challenges to Clinical Psychologists entering academia
Boyd (2010) reflected that new university lecturers entering academia from professional domains are often selected on requisites that are differentiated from traditional academic requirements that tend to focus exclusively on scholarship. In addition to these somewhat differing requisites, there are also different complexities, reciprocal tensions and potential trajectories. Boyd (2010), for instance, emphasized the considerable distinction in terms of the negotiation of what a lecturer should be for those entering universities with an already established professional identity.
Bootzin (2004) identified a number of complexities within the academic context that are particular to Clinical Psychologist academics. Within the broader ambit of research he noted the potential ethical considerations and research potentials born of access to psychological patients. Aligned with this access are the considerations pertaining to licensing as a Psychologist with the relevant regulatory board.
Contingent on locale and registration such licensing is the product of a variety of on-going requirements such as supervision and continuous professional development. In addition to their continued capacity as registered Clinical Psychologists, many continue to practice in their profession in conjunction with their academic commitments. Such professional practice may even be necessary for their continued role in academia, such as in the case of supervising and training student psychotherapists. These dual roles and responsibilities add a complexity that is unique to Clinical Psychologist academics. Bootzin (2004), for instance, drew attention to implicit challenges incumbent in the evaluative and reciprocal relationships between academic institutions and psychologists where faculty are typically evaluated on research, teaching, and service, and not on the maintenance and application of their scholarship.
In his contribution, Bootzin (2004) highlighted the considerable potentials, enjoyment and fulfilment that may arise for those who determine whether they are able to love "the multiple challenges of research, teaching, and practice" (p. 342). His sentiment echoes others such as Taylor and Martin (2004) and Roediger and Balota (2004) who similarly speak to the complex, and often unique, challenges of academia and the important contingency of new academics determining not only that such challenges suit them but also enjoining a recognition that the means through which that occurs is necessary idiographic.
Consideration of counsel to new academics to manage unique challenges in a unique manner facilitates insight into Darley et al.'s (2004) notion that there are both formal and informal processes of operation evident in academia. It is the formal processes, intimated by these authors to be relatively paltry, that may be understood to be those rather meagre attempts at formalizing multiple complexities in a recursive dynamic environment. The informal processes to which they attribute much import may be understood to be those that stray from the general, natural, habitual paths and laws into the crossroads where new academics, drawn by the pharmakom (sic.) of 'speeches bound in books', may find a madness, wisdom, non-identity and inspiration. A crossroads outside of the city at which a trajectory singular to each individual may embody the answer posed to Phaedrus by Pirsig (1974, iii): "And what is good Phaedrus, and what is not good - need we ask anyone to tell us these things?"
In attempting to understand the good and not good in the lived experiences and practices of new academics we were immediately faced with the question of how to gain access to what presented itself (certainly from our perspectives) as a somewhat ethereal phenomenon existing outside of Athenean comforts. Although this project was undoubtedly phenomeno-logical in nature, our initial overview of the field of phenomenological research left us feeling intimidated and confused. We questioned our stance and our assumptions: was our intention idiographic or general (Finlay, 2009)? Did we intend for our analysis to be descriptive or interpretive (Finlay, 2009)? How did our dual position as researchers/participants influence our assumptions about subjectivity? We searched for a method that would fit our intentions and found that although Giorgi and Giorgi (2008) had identified five branches of phenomenological psychology our research did not fit neatly into any one of the proffered categories. We realised that our research question did not fit neatly into a pre-existing category and that instead of simply adopting a research method we would have to engage with the field of phenomenology, allowing our question to determine our method rather than superimposing a pre-existing method on a question (Bengttson, 2013). Taking comfort in Spiegelberg's (1982) assertion that there are as many styles of phenomenology as there are phenomenologists (Spiegelberg, 1982) as well as in Mortari and Taozzi's (2010, p. 1) statement that "there is no place for phenomenological orthodoxy or for so-called purism" within phenomenological psychology, we thus set out to discover our own answer to Phaedrus's immortal question of what constitutes the good and the not good and how such things should be asked.
At a very basic level, phenomenological research involves rich description of lived experience as well as an openness on the part of the researcher (referred to as the phenomenological attitude) that allows information to emerge from the experience rather than being imposed onto the experience (Finlay, 2009). The rich description of lived experience in the context of this research was autobiographical in nature (see Finlay, 2012) as we used our own recorded experiences as the data for our further analysis. In this way, we adopted an approach that was almost Husserlian in nature as we made use of first person point of view in our analysis (Finlay, 2012). It was also Husserlian in nature as we intended to attempt to understand the basic structures underlying the phenomenon we were investigating (Finlay, 2009). However, we then started to diverge from classical Husserlian phenomenology as our intention was not simply to describe these structures, but we also intended to interpret them. As researcher/participants we found it impossible to simply describe our own experiences. Instead we found ourselves engaging in a constant process of interpretation which, we realised, spoke more to the descriptive tradition in phenomenological research, based on the hermeneutic work of Heidegger (1927/1996) and his followers (Finlay, 2009) We therefore realised that our research spanned both traditions, Husserl and Heidegger, and was at once concerned with deep structure as well as with interpretation (Finlay, 2009).
Given this spanning of traditions we decided that the best approach would be to use an existing method but adapt it to suit the nuances of our research study. As this study was concerned with the quality and texture of our experiences (see Willig, 2008) we therefore felt that using an adapted form of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a branch of phenomenology psychology, would provide us with an initial methodological strategy that would allow us to approach data with an attitude of openness (Kruger, 1986). IPA is "interested in elucidating both that which appears and the manner in which it appears. It studies the subject's perspectives of their world; attempts to describe in detail the content and structure of the subject's consciousness, to grasp the qualitative diversity of their experiences and to explicate their essential meanings" (Willig, 2008, p. 53). However, in applying an IPA methodology we were confronted with the challenge of being simultaneously the researchers and the participants. We therefore made use of our own personal accounts, and supplemented the IPA methodology with an awareness of the difficulties inherent in our dual roles. We tried to avoid a self-indulgent and narcissistic presentation and attempted instead to focus on the actual experiences in terms of their ability to contribute to knowledge surrounding a phenomenon (Van Manen, 1990). What distinguishes our first person narrative from a simple coffee table conversation is the interpretive and multi-layered nature of our discussion.
The issue of interpretation is a key one within IPA. In turning people's experiences of everyday naive description into psychological language, the problem of interpretation is present in every research step. As researchers and participants, we are always reflecting and interpreting (Kruger, 1986). The IPA method provides for a hermeneutic step that allows for the inclusion of interpretation in the research process. This is referred to as the double hermeneutic and is explained by Smith and Osborn (2008) as "the participants are trying to make sense of their world; the researcher is trying to make sense of the participants trying to make sense of their world" (p. 53). This approach broadly follows the philosophical approach of Heidegger (1927/1996) who asserted that the interpretation of human experience by the researcher cannot be untangled or 'bracketed' from his or her own descriptions. Allowing for a detailed analysis of the descriptions of being a new academic, the first step in the research process involved simply attempting to 'get inside each other's experiences' rather than imposing our own individual understandings of the phenomenon on the analysis (see Willig, 2008). This allowed for interpretations to grow recursively and iteratively. We attempted to make sense of the experiences by asking: What are experiences of professional psychologists when they become new academics and how are these experienced? Our approach allowed for an array of experiences to make themselves known. Our role as researchers was to facilitate an open process where the voices and viewpoints of each one of us as researcher/participant could become manifest in our findings (Gilgun, 1992; Rosenblatt & Fischer, 1993).
The process
As the methodology used in this study broadly followed the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) method laid out by Smith and Osborn (2008) one of the key components of the study related to the inclusion of a small and relative homogenous sample that was accessed through a method that can be described as purposeful sampling (Osborne, 1994; Patton, 2002; Turner, 2010). With this in mind, we gathered as a group of three Clinical Psychologists who had recently started a new academic career, appointed as permanent members of staff at a large tertiary institution in South Africa. We then shared our experiences in relation to starting our new careers. We had varying levels of exposure both to private practice and to the academic setting prior to our appointment at this institution. Each of us had run a private practice (either fulltime or part-time) and as such had been involved in psychotherapy on a regular basis prior to our appointment. Within the South African context registration as a Clinical Psychologist requires the completion of a Master's degree in psychology (usually involving a focus on psychiatric diagnosis, psychometric assessment and psychotherapy as well as a mini-dissertation with a research focus) as well as the completion of a one year internship and one year of compulsory community service. Within the South African context, Clinical Psychologists traditionally work in psychiatric, assessment (such as neuropsychological assessment) as well as in private practice settings.
Despite our involvement in private practice, each of us had maintained some contact with academic institutions through guest lecturing, temporary appointment as lecturers and editing of journal articles. However, our appointment as permanent staff members marked our first engagement as fulltime academics. The institution at which we are appointed is a large university in the Gauteng province of South Africa that was founded as the result of the consolidation of several previous institutions. The University of Johannesburg offers both degree and diploma programmes and as such caters to a large body of students of varying academic levels and abilities. We are between the ages of 30 and 40 years, two of us are female and one male.
Following numerous conversations and discussions regarding our experiences, we decided to formally record these experiences. In one and a half hours of focused discussion, an intense and deeply meaningful conversation evolved. This free sharing process in which we engaged could be described as a focus group that was aimed at exploring our experiences, but the discussion also reflected a certain level of sophistication. According to Fade (2004), this kind of focus group in IPA could also be viewed as three ideographic case studies. An open-ended, in-depth conversational approach was followed and each of us assumed a stance of curious facilitation (Turner, 2010). The hermeneutic nature of the group discussion iteratively and recursively took us to a deep level of exploration, closely resembling the layers of psychotherapeutic exploration. We made sense of each other's experiences whilst discussing them and at the same time reflecting our understandings which then deepened the conversation. What transpired became a free-flowing meaningful conversation rather than a stilted interview. It was obvious to each of us that our experience as Clinical Psychologists had allowed for the generation of a conversation that was multi-layered and that embraced a depth of experience. As such, although the recorded 90 minute conversation may appear to be an inadequate amount of data for analysis, it actually represents a high-level synthesis of many discussions and ideas and should be seen as the culmination of the research project rather than as the only item of data. The conversation was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The group discussion was conducted in a convenient setting, away from the office. We all kept notes to capture salient thoughts, reactions, remarks, ambiances, nuances, non-verbal information or anything relevant that we considered to be of value and that was not captured on the audio-record. Each of us checked the final transcription for accuracy prior to data analysis. We also scheduled a follow-up conversation two weeks after the initial conversation for enhanced understanding and clarification.
After transcribing our discussion, selecting the themes became a meta-hermeneutic endeavour where we made sense of our interpretations of our experiences during the group discussion. We were surprised at how our profession as psychotherapists influenced our discussion, which was distinctly interpretive in nature (like a continuous search for the meaning of what each of us had just shared). We used an adapted IPA method of analysis based on the well-known systematised steps that are densely described and clearly explained by Smith and Osborn (2008) in order to arrive at subordinate experiential themes in relation to the meanings that these experiences held for us. Finding meaning is central to IPA analysis and the aim is to make sense of the descriptions rather than measuring the frequencies of particular meaningful themes (Smith & Osborne, 2008). We first looked for themes by reading and re-reading the transcript in order to become familiar with the accounts. We then connected the themes by ordering them into clusters. We continued the analysis through further discussion that led to the construction of a master table of themes. The final step involved translating the themes into a meaningful narrative account. Our approach used intuition, reflection, description and interpretation to make sense of data (Kruger, 1986).
Triangulation is a popular and systematically rigorous way of establishing trustworthiness and enhances the validity of qualitative research (Giorgi, 1997; Smith, 2008). We triangulated our interpretation of data with each other during analysis, thus supplementing our views of the experiences and therefore adding multiple perspectives to the interpretation. In this way we obtained the broadest possible range of interpretations of a particular experience.
We were also transparent about how the findings of the study were reached, so that readers may be able to draw their own conclusions and interpret the findings justly (see Polit & Hungler, 1999). The data from the transcribed conversation is presented verbatim, although the names of colleagues have been removed where appropriate. In addition, certain swear words that were perhaps not suitable for inclusion in an academic publication have been omitted.
Ethical considerations
We did not need to obtain permission to conduct this research from a third party. We do not consider ourselves a vulnerable population. We all agreed on the information to be included in the final version of the article, including agreeing to forgo anonymity and acknowledge our identities as researchers and participants. We assisted each other in maintaining (and maintaining an awareness of) the boundaries of the dual roles of researcher and participant. Moreover, care was taken not to refer to nor quote colleagues in such a way as to either identify them or breach any potential confidentialities.
Data Analysis and Discussion
Analysis of the data resulted in the identification of three themes, each revolving around a particular component of the academic experience. In the discussion below each of these themes is presented separately, although there is actually considerable overlap between the themes. In addition, reference is made to the relevant literature where appropriate. The section concludes with a consolidated discussion of the themes.
Theme 1: Role expectations - the 'nuts and bolts' of academia
Finding our way as new academics was clearly a priority in our discussion. Although all three of us had varying levels of exposure to academia before our formal appointment at the university, we all felt that this experience had not been enough to prepare us for the reality of the academic environment. As Graham said, "doing the nuts and bolts of academia" proved rather challenging for each of us. We had to learn to negotiate competing demands around lecturing, meetings, course coordination and research. This is evidenced in the following extracts from our conversation:
It's a wonderful system, but just to figure out how the system works and it was quite scary, I felt quite lost for a long time (L)
... even though I am appointed as a lecturer and all that shows up on my job or work description is you know, lecture this, lecture that ... it feels like I am not going to be evaluated by any of that stuff (C)
What stood out for us about the role expectations in this new profession was the fact that so much of it was taken for granted by existing staff, as Carol stated: "somehow in academia people just assume you know". Initially, we all three identified our first experience of the academic environment as one of uncertainty and trying to find our way. However, on reading through the transcript following the interview what also stood out was the fact that although we all experienced this as challenging, it was also an experience that we were all able to absorb and overcome:
that gestalt has sort of closed for me, like doing the nuts and bolts of academia (G)
it's the principle of still discovering the nuts and bolts here, even though it is obvious (L)
Thus, although we all initially struggled to find our feet within the academic context, many of the difficulties we experienced were not that dissimilar to those experienced when starting any new endeavour, and we all agreed that this aspect of the experience was one that was relatively easy to integrate. The process we describe in this steps seems to be similar to Darley et al.'s (2004) concept of the formal and informal processes of operation within academia and academic psychology, with the 'nuts and bolts' representing the formal processes. Learning to negotiate these new rules and regulations forms part of the introduction into academia (Archer, 2008; Green & Myatt, 2011), but may be particularly relevant for Clinical Psychologists as they have to negotiate additional boundaries in terms of already pre-existing professional competencies relating to the practice of psychotherapy (Bootzin, 2004). In addition to these 'nuts and bolts' experiences, there were also aspects of the experience that were not easy to integrate, and these aspects contributed to the second theme, which we labelled 'Surviving and thriving'.
Theme 2: Surviving and thriving - 'what is unique about this job'
On a descriptive level this theme involved moving away from the practicalities of the academic life (i.e., the actual doing) towards the more intangible aspects of academia (i.e., being an academic). This is evidenced in the following extracts from our conversation:
So I suppose my experience now is that I am in a situation where I can compartmentalise the nuts and bolts of lecturing, which I couldn't do last year. It was awkward to me. So what I am trying to do harder now is to shift my energy to career development. Long term . I am more and more acutely aware of what I knew before but I didn't have an awareness . so the awareness is sinking in (G)
One of the things that is unique to this that has not been my experience in other jobs, is the level of discretion I have over what I do. I would say that eighty percent of what I do is not structured or mandated by my boss. And that level of discretion, again, I suppose you get freedom which is then counter-pointed with responsibility, and that breeds anxiety for me (G)
Based on the literature review, this theme would seem to relate to the informal processes identified by Darley et al. (2004). As we moved into the academic world, we became increasingly aware of our own responsibilities within this world, and of the sense that it was not enough to be in academia, and that we literally had to become academics. In this regard, we identified three things that impacted on our journey towards becoming academics: (1) The recognition of non-official but widely accepted hierarchies and rules; (2) the paradox of freedom; and (3) the importance of a thick-skin attitude. Each of these components is discussed below.
In relation to the non-official but widely accepted hierarchies and rules, we all felt that there were certain dynamics and politics within both the department and the faculty that we did not understand, and which made it difficult to function. This is illustrated in the following exchange:
There are other people, exactly the same job, exactly the same pay, but I don't ... I view them as considerably senior to me. So there are a lot of these unwritten rules that are not obvious (G)
Office allocations (L)
The more senior the further down the corridor (G)
If you started a little before, you get more choice (L)
Unwritten hierarchies (G)
Navigating these unofficial hierarchies created difficulties for each of us as we struggled to find our own niche within this setting. This reciprocal recursive process was also highlighted in the literature review (Jarwitz, 2007, 2009). This was further complicated by the fact that, as pointed out in the quote that begins this section, we were confronted with a vast amount of freedom in terms of how to act within our posts. As Larise stated, "we have freedom, but we are uncontained."
This paradox of freedom is the second sub-theme within the "surviving and thriving" theme. We find ourselves in a situation where we are ultimately responsible for our own development: "With that freedom, we are managing our own careers" (Graham). Thus, we are expected to not only discover the rules ("the nuts and bolts") and the unwritten rules (which Darley et al., 2004, referred to as the informal processes), but we are also expected to discover how to position ourselves within the space provided so that we are able to function in a way that optimises our own success. This enormous responsibility, coupled with the lack of clear direction leads to a sense of anxiety (as Graham states: "I suppose you get freedom counter-pointed with responsibility and that breeds anxiety for me"). However, it is also this same freedom that attracts us to academia:
That freedom appeals to me tremendously. And that benefit is often worth the price of the anxiety and being part of an institution of authority (which is how I term it). It defines a weird reality (G)
Perhaps it is ultimately this "weird reality" that defines our experience of academia at this point in time. There appears to be some internal logic to it, but we have not yet 'cracked' that code, so to speak. The literature review highlighted this process of trying to make sense of the rules of the academic institution in relation to personal and professional identity (Kahn et al., 2008; Smith & Fernie, 2010; Taylor, 2010). As we engage in this learning process we find ourselves in a space where we are perpetually struggling to make sense of a seemingly endless set of rules:
I am very scared that when I get my first publication and then I realize but there is a whole other hierarchy of rules out there, of where to publish, who you should be publishing with, what you should publish, how many times your publication is cited . there are tiers and layers to this thing! (C)
This sense of confusion, of being unbounded and uncontained, serves as the final sub-theme within this theme, that of having an academically 'thick-skin':
It makes me think of a piece of advice A gave me when I started here. He said, there's one thing you need in order to succeed in academia . it is a thick skin! If a coordinator says . you should have done this, then say OK, if your publication is rejected, then say OK and move on (L)
This concept, of having to be robust to exist within this environment, may relate to Bootzin's (2004) comments regarding the role of the Clinical Psychologist within academia. Within academia, Clinical Psychologists are expected to negotiate a new role that incorporates both a professional and an academic identity. This idea of identity formation is carried forward strongly into the final theme identified below, the idea that "it is always personal".
Theme 3: It's always personal - 'this is personal for me'
This final theme underlies the themes discussed previously as it speaks to the reasons why we decided to take the plunge into academia. For each one of us, the idea of being an academic has a certain allure:
I accepted the job offer because I had always wanted to work in academia - - the mystique - the height of sophistication, intellectualism . I had this image in my mind of what an academic is like, even though I am not like that at all . something of that still remains (G).
It's like flirting with the romantic. It's not reality based ... It's almost a childhood fantasy (L)
Thus, in some ways working in academia is a very personal decision, based on an image of ourselves as intellectual beings. We have therefore invested a lot of our identity in this profession, and this creates anxiety:
Part of my anxiety around this is that for the first time in my life I am taking a job personally. I am so identified with this part of myself. This is personal for me. (C)
Can I maybe just say how it is personal for me? My salary can be four times what it currently is. So it becomes personal for me when I say to my husband: 'This is what I want to do'. In other words: I choose this. I want to do this, I like it, I am not doing it for the pay. Hence, it becomes very personal for me when I do it for a s*** salary, it's a lot of hard work, and hence my personal identity is invested in it (L)
This investment of personal identity is problematic for each of us, as we are investing in a career and a profession that we are unsure of, and which makes us feel anxious and uncertain.
I feel very insecure (C)
I remember how I thought of my undergraduate lecturers. I thought they were these ... (C)
Doyens (G)
This anxiety is contrasted to our feelings of competence in our alternative professional personas, as Clinical Psychologists:
Because coming out of practice, I felt quite competent and I knew what I was doing there. Now it feels a bit like starting again (G)
Also coming in from a successful private practice . people asked me stuff . and I was involved with Master's professional training, so I was seen as the expert there (L)
I did private practice for the whole of the first year and I have only recently given it up . and there's two things I like about private practice: The one I liked was the money, I pretty much doubled my salary by doing that. The other thing I like was that it was an area of my professional life where I felt supremely confident and that counter-balanced the academic insecurity for me. And to let that go has taken me almost a year. And it is more a confidence than a fiscal thing (G).
It's an area of supreme confidence and competence - and I'm not yet willing to give up this identity for the new academic identity where I feel supremely incompetent - why would I? (C)
Part of our difficulty in finding our feet as new academics appears to be the sense that in doing so we are being forced to give up an alternative, and perhaps more comfortable, identity. In addition, as Boyd (2010) pointed out, this competence served as a criterion for our selection into academia but is now no longer considered relevant to our continued practice as academics. We are therefore continually negotiating the boundaries of our professional, academic and personal identities. As Larise says, "We are in a different position to other non-professional academics. We've got many options. We are standing with a foot in each door, academic life and professional life". According to Bootzin (2004), this negotiation of identities is a unique factor that influences the career trajectories of academic Clinical Psychologists. Kahn et al. (2008) emphasised that each individual academic has to find his or her own path towards an academic identity. Our findings suggest, in keeping with research reported by Jawitz (2007, 2009), that the construction of an identity as a new academic is multifaceted and involves individual trajectories based on previous experience (see also Gravett & Petersen, 2007)
Consolidated discussion of themes
Each of the three themes described above speaks to a different aspect of our experience of becoming academics. The first theme speaks to the practicalities of the situation and of learning how to navigate in a new world with new rules. The second theme speaks to moving beyond simple navigation towards an immersion in the world through gaining an understanding of what it means to not just work in academia, but to be an academic. The final theme speaks to the personal nature of this process - to the idea that the decision to embark on the academic journey is not a simple one but rather one that involves a process through which we begin to incorporate the academic-self and the professional-self into a new identity. In the end, it is Graham's comment that academia is "a weird reality" that seems to sum up our current experiences. Learning to navigate within this "weird reality" leaves us unsettled, uncertain and anxious. However, it also feeds the allure and mystique that drew us to academia in the first place. There is always a sense that there is something more to be discovered, something more to know, that there is territory that is yet to be discovered.
The themes discussed in this section are generally supported by the information contained in the literature review. In particular, Bootzin (2004) stressed the potential for considerable enjoyment and fulfilment with academia if the complex and unique challenges are embraced and if the academic is willing to find a way in which to make sense of this confusing reality (Roediger & Balota, 2004; Taylor & Martin, 2004). What our themes contribute to the existing literature is an awareness of the nuanced nature of the experience of becoming new academics, as well as a sense that the process moves beyond a simple understanding of the 'nuts and bolts' of academia towards a point at which our identities have expanded to include a picture of ourselves as academics.
When we accepted the opportunity to step outside of our professional role as Clinical Psychologists to embark on a career in academia, each of us made a decision to leave 'Athens' (the safe, known city) and instead place ourselves at a crossroads. We have been lured by the offer of "speeches bound in books" (Plato, C. 360BC/2002, p. 80) and have left our general, natural, habitual paths and laws (Culler, 2003). As mentioned in the opening to this article, Socrates' conversation with Phaedrus touches on topics such as madness, wisdom, non-identity and inspiration. This article, in its own way, has touched on similar topics. The decision to leave a safe career path and venture forward into the unknown could be construed as either madness or wisdom. This move has threatened our identities and allowed us to move towards a place and sense of non-identity. Our phenomenological analysis of our conversation yielded rich insight into the experience of becoming academics in relation to our pre-existing professional identities. At this point, it seems fitting to consider both our own future growth as academics as well as the experience of writing this article, a process which undoubtedly forms part of our growth as new academics. In closing, therefore, it seems fitting to return to Plato (c. 360BC/2008, p. 42) who wrote:
And what is written well and what is written badly - need we ask Lysias or any other poet or orator who ever wrote or will write either a political or other work, in meter or out of meter, poet or prose writer, to teach us this?
In the end, it seems that the only way to evaluate the correctness or incorrectness of our decision to join the world of academia (or, to be more specific, our decision to write this article) is to allow ourselves to evaluate this based on our own criteria and our own experience of growth. As we move forward in our academic careers we will continue to evaluate this process.
Referencing Format
Du Plessis, G. A., du Plessis, L. M., & Saccaggi, C. (2013). The lived-experiences of professional clinical psychologists who recently started a new academic career. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 13(2), 12 pp. doi: 10.2989/IPJP.2013.13.2.3.1177
Archer, L. (2008). The new neoliberal subjects? Young/er academics' constructions of professional identity. Journal of Education Policy, 23(3), 265-285. [ Links ]
Bengtsson, J. (2013). With the lifeworld as ground. A research approach for empirical research in education: The Gothenburg tradition. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 13 (Special Edition, September: Lifeworld Approach for Empirical Research in Education - the Gothenburg Tradition), 18 pp. doi: 10.2989/IPJP.2013.13. 2.4.1178 [ Links ]
Bootzin, R. R. (2004). Clinical psychologists in academia. In J. M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, & H. L. Roediger (Eds.), The compleat academic: A career guide (2nd ed.) (pp. 329-343). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [ Links ]
Boyd, P. (2010). Academic induction for professional educators: Supporting the workplace learning of newly appointed lecturers in teachers and nurse education. International Journal for Academic Development, 15(2), 155-165. [ Links ]
Culler, J. (2003) (Ed.) Deconstruction: Critical concepts in literary and cultural studies. New York, NY: Routledge. [ Links ]
Darley, J. M., Zanna, M. P., & Roediger, H. L. (Eds.) (2004). The compleat academic: A career guide (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [ Links ]
Fade, S. (2007). Using interpretative phenomenological analysis for public health nutrition and dietetic research: A practical guide. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 63(04), 647-653. doi: 10.1079/PNS2004398 [ Links ]
Finlay, L. (2009). Debating phenomenological research methods. Phenomenology & Practice, 3(1), 6-25. [ Links ]
Finlay, L. (2012). 'Writing the pain': Engaging first-person phenomenological accounts. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 12 (Special Edition, July: Evidence-Based Approaches and Practises in Phenomenology), 9 pp. doi: 10.2989/IPJP.2012.12.2.5.1113 [ Links ]
Gilgun, J. F. (1992). Definitions, methodologies, and methods in qualitative family research. In J. F. Gilgun, K. Daly, & G. Handel (Eds.), Qualitative methods in family research (pp. 22-39). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. [ Links ]
Giorgi, A. (1997). The theory, practice, and evaluation of the phenomenological method as a qualitative research procedure. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 28(2), 235-260. [ Links ]
Giorgi, A. P., & Giorgi, B. (2008). Phenomenological psychology. In C. Willig & W. Stainton-Rogers (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology (pp. 165-179). London, United Kingdom: SAGE. [ Links ]
Gravett, S., & Petersen, N. (2007). 'You just try to find your own way': The experience of newcomers to academia. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 16(2), 193-207. [ Links ]
Green, W., & Myatt, P. (2011). Telling tales: A narrative research study of the experience of new international academic staff at an Australian university. International Journal for Academic Development, 16(1), 33-44. [ Links ]
Heidegger, M. (1927/1996). Being and time. (J. Stambaugh, Trans). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. [ Links ]
Jawitz, J. (2007). New academics negotiating communities of practice: Learning to swim with the big fish. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(2), 185-197. [ Links ]
Jawitz, J. (2009). Academic identities in community of practice in a professional discipline. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(3), 241-251. [ Links ]
Kahn, P., Young, R., Grace, S., Pilkington, R., Rush, L., Tomkinson, B., & Willis, I. (2008). Theory and legitimacy in professional education: A practitioner review of reflective processes within programmes for new academic staff. International Journal for Academic Development, 13(3), 161-173. [ Links ]
Kruger, D. (1986). Existential phenomenological psychotherapy and phenomenological research in psychology. In P. D. Ashworth, A. Giorgi, & A. J. J. de Koning (Eds.), Qualitative research in psychology (pp. 185-214). Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press. [ Links ]
Mortari, L., & Taozzi, M. (2010). Phenomenology and human science research today. In L. Mortari & M. Taozzi (Eds.), Phenomenology as philosophy of research: An introductory essay (pp. 1-48). Bucharest, Romania: Zeta books. [ Links ]
Osborne, J. W. (1994). Some similarities and differences among phenomenological and other methods of psychological qualitative research. Canadian Psychology, 35, 167-187. [ Links ]
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. [ Links ]
Pirsig, R. M. (1974). Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance: An inquiry into values. Ealing, UK: Corgi Books. [ Links ]
Plato (c. 360 BC/2002). Phaedrus (R. Waterfield, Trans). New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc. [ Links ]
Plato (c. 360 BC/2008). Phaedrus (B. Jowett, Trans). Forgotten books. Retrieved from http://www.forgottenbooks.org/download-process.php [ Links ]
Polit, D. F., & Hungler, B. P. (1999). Nursing research: Principles and methods (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott [ Links ]
Roediger, H. L. & Balota, D. A. (2004). Managing your career: The long view. In J. M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, & H. L. Roediger (Eds.) The compleat academic: A career guide (2nd ed.) (pp. 393-407). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [ Links ]
Rosenblatt, P. C., & Fischer, L. R. (1993). Qualitative family research. In P. G. Boss, W. J. Doherty, R, LaRossa, W. R. Schumm, & S. K. I. Steinmetz (Eds.), Sourcebook of family theories and methods: A contextual approach (pp.167-177). New York, NY: Plenum. [ Links ]
Smith, J. A. (2008). Validity and qualitative psychology. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (2nd ed.) (pp. 232 - 236). London, UK: Sage. [ Links ]
Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2008). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (2nd ed.) (pp. 53-80). London, UK: Sage. [ Links ]
Smith, K., & Fernie, S. (2010). Research note: Exposing new academics through action research. International Journal for Academic Development, 15(1), 85-87. [ Links ]
Spiegelberg, H. (1982). The phenomenological movement. (3rd rev. and enlarged ed). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Marinus Nijhoff. [ Links ]
Taylor, L. (2010). Editorial: The inner world of academic development. International Journal for Academic Development, 15(3), 185-187. [ Links ]
Taylor, L., & Martin, J. (2004). The academic marathon: Controlling one's career. In J. M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, & H. L. Roediger (Eds.), The compleat academic: A career guide (2nd ed.) (pp. 363-392). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [ Links ]
Turner, D. W. (2010). Qualitative interview design: A practical guide for novice investigators. The Qualitative Report, 754-760. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/WR/WR15-3/qid.pdf [ Links ]
Van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experiences: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. New York, NY: State University of New York Press. [ Links ]
Willig, C. (2008). Introducing qualitative research in psychology (2nd ed.). Berkshire, UK: Open University Press. [ Links ]
About the Authors
Graham du Plessis is a practicing Clinical Psychologist and an academic in the Department of Psychology at the University of Johannesburg. In addition to his practical and theoretical interest in psychotherapy, he has extensive experience in psychometric design and research methodologies within the social sciences. His other areas of theoretical interest include positive psychology, clinical assessment and phenomenological inquiry. He has presented and published widely. E-mail address: email@example.com
Larise du Plessis holds the degrees of BSocSc (UOFS), BSocSc (Hons) (RU), and MA Clin Psych (UNISA). Larise has worked in the corporate sector running training programmes in the fields of mind/body health and psycho-neuroimmunology. Her professional training as a Clinical Psychologist was completed in 2000 at the University of South Africa and she also completed an internship at Sterkfontein Hospital. Larise has run a large private practice, and has lectured on a temporary basis at Rhodes University. She is currently a fulltime academic at the University of Johannesburg. Her research experience is in the areas of forensic psychology and posttraumatic growth. Larise has a special interest in the supervision and training of psychotherapists as well as psychotherapy. E-mail address: email@example.com
Carol Saccaggi is a Clinical Psychologist and a fulltime lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa. She has a background in English language and literature and works as an academic language editor. Carol's research interests in psychology centre on postmodern and critical methodologies, with a particular interest in the deconstruction of texts. More recently, Carol has decided to indulge a lifelong fascination with history and biography and has become involved in the field of psychobiography. She will complete her doctoral studies in this area in 2014. E-mail address: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Visit our beautiful showroom!
105 Sugar Creek Lane, Damiansville, IL 62215 (take exit 34 off of Highway 64)
Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm; Appointments encouraged!
We Welcome our visitors from Maryville Illinois
- Are you looking for elegance or a contemporary look?
- Do you prefer shaker style or a country feel?
- Maybe you have your own style or design in mind?
- We can help you achieve any look you desire!
Please click the BBB Logo to view Wiegmann Woodworking & Fireplaces, Inc. BBB Business Profile
NFI Website
NFI Gas Specialist on staff
NFI Woodburning Specialist on staff
CSIA Website
Wiegmann Woodworking & Fireplaces is CSIA Certified
Exterior and Interior Doors
We offer both exterior and interior doors in just about every size and style available.
If you cannot find what you are looking for, let us know and we can help you. Our employees work very closely with individual homeowners and contractors. We can assist you in choosing your woodwork and show you ways to incorporate the right look for your home. You can be assured that our finished products are of the highest quality, and will bring you a lifetime of enjoyment!
Finishing Touches
Our "In-House" finishers hand-wipe stain on most of our woodworking. The end result of this extra step is a beautifully finished product that will last for years. One of the benefits for our customers is that we are a "one stop shop." If different wood species are used, our finishers are trained on how to "tweak" the stains so that everything will blend together beautifully.
Fireplaces with Stone
Mantels & Marble
Our mantels are individually handcrafted and built to suit customer needs. We carry a standard line, but have created thousands of custom-built mantels. Along with the high quality of woodworking, we can stain/paint our mantels to match other woodwork in your home.
We strive to give you a comforting and beautiful environment for your home!
We also offer precast masonry mantels & shelves, giving our customers another option of added enchantment to any room.
We carry both wood and wrought iron stair parts.
Wiegmann Woodworking and Fireplaces can help you
achieve that "special look."
Stone Design
Our large array of veneered stone colors and styles will give your project the finished look you desire. We also have a large assortment of accents (wall caps, keystones, trim stones, hearthstones, soldiers, etc.)
*Real stone is also available.
View Our Fireplaces with Stone Design Detail
Exterior Shutters
Exterior Shutters add uniqueness and style to your home. We custom build our shutters in our own woodworking shop, and we use the highest quality of finishes on the market.
Please call for an appointment, where samples can be chosen or you can help create your own design.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Neuroscience-informed learning and learning styles, problem-solving and creativity, kids, families, and parenting, gifted and visual learners, dyslexia, attention deficit disorders, autism, and more. Neurolearning App coming soon. Neurolearning.com
Reading Metaphors and Individual Differences in the Brain
- If students aren't 'getting it', they may need more context
- Irony needs a brain workout - no wonder irony is more common among brainy types
Other interesting findings:
- right temporoparietal was active for all figurative vs. literal conditions
- the metaphor area largely overlap an area associated with verbal analogical reasoning
- the benefits of context was stronger among individuals with stronger working memory
- increased right hemispheric activation was noted among lower vocabulary individuals under all processing conditions - (could some have mild dyslexia?)
- not all students are alike - researchers noted fMRI differences among students with different working memory and vocabulary - simple reading fMRI studies may need to consider more cognitive variables in their design of tests
All the subjects were students at Carnegie Mellon University
Reading Metaphors and Individual Differences Brain fMRI
Posted by Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide at 12:05 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Parenthood: Can Joel Save His Marriage? "It's Not Going to Be Easy," Star Says
Nov 12, 2014 9:40 PM EST
The clock is officially ticking for Parenthood's Joel and Julia. There are only six episodes left of the beloved NBC drama, which is not only upsetting for the obvious reasons, but also because the estranged couple only has six episodes lef… Read more


text:
CARE Coordinator
Health Center
(440) 826-2180
The Center for Alcohol and Related-issues Education (CARE) plans, implements and promotes educational activities to encourage the health and well-being of students. CARE also provides the resources and creates an environment where students can learn the necessary tools to take responsibility for their personal growth, development and well-being.
All CARE organizations support 0-1-3 for responsible drinking:
0 = ZERO drinks if under 21, driving, chemically dependent, on medication or pregnant.
1 = ONE drink (12 oz. beer, 4 oz. glass of wine or 1.5 oz. shot of liquor) per hour if male and over 21; for women, ONE drink every 1.5 hours if over 21 due to differences in alcohol absorption rates.
3 = No more than THREE drinks per day and/or drink no more than THREE times a week that you drink.
BW Informed Student Educators (BWise)
The mission of BWise is to educate the BW community on issues relating to sex, drugs, alcohol and other health-related issues. BWise is committed to helping the BW community develop lifelong skills through the BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education training programs.
Health Promotion Grant Board (HPGB)
The HPGB consists of student directors and students who allocate money from alcohol and drug fines to the BW community toward healthy alternatives.
Greeks Advocating for the Mature Management of Alcohol (GAMMA)
The mission of GAMMA is to educate BW students, specifically the fraternity and sorority community, on how to live and lead healthy lifestyles through informative programming, risk management standards and other means. GAMMA is responsible for planning events such as nonalcoholic socials, workshops on responsible behavior and special events that address critical issues on the BW campus.
Mid-Night Madness (MNM)
MNM is a weekly, nonalcoholic social activity held on Thursday nights. There is a new theme each week with events, free food and prizes. MNM is a great place to hang out, relax and meet other students. Events range from dodgeball to movie nights, block parties, bingo, game shows, cornhole tournaments, putt putt, volleyball and more.


text:
Explore over 250 categories and sub-categories.
The Gadget Flow team's favorite products.
Deals and discounts from around the internet.
The best products from your favorite brands.
The most popular products on Gadget Flow.
We use cookies to personalize your experience. Learn more here.
Gadget Flow helps you find the latest and greatest products and crowdfunding projects. We curate, you discover!
Create Your Feed
Save Products
Access our Deals
Log in to your existing account
Forgot Your Password?
I don't have an account yet
Enter your email to reset your password
Go back to Login
Use your email address to create a new account
I already have an account
We want you to know exactly how our service works and how we use your registration details. Please take a minute to read our terms of use and our privacy policy.


text:
|Both cloudy
Maybe the move from analogue to digital has not been so smooth after all.
One might think there could be no doubt someone, somewhere in Olympus will serve a stretch for this. However, with the former President Toshiro Shimoyama (1984 to 1993) reportedly claiming that:
"he had no memory of any loss-hiding scheme and was not closely involved in finance at the time"there seem to be few signs of imminent seppuku. On the other hand, recent executives - younger, sharper and fully digitised on the memory front - probably do recall paying an advisory fee of $687m. It was a little over the odds. $665m over the odds according to Reuters.
There's lots of explaining to do (can't help wonder about the auditors either) but regulatory zealots might bear in mind the long precedent pre-dating even Thurlow that:
"Corporations have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned; they therefore do as they like."


text:
The deadline to sign players with franchise tags to multi-year deals is on Tuesday afternoon and it looks like it will pass without any big news for Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo.
Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com reports that the two sides started the negotiating process with a big gap between their thoughts on an appropriate contract and that they haven't made much progress toward bridging it over the intervening months. Assuming things remain that way through the deadline, Orakpo, who signed his tender, will have a salary of $11.45 million in 2014.
The Redskins could tag Orakpo again in 2015 at a cost of $13.7 million or they could take another whack at reaching a longer deal. Orakpo would be an unrestricted free agent if they pass on both options, but he doesn't feel he's trying to prove anything by playing out the year on the franchise tag.
"I have to prove myself again, huh?" Orakpo said. "I don't have to prove myself to anybody. I'm already proven in this league. I don't have to prove anything to anybody. That goes for fans, that goes for media. Anybody. I'm well-proven in this league. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out, but I don't have to prove anything to anybody."
Orakpo had 10 sacks last season and 39.5 over the course of his career in Washington.


text:
105 Stone Trace Drive 859-498-4050
61 rooms, Indoor Pool, Hot Tub, Exercise room, Hi-speed Internet, Continental Breakfast, Conference Room
Get FREE high-speed Internet access at this Comfort Inn & Suites. The Comfort Inn & Suites is located only 4 miles from Historic Downtown Mt. Sterling. The hotel offers an indoor pool, whirlpool, exercise room, meeting room facility, and guest laundry facilities. Free HBO, ESPN, and CNN. Free local calls, free high speed wireless internet, fax and copy services. Smoke-free rooms, microwave and refrigerators, AT&T in-room long-distance service, and coffee and tea service 24 hours a day.
115 Stone Trace Drive 859-497-9400
70 rooms, Indoor Pool, Hot Tub, Exercise room, Hi-speed Internet, Continental
Breakfast, Conference Room
Ramada Limited and Convention Center of Mt. Sterling, KY located off I-64 exit 110 adjacent to Old Silo Golf Course. Minutes to Cooper Tire, Summit Polymers, Nestle, and Kyosan Denso Manufacturing. Conveniently located between Lexington and Ashland/Huntington. Cracker Barrel restaurant within walking distance, theaters, shopping, additional restaurants within 3 miles. This hotel features a beautiful 5000 square foot convention center capable of serving up to 300 people, 69 well appointed guest rooms, efficiencies, and suites...
705 Maysville Road -- 859-498-4680
2 Double Bed Room
83 rooms, Outdoor pool, Restaurant 2 Double Bed Room-
The Days Inn Mt. Sterling, located off I-64, offers 94 tastefully decorated rooms with satellite cable television, in room coffee, hairdryers, free USA Today, alarm clock radios, City King Buffet (Chinese/American food) on property serving Lunch and Dinner. Numerous shopping areas located nearby and ample free parking. Restaurants and shopping are within walking distance of the property. With access off Interstate Highway 64, enchanting lakes, mystical caves and the Keeneland Race Track are only a short ride away...
191 Evans Drive 859-498-9600
26 rooms


text:
I commissioned a We Ask America poll April 21 of the races for governor, comptroller and treasurer, but I forgot to put the candidates' party labels in the poll's questions.
The results came out very weird.
Bruce Rauner led Gov. Pat Quinn by 11 points in that poll, 49-38. Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka trounced Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon by an astounding 27-point margin, 56-29. And Rep. Tom Cross led Sen. Mike Frerichs in the state treasurer's race by 13 points, 33-20.
The Topinka crosstabs were bizarre. The Republican was leading among Democrats, 55-30, ahead in Chicago, 57-23, and led among African-Americans, 55-22. No way.
Garbage in, garbage out, as they say, so I dumped the poll and ran a new one April 27. This time we identified the candidates' party affiliations.
The results were strikingly different.
In the second April 27 poll, which specifically told respondents which candidate was a Democrat and which was a Republican, the Republican Rauner and the Democrat Quinn were tied 44-44 – an 11-point swing. Topinka still led big, but by a much more believable 51-38 – a 14-point swing. And Republican Cross' lead over the Democrat Frerichs dropped to 41-37 – a nine-point swing.
Both polls had almost identical partisan breakdowns of respondents and both had similar margins of error, plus-minus 3.21 percent in the first poll and plus-minus 3.14 percent in the second.
The crosstabs show just how dramatically the results changed when voters were given candidate party labels.
In the first poll, which didn't give voters the candidates' party labels, Rauner led 62-27 among downstaters. But in the second poll, which did include the partisan info, Rauner's downstate lead dropped to 52-33. Among whites, Rauner led 57-33 in the first poll, but 51-38 in the second, when they knew which party the candidates belonged to.
The partisanship effect was even more clear with traditionally Democratic-leaning constituencies. Rauner's recent TV ads have featured his Democratic wife, and the first poll found that Rauner actually led Quinn among women, 44-41, when women weren't told which party he or Quinn represented. But when women did have that partisan information, they flipped big to Quinn in the second poll, 48-38.
When African-Americans weren't told that Rauner was a Republican, he trailed Quinn 55-22. But when black voters were given both candidates' party labels, Quinn led Rauner, 70-19. That's still not horrible for Rauner, but far more believable.
Rauner ran some Spanish-language TV ads after the primary was over, and the first poll, which didn't tell Latino voters that he was a Republican, showed him winning that crucial demographic by three points, 37-34. But the second poll, which identified Rauner as a Republican, had Quinn winning among Latinos, 52-36.
Let's look at the Topinka numbers, which were what initially made me realize that I'd made a wording mistake. Topinka has been around for decades, and voters clearly like her. She's also a liberal-leaning Republican, which makes her much more electable in Illinois.
But Topinka's 55-30 lead over Simon among Democrats in the first poll was more than reversed to a 24-67 deficit when Democrats were told that Topinka was a Republican. Her initial 57-23 lead in Chicago and 55-22 margin among African-Americans were also reversed in the second poll, when she trailed Simon 35-54 in the city and 29-58 among African-Americans. And her 55-28 lead among women dropped to 48-40 when voters knew that Simon was a Democrat and Topinka was a Republican.
Cross is better known that Frerichs because of his years as a legislative leader who lives in the Chicago media market and had a contested GOP primary race. Frerichs' 26-19 lead among Democrats rose to a 68-11 lead when Democrats were given candidate party affiliation labels a week later.
The difference between the two polls is far more interesting to me than the actual results. It's early. Results will change over time.
But if it wasn't before, it's now crystal clear that a large number of likely voters cast their ballots based on partisanship. And as a result, the Republican Party faces a gigantic hurdle in Illinois. That's probably not news to most of us, but at least now it's somewhat quantifiable.
• Rich Miller publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.


text:
Please help us! Donate
Key Votes
HR 1561 - US Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act, 2004 - National Key Vote
Jesse Jackson, Jr. voted Nay (Passage) on this Legislation.
Read statements Jesse Jackson, Jr. made in this general time period.
Issues Related to HR 1561
Stage Details
Legislation - Placed on Calendar (Senate) - April 29, 2004
Legislation -
Bill Passed
(379-28) -
March 3, 2004(Key vote)
See How Your Politicians Voted
Title: US Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act, 2004
Vote Result
Yea Votes
Nay Votes
Vote to pass a bill that would increase various Patent and Trademark Office's (PTO) user fees by approximately 15 percent.
- Provides that filing fees shall be decreased by 75 percent for small businesses, non-profit organizations, and independent investors filing electronically (Sec. 2).
- Provides that the Director of the U.S. PTO is responsible for establishing and charging fees for the search process to determine whether a patent application violates a standing patent or trademark (Sec. 2).
- Mandates that the above fees may not be increased more than 20 percent in any given year for the next three years (Sec. 2).
- Provides that the additional revenue generated by the increased fees shall be credited to a PTO account within the Treasury Department for the sole use of the PTO, as opposed to the previous method of fee diversion to unrelated programs (Sec. 5).
Legislation - Introduced (House) - April 2, 2003
Title: US Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act, 2004
- Lamar S. Smith (TX - R) (Out Of Office)
- Howard L. Berman (CA - D) (Out Of Office)


text:
Lockport City Court, Niagara County
Lockport Treatment Court - Mission Statement
"Honesty, Dedication & Commitment"
The Lockport Drug Treatment Court (LDTC) Program seeks to diminish substance abuse, crime, and recidivism through intense supervision, treatment, and judicial monitoring of Court participants. This program will attempt to end the cycle of addiction for each participant by providing a balance between therapeutic intervention and judicial accountability. The focus will be directed upon improving the personal and social aspects of each participant through linkages to appropriate programs, including substance abuse counseling, mental health counseling, educational and vocational training, housing programs, and others. The primary impact of the LDTC Program will be on participants becoming productive members of the community in all aspects of their lives, by teaching them the skills necessary to conquer their drug dependency, and ultimately, bring an end to their criminal activity.


text:
The woman who's looking for a platonic lover via Craigslist has responded to our questions with a thoughtful letter about her sexuality, her motives, and her requirements for a platonic mate.
We contacted the Platonist (who has asked to remain anonymous) through her Craigslist posting. Here's her explanation for her search for asexual love, and her response to some of your comments:
If it's one thing I have particularly learned from posting things about myself online, it is that my sense of humor doesn't translate well in print. Apparently I'm the only one who finds Toyota Prius and astrology jokes funny. But in all seriousness, I'm still not interested in a platonic relationship with a Capricorn. Other than that, I do apologize for any of the grammatical errors in my previous post and to the errors that will probably be prevalent in this interview. With Craigslist, I didn't think anyone would be as critical about the grammar so much as to the actual content of my listing, but then again, I do deserve shit for it, as I'm sure it absolutely "irked" many readers. And before I fully explain my reasoning for a platonic relationship, yes, I am very self-aware of my dreadfulness.
As of lately, I do consider myself to be asexual and I do find people attractive, but never to the point of wanting to engage in sexual acts anymore. I specifically made it clear that I would like a male companion merely because I'm still attracted to that gender.I'm not trying to offend women who are interested, it's just that I have plenty of girlfriends as well as this inherent fear that if I live with a woman companion, I'd imagine some sort of Grey Gardens scenario (cue feminist outrage, or at least Grey Gardens fan outrage). I've been through my fair share of relationships, and I've come to the conclusion that I'm really not looking for the love that most people in society associate love as (i.e. emotional with sexual relations). As for my intentions, I'm the exact opposite of a person who is contempt with little to no company. I cannot stand being alone, I need a companion. As people grow older, we inevitably lose our friends due
to circumstances such as distance or focus towards family time. Being an asexual, with no intention of creating a family, how on earth do I confront those times? When I get home from work, it'd be nice to know that I have someone to go to right away. Personally for me, I consider a platonic relationship to be a step above friendship, as it allows for emotional intimacy I don't necessarily get from my friends.
With Craigslist, it was really a spur of the moment decision to post there. I've visited many asexual forums for some time now even finding some people from NYC, but it's taken months for us as a group to get together, and I'm just tired of waiting. I've never used Craigslist before, but assured myself that there's got to be asexual people in the BK area that maybe don't know or just don't go on asexual sites. So with a bit of gumption, I started typing. I was actually quite surprised that I got any replies at all, and I'm especially surprised that most of the people who replied to me, were referred to me from the Gawker/Jezebel article.
As for me offering money, I know that I don't have to pay people to love me, as I was trying to imply that payment could be a possibility, because I was taking into account how extreme my proposition is. Instead I think I should have stated that I could be financially supportive if certain circumstances came up. And it's nice to see that the men who have responded to my post aren't interested in my compensation. I didn't publicly note my specifications with sex because I feel that it could be negotiable, hence the mentioning of, "...guidelines both of us would have to agree upon." I would obviously prefer if the guy was celibate, thus allowing our platonic relationship to sustain for a long time. But I don't mind the man looking for sex elsewhere.
I'm probably the worst spokesperson for asexuality. If I had known that my listing would be featured on a media blog, I would've taken my whole post a bit more seriously. Asexuality does exist, and most people don't understand it, as notably seen from some of the commentators on Jezebel insinuating that this could be a medical condition such aspergers' syndrome or autism. People with those conditions go through a lot already, and the last thing they need is for people to group them with a douche bag like me. And no, I haven't been sexually abused.
In all, I would like to assert again that I am serious about finding a platonic partner, one that would hopefully live with me. I know in my original ad I did post that I would prefer a man, but with new input, I am willing to put my Grey Gardens bias aside, and if interested allow women to respond as well.
Earlier: Deep-Pocketed Woman Will Pay For Platonic Love
Image via Anna Kucherova/Shutterstock.com


text:
An Open Letter to President Obama
Dear Mr. President:
Surely this will be but one of many thousands of letters and notes you will receive upon the joyous occasion of your Inauguration as our new President. This open letter to you will be presented in the form of a sermon to my congregation, the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn, NY, founded in 1833 where I currently serve as Senior Minister. It is the proud tradition of this congregation to grant its ministers a free pulpit in all matters, but I hasten to add that I speak this morning for myself as a citizen, not for the whole congregation.
I'm proud to say I voted for you, Sir. I voted for you because I have been concerned and disturbed by policies and directions of the past eight years, policies and directions that are contrary to the America where I grew up, the America where my own working-class parents immigrated in search of a better future for their children and grandchildren. I voted for you because I love my country, and I believe my country desperately needs to change direction and regain its moral footing again.
I wish first and foremost to add my heartiest congratulations and best wishes to you as you take up the work which history, destiny, and the American people now lay upon your strong shoulders. You've already demonstrated through this long and exhaustive election process that you are physically, intellectually, and spiritually able to assume this arduous office and its burdens. Rest assured that people of goodwill and good faith the world over hold you and your family in our thoughts and prayers as your Presidential term begins.
To say that your election alone is a symbol of immense pride and hope for America is an understatement, of course. For the older generation of Americans, for those of us of an age to remember the struggles of the Civil Rights era—for those of us whose whole lives were forever impacted and inspired by the echoes of Martin Luther King's voice ringing down the steps of the Lincoln memorial—for those who have carried in the corners of their hearts the images of fearless Freedom Riders, for those who in body or spirit sat beside Rosa Parks on the buses, or sang arm-in-arm with Jesse Jackson and John Lewis on the picket-lines of protest – for all people of Color and their children—for the immigrants who still come to America with dreams of a better life to be had for their children – for all of us who remember and revere an American ideal of equal opportunity for all, your election, Sir, is both a vindication of hope and an amazing journey of accomplishment. We all owe you and your family a debt of gratitude for the spirit and grace with which you have embodied this legacy.
I am sure that it must feel wonderful and at the same time overwhelming to carry such hope and aspiration for so many people wherever you go. Your achievement is not simply your own, it is ours as a society. It lifts all of us as a people.
That said, no one needs to remind you that you come to your office at a time when it seems that virtually every aspect of our national and international agenda needs immediate uplift, emergency repair, or intensive new direction. We have problems as a country, the likes of which we have not seen or dealt with since the Depression years, and which the world has not experienced since the end of World War II. Our economy, our financial system, our unemployment rate, our housing market, the state of American industrials and American retail, and our national deficit all stand at near-crisis levels. Our carbon-dependent-based energy system continues to wreak disaster on our ecology even as it disempowers the United States from any moral leadership position in addressing global ecological ruin. Our health care system, to our national shame, has for years left more than 40 million poor Americans, more than half of them children, without coverage.
Two ill-considered wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with their attendant morally-bankrupt policies of pre-emptive attack and prisoner interrogation policies that ignore Geneva accords (something we have never done before) have completely undercut our standing as a righteous and honorable nation. In the days following the outrageous attacks of 9/11, our country had the compassion and support of the entire Free World. We squandered that goodwill and support when the Bush Administration, in fear and vengefulness, chose policies that violated Civil Rights in the name of security, justified wide-spread wire-tapping domestically and internationally, with an Attorney General and a Vice President who even as newsphotos of Abu Graeb were being flashed around the world found time to explain how "waterboarding" was not, technically-speaking, actually torture; and how rendition of prisoners to nations where we knew they would be tortured in far worse manner was legal and justified.
Whenever and wherever did it occur that America lost its sense of moral outrage over such actions by its own government? Mr. Obama, Sir, we turn to you now, in trust and in faith, that you will immediately and finally restore our standing among nations by seeing that such practices are forever banned by all agencies of American government and its armed services. Further, I urge you, Sir, in all appointments to the Justice Department, the Supreme Court and other federal benches, to appoint only people capable of distinguishing torture whenever it appears, recognizing abuses of civil liberties whenever they are suggested, and demanding humane treatment of prisoners just as we would claim for Americans imprisoned abroad.
Restore to us, Sir, our long-held and long-deserved reputation as a nation that is generous in aiding others, a nation that does not torture, a nation that does not pre-emptively attack others. Remind us, Sir, that our nation is still the nation that welcomes the world's tired, their poor, their huddled masses yearning to breathe free. By your policies and by the conduct of your Administration, Sir, restore the patina of Hope to our Statue of Liberty and make it meaningful once again. Make us proud once again to mean it when we sing, "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave."
As you have had occasion to remind us over these past weeks, Mr. Obama, we only have one President at a time in this democracy of ours. Well, as of next week, Sir, the only President we have is you. You will never have more of a mandate than you have now. I urge you to use it well, use it with vigor, and use it immediately to begin a new era for our nation and for the Free World to follow. Challenge us, and I think you will find a nation hungry and happy to work for the Change you so grandly spoke of during your election campaign. You've already assembled leaders of impressive abilities and character to be part of your Cabinet team. We have good people ready to focus on the work that needs to be done.
I do not write today to offer another "to do" list of priority items to be addressed. Rather, my wishes for you at the beginning of your Presidency have more to do with the spirit that will need to empower that work if it is to succeed. The pragmatic and practical policies and decisions will reveal themselves quickly enough. I suggest to you that our national spirit will be as much affected by how your leadership is exhibited as by where you attempt to lead us.
So, I wish for you, first, the old fashioned Scriptural blessing of Fortitude, both intellectual and intestinal. By which I mean may you never lack for courage, wit, or humility in your leadership. May you understand the difference between Resolve and mere Stubbornness, a difference I do not believe your immediate predecessor was ever able to distinguish. When did it become anathema for an American President ever to admit to fallibility in all things human? When did American prestige in the world depend on stubborn and ungracious refusal to admit error, for fear that we might be seen as a lesser nation for apologizing? This ability, utterly lacking in our last President, to apologize either to our own people for policy errors, or to other nations for American mistakes that injured or insulted other cultures, only made us appear insufferably arrogant in the eyes of friends and foes alike.
As our leader, Sir, may you have the spiritual sturdiness to stay your course when the course is correct; and may you never fear to correct the course when it proves necessary.
Second, no less important, we would wish for you the true leader's gift of Vision: that is, not the kind of pedestrian vision that confines itself mainly to the limitations of the purely practical or the carefully calculated. Rather, we wish for you the kind of inspired leadership vision that challenges us as a people and as a society to see beyond just our own generation and beyond just our own borders.
All our best Presidents at their best moments were blessed with vision that evoked that which is deepest and most profound in American character. May you, Sir, be blessed with their same gift for calling our country to higher ground than where we have foundered these past eight years.
May you learn from Lincoln's consistent and unfailingly eloquent invocation of our better angels as a people, his rejection of vengefulness even in the midst of war, his compassion, his inclusiveness in building his Team of Rivals, his love of his own family. His strength and foresight and fortitude.
May you learn from FDR's example of bold innovation and confidence moving forward when the way is darkest. May you have John Kennedy's shining love of learning and culture, his ability to call forth American determination to go to the moon or to inspire a Peace Corps. May you have Harry Truman's grit and Jimmy Carter's compassion and decency; LBJ's ability to legislate Civil Rights, and Bill Clinton's talent for balancing a budget and creating jobs.
Finally, Sir, I urge you above all else to keep faith with the American people. We have elected you to a position that is larger and more demanding than any one person can reasonably be expected to carry. We do not ask that you be perfect, only that you be faithful and honest with us; that to the best of your ability you lead us in directions of peace and prosperity, in ways that will build a safer, greener, more just, more livable world. Please see to it that American power is once again a force respected as much for its leadership and restraint and for its defense of justice as for its muscle. Please remember as you lead us through perilous times that peace is only the product of justice in world affairs, that a society that trades away its liberties in the name of security ends up with neither liberty nor security.
Please, Sir, take utmost care of yourself. Stay close every day to your family; the hugs of those two sweet daughters will remind you how important is your work for us all. May God bless you and your wife for all that you do and bring you every success.
Rev. Dr. Patrick T. O'Neill, Senior Minister
First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn, NY


text:
Waiting for Walmart
GLOVERSVILLE – The new Walmart Supercenter at the end of South Kingsboro Avenue is under construction and expected to open this summer. While the massive retail development is expected to have many benefits to the city, including sales tax revenue and the prospect of stimulating more commercial projects, many neighbors of the site have concerns.
Residents interviewed this month said they were told the Walmart was supposed to be farther back on the hill so it couldn't be seen from the houses situated in front of it, but as the building gets closer to completion, it is quite visible.
"We were told the store wouldn't be seen from our backyards, but it is right there and much closer than any of us expected," said Tom Lehr, of 238 S. Kingsboro Ave. Extension. "It isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it is also a lot closer than we thought, too. We will see when people start using it."
Larry Poyfair said he has lived for more than 30 years at 228 S. Kingsboro Ave. Extension, just down the hill from the supercenter.
"None of us have any privacy in our backyards anymore," he said. "We used to have guests come and visit with us on our patio in the back, but I don't how much that will happen anymore, with that entrance right there," Poyfair said as he pointed to one of the Walmart entrances along his property line. "One of my neighbors has a pool, and I don't know how willing they will be to swim with all these people that will be next to our yards."
Poyfair also said the posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour is ignored by many motorists, and traffic could get worse when the store opens.
"Cars come through here really fast right now, and I don't think anyone is following the speed limit," Poyfair said. "That could be a real problem when it gets busier around here."
Police Chief Donald VanDeusen said local authorities keep an eye out for speeders in the supercenter area.
"We have had details out there to monitor and enforce the speed limit, and we will continue to do that," VanDeusen said.
The resident living at 244 S. Kingsboro Ave. Extension, who asked not to be identified by name, said the lights on the supercenter have caused problems for his family. When the lights are on, he said, they shines directly into his daughter's bedroom, which can make it difficult for her to sleep at night.
He also said the snow being moved for the construction caused his basement to become flooded once it began to melt.
All of the Walmart neighbors interviewed this month said when the construction first started, it created dust and noise, and the vibrations from heavy equipment could be felt throughout their homes.
Many residents said they are worried the value of their homes will be diminished because of the development in the area.
"No one is going to want to move here with all the traffic and people that will be coming here," Lehr said. "If anything, I could see it being sold so an outlet or some other business can use the land, but the price would have to be right for us to consider that."
Leeasia Wynn, who lives in a small house at the bottom of South Kingsboro Avenue, said the development in the area is going to make it almost impossible for her to exit her driveway because it connects to the turning lane at the intersection with Route 30A.
"On busy days, now, I almost have no choice but to turn right sometimes," Wynn said. "When traffic really comes, I don't know what is going to happen."
Wynn said when workers were changing the lights and improving Route 30A for development, it was taking her about 40 minutes to get out of her driveway and to Johnstown for work every day.
She also said when construction was going on earlier in the year, it created an inconvenience because she had no water for a few hours since the construction workers at Walmart needed it turned off for something they were doing.
Fulton County Planning Director James Mraz said most of the construction on the exterior portion of the Walmart building was completed before the first major snowfall this winter, so the workers could continue on the interior portion.
"There is work going on in all aspects of the project right now," Mraz said. "[The builders] are moving towards trying to complete the building in June to hand it over to Walmart for them to come in to put in all their shelving, training and stock the shelves to get everything ready for a July grand opening."
Mayor Dayton King said the store's grand opening could take place July 24.
"I'm happy to announce that Walmart appears to be on schedule for a summer opening," King said. "This has been a very long time coming."
Mraz said the new store will have grocery, gardening, pharmacy and the typical retail products that all Walmart locations have, but he doesn't think it will have an automobile service department.
Mraz also said there is space within the Walmart structure that could be dedicated to other uses as well.
"Whether that is going to be for a Subway, whether there is going to be a small bank or something of that nature is internal to [Walmart], and I haven't heard anything on that," Mraz said.
Walmart in July selected Bast-Hatfield Construction of Clifton Park to lead construction.
The 157,100-square-foot building is projected to bring an additional $250,000 in sales tax revenue this year, said Gloversville Finance Commissioner Bruce Van Genderen.
"This is going to bring significant sales and property tax to the city of Gloversville," King said. "It will also bring additional revenue with the retail businesses that will typically follow a supercenter."
King and Van Genderen said they expect an additional $600,000 to $800,000 in revenue in a full fiscal year from Walmart once it is fully operational.
While no additional businesses have been officially approved to move near the supercenter, the city and county are expecting additional development in that area, Mraz said.
According to the New York State Route 30A Break-in Access Traffic Study presented to the Common Council, potential development in that location could include retail, church, fast food, hotel, offices, a supermarket or a gas station.
City DPW Director Kevin Jones said some of the potential businesses cited in the study were chosen based on the traffic they would bring, not any specific plans to build them.
King previously said there would be a fast-food business at the South Kingsboro and Route 30A intersection, but he didn't name a specific company.
He said a lot of developers and commercial businesses have been contacting the city over the past several years about the possibility of moving near the new Walmart.
Walmart has more than 2,900 supercenters in the United States, including sites in Amsterdam, Herkimer and Cobleskill.
An associate real estate broker with Corporate Commercial Real Estate Services, John McCaffer, said he is marketing land to a variety of businesses that may want to move onto the 20 acres between Dr. Thomas Eagan's office and the Cataract Care Center near the intersection of South Kingsboro and Route 30A.
"There has been some good interest," McCaffer said this week.
He said many retail users have expressed interest in the property, although he didn't provide any specifics.
City Building Inspector Rob Robbins said the Walmart project originally was estimated to cost $6.7 million, but the cost likely has gone up.
When the new Walmart opens, the existing Walmart store on Fifth Avenue Extension in the town of Johnstown will close. Walmart officials could not be reached for comment for this story.
Levi Pascher can be reached by email at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
BAK Industries 36307T-20 Roll-X Tradesman Tonneau Cover
BAK Industries 36307T-20 Roll-X Tradesman Tonneau Cover w/20 in. Opening For Toolbox Only
See Full List of Vehicle Applications »
BAK Industries - Roll-X Tradesman Tonneau Cover P/N 36307T-20 Features:
- Seals With A Water Tight Fit Against Toolbox
- Easily Operates From Either Side Of Truck Bed
- No Drill Installation
- 124 Percent Access To Stake Pocket Holes
- Offers Solid Security
- Can Be Opened Or Closed In Seconds
- Tailgate Can Be Opened Or Closed If Cover Is Closed Or Open
View the Full List of Automotive Applications »
Below is an abbreviated list of applications for the Roll-X Tradesman Tonneau Cover.
F-150 Pickup, Ford, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008
- BAK Industries
- New
Shipping Information
- Item Requires Shipping
- 49.2 lbs.
- Free Shipping!
- Free Shipping!
Customer Reviews
Total Reviews (0)
Write the First Review!
You must login to post a review.


text:
Several researchers from Hope College participated in the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA), which took place on Sunday-Wednesday, Oct. 31-Nov. 3, in Denver, Colo.
Four faculty and eight undergraduates, as well as one high school student who participated in summer research through the college's REACH (Research Experiences Across Cultures at Hope) program gave a total of 10 presentations on a wide range of research projects. The topics included mapping ancient metamorphic rocks in Sweden; four separate studies of how antibiotics move in groundwater; methods for making 3D computer models of sand dunes; a study of soils on athletic fields on the Hope campus; and the educational and scientific results of Hope's REACH II program in which high school students and teachers collaborated with Hope faculty and undergraduates to study records of past climate preserved in West Michigan peat bogs.
The Hope students who made presentations were: senior Joshua Cooper of Holland; senior Katherine Garcia of Battle Creek; junior Dean Hazle of East Grand Rapids; sophomore Leah LaBarge of Hudsonville; junior Rachel Medina of Kalamazoo; senior Caleb Nyboer of Nunica; junior Nicholas Powers of Niles; and junior Emily Van Wieren of Grand Ledge.
The high school student who made a presentation was Leah Peterson, a student at Zeeland West High School.
The faculty who made presentations were: Dr. Brian Bodenbender, associate professor of geology and environmental science, and chairperson of the department; Dr. Edward Hansen, professor of geology and environmental science; Dr. Jonathan Peterson, professor of geology and environmental science; and Suzanne DeVries-Zimmerman, part-time lecturer in the geological and environmental sciences.
The GSA annual meeting draws more than 6,000 geologists, undergraduates, and graduate students from around the world.


text:
(09) 828 4545
63 St Georges Road
Avondale, Auckland
8:30am to 3:30pm
Monday to Friday
8:30am - 3:30pm
Immanuel is a small friendly Primary and Middle School, with a family atmosphere, located in St Georges Road, Avondale, Auckland. We aim to provide a quality education, for Years 1-10, based on a Biblical worldview, with Christian principles and values. Our purpose is essentially to be an extension of Christian homes.
" I want to let you know that my son (Year 2) absolutely loves the school. He comes home laughing and chatting every day, and it's a huge difference from his last school. We thank God every day, and my son prays every night for the school. It has been a huge blessing to our family.
Thank you for everything!"
- Mrs P
63 St Georges Road
Avondale, Auckland
Week Days: 8:30 am till 3:30 pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
©2016 Immanuel Christian School