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Written by Kevan McBeth, Chief Purpose Officer- Affective Consulting
When we started this little boutique company, we wanted to something different. Everyone says that, I know, but we really meant it.
Collectively, the three of us wanted to change the way organizations manage their people. We wanted to bring back the human element to business- get leaders thinking about their people as business partners, not the assets that they seem to be these days. I mean surely we can't continue to be willing to accept the status quo, where nearly half of our people are checked-out and another quarter of them are hanging on by their fingernails while they frantically search for a way out on Indeed or LinkedIn? Can we?
We've always felt we had a duty to try to make a difference for our friends and our colleagues to change the status quo. We had to at the very least try to help influence change.
For me, it was about a bit of a different crusade. I wanted to fix things not only for the employee, but I wanted to make things different for leaders too. I had just been through a rough change of careers, and I really felt like I failed my people in my last position. I got into a role with a system that was stacked against the way that I thought we should do things, and I hate to admit it, but I let it beat me. I bought into the importance of meetings that measured progress through data, checks and balances, and I didn't dedicate as much time as I should have to my people. It left a really sour taste in my mouth and a chip on my shoulder. I never want to have that feeling again.
We came into this thinking that we could find a way to fix broken work places, but also bring a different level of support and leadership to a group of people who may be drowning more than any other- middle managers. The more time we spend with mid-level managers in business these days, the more we realize that they are the ones, more than any other group, that are hurting. They have been left alone mostly when it comes to leadership development, and they are the ones who are getting squeezed from the top more than any other part of the organization to sacrifice their time with their people for a greater focus on the metrics. They get stuck with the accountability of managing the strategic plan while also are asked to manage people who feel under valued and under-lead. Ultimately, they end up failing at both. Awesome.
We spent the last year of our developing our consulting business building a belief in leadership with purpose, creating a greater understanding of the need for self-awareness in our leadership ranks, and the focus on leading with empathy, compassion and vulnerability. We touted a need to get back to the human element of business and went on long tirades with anyone who would listen to us about building leadership models that were people-centered. But all of our thoughts and ideas seemed to float off into oblivion without being tied together in a more tangible package that people could understand.
Then something really interesting happened.
We heard the words "servant leadership" uttered by a friend of ours- almost so casually that if we weren't really listening, we would have completely ignored it. But it got us curious - what does servant leadership mean? Why haven't we ever heard of it before? It might be because it's an older philosophy that has been called by a number of different name, and even blended into other styles. But when we dove deeper into it, it changed everything for us.
Servant leadership is old school. And thats a good thing.
Robert K Greenleaf's "the Servant as a Leader" was where the phrase "servant leadership" was first uttered, and I guarantee that you will not see it on any shelf at Chapters, because for starters it was written in 1970, and secondly it's not even a book- it's an essay. It sits there, hiding in plain sight on Amazon, waiting for you to pick it up and learn from it, but it's not something that you would expect would pack as much punch as it has for us. And thats exactly why we are so taken with it. It's common sense, no BS leadership philosophy that maybe needs a bit of modernization in parts, but the foundational belief is as solid as it gets- be good to your people. Period. Full stop. End of Story.
There were a million different things that I took away from our initial investigation into servant leadership, and now that we have become certified in the philosophy we continue to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the values and principles behind the theory. We've begun to work with organizations to implement the theory into their corporate culture, and its been exciting to see how quickly it's changed engagement levels of employees.
The three servant leadership principles that turn leadership on its head.
In total, there are 11 principles that are associarted with servant leadership, but three in particular were key in my mind to shifting the way our organizations and our people think about leadership.
1. Servant leaders are servants first
Seems simple enough of a concept right? But the truth is that it's an entirely different way of looking at who organizations should be targeting in their leadership development, and why paying attention to creating the right environment is such an important part of organizational design these days.
When you think of the word servant, you think of someone who puts the needs of others befor their own, values the success of the whole rather than the few. Servant leadership proposes that those charachter traits be the foundation for identifying leaders within your organization.
I love this quote by Greenleaf, and it jumped out at me the second I read it. Too often we are quick to blame the external circumstances for our problems, when in reality its the internal struggle that is the issue within us all. We want change, but are unwilling to step up and make the difference. And too often we see those people that are amazing servants, who would be amazing leaders, choose a different path or stay in their posts as servants because they aren't comfortable putting themselves out there in leadership roles. There is something very dissapointing and sad about that, and it needs to change. Those individuals need to understand that they have a duty to take that leap and step up for the good of the people around them, but in the same breath, we need to encourage those stellar servants to share their gifts at a higher level of accountability too.
2. Its not a tool. its not a template. its not a model. its a philosophy.
And thats what I love about it. When you attend training sessions these days, you learn about models, formulas, tools that are supposed to help you become a better leader- a more effective leader. Problem is, it's like that cool pair of ripped jeans that you bought at the store with the hip-hop music bumpin' and the twenty-somethings who work there telling you that you look good, but then you never wear them because you don't go to the club anymore. Because you're 40. They just don't work in real-life situations when you try to fit into them.
Servant leadership is adaptable, and therefore scaleable in almost any work environment that you can think of. And its that way because it's only dependant on one thing....
3. Servant leadership is about personal accountability.
If there's one thing that I love about servant leadership is that it's about accountability. Accountability for your actions as well as your accountability for others that are in your charge. Only you, and you alone, as leaders can determine the type of environment you want to create for your people and the culture you want your organization to thrive in. Those people in the corner who are disengaged are there because you didn't engage them. Your organizational culture is only as good as the behaviour you are willing to tolerate, and that includes your own.
In the same breath, your accountability according to Greenleaf extends to those who you serve- your employees. Its is your accountability to ensure that your employees are given the necessary tools, training and support to allow them to be the best that they can be, and your sole purpose in your leadership journey is ensuring those who you are responsible for grow and develop to the fullest of their potential. When they aren't reaching their full capability, its your duty to hold them accountable for their actions, and push them to be better- not because you want to squeeze every last ounce of production out of them, but rather because they aren't realizing the potential that they have.
Imagine how differently a productivity conversation would be with an employee if it came from a place of trust and caring about their individual potential rather than meeting a performance level.....
This feels right to us.
its not rocket science by a long shot- its a simple re-focusing of what is important in leadership and some solid principles and values that you need to be diligent in practicing in order to realize the potential of the philosophy. Is it hard? Yep. Will it take time to implement? Absolutely. Will you see improvement in the engagement of your people? Uh, definately. So what's holding us back again? Nothing.
Its time to make a change and build a better mouse trap when it comes to taking care of our people and leading our organizations the right way. We need to stop focusing on the numbers and start re-focusing on our people. There's a better path for us out there, and call it servant leadership, or ethical leadership or blue ocean leadership- what ever you call it, just make it happen. But it has to start with a committment to being a better, more people-focused leader. And the only person you'll need to authorize that request is you.
So let's do this.


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|27 September, 2017
The Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation held a lunch seminar with Tobias Billström and Gerald Knaus on corruption in the Council of Europe, Wednesday, September 27.
The seminar was sent live and can be watched here.
Read more about the seminar below.
The End of Caviar Diplomacy?
For over a decade, authoritarian governments have tried to capture Europe's oldest human rights institution, the Council of Europe, through bribes and KGB-tactics. The aim has been to neutralize the international human rights movement's strategy of "naming and shaming" those who falsify elections and violate basic human rights.
This trend reached its peak when the President of the Council's Parliamentary Assembly earlier this year flew into Damascus on a Russian jet, as part of a delegation led by a member of Russia's far-right party. Their agenda included a meeting with president Bashar al-Assad which took place two weeks before a sarin gas attack in Syria's Idlib provice.
A coalition of politicians, prosecutors, journalists and civil society actors are now fighting back and an unprecedent independent investigation has been launched to look into the corruption.
Gerald Knaus, Chairman of the European Stability Initiative, and Tobias Billström, Deputy Chairman of the Swedish Delegation to the Council of Europe, presented the current state of affairs and the struggle for a solid human rights regime in Europe.
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subset: commoncrawl


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I buy their old books
Whoever they are
Pieces of them left behind
Tucked in between the pages
Notes and dedications,
A Christmas tag
Used as a bookmark,
A letter once,
From a Summer thirty years ago,
When they were young.
I buy their old books,
And wonder,
To: Carolyn, From: Bruce,
What their stories were.
found inside a first edition of "And to each Season…" by Rod McKuen.
~ Teri Skultety
copyright 2009, from Gold Mine


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I use Camtasia and/or Snagit daily. I've made more videos in the last year than I made in the previous five years. That is going with the trend. Video is changing everything... again. Video is how your customers, patrons and supporters want to interact with you.
You don't need to be a video star. You don't even need to be on camera to start making great videos. What you do need is video software that is affordable and easy-to-use. Camtasia fits the bill perfectly. Grab this course, it made my use of Camtasia so much better... and that was before I even finished the course.
Bundle with TechSmith and Save Offer Expires 12/31/18
I use Camtasia or Snagit daily because they make my job easier. Together, they offer fantastic ways to making and editing videos, screen recordings and screen captures easy. This is an affiliate link, but you get the same great bundle price. You have options for editing videos.
"I believe Camtasia gives the best value, is the easiest to use, and is more than capable of handing all your needs. I highly recommend it!" - Barney Davey
Those who succeed in marketing and communicating online the best will use video. I've been using Camtasia for years. My first version was Camtasia 6. It's only gotten better over time. Unless you are making films for studio production, Camtasia is all you will ever need and more.
Techsmith offers great support for its products. I also use its Snagit screen capture software and I love it, too! While the support and training tutorials are good, I wanted more. Something that broke every aspect of how to use Camtasia down to the smallest detail.
This training is very comprehensive. There are 42 videos covering any and everything you will ever want to know about Camtasia. They are short and to the point, but long on quality in presentation and guidance. You will find the way the courses are laid out is logical. And, you'll love that you can find the exact information you need know easily.
When I found this course it gave me all I was looking for in the way of training. In fact, its' so good I decided to buy a license so I could add it to my library of courses. It offers easy-to-follow, super clear instruction on using Camtasia. Even though I've used it for years, I found a bunch of useful things to add to my bag of tricks. I also learned some easier ways to do things. I know you will love it, too.
Hi,I'm Barney Davey. If you are an artist, photographer, or work as an entrepreneur creative field, I can serve your efforts to create a prosperous career.
I launched a marketing and advertising business in my 20s and sold it to take a position as a senior account executive at a top trade magazine publishing and trade show exhibition company.
We served a variety of small business markets, including:
The exposure into how small businesses succeeded in such a wide range of industries was a fantastic learning experience. I use the wisdom and insights I gained to help artists and other small business entrepreneurs create profitable marketing systems.
Since 1988, thousands of artists have sought my advice for new ways to boost their careers. They trust my books, blog posts, workshops, online training, and consulting to help them get ahead.
I began advising artists in 1988 when I joined Decor magazine and the Decor Expo trade shows as a marketing executive. The shows and magazine were most influential in the retail art business in their time.
Before its demise due to the internet, for 135 years, Decor was in the business of helping artists, galleries, and picture framers. At its peak, the Decor Expo Atlanta Show was ranked in the top 100 among more than 10,000 annual tradeshows produced in the U.S.
As a result of my attendance at more than 200 art tradeshows, I got to know many of the industry's most successful artists. Traveling to shows gave me a unique chance to observe their best marketing practices.
Now, I share my insights and experiences with thousands of artists. They use my knowledge and marketing savvy to find collectors, sell more art and operate a profitable business.
These books have an ongoing impact in the marketplace. Here is a recent screenshot from the Amazon Kindle "Business of Art" best sellers list. It shows five of my books listed in the top 10 all at the same time.
That is an extremely rare feat I'm proud to share with you. I trust seeing these results gives you confidence in my information. Since several of the books are years old, I believe it demonstrates the evergreen quality of the practical advice I provide for artists.
I have also produced and delivered hundreds of live workshops and online webinars for artists on art business and art marketing.
My articles have been published in The Artist's Magazine, Art World News, Art Business News, Professional Artist, Bottom Line Personal, and Picture Framing Magazine. My How to Profit from the Art Print Market book was featured in the North Light Book Club. It is the book club for F+W Media, the parent company of The Artist's Magazine.
I have been featured in, written for or worked with these industry leading media companies, and more.
I have produced and delivered hundreds of live workshops and online webinars for artists on art marketing.
You can get a clear idea of the marketing insights and industry knowledge I share by visiting my Art Marketing News blog. You'll find more than 600 art business and marketing posts. Among art business blogs, it is ranked #1 by Art Business News.
I was honored to be interviewed by Bottom Line Personal. With a a 750,000 circulation it is one of the largest peronal finance and lifestyle publications on the planet.
I'm telling you these things because I want you to have confidence and enthusiasm that my advice can help steer you to a better career. I've devoted most of my business activities and all my passion towards helping artists for nearly 30 years.
I know the work I'm doing to help artists now is the best I've done. It's a happy marriage of passion, productivity, and purpose. My plans to offer more courses and relevant information for artists are just getting started and getting better all the time.


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Kotaku: The Surprising And Allegedly Impossible Death Of EverQuest's 'Unkillable' Dragon
Cecilia D'Anastasio of Kotaku has unearthed the legend of how guilds of classic EverQuest on the Rallos Zek server almost killed an "unkillable" mob — the Sleeper — Kerafyrm. My partner was present at this battle and fought right up until the moment SOE panicked and despawned Kerafyrm. It was a big deal and caused much consternation. Now the story can be told…
From Kotaku:
Rare today are opportunities for gamers to step outside the prescribed outlines of a developer's intended gaming experience, especially in MMORPGs. Back in the early 2000s, anarchic players eagerly hunted down the virtual unknown, where possibility and impossibility were deadlocked within some specter of the original game.
The other day, I heard a piece of virtual worlds lore that brought me back to those times: On EverQuest, in November of 2003, nearly 200 players came together to defeat the apparently invincible dragon Kerafyrm, known as "the Sleeper," against Sony Online Entertainment's designs. The story has everything: warring factions, a tomb, an invulnerable dragon, surprising partnerships and a panicked multinational corporation
In EverQuest lore, he explained, the crystal dragon Kerafyrm was imprisoned in "The Sleeper's Tomb," an icy cave, because he was the child of two dragons from warring families. As the developers' script went, when players entered the Sleeper's Tomb and killed the dragon's four warders, Kerafyrm would awaken. Then, he would kill everyone in sight before rampaging across the world.
After three hours, Kerafyrm's health was depleted to about 26%. He was going to die. And, when did, he wouldn't go on his rampage, as he had on every other server, and trigger the rest of the storyline. It was completely off-script. What would happen to EverQuest's precious story?
Read the entire story by clicking below:
Kotaku: The Surprising And Allegedly Impossible Death Of EverQuest's 'Unkillable' Dragon
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Comments (6)
I remember reading this on foh over 10 years ago. It involved a whole lot of clerics rezzing SK's so they could harm touch IIRC.
Would be cool if a game could have a diverging story on different servers. Favorite NPC died in the story line? switch servers and keep them from dying. (And hope the dude that wrote game of thrones isn't one of the devs!)
in this instance it seems that SOE of that year performed a Leeroy…so named in honor of Leeroy Jenkins, a WoWC player: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeroy_Jenkins
Huh. I guess it's true, they really DON'T ever learn…
Love reading stories like this.
What an amazing story. Thanks for posting it here Feldon, else I wouldn't have seen it.


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Monday night on "The Voice," gospel/soul singer Kyla Jade represented Team Blake Shelton during the live Top 10 episode of Season 14. For Challenge Week, Kyla decided to take on "This Is Me" from "The Greatest Showman" because of the way the anthem inspires people around the nation. She broke into tears during the song and everybody in the audience was soon crying along with her. Do YOU think that Kyla will advance to the next round on NBC's reality TV singing competition? Watch "The Voice" performance video above.
Blake showered Kyla with praise, stating, "Kyla, on a personal note, I love you. We not only heard your message, [but] I think everybody in this room and watching at home felt it. And to talk about the business of this show, I'm pretty sure you just punched your ticket for the semi-finals, so congratulations."
SEE 'The Voice' Top 10: Who was the best (and worst) on Monday's show? [POLL]
Kyla's other performances on "The Voice" so far have included "See Saw," "One Last Time," "You Don't Own Me," "How Great Thou Art," "One Night Only" and "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone." How does "This Is Me" stack up to Kyla's other songs? Let us know down in the comments section. Blake's current team consists of Kyla, Spensha Baker and Pryor Baird.
In his recap of "The Voice," our live-blogger John Benutty summarized, "This is an incredible song choice for Kyla because it's the right amount of drama and large enough to let her huge voice soar. I really love that they included a choir on stage with her because it gives the big stage appeal, but when they dropped away just before the end and it was just Kyla singing with the vulnerability of tears in her voice she had a truly magical moment."
SEE exclusive odds: Who will win 'The Voice'?
Be sure to make your predictions so that the contestants can see how they're faring in our racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs on NBC. You'll compete to win a spot on our leaderboard and a $100 Amazon gift card. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.


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Donna has been instrumental in the development of The Hartnett Law Firm. She has been a dedicated member of The Hartnett Law Firm since its inception, but her history with the Hartnett's goes even further. Donna began working with Jim Sr., in 1966. During her career Donna has developed a reputation in her own right.
Though not a lawyer, Donna has acquired knowledge and experience that make her a valuable asset to the attorneys at our offices and those in and around Dallas. Many attorneys around the state recognize that she is extremely pleasant to work with and provides insight into the practical aspects of probate administration. Some even call for her input into the practical aspects of their own cases or administrations.
Donna has devoted her life to the law and to the advancement of The Hartnett Law Firm's clients. Her tireless efforts have provided the stability of administration needed for any law firm to thrive. She has also enjoyed a close relationship with the Hartnett family, watching all of the Hartnett children grow up and many enter the very firm she helped their father build.
In addition to her work, Donna loves spending time with her own family the most. After raising two children, including her daughter Tracy who works at the firm, she now has the luxury of being a doting grandmother. Other than spending lots of time at the grandkids' sporting events and recitals, she is an avid reader, attends church regularly, and cherishes returning to her native East Texas.


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Automate and skill up to make manufacturing world class
Creating the right harmony between people and machines can help companies move up the value chain, match global standards, ensure zero-defect manufacturing, and manage the current fear of unemployment
Ever since it was launched four years ago, the Make in India initiative has been building confidence in India's capabilities as a global design and manufacturing hub. By 2020, it aims to raise the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the country's GDP from 17%to 25%.
The premise of honing the country's 'capabilities as a manufacturing hub' indicates a strong linkage of the manufacturing sector with the industrial automation sector. Factory automation, in varied levels and capacities, is vital for manufacturers to build efficient value chains and gain global competitiveness. And it is essential for the Indian manufacturing sector to achieve global benchmarks for productivity, quality, and efficiency if the dream of Make in India has to be realised. This assumes more significance for the focus sectors (identified in the realm of Make in India- automotive, pharmaceuticals, food processing, electronic system design, renewable energy, and roads and highways ) as they are the role models and the early adopters of advanced automation technologies, such as Industry 4.0.
The bedrock of a smart factory is 'harmony' between automation solutions and human beings. If some activities are taken care by a robot or an automation solution, then machines and human beings need to work in harmony to deliver the best results. This is commonly misinterpreted as 'competition', because the perception delves more on the reducing number of jobs rather than on the changing form of the jobs fuelled by automation. The crux is that automation automates 'activities' and not 'jobs'.
The auto industry, identified as the 'sunrise' sector under Make in India, aims to make the country one of the top three automobile manufacturing centres in the world, with a gross revenue of US $ 300 billion by 2026. It is one of the sectors where there is a strong need to automate, to scale up the value chain, to match global standards, and to ensure zero-defect manufacturing.
The reasons are aplenty. A typical shops floor here deals with scores of variants that need constant quality checks across multiple points. One defective product can bring financial loss, setbacks to credibility, and risk to the safety of individuals. In such kind of scenarios, a complete one-stop / single-source automation solution based on say vision, robotics, PLC, and safety applications can easily help inspect the quality. Also, with automation, it becomes much easier to address quality issues including 'recalls' – by being able to trace back all key steps in the production chain.
Another example is of the tyre industry, where mobile robots are being increasingly used to move 'green' tyres from one machine to another. The harmony between human and robots is visible on daily basis on these shop floors. Omron also has these in its portfolio, and they are recognised as one of the world's smartest and most productive autonomous intelligent vehicles that signify collaboration between human beings and machines to increase productivity in manufacturing. These robots are replacing fixed conveyors (making the shop floor layout more flexible) and not always people while bringing in efficiency to manufacturing.
Any kind of productivity improvement invariably leads to an increase in demand, leading to more investments and employment. One has to only look at history for evidence to support this. Henry Ford's innovation of assembly line manufacturing for cars was a game-changer that reduced costs, and helped improve quality of automobiles. Closer home, it was the computerization of the banking industry; massive job losses were feared if computerization was taken up in the banking sector. Instead, the opposite happened! This principle of (productivity improvement) applies to any manufacturing setup.
Automation not only drives key performance indicators, but also brings in ingenuity to the shop floors. Robots deployed for repetitive manual labor activities allow employees to focus on tasks that are complex or demand creativity. However, at the same time, it cannot be denied that automation does lead to 'job displacement' and 'upwards skill shift', where low-skilled job profiles get replaced by higher skilled ones. But, as already stated, it improves profitability, which means there will be more money for investments in another manufacturing unit or improving or automating another system in the same facility.
Looking at the bigger picture, automation is one of the reasons why countries like the US can now 'reshore' manufacturing. They are leveraging automation to improve productivity of their manufacturing sector, thus creating jobs.
Creating skilled workers
As the Indian manufacturing sector becomes more and more automated, it is likely to be confronted with the twin challenges of an incumbent low-skilled workforce and the non-availability of skilled workers. Thus a two-pronged strategy focusing on re-skilling the current generation and upskilling the forthcoming generation of workers at a massive scale is the need of the hour. This falls in line with the long-term vision of the government of linking skills development, employability, productivity, and entrepreneurship cohesively, so as to contribute towards the inclusive growth of the country. And the pertinent, not-to-be-overlooked fact is—it's a shared responsibility of all—government, industry, and academia.
The potential for mass unemployment has always been in the air with every transformation. But the society, with its unparalleled ingenuity, continues to take advantage of machines for producing remarkable goods and services, and creating a competitive edge. "To the machine, the work of the machine, to man the thrill of further creation" – this statement of Omron's founder Kazuma Tateisi, made by him in 1970, resonates appropriately even after so many decades. In short, creating a symbiotic association between humans and machines is the key to achieving desirable results in the long run.
By Sameer Gandhi, Managing Director, Omron Automation, India
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The Sower Comes
Book three in the Solas Beir Trilogy
Melissa Eskue Ousley
|5.5 x 8.5 inches
|Ages 14 and up
|Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Available from Gazebo Gardens and Ingram
Life for David Corbin, Solas Beir of Cai Terenmare, is grim, at best. The kingdom he rules is on the brink of war. Abby, the love of his life, has vanished without a trace, and David fears the worst—that she was brutally murdered by the Daughters of Mercy, mercenaries controlled by the dark lord, Tynan Tierney. His friend, Jon, has been captured by the Kruorumbrae, the evil Shadows, and David has no idea how to rescue him, or if he's even still alive. The Eastern Oracle has pledged loyalty to Tierney's cause, and all communication with the Solas Beir and the other Oracles has ceased. And to make things worse, a new evil has risen, the mysterious Sower, a monster puppeteered by Tierney himself.
The only thing working in David's favor is that Lucia, his traitorous aunt, is locked up in his dungeon. She was less than thrilled when her lover, Tierney, tried to kill her, and knows she owes David for saving her life. Lucia may have critical information about Tierney´s plans for the Sower, but after all the pain and trouble she has caused, can David trust her?
Melissa Eskue Ousley lives on the Oregon coast with her family. When she's not writing, Melissa can be found hiking, swimming, scuba diving, kayaking, or walking along the beach, poking dead things with a stick. Before becoming a writer, she had a number of jobs, ranging from a summer spent scraping road kill off a molten desert highway, to years spent conducting research with a team of educators at the University of Arizona. Her interests in psychology, culture, and mythology influenced her writing of The Solas Beir Trilogy. Book One, Sign of the Throne, and Book Two, The Rabbit and the Raven, are also available.


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By Tonnie Iredia
At this year's World Teachers Day celebration held last month, it was revealed that there were no less than 300,000 unqualified teachers in Nigerian schools. The figure which was released by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, was said to be 50 percent of teachers in the country.
The reason for such an influx of unqualified personnel into the system was traced by the Chief executive of the Council, Josiah Ajiboye to the politicisation of education by governors and other political office holders. Ajiboye said nothing new because there is hardly any public position in the country that is appropriately filled.
All over the place, unqualified persons are recruited while many less qualified are brought into a system to supersede more qualified persons who had laboured hard to get to where they are. Although the current recession understandably does not favour official recruitment of staff, there is hardly a day when there is no backdoor recruitment of those connected to people in power- a posture that is by far worse than economic corruption.
As for teachers and Kaduna state, the announcement by the government that it has about 22, 000 unqualified teachers should thus not surprise anyone especially those who have followed development in that state. We can recall that in December 2011 the then State Commissioner for Information and Home Affairs, Saidu Adamu, disclosed that more than 18,000 teachers in the State who possessed fake certificates had been sacked.
The report was never controverted. A few months later, his Education, counterpart, Alhaji Muhammad Usman in a review of the government's activities in the education sector explained that teachers who did not have the minimum teacher's qualification had been flushed out.
At the second National Joint Graduation ceremony of the National Teachers' Institute, former Governor Patrick Yakowa confirmed the situation as follows: "We have assessed and verified the quality of all teachers in both primary and secondary schools which shows us that nearly 50 per cent of teachers in our primary schools lack the required qualifications to teach.
The verification also revealed that about 4,000 teachers had been employed with fake certificates." The implication of this is that Kaduna has always been home to fake teachers making it obvious that what el Rufai is witnessing now is the grave consequence of years of decay.
According to the governor the recruitment of teachers was politicized, allowing politicians and local government chairmen to turn the primary school sector to a "dumping ground for their thugs." The local government council chairmen and other senior politicians and bureaucrats saw teaching as a dumping ground for their thugs, supporters and other unqualified persons. In the words of governor el Rufai, there were many "teachers who were employed at local government level without adherence to standards.
In many instances, no examinations or interviews were conducted to assess the quality of recruits." What appears to have further provoked the state government was that the products of the state education system who were sent overseas for further studies were being withdrawn due to poor academic performance there. El rufai's lamentations were poured out to chiefs and traditional rulers from Southern Kaduna who recently paid him a courtesy visit.
It was against this background that the government acted to sift out the bad eggs among teachers in the state which is now a bone of contention between the government and the Teachers' Union aided by the Nigerian Labour congress.
All eyes are now directed at November 23, when a major strike may disrupt the peace of the state following the decision of labour to withdraw the services of all workers from that day until the governor rescinds his plan to sack teachers who having failed a competence test were declared unfit to remain in service. This is a development that well meaning Nigerians must engage before it is too late because nothing succeeds like dialogue.
In so doing, we all have a duty to offer suggestions on how to resolve the issue. First, the argument that government was wrong to have organized a competence test for the teachers should be dropped as it lacks merit. Government would obviously be failing in its duties if it cannot redress a situation in which teachers in the state are found wanting.
Second, government on its part needs to review its rather harsh posture to sack as many as 22,000 teachers in one fell swoop. It appears too massive with consequences that adversely affect the entire socio-economic milieu of the state.
Our considered opinion is that the issue requires a human face. Whether a test is easy or not; it runs against standard score assessment, if anyone who scored between 50 and 74 percent is said to have failed. It is easier to explain that anyone who scored below 50 in a difficult test failed than to say that because a test is easy only persons who scored 75% which by examination standards is excellent would be seen as having passed.
On this score, we suggest that those who scored over half should not be sacked; rather they should be further trained to overcome their deficiencies. Kaduna can borrow a leaf from Kano which recorded a higher number of unqualified teachers.
According to the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria TRCN "about 8,000 of the 25,000 unqualified teachers in Kano have so far been professionalized through the efforts of the state government and TRCN through referral to Nigerian Teachers Institute (NTI), colleges of education as well as post graduate diploma in education." If this is done over a period, the situation can be redeemed to the benefit of all concerned. We also admonish labour to discard ego and opt for rational negotiations.
It is also expedient to call on all authorities in Nigeria to change their posture towards teachers to whom everyone owes his training. Nigerian teachers deserve better handling than presently is the case across the nation.
While competence tests are good for keeping institutions on their feet, the posture of applying the strategy now and again to only teachers is discriminatory. Many officials in the Ministries of Education all over the country, who supposedly monitor teachers, are less qualified, less productive but better remunerated than teachers.


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The Port of Cebu will soon be decongested as abandoned and forfeited container vans will soon have a new storage area, the Cebu Bureau of Customs (BOC) Collector said on Tuesday.
Cebu Customs Collector Arnulfo Marcos expressed optimism that the port congestion in Cebu will soon be solved following the signing of a memorandum of agreement that allows the Customs to use a 1.2-hectare property near the BOC office.
Marcos, who was guest at the weekly 888 News Forum at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in Cebu City, said the new area can accommodate at least 100 container vans, thereby decongesting the current container port.
He added that the BOC, the Cebu Ports Authority and the Oriental Port & Allied Services Corporation (Opascor) already signed the memorandum of agreement for the use of the 1.2-hectare lot currently used by Opascor.
"The lot will greatly help ease container traffic in the ports of Cebu," Marcos said.
Records showed that at the end of 2014, yard utilization at the Cebu International Port was 92%, a clear indication of congestion.
The BOC attributed the high yard and berth utilization to increase in volume and high container dwell time as well as the growing number of forfeited, seized and abandoned cargo vans. – CebuHeadlines.com


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Ripieno di carne per pasticcini di pasta sfoglia
This stuffing can be made either with stewed veal or chicken giblets or sweetbreads. The latter are preferable, being more delicate and a taste of truffles greatly improves the stuffing. If sweetbreads are used, put them on the fire with a piece of butter and season with salt and pepper. When they have begun to take color, complete the cooking with some brown stock, then cut them in pieces as little as a bean. Add one or two spoons of Balsamella a little tongue, one or two slices of ham cut in little squares, a pinch of grated cheese and a taste of nutmeg, seeing that the ingredients are in such quantities as to make the mixture tasty and delicate. Leave it cool well, as in this way it hardens and can be worked better.
In order to enclose it in pate shells made with puff-paste there are two ways. One is to cook the shells filled with the stuffing, the other to fill them after they are cooked. In the first case put the stuffing in the prepared disk of paste, moisten the edge with a wet finger, cover with another disk of paste and cook. In the second case, which is more convenient because the shells can be prepared one day before, the two disks are put together without the stuffing, but in the upper disk a circular cut must be made as large as a half dollar coin. The pate on cooking swells and leaves an empty space in the interior. Lifting with the point of a knife the little circle above, which has the form of a cover, the interior space can be made larger, filled with the stuffing and covered with the little cover. In this way it is enough to warm them before sending to the table. The puff-paste must always be glazed with the yolk of eggs.
If a large vol-au-vent is to be filled instead of little pate-shells, a ragout of chicken giblets and sweetbread, cut in large pieces, is better.