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One of the foundations of Georgia's new teacher evaluation system will be classroom observations by administrators, which are supposed to occur twice a year and last 30 minutes each.
There are already doubts about whether these classroom visits will occur given the time constraints on principals or whether they will yield reliable information on teacher effectiveness. (See comment from the leader of the DeKalb teachers group that he is hearing complaints these observations are not happening as required in the pilot program under way.)
Here is new research that will add to the concerns. This is from Indiana University School of Education:
Classroom observation measures don't necessarily provide a clearer picture of teacher effectiveness than value-added measures based on student test scores, according to a review of the most recent report from the Measures of Effective Teaching Project's large-scale examination of teacher evaluation methods. The review was led by Cassandra Guarino, associate professor in the educational leadership and policy studies department at the Indiana University School of Education, and co-authored by Brian Stacy, a doctoral fellow at Michigan State University.
The MET describes its latest report, published by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as "the largest study of instructional practice and its relationship to student outcomes." The report, issued earlier this year, is part of a series examining issues of teaching and learning assessment. For this study, the MET team videotaped multiple lessons from teachers across the nation and scored lessons using several different classroom observation rubrics and trained raters. It found that classroom observation scores varied substantially from lesson to lesson, from rater to rater, and from instrument to instrument.
While Guarino and Stacy concur with the MET report authors that multiple measures of teacher effectiveness are needed to provide a more complete picture of teacher performance, they take the interpretation of the MET report findings several steps further.
"Classroom observation measures of teacher performance are as variable and imprecise as value-added measures based on student test scores and should be considered equally controversial," Guarino said. "Given the current state of the art, neither should be held up as a gold standard, although they may both contain important information.
"Teaching effectiveness is a complex construct. I think we have to recognize that all the measures we currently have of effective teaching contain a lot of variability and measurement error," Guarino said.
Her review analyzing the MET Project findings was produced for the "Think Twice" think tank review project, produced by the National Education Policy Center with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. The center's mission is to provide the public, policy makers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications.
Guarino and Stacy question particularly the emphasis the MET report placed on validating classroom observations with test score gains. Although the MET concluded that teachers who scored positively on classroom observations were tied to higher student achievement on state tests and better student evaluations of those teachers, the correlations across measures were quite low.
Guarino said the classroom observations provide important information, but the observations aren't uniform in either the instrument used to grade the observation or how it is carried out.
"The MET report highlights the variability in classroom observation measures of teacher performance. There's a lot of variability in how different rubrics judge a teacher's performance, and there's variability in how a particular teacher's lesson is judged from one rater to another, even using the same rubric," Guarino said. "There's also variability when two different lessons of the same teacher are judged. So what you end up with is a lot of disagreement as to what the teachers' actual effectiveness score should be."
As a result, she said, multiple observations end up being scored on an average to improve statistical reliability, but they remain imprecise.
Also problematic, Guarino said, was the emphasis on how well classroom observations relate to value-added measurements — ones that determine how much "value" a teacher adds to a student's learning based on students' scores on standardized tests.
"The correlations between the classroom observations and the value added are relatively low," Guarino said. "Perhaps they're picking up some different aspects of effective teaching," she said of value-added measures. "It doesn't necessarily mean one is a substitute for another.
Guarino said the MET report shows that classroom observations are most reliable when they focus on classroom dynamics rather than content.
"It may be the case that they pick up on the transmission of non-cognitive skills — things like learning to pay attention, collaborate or express oneself in a constructive manner," she said. "Some current research suggests that these non-cognitive skills have a large payoff in later labor market earnings. Now, value-added measures — i.e., measures of teacher effectiveness based on student test score gains — may be better than classroom observations at picking up on the transmission of cognitive skills."
Guarino and Stacy said the MET report does a good job describing classroom observation tools but leaves several unanswered questions about how they can be best implemented.
•Can school districts afford the time and money required to train classroom observers that would allow a highly reliable classroom evaluation measurement?
•Do classroom observations primarily discern how teachers transmit non-cognitive skills?
•Can classroom observations provide feedback that improves teaching effectiveness in a meaningful way?
Guarino is currently directing a study on value-added measures funded by an Institute of Education Sciences grant. In the study, Guarino and colleagues investigate different methods with simulated data, controlling for certain effects such as low-achieving students paired with high-performing teachers. Even with an idealized simulated data set, Guarino said, the results of her team's work have shown variability in measurement.
"What we found is that value-added measures were fairly imprecise and, in some cases, biased; although some methods were better than others, and measures based on these methods may contain helpful information," she said.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
May 9th, 2012
3:37 am
In the last 2 organized attempts at national radical ed reform, the individual districts, schools, and classrooms are where the implementation got derailed. The principals and teachers, bless their hearts, insisted on teaching the students the content and knowledge they thought was necessary. All this was detailed in the Rand Change Agent Study conducted by the feds from 1973 to 1978.
The MET Project is using classroom observations to insist that this time the teachers most implement outcomes based education practices in the classroom. Or be deemed not effective and lose their jobs. Georgia's NCLB waiver document includes a representation Governor Deal will mandate these observations on all the non-Race to the Top districts.
I also want to note that Hinojosa's Dallas district and Avossa's Charlotte-Meck district were piloting these MET classroom observations. I think that is a primary reason AdvancED recruited them to Cobb and Fulton, respectively. Both districts were piloting what is called Transitional Outcomes Based Education.
By recruiting these men AdvancED made sure Cobb and Fulton became committed to implementing the toxic Transformational OBE. No matter what their taxpayers want. In fact, a tactless principal yesterday admitted that was the primary function of Fulton's new charter. Which I already knew but it was a startling graphic admission.
May 9th, 2012
3:40 am
By the way, I use the term "radical" because that is the term the advocates themselves use in their to the trade, inside documents. Which I have.
May 9th, 2012
5:52 am
While observations may be inconsistent in rating…I do think over time they might provide a more accurate picture than allowing part of the evaluation to be based on student surveys. Is asking a 6 or 12 year old really an accurate picture of teacher effectiveness?
May 9th, 2012
6:00 am
The current instrument is laughably impreciseat best. Based on the adage "more is better," the new instrument may not be much better. The problem, as I see it, is in the time mandated for observation coverage.
From what I see and hear about it, there isn't enough time in the year to implement the observations & paperwork associated with them. What I hear is 3-4 hours of paperwork per teacher and I am not sure if this includes the observations themselves (this comes from administrators piloting the new Teacher Keys system).
The new addition of the 4 "drive-by's" (10-15 minute unannounced walk-throughs) by the governor's office only deepens the time investment on the administrator's part. Where is the time going to come from? What current admin duties will be relegated to a back-burner? Discipline? IEP's? Curriculum development? Meetings (wait, this could be a good thing)? Something has to give or what we will see is another administrative position being necessary (unfunded fo course, this is, of course, GA) solely for implementing observations. Administrative bloat, I already have seen admin positions cteated just for "testing", again unfunded so we lost classroom teachers when it was created. That is where unfunded positions come from, classroom teachers are eliminated and classroom sizes increase. There is not enough preliminary thought going into this and there will be undesireable fallout we do not , as yet, comprehend.
May 9th, 2012
6:00 am
Imprecise, varied, biased. Hmm. Not great adjectives for a vote of confidence in this so-called "objective" teacher observation instrument. Teaching is not a science; it is an art. Trying to quantify "measurables" about good teaching practices is like trying to quantify the quality of grandma's love or the Butterfly Explosion at Callaway Gardens. Bill and Melinda Gates (and Eli and Edith Broad) need to realize that some things are just not quantifiable. But, both of these families, although altruistic in outward appearance, surely realize the billions and billions of dollars that they can tap into once they get their claws totally wrapped around this bonanza called public education.
AdvancED (SACS's parent company) has apparently already realized that there's lots of money to be made in this gig. But, what irks me is the self-righteous tone that drips from the lips of AdvanceMoney's head money-grubber, Mark Elgart. He threatens school systems with the withdrawal of accreditation, whips them in line, and keeps the public monies flowing into his company. To me, it sounds like a form of educational "extortion." But, naive superintendents and school boards continue to willingly hand their hats and brains to this man and his private company. Is this ludicrous or what? Ha!
May 9th, 2012
7:05 am
@Attentive: You have confirmed my suspicions regarding the new VAMs.
They (the "reformers") realize their destructive initiatives are being held up by the classroom teacher who refuses to turn his/her back on solid pedagogy and curriculum.
They've convinced the public that teachers are the enemy and now they are coming in to eliminate those who defy their mandates.
Many of my colleagues seem to believe a change in leadership at the national &/or state level will slow down this train. I tell them they are naive. Both parties are bought and paid for by the true forces behind this movement.
May 9th, 2012
7:12 am
btw: I love good, honest, and useful feedback from an observation. My best observations came from fellow teachers.
Teacher observations should be used as a tool to help a teacher develop his/her craft, Georgia has never been willing to provide the level of support needed to make teacher observations a useful tool.
When we eliminated the NBCT stipend, we pretty much doomed any possibility of having a robust teacher-teacher observation system. A teacher who has completed the NBCT certification is well prepared to observe and HELP other teachers strengthen their craft.
Like too many initiatives in GA, we implement a protocol haphazardly, and never seek input from those most affected…the classroom teacher.
May 9th, 2012
7:13 am
lost a comment in moderation that referenced AP's 3:37 AM post.
May 9th, 2012
7:19 am
only to a point. while firsthand observation is a good thing, the very fact they are in the classroom observing alters the environment and therefor the outcome.
but damned if I can think of something better
May 9th, 2012
7:28 am
I would say observations arent completely reliable, many teachers just put on a show for administrators for about 10 -15
May 9th, 2012
7:33 am
Let me summarize here: it's not okay to evaluate whether a teacher is any good based on whether their students have learned anything (because, if you read this blog, giving the kids a test and making decisions based on the results is the worst thing ever), and you apparently can't evaluate a teacher based on watching them work…
So apparently you can't evaluate a teacher at all, except by taking them at their word when they tell you how wonderful they are.
Got it. The standard educrat mantra: "Give us more money, and give us less accountability, and if you don't do both those things, it's because YOU HATE THE CHILDREN!!!"
May 9th, 2012
7:38 am
As a professor in a large university who has been teaching each semester for the past 24 years, the evaluation of a lecture and lecturer is difficult at best. Teaching is a performance art. Part of the job is to instruct, part to entertain (really). Analogously to that of a rock, country or jazz performer's concert, some will be better than others based on the songs chosen (topic in class) and the performer's enthusiasm and other aspects that are hard to describe, even as the performer (whether one is 'on'). There lies the rub. Add to that a sample of the concert (30 min of the class) and it's no wonder the instrument yields variable results.
May 9th, 2012
7:50 am
How about video monitoring? If they are with the students, there should be nothing to hide or keep private…
May 9th, 2012
8:00 am
@Entitlement: Bill Gates just loves folks like you. You fill his tiny heart with pride.
May 9th, 2012
8:01 am
In Clayton County we have what is called E-walks by adminstration and county visitors. These walks only place stress in the teacher. There is no way a 10-20 minute visit can let the visitor know what is going on in the lesson!! The comments I have received from these visits are crazy. Most of the time it is clear the person doing the observation has no idea what the lesson was designed to teach. There is never a positive comment only negative!! How can we always be doing the wrong thing??
May 9th, 2012
8:08 am
Why does every teacher need to be observed so many times every year – once you have a teacher that is known to be a good teacher – consistently scores high on observations, kids show improvement on tests (notice I do not say score high on state tests because the best indicator is improvement – not how high they score on one test), good classroom discipline, etc. Why treat that teacher the same as a new / unknown teacher or one who has shown problems.
As to the Teacher Keys observations – my school is one of the pilot sites – I teach 3 courses – all of my observations happened during one class because of the scheduling of the observer. How is this an accurate portrayal of my overall teaching (the class was a small AP class by the way)
May 9th, 2012
8:11 am
As a practicing school principal I struggle year in and year out with teacher assessment. (By the way, the "Professor" above is correct in saying that teaching is in part a "performance art".) I have supervised teachers in every grade level, PK-4 to 12, and each grade calls for different skills and talents. The real magic occurs in grades K-2, when teachers take little bright eyed children and teach them to read. There is NO more important skill; a really good reading teacher is worth her/his weight in gold. But most children at that age WANT to learn, they are almost desperate to learn. It is when the child reaches middle school that the task often turns "dirty," so to speak. Really good middle school teachers are few in number. I see magnificent elementary school teachers every day; I have worked with some brilliant high school teachers who take their students to the very highest levels of achievement. It is the middle school teachers who struggle most, not necessarily because they are not good teachers but more often because the middle grades child is so difficult to understand. (By the way, if I could wave a magic wand I'd close every middle school in the country and either go back to the junior high system or go to what Atlanta had for decades, that being a K-7 elementary school and a 8-12 high school. It worked, people.) At any rate, classroom observations are important, but there are other factors and this subject could consume books and books of writings. Suffice it to say, most of us (teachers and administrators) are doing our best in spite of useless federal and state intervention into assessment. As for standardized tests? By and large a waste oif time and money.
May 9th, 2012
8:24 am
Once upon a time, when a school hired a person whom they believed, after a long interview process, was someone they considered to be competent, they usually left them alone unless they had a good reason to think she wasn't doing her job. An occasional walk in is usually of more benefit to the administrator than the teacher. Otherwise, they are a waste of time.
May 9th, 2012
8:27 am
There are different forms of good teaching – there are teachers who set high standards and get students to perform to those standards, there are teachers who take the students who have basically given up and can get them to care again (btw their test scores are generally not very high), there are teachers who are involved in the extra curricular aspects of school (clubs, sports, honor societies etc) there are teachers who work with kids who have emotional issues (diagnosed like autism, ADD/ADHD, as well as ones who are dealing with bullying, deaths of close family members etc),
There are many ways of being a good teacher – test scores and good observations do not measure those.
May 9th, 2012
8:37 am
one observation doesnt give a true picture. 3 or 4 can help. but who has time for that stuff.
May 9th, 2012
8:58 am
"Bill and Melinda Gates (and Eli and Edith Broad) need to realize that some things are just not quantifiable. But, both of these families, although altruistic in outward appearance, surely realize the billions and billions of dollars that they can tap into once they get their claws totally wrapped around this bonanza called public education."
I am not so sure that the above remarks apply to Gates' intent, although I do think that other businessmen and women may have that mercenary intent for entering the educational domain. I remain ambiguous about assigning this intent to Gates, however, because he appears to be interested in other humanitarian projects as well as in education.
However, it cannot be denied that Bill Gates, because of the enormous amount of money that he has poured into educational endeavors, has had – and will have – enormous influence in the direction that education will take in our nation. As brilliant as he is, Bill Gates is businessman and he thinks like a businessman. He has not been trained as an educator, and though he has millions of dollars and seems to want to improve education, educators must continue to question the wisdom of all of his outlined educational approaches. Not that all of his approaches to education are without merit, but if he wishes to make education function more like a business, he may be missing understanding how important the "art" of education is to the educational process, as described by some on this thread. Educators must, also, make certain that they continue to have professional autonomy and that they continue to be respected as professionals, even though they do not have the wealth that Gates has. Wealth and business acuity do not, necessarily, equate to creative and productive educational practices.
May 9th, 2012
9:12 am
a quick, unannounced 5-minute walk-through, done 5-6 times a year (during different points in the class – beginning, middle, end) at different times of the year will tell you who is really teaching and who is not. As a teacher, I found it incredible that administrators make an appointment for when they are going to come and observe you….this allows dog and pony shows, which in turn allow teachers who aren't doing their jobs to continue not doing their jobs. While I would love for administrators to be able to sit and observe an entire class period, it's not going to tell them any more than what I outlined above. What say you fellow teachers? Would love to hear some opinions…
May 9th, 2012
9:17 am
Funny, in 1980 Georgia began a program designed to document that those seeking certiciation as teachers were competent to hold a professional renewable license. The research and design of the program was sound and the good news was that the program worked. It provided information to school systems on the areas of a beginning teacher's weaknesses and the basis for which to build a professional development program for that teacher. The good news is that it worked giving those beginning teachers the additional skills and knowledge that the college programs did not provide. The bad news is that it worked. It acutally eliminated some by denying them a professional renewable certificate to teach in Georgia. The bad news is that it worked by eliminating some who had connections in State Government and the General Assembly killed a program that was seen nationally as a model. Now here we are still trying to find answers to a problem that at one time had a solution. Funny? No, sad. Typical Georgia politics. Money,connections and influence impact legislation not the interest of the public and not the interest in what is best of the state's children.
May 9th, 2012
9:21 am
30 minutes X 2 = 1 hour per year
180 days X 4 hours per day = 720
1 / 720 = .00139% of the school year.
Name me one other profession that would judge your success or failure based on that?
May 9th, 2012
9:21 am
The best way to assess a teacher's effectiveness is to see how that teacher's students do at the next level. If my students struggle during subsequent years, I know I could have done a better job, and I am quite a pest about inquiring how they are doing. I really don't care what an administrator thinks after an observation – I can play that game, and so can my students – because I know that whatever was happening at the time may or may not be representative of what usually occurs in my classroom. I know. My students know. The administrator has no way of knowing.
May 9th, 2012
9:22 am
Don't get me started on teacher observations after what happened to me this year. But I will say.. to be really effective, you would need to be in the class every day, or at least enough to have the studetns exhibit NORMAL behavior, not the perfect behavior most display when an administrator is in the room. Since this is not possible, there is no way to make observations perfect. However, they do have to be done. I would rather be evaluated on these than on student test scores. At least I am being evaluated on MY performance instead of another's performance.
May 9th, 2012
9:27 am
Teacher evaluation has never been a strong point of educational administration and the recent movement toward "gotcha mode" has only made it worse. DR. TROTTER's 6:00 A.M. post identifies part of the problem: teaching is an "art" as well as a science. Inspiring life-long learning in a student is NOT similar to tuning-up an automobile engine or inventing a faster microchip where the results are immediately observable. However, multiple observations by a mentor type observer who is not only trained in pedagogical techniques but is also a subject matter expert has a chance to help significantly. Using building level administrators to evaluate teachers is doomed to failure. There IS a SOLUTION.
May 9th, 2012
9:33 am
The expectation at my school is that an administrator should be able to drop in on any class at any time and see a well-rehearsed "show". I was observed on a day when my students were writing in class, and the comment I received was that writing an essay was not engaging. The Class Keys observation instrument is looking for a very scripted kind of "performance" from the teacher — its very stressful and artificial. I've seen great teachers receive poor evaluations because they didn't do something as simple as post an agenda for the day or have a designated warm-up activity. I used to welcome admin into my classroom but sadly now I fear them.
May 9th, 2012
9:35 am
What's the SOLUTION? Intense observation by people who are expert in their subject, teaching methods and the psychology of learning would be an excellent start. Even the best teachers need a lot of feedback and they don't currently receive much. Having a parent visiting every single class (or as many as possible) as an observer would be a good second step. It's amazing what having a second adult in a classroom does for the learning environment. This would not be as expensive as one might think. The number of administrators could be reduced and staff development largely eliminated. Also, every teacher would not need to be evaluated every year, maybe once every three years. Student standardized test scores could be part of the evaluation process but not the core of it. Testing is a much too blunt instrument.
May 9th, 2012
9:36 am
If administration doesn't have time, how about parent observation? My children's private school allows parents to drop by unannounced and sit quietly to observe. It doesn't disrupt the classroom, both the teachers (yes, 2 per classroom) and students are familiar with the practice. This openness displays that there is nothing to hide. The teachers are doing a wonderful job. If there was something amuck, it would certainly come to light.
May 9th, 2012
9:39 am
Teacher evaluation should be conducted as follows:
1. It should be done by individuals with more than ten years experience in teaching the specific subject.
2. It should be done by people outside the schools. Trained retirees would work well as evaluators.
3. It should be based on at least ten observations.
4. It should include close examination of the teacher's plans and materials
May 9th, 2012
10:03 am
@William Casey …. I agree with those four criteria, except #2………. people outside the schools or unfamiliar with the classroom rarely know anything about whats goin on in a classroom.
Which is one reason why these politically motivated education reforms rarely work
May 9th, 2012
10:06 am
@MAUREEN: You are absolutely correct about the parental filter. However, simply having parents in classrooms improves instruction.
May 9th, 2012
10:07 am
I found Ms.Downey's column to be informative, insightful and timely.It reminds me that all things cannot be well quantified. Just ask those who did the mathmatical models that projected the default rates for subprime home mortgages.
Her column had the dual benefit of making a good point and bringing back high school memories.
I remember the time in Ms. Hendrix's 10th grade english class that Bert Calhoun thought it would be a good idea to…… but that's another story.
May 9th, 2012
10:13 am
@JOHNNY: you are correct…. up to a point. That's why there needs to be ten or more observations and a fair amount of time spent with the teacher outside of the classroom. However, having building-level people evaluate teaching brings cronyism, corruption and non-classroom issues into the evaluation equation. Very bad.
May 9th, 2012
10:25 am
For me (and most of my friends), our visits are rare, as the education process is already running smoothly. I just like to see my children "in their element." They actually seem to forget that I am even sitting there in the corner! What I hope to take away from the visit is a glimpse into the current unit, how the teacher is presenting it, and think how we can reinforce it at home. In elementary school there isn't a great deal of written homework, so we do a lot of "talking" about various topics that they cover in school and how they relate to everyday life and our community or the world. My visit isn't intended to critique the teacher, although I wouldn't hesitate to pass on any deficiencies if I observed some. Fortunately, that hasn't been the case. I think the open door policy helps alleviate having anything to hide. It really facilitates parent involvement more than anything. Teachers must like it or they wouldn't offer it. (It is NOT mandatory.)
May 9th, 2012
10:38 am
"which are supposed to occur twice a year and last 30 minutes each."
LOL…laughable and stupid.
May 9th, 2012
10:38 am
Don't be surprised by Maureen's response. Like most educrats, she considered parents (especially the ones who'd dare to think that the time-serving bottom-feeder their child has been bureaucratically sentenced to for a year of their life has no clue) the enemy. The more parents are kept in the dark they are about what actually happens (and doesn't happen) behind the door of the classroom, the happier the educrats are.
May 9th, 2012
10:48 am
Entitlement Society
May 9th, 2012
10:25 am
Impressive…an entire paragraph dedicated to saying absolutely nothing.
May 9th, 2012
10:49 am
"Even with an idealized simulated data set, Guarino said, the results of her team's work have shown variability in measurement."
Well, DUH! No matter how "scientific" you make it, humans viewing and rating the performance of humans cannot be 100% objective, nor should it be. I love having different people observe me teaching. Their feedback will differ and in between it all there is some truth for me to learn and apply. It never will be objective, and shouldn't be.
"They (the "reformers") realize their destructive initiatives are being held up by the classroom teacher who refuses to turn his/her back on solid pedagogy and curriculum.
They've convinced the public that teachers are the enemy and now they are coming in to eliminate those who defy their mandates."
And it seems they'll never get the fact that they just need to get our support by treating us fairly. Instead they think there's this magical pool of young, eager, infinitely qualified teachers out there somewhere. Yeah right!
May 9th, 2012
10:51 am
Eyes Rolling: If you spent some time in a school, you'd probably be much less cynical about what you see. There are some who aren't doing the job, but by far the majority are very consistently doing it day in and day out. Come on in and spend a few days watching; you might be pleasantly surprised.
May 9th, 2012
10:54 am
@ William Casey: You are a very wise man and bring up many good points to take into consideration. Do you mind if I steal a few? Ha! I especially like your encouragement to use observers from outside the school building because so many non-pedagogical issues get in the way of a fair and accurate evaluation. In fact, the building level administrators simply use the evaluation instrument in a manipulative, vindictive, punitive, and retributive manner. We talked about this "I Gotcha" approach in our very first publication at MACE in 1995. This has been plaguing the public schools every since this anal retentive accountability movement came down the California educational pike almost forty years ago. Prior to this, the supervision of teachers was more facilitative, not snoopervisory, in nature.
William, you and I are probably old enough to remember those good ole days, right? Ha! And, we both cut our teach teaching at Southwest DeKalb High, right? I still long for the days when teaching was actually fun, and teachers looked forward to getting to school each day to interact with the kids. Now, these evil-spirited and myopic educrats and weasel-administrators have turned an exciting profession into a hellish drudgery. They remind me of Imps from Hell! Ha!
May 9th, 2012
10:58 am
Just don't forget about the observations of administrators – especially in how they deal with discipline issue sent to the office.
May 9th, 2012
10:59 am
Anybody ever try to make cornbread out of flour ?
May 9th, 2012
11:05 am
I'm starting to get the idea that many teachers don't think they should be subject to ANY sort of performance review. No matter how it's done, teachers (or others who represent the interests of teachers) complain about how awful it is. Testing is bad for a long list of reasons, classroom observation is too subjective, parents are too stupid to see the 'big picture,' etc. Apparently, there is NO ONE qualified to evaluate teachers, not even other teachers, and all methods of performance review are biased, ineffective, too rigid, unfair, too bureaucratic, and/or too much work.
May 9th, 2012
11:15 am
@ Jessica, you hit the nail on the head! Wouldn't you love to hear who/how IS qualified to evaluate them? Why is this only an issue in public schools? Can't procedures be borrowed from successful private school models? Instead of labeling them as "evil" as many love to do on this blog, why not learn from a system with greater teacher satisfaction and not all of the griping seen on this blog?
May 9th, 2012
11:25 am
I wouldn't know…my review was done without an observation!
May 9th, 2012
11:27 am
In my six years teaching in two private schools I was never evaluated on my instruction. That was in the '80's. Maybe things have changed.


text:
It has been a generation since one of the 20th century's most widely read and well-known philosophers, Ayn Rand, died. And it has been more than a half-century since her most well-known novel, "Atlas Shrugged," was first published. Yet Rand's philosophy of objectivism, based on the moral value and supremacy of rational self-interest and free-market capitalism, is enjoying a major revival of interest.
Yaron Brook heads the Ayn Rand Institute, headquartered in Irvine, Calif., but this 48-year-old Ph.D. permits little grass to grow under his feet. His zeal to spread the philosophy and ethic of Rand takes him across the country and around the world. It brought him earlier this month to Atlanta.
In addition to delivering to students in a packed Georgia Tech classroom a speech containing the elements of Rand's philosophy, Brook fielded tough questions for over an hour. He parried with the students on topics ranging from the industrial revolution to global warming, and from the Federal Reserve to religion.
One thing that emerged from the two-hour-long session, and which in large measure may account for the resurgence in Rand's popularity, is that in many ways it is an inescapable reality that the disintegration of America's economy — which Rand described in "Atlas Shrugged" — is playing itself out today, but in the very real world of 21st-century Western civilization.
Yet, while some critics of the massive growth in the size, scope, power and cost of American government in recent decades come off sounding like sour grapes, Brook is upbeat in his talks to students (his audience of choice). Brook shines not as some sort of cockeyed optimist hoping simply to raise money for a cause. He truly understands and believes in the ultimate power of the free market and of the free will of people exercising their rational self-interest, to prevail over the destructive forces of collectivism.
This blend of reality and optimism is most refreshing; but without the strength of Brook's deep knowledge of history, economics and finance, it would have negligible impact on his audiences. It is this background that lends so much more credibility to his message than all but a handful of speeches I witnessed during my eight years in the Congress or in the seven years since.
When Brook dissects the downfall of the Big Three auto makers, it is a discussion about more than the size of government subsidies or the "evils of big government." I suspect that Brook has little sympathy for those Detroit CEOs who recently were figuratively disemboweled by congressional inquisitors. He understands, and easily conveys to his audience, that the Big Three bailout resulted from the unholy alliance between Washington, Detroit and the UAW — a cancer that had been eating the foundation of this once-mighty industry for decades.
Brook loves to speak about the growth of the computer industry by American entrepreneurs beginning in the 1960s. His eyes noticeably light up when he does so, and not just because he understands how computers revolutionized the modern world. He truly grasps the fact that in America, even with an economy controlled far too much by government taxes and regulations, there remains sufficient residual freedom to permit men such as Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, the founders of Intel, to visualize, create and market the world's first microprocessor; only it would be vastly more difficult for them to do so in 2009 than in 1968, when they began.
Were a Thomas Edison to attempt in 2009 what he was able to accomplish 125 years ago, federal agencies from OSHA to EPA would quickly stifle his genius. By hawking the works and ideas of Rand, Yaron Brook hopes to lay the groundwork for a resurgence of the spirit that propelled America from a lumbering, backwater nation to the agile economic engine for the 21st-century world. For all our sake, let's hope he succeeds.
November 16th, 2009
10:17 am
It is no wonder that Bob Barr is enthused by Ayn Rand and her "Atlas Shrugged," that incredibly idiotic novel espousing primitive, repulsive ideas.
November 16th, 2009
10:27 am
As long as we have a government which rewards the needy and dependant at the expense of the responsible and self reliant, we cannot recover the America that many of us, especially the older ones, remember. America was founded as a place where an individaul could chart their own course and succeed or fail on their own merits. Now success is being punished, and failure subsidized. The government is doing all it can to force workers into collectives called unions, and independant small business owners, who employ most of the people in this country, are footing the bill for this whole social experiment.
Our government decries the income gap in America, but their solution is to make the rich poorer, rather than make the poor richer.
November 16th, 2009
10:38 am
If you're a lion or a tiger, the law of the jungle probably looks pretty good to you. If you're an antelope or a wildebeest, you probably think there's a better way.
November 16th, 2009
11:01 am
Enter your comments here
November 16th, 2009
11:07 am
Read Atlas Shrugged once or a thousand times. The result is always the same. Uncontrolled free markets will never solve our problems because greed rules the bottom line. Government is how we attempt to control greed. Just that simple Mr. Barr.
November 16th, 2009
11:19 am
But who controls the government's greed? No one, and it will destroy us far more surely than private greed, because there's no one to stop it.
Mark: Nice attack. No actual discussion, just insults. Too bad you couldn't raise an actual argument, since life is playing out just like Rand predicted.
November 16th, 2009
11:24 am
Justcallitgreed… You are right…greed is the problem. Not a greed for money or material things, but rather an ever-expanding government's greed for power and CONTROL.
November 16th, 2009
11:34 am
Rob, nice generality about government greed but no solution offered. Have you got one?
November 16th, 2009
11:59 am
Greed? Govt. libtards that constantly scream about taxing everything & anything in sight?
Pot, meet kettle. Kettle, meet pot.
November 16th, 2009
12:30 pm
Hillbilly Deluxe can always put it just so succinctly. I heart him/her.
The Fountainhead is a better read anyway.
November 16th, 2009
12:47 pm
If a man didn't have to eat and drink to stay alive what would a capitalist have to offer?
Labor unions are bad but politcal unions are not.
Ever notice how when a man with the "know-how" hooks up with the man with the finances hook up — after a while the man with the finances forgets he doesn't have the "know-how".
I am for capitalism with rules. Good working people should not be squeezed and manipulated just so others can sit on their butts living the highlife. Nothing wrong with the highlife, just don't squeeze those who provide it. If we are in it together, be in it together.
I love lower taxes, but on 9/12 what income group lost the most, you just have to pay for that protection or be happy with what you have left, same applies to the bailouts.
November 16th, 2009
12:58 pm
November 16th, 2009
1:36 pm
Until these dimwits are run on a rail out of Washington then the same mindless, guiltless politics will prevail. Just look at our leaders.
Joe Biden…representing the "hair club for men".
Harry Reid…booger eater extraordinare.
Nancy Pelosi…Poster-girl for plastic surgery mishaps.
Barney Frank…Long lost brother of Rip Taylor.
Barack Obama…Have teleprompter will travel.
And none of these individuals are really that intelligent. They are just great double-talkers. Great liar, cover-up artists and if the truth were known should probably be breaking rocks on some chain-gang.
These are our so-called leaders? No wonder the Amercian people are in a complete rebellion. Is anyone surprised Atlas has no yet commited suicide.
November 16th, 2009
1:40 pm
- Conservatives need to understand that it is the actions of
INDIVIDUALS that is harming our country, not the actions of a
collective government, as demonstrated by the real-life crimes of
certain business leaders (MCI Worldcom, Enron, Healthsouth,
etc.) and "investors" such as Bernard Madoff.
Ayn Rand's novels weren't so much a form of social science fiction
as they were an argument for objectivism. And conservatives also
need to understand that objectivism is not just a philosophy of self-
reliance and rational self-interest – it also is atheistic in nature, using
rational thinking to deny the existence of God. Just though I'd weigh
in, FYI.
November 16th, 2009
1:43 pm
- I also agree with sane jane. "The Fountainhead" is the
novel you should start with if you delve into Rand's works.
That's why they used it on the now-defunct sci-fi show
November 16th, 2009
2:14 pm
People, just be grateful that Bob Barr has read another book besides "1984″. Even though he still chimed in with his big bro mantra, at least he mentioned a second book.
I read "Atlas Shrugged". It's a cookbook! Run for your lives!
November 16th, 2009
2:19 pm
I was there that night, and I second Mr. Barr's evaluation of Brook. It was a superb lecture, and an even better Q+A session. The strength of Brook's talk was his continuing focus on the *morality* of capitalism. Free markets are not just practical, he argues — they are *moral*. Freedom, individualism, and capitalism are required for an ethical system of government. I only regret that this point is lost on the Libertarian Party! As long as you concede the moral argument to the opposition, Mr. Barr, your party will never succeed. I note that you made scant mention of ethics in this article, despite the fact that half of Brook's lecture focused on morality.
November 16th, 2009
2:40 pm
" . . . it is the actions of
INDIVIDUALS that is harming our country, not the actions of a
collective government . . ."
180 degrees backwards.
The collective government action of turning wealth/money into fiat air-notes is at the root. This collective progressive power grab sent us down the road to funny money. Where money is a joke, jokers will play and scoundrels will gather. Un-collectivize money and the awful exigencies of the market will keep them off the playing field.
November 16th, 2009
2:57 pm
It is the individual, not government, that makes a society great. It is the individual who creates the job, writes the book, composes the music, cures the disease, etc. Rand understood this. So- called "help" from the government is just a Trojan horse for control of our lives and loss of our freedoms.
November 16th, 2009
4:20 pm
You posters should go hear Yaron speak. Ask him to explain and clarify your issues to you.
His is simply intelligent and engaging.
November 16th, 2009
4:52 pm
Jimmy62: "life is playing out just like Rand predicted" Really? Did you really read that book? You must be kidding.
November 16th, 2009
4:56 pm
Hillbilly Deluxe
November 16th, 2009
10:38 am
Successful capitalists don't kill or eat anyone. In a true free market the relationship between rich and poor is mutually beneficial. Even capitalists who lose out in competition don't get killed or eaten, unless it's by themselves because they can't deal with a setback.
November 16th, 2009
5:04 pm
I am sure Mr. Yaron Brook is intelligent and engaging. I wonder how much time he spent on the Ayn Rand gook's mantra: "I swear by my life and love of it I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."
All volunteers and charity workers must have been enchanted.
November 16th, 2009
5:09 pm
- Mr. Conservative –
You (and Donohue for that matter) are confusing individualism
with invention.
Invention is older than civilization itself, and it is not an achievement
of individuals alone. Sure, there is some individual effort, but to suggest
that achievement comes ONLY through the efforts of the individual
is what's behind the bulk of failures our country is experiencing in
the 21st century.
How many times have you and Donohue heard the mantra for and about
service in the military, that it is a belief in "service over self" ?
What we have now in this country is a belief, mostly among conservatives,
that individual wants and needs rule above all else. Yet this is also the main
"value" expressed by the ME generation, as well as mainstream Hollywood.
Why do you think so many actors and actresses shift over to the right of
the political spectrum (as well as a former beauty queen)?
If we continue to reject any kind of collective action, regardless of the
circumstance (remember UNITED WE STAND ? If that isn't collective
action, I don't know what is), other countries will seize upon our inability
to work together as a team and exploit us as "individuals".
No quarterback can win a Superbowl ring all by himself. No student can
self – teach him or herself throughout their entire academic career. And
no country comprised of nothing but individuals can endure. Remember,
United We Stand – Divided We Fall.
November 16th, 2009
5:10 pm
How 'bout them DAWGS!!
November 16th, 2009
5:29 pm
Dr Brook may want to explain why he is exploiting his MBA and PhD, from the UT at Austin – a publicly funded, taxpayer subsidized education – to make a living as a financial guru and yet draws a salary of 415,000 fro the 'not for profit' Ayn Rand Institute.
He is the quintessential definition of a moocher – a man who does not productive work but survives on the largesse of people donating to a non-profit
A not-for-profit-Ayn-Rand-Institute is the classic definition of an oxymoron.
Do as I say not as I do is the credo of all these hypocrites.
November 16th, 2009
6:05 pm
I am sure Mr. Brook would support the abolition of all privileged positions per tax policy — through advocating the end of compulsory taxation.
November 16th, 2009
6:18 pm
dewstarpath, all this collective past on which you claim current productive people benefit (and claims to individual accomplishment being thereby void)….
Were those past achievements performed by "society?" If so, please forward society's Social Security number. I want to find him and thank him personally.
Irony aside: there is no such thing as a collective brain, a collective will, collective rights, collective achievement, IN FACT. There may be a metaphoric pointing to a set of people and ideas, but those are still individuals, not in fact a 'collective' being. You cannot run my soul and I cannot run yours. Is there an accumulated body of knowledge and progressive improvement by one person over those of the past on specific fields? Of course.
Ayn Rand honors this intensely in her epistemology. Humans developed a rational method of concept creation based on the particulars of reality. This allows knowledge to be passed from one person to another. It allows an individual to 'load up' on a mass of discovery in his field. However, there is no intrinsic 'debt' to those in the past which can justify the binding of the current individual to others currently alive. The productive person must produce new value in order to have something to trade with others doing the same thing.
November 16th, 2009
7:29 pm
Netkabuki @5:29, you just pretty much nailed it. Where are all the Randians acknowledging the benefits they have received, the opportunities they have been provided, etc, that would not, could not have happened without the presence of the "collectivism" they claim to so despise? If someboody claims to be a "self made man', they lie.
November 16th, 2009
8:25 pm
- John Donohue –
You misquote me:
"- all this collective past on which you claim current
productive people benefit (and claims to individual
accomplishment being thereby VOID)…"
My ACTUAL quote:
" – Sure, there is some individual effort, but to suggest
that achievement comes ONLY through the efforts of the
individual is what's behind the bulk of failures our country
is experiencing in the 21st century."
I acknowledge the achievements of the individual. But our
greatest achievements come from teamwork. That's the
way it is – a fact of life that can be seen everywhere.
Going back to the sports example – just because a team
wins a championship or a Superbowl, doesn't mean that
you can't have an MVP – it's just that the MVP isn't more
important than the team as a WHOLE.
And Ayn Rand was not the figurehead of the philosophical
concept known as epistemology. That honor goes to Alfred
North Whitehead, of Ramsgate, Kent (U.K.). Epistemology
is rational, but objective in that the individual has to have a
multi-faceted outlook at a given situation – not the tunnel
vision most conservatives tend to have. Objectivism (Rand) and
objectivity (Descartes) are fundamentally different.
November 16th, 2009
8:26 pm
- saywhat? –
You nailed it as well.
November 16th, 2009
8:34 pm
- Donohue –
One other thing. You can advocate it until you're
blue in the face, but "the end to compulsory
taxation" ? Don't hold your breath. This is reality.
There is no such a thing as a "taxless government".
The Revolutionary War started over "taxation without
representation", not "taxation with immediate
cessation". If that happened, there wouldn't be an
America today for you to freely express your views.
Armies and navies are paid for with taxes. Fact of life.
November 16th, 2009
9:46 pm
November 16th, 2009
5:04 pm
Being a volunteer or a charity worker does not equate to living for the sake of another man.
Anyone who works honestly for a living is trading value for value, whether they work for a charity, another type of nonprofit, another type of organization, or themselves.
Most volunteers are getting something and/or hoping to get something out of their volunteering, even if it's not financial.
November 16th, 2009
5:29 pm
A person who works for a nonprofit is not a moocher as long as he or she is giving fair value for the income.
Ayn Rand approves of the profit motive, but this does not equate to insisting that every organization make a profit.
November 16th, 2009
8:25 pm
Any team is composed of individuals. It is true that these individuals must work together to optimize their success as a team, but the team is nothing without the contributions of its individual members.
November 16th, 2009
8:34 pm
The way in which government is financed needs to be reformed, but this can only be done after government is cut back to its proper functions. There are non-coercive ways to fund government. Ayn Rand addressed this point.
November 16th, 2009
10:35 pm
Mr. Barr, I'm assuming you are referring to the incandescent light bulb invented by Edison as something that couldn't be done today. Evidently you are unaware of the LED bulbs developed by CREE in the US and Philips in the Netherlands. You and presumably Dr. Brook are far too pessimistic regarding the capability of today's individual and corporate inventors. And yes, we need the FDA, EPA, SEC etc. to keep people from doing some very bad things. Speaking of initials, do DDT and CFC's mean anything to you.
November 16th, 2009
10:58 pm
John: DDT was and is a life saver, the most efective and economical prevention of mosquito born diseases including malaria and yellow fever. It has saved millions of lives before it was banned. CFC's are excellent highly efficient refrigeration agents that serve man with safety and economy. Both have been banned on false representation of their nature when used for these purposes. Check the facts before repeating by implication these false ideas.
November 17th, 2009
12:31 am
The Thomas Edison comment is typical of the whining "no more regulation" crowd. No Mr. Barr, it wouldn't be government that would slow down or stop a would-be inventor of a new battery that would yield enough power to make automobiles function at their present speeds for a week It would be big oil companies and the boot-licking politicians that live off them that would halt that inventor.
November 17th, 2009
6:37 am
Conservatives may think well of Ayn Rand but her form of capitalism is so unreal, so Utopian that conservatives should think more than twice. Opposition to Utopian thought is the most important element of conservatism. This all tells me that our so-called conservatives are not very smart or very conservative.
November 17th, 2009
8:22 am
Yaron Brook is an extremely articulate and persuasive exponent of his views. Agree or disagree, people ought to listen to him.
November 17th, 2009
8:51 am
John, taking care of your own needs may be repulsive to you but many, like myself, have no problem coping without the hand of mommy Gov't. I will go out on a limb and say you are a supporter of Obamacare and Social Security.
November 17th, 2009
10:22 am
November 17th, 2009
12:31 am
You admit then that politicians, i.e. government, would be needed to suppress an invention. Big companies couldn't do it by themselves in a free market.
norman ravitch
November 17th, 2009
6:37 am
Please define "Utopian".
November 17th, 2009
11:37 am
Wow. I'm shocked by some of the vehement comments coming from posters today. It seems that many of you have read Atlas Shrugged and/or The Fountainhead; however, I wonder how many people spewing such vitriolic statements have read The Virtue of Selfishness, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, and The Romantic Manifesto.
It seems as though many of you do not understand what Rand meant when she talked about "rational self interest." Such a viewpoint does not prevent one from donating to or working for a charity, it explains a moral way to promote Capitalism, and it teaches self reliance and accountability.
Sounds pretty terrible, huh?
November 17th, 2009
12:22 pm
Going Rogue is the new Atlas Shrugged.
November 17th, 2009
12:34 pm
Oh, for cryin' out loud – today's 'conservative' don't know Hank Reardon from Hank Williams…
November 17th, 2009
1:36 pm
But who controls the government's greed? No one, and it will destroy us far more surely than private greed, because there's no one to stop it
We do. It's called "vote them out of power". Why do we continue to let the greedy avarice politicians remain for years/decades and do nothing about it but complain about their greed? Like the scorpion said to the frog, you knew what I was when you let me ride on your back.
November 17th, 2009
1:39 pm
Want no more government controls? Wanna peanut butter sandwich? (or a piece of meat, or some milk, or some green onions, or some tomatoes, or…………….)
November 17th, 2009
2:35 pm
- john – stevieb – norman ravitch –
Thank you. We need more people like you
at the state level of government.
November 17th, 2009
2:40 pm
- dbm –
If you think big business can't suppress an invention,
maybe you ought to research Kearns v. Ford Motor Co.,
as depicted in the 2008 film "Flash of Genius" .
November 17th, 2009
6:54 pm
Dr. Whaley, my point regarding DDT and CFC's was related to their overuse before they were regulated. Surely you are aware that neither of these chemicals readily break down. DDT is therefore concentrated in the food chain. Also there is some evidence that mosquitoes are developing a resistance to it. As for CFC's, their role in destruction of the ozone layer was determined by some really good science and they were banned except for essential uses where no substitutes exist. Usage dropped by more than 90%. It's pretty obvious that without government intervention the use of DDT and CFC's would have increased.
November 17th, 2009
8:47 pm
Ayn Rand was a navel-gazing purveyor of fiction, period. Rand disciples rant about the "government" as if there is a difference between the public sector and the private sector. Are the lobbyists who project the (self) interests of corporations representative of a "free market"? The evil "government" and "unions" came about because unbriddled self-interest (greed) has its limits. I openly admit that I don't know where the limit exists and neither unfettered free market capitalism, nor collectivism is the answer. Were markets allowed to operate independent of special interests, maybe we'd have a better mousetrap, but Ayn Rand's musings are no more valid than the musings of Karl Marx. SELF RELIANCE is the key, self-interest is a dead end.
November 17th, 2009
10:33 pm
"I am sure Mr. Yaron Brook is intelligent and engaging. I wonder how much time he spent on the Ayn Rand gook's mantra: "I swear by my life and love of it I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."
All volunteers and charity workers must have been enchanted."
I spend one morning a week living for another man (or in this a woman and her family), working on a Habitat for Humanity house. It has to do with that Christianity stuff. Anybody putting out some effort for something philanthropic has contributed more to our country than Ayn Rand.
And let's not forget Thalidomide. Thank God a bureaucratic lady in the FDA stifled it from being approved in this country.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Information on the Amazon River, with map, fact file, and image gallery.
Working to defend the environment and rights of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon basin. With press releases, news clips, and reports.
Environmental media project with a focus on the Guiana Shield region of South America, stretching from northeastern Brazil, through French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela and eastern Colombia, up to the Andes.
Article on the Chelus fimbriatus. By William H. Espenshade, III.
Case study to develop a multinational river basin plan for the multipurpose use of the Pilcomayo (Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay).
Study on the environmental effects of mining in Rio Pilcomayo.
Links to information on volcanoes in different countries in the region.
Provides map showing seismicity in South America. From the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center.


text:
Government Turnover in Parliamentary Democracies
AbstractIn this paper we consider a dynamic model of government formation and termination in parliamentary democracies. Our analysis accounts for the following observed phenomena: (1) Cabinet reshuffles; (2) Cabinet replacements; (3) Early elections; (4) surplus governments; (5) Minority governments; (6) The relative instability of minority governments.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Download InfoIf you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics, New York University in its series Working Papers with number 98-31.
Length: 41 pages
Date of creation: 1998
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cvs:starer:98-31
Contact details of provider:
Postal: C.V. Starr Center, Department of Economics, New York University, 19 W. 4th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-8936
Fax: (212) 995-3932
Web page: http://econ.as.nyu.edu/object/econ.cvstarr.html
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Postal: C.V. Starr Center, Department of Economics, New York University, 19 W. 4th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10012
Related researchKeywords: government stability; minority coalitions; surplus coalitions;
Other versions of this item:
- Diermeier, Daniel & Merlo, Antonio, 2000. "Government Turnover in Parliamentary Democracies," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 46-79, September.
- Daniel Diermeier & Antonio Merlo, 1998. "Government Turnover in Parliamentary Democracies," Discussion Papers 1232, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
- Diermeier, Daniel & Merlo, Antonio, 1998. "Government turnover in parliamentary democracies," Bulletins 7453, University of Minnesota, Economic Development Center.
- D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- H19 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Other
- C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games
ReferencesReferences listed on IDEAS
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- Diermeier, Daniel & Merlo, Antonio, 2004.
"An empirical investigation of coalitional bargaining procedures,"
Journal of Public Economics,
Elsevier, vol. 88(3-4), pages 783-797, March.
- Daniel Diermeier & Antoni Merlo, 1999. "An Empirical Investigation of Coalitional Bargaining Procedures," Discussion Papers 1267, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
- Antonio Merlo & Charles Wilson, 1997. "Efficient delays in a stochastic model of bargaining," Economic Theory, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 39-55.
- James M. Snyder, 1991. "On Buying Legislatures," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 93-109, 07.
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(Click To Enlarge) We're proud to announce and show you to 2013 A Night of Music flyer! Designed & sponsored by our own Matthew Sabia and inspired by one of our...
A Night of Music 2013 will take place at the Fairfield University Quick Center For The Arts (same as last year) for more information and updates please don't forget to follow us on...
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WICC 600 With Suzanne and Charlene!
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Conquer Chiari has an active program of awarding Research Grants and organizing Conferences in support of the Goals and Objectives identified in our Research Agenda.
Total Active Research Projects
Total Completed Research
Total Research Funded To Date
$ 1,400,000
$ 442,000
$ 1,842,000
If you are a scientist or medical professional interested in Chiari research and have a project you would like to discuss, please call Rick Labuda at 724-940-0116 or email: firstname.lastname@example.com
MRI Based Classification of Chiari Malformation
Almost every Chiari patient knows that tonsillar herniation alone is not a good indicator of symptomatic Chiari. The question then becomes, is there another objective way to identify (or diagnose) symptomatic Chiari from MRIs? Dr. Malena Espanol of the Mathematics Dept. at the University of Akron believes there is. Dr. Espanol will apply what is known as Machine Learning to the problem. Basically, the idea is to input a large amount of data – in this case morphometric measurements from the MRIs of Chiairi patients and healthy controls – into a computer analysis, so the computer can learn how to distinguish between symptomatic and asymptomatic Chiari. Dr. Espanol's preliminary results are very encouraging, so Conquer Chiari has awarded her a $33,000 grant to continue her promising work. Developing an objective way to diagnose Chiari is one of Conquer Chiari's top research priorities.
Voices of Chiari: Advancing Chiari Research Through a National Patient Registry
The Conquer Chiari Patient Registry now has data from more than 1600 patients. To analyze this wealth of information, Conquer Chiari is awarding Dr. Michelle Chyatte and her colleagues at NEOMED a $90,000 grant. The project includes statistical analysis for professional publications, and the creation of a new website which will allow patients to compare themselves to the data in the registry. In addition the NEOMED team will perform in-depth qualitative research on patients and their families to better describe how Chiari impacts people.
The Developmental and Psychoeducational Impact of Chiari Malformation
Dr. Kevin Kaut, a professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Akron, and a former school psychologist will examine in depth the impact Chiari has on school age children and adolescents with a $53,000 grant. Specifically, Dr. Kaut will interview and assess Chiari patients in different age groups to gather data on their cognitive abilities and school experiences. By scientifically examining how Chiari affects children in school, Dr. Kaut believes he can then develop materials and guides for both parents and school officials to maximize Chiari children's participation in the school environment.
Metabolic and Inflammatory Alterations in Patients with Chiari Malformation
Many neurological conditions, such as MS, have been shown to involve significant changes in brain metabolism with indications of an inflammatory response. Dr. Leah Shriver, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology at the University of Akron, will use a $60,000 grant to explore her hypothesis that Chiari patients, due to the tonsillar herniation and disrupted flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) will show significant alterations in the metabolic profile associated with the central nervous system. Dr. Shriver is an expert in metabolomics and has studied the metabolic response associated with MS. Dr. Shriver believes that characterizing the metabolic response of CM patients will provide insights into the fundamental understanding of Chiari and also may provide an indicator of Chiari related pain.
Brain Damage in Chiari 1 Malformation
A $142,000 research grant to Phil Allen, PhD and Bryn Martin, PhD to understand the neuroscience of brain damage in Chiari I malformation patients. This work will help to understand how damage to brain tissue occurs in Chiari and the cognitive and/or emotional impacts this damage may impart. Dr. Allen and Martin will utilize detailed psychological tests (32-lead electroencephalogram and others) and MRI diffusion tensor imaging and brain motion analysis tools to quantify brain damage in Chiari. This interdisciplinary study will be conducted in partnership with Cleveland Clinic Foundation (Stephen Dombrowski PhD and Mark Luciano PhD, MD) and Vanderbilt University (Seth Smith, PhD). Results from this study will help to understand the location that damage occurs in Chiari and new information about the specific neural circuits involved. Dr. Allen joins the CCRC team at the University of Akron to conduct this uniquely interdisciplinary study.
Molecular Biology Assessment of Syringomyelia
A $67,000 research grant to Nic Leipzig, PhD to conduct research in nerve damage and healing and to specifically look at the molecular processes that are involved in syringomyelia. The work will characterize the fundamental process of nerve damage, which is presently not well understood. Dr. Leipzig will utilize state of the art cellular tools to reveal this process. It is hoped that results from this study will help the development of treatment strategies to restore nerve function damaged by syringomyelia. With this funding, Dr. Leipzig joins the CCRC team at the University of Akron to conduct this important work.
Conquer Chiari Research Center
An ongoing project ($425,000 granted to date) for the establishment of the world's first research laboratory dedicated solely to advancing the medical and scientific understanding of Chiari malformation in order to improve the experiences and outcomes of patients. The Conquer Chiari Research Center (CCRC) at the University of Akron will be a state of the art facility, staffed with distinguished researchers, working diligently to: Apply the latest engineering techniques and analyses to improve diagnoses and treatment options, Leverage the Conquer Chiari Patient Registry to study the epidemiology and natural history of Chiari, Foster collaborations with leading clinicians and scientists to advance the Conquer Chiari Research Agenda and act as a focal point for the Chiari research community and attract more researchers to the study of Chiari.
Conquer Chiari Patient Database
A $125,000 project, administered by Conquer Chiari itself, to create a web based, secure database of demographic and health related information about Chiari patients. Patients will enter their own data on topics ranging from diagnostic history, to surgical history, to the impact Chiari has had on their lifestyle, all to help answer fundamental questions about Chiari. The database will be used : 1) as a source of potential Chiari patients who might be interested in participating in research studies 2) for Conquer Chiari to identify potential areas of research 3) for Conquer Chiari to perform internal research 4) for external researchers to perform research. The database will be made freely available to qualified researchers for approved projects.
Cellular and Molecular Processes Affecting Posterior Fossa Volume (Phase III)
A 3 year, $300,000 grant to Dr. Georgy Koentges to continue his groundbreaking work in understanding how and why the posterior fossa in classical Chiari is undersized and abnormal. Dr. Koentges' team has made tremendous strides in identifying the underlying mechanisms involved in the development of the bony structures that are affected in classical Chiari. With this project, his team hopes to not only fully explain those processes, but also to identify a small number of candidate genes that may be responsible. Identification of such genes would be a major advance, and would enable human geneticists to advance their work in identifying genes involved with Chiari I.
Cognitive Interventions in Children with Chiari Malformation Type 1
A $75,000 research grant to Dr. Frim and his team at the University of Chicago to extend their previous work investigating the cognitive impact of Chiari. The project will investigate the effects of two types of cognitive interventive therapies designed to improve working memory and attention (one computer based and one based on more traditional face-to-face therapy) on neurocognitive performances of children diagnosed with Chiari malformation type 1. Their hypothesis is that CM1 patients with below average executive function and memory will show improvement in those functions after one or both of the intervention. It is hoped that this project will serve to validate the hypothesis and provide the basis for a larger, multi-center NIH funded study.
Physiology-based Quantitative Assessment of CSF Flow Obstruction at the Foramen Magnum in Patients with Chiari I Malformation: Preliminary Study
A $30,000 research grant awarded to Dr. Bhadelia at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for a pilot study to quantitatively assess the degree of CSF flow obstruction at the foramen magnum in patients with Chiari I malformation (CM) using fast CSF flow imaging with MRI and physiological challenges such as Valsalva maneuver. The long term goal of this work is to provide quantitative data to clinicians to help guide diagnostic and surgical decisions.


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Taylor Swift Mixes Her Song With Goat-ye
This Taylor Swift parody has nearly 2 million views. One can only wonder how many videos this goat will appear in, in the future. He'll probably end up more popular than William Hung.
This Taylor Swift parody has nearly 2 million views. One can only wonder how many videos this goat will appear in, in the future. He'll probably end up more popular than William Hung.
...and if you can only have one beer per day then might I suggest the beer in the photo above!
National Chocolate Day reminded me of the most memorable comedy bits of Bill Cosby's career. Check out his video by clicking on the title up above.
The first time I heard Thomas Rhett's song "Beer With Jesus" I started wondering when the parody songs would be coming. There could be a Hawaiian version called "Pineapple Spear with Jesus" or an East Indian version called "Paneer with Jesus"
I saw Chris Kattan last night and was expecting to bust a gut. A friend of mine said once comedians get famous their stand up isn't as funny and he was right. In Kattan's case though he sounded like a bitter old man
Get ready to laugh for a great cause. You are invited to Bones Brewing this weekend for a comedy show to help rise money for those involved in the tragedy at High Plains Stables in which 19 horses were tragically lost in the early morning of April 23.
Following a successful television run with her self-titled sitcom 'Reba,' Reba McEntire is getting another crack at the small screen. The singer-turned-actress' new series, 'Malibu Country,' has been picked up by ABC, after a pilot episode was given the greenlight earlier this year. Now, the first official trailer for the series has been released.
Get ready for a gut-busting good time! Rodney Carrington is coming to Billings! The "Laughters Good" tour rolls into the Shrine Auditorium on May 3 featuring a mix of his comedic songs and hilarious stand-up.
With three nominated shows, NBC leads the pack for this category. Our money's on ABC, though, for a repeat from last year's winner 'Modern Family,' but NBC's critical darling 'Parks and Recreation' could pull an upset. Here are all the nominees:
We all know that Twitter has become a very important resource for worldwide breaking news, and the information that is shared has, in a lot of ways, helped to change the world.
Last night, thousands of people (if not millions) took to their Twitter accounts to report on and gather information about the death of Osama bin Laden.
But there's a whole other side to the social media site that goes on simultaneously as the important facts are being passed around: the humorous and satirical take on the subject by the thousands of comedians and writers who are on Twitter. We searched around and highlighted a cross section of how comedians reacted to the news of bin Laden's death.
Read 23 humorous tweets (in no particular order) after the jump.


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Death Cough is an entertaining tongue-in-cheek app specifically designed to ensure you always know when your battery needs a little extra juice. When its "sick" threshold is met, it will play a polite (although somewhat ill-sounding) cough and present an alert window, even if your device is doing something else or locked and in your pocket. When the "death" threshold is met, the app will play the configured "dying" notice, alerting you to recharge your device or it will shortly power off.
"We wanted to provide iPhone users with a fun and easy way to maintain awareness of their phone's battery life," says Verietas founder Joshua Pressnell, "and we thought a theme that poked fun at the common concept of a 'dying battery' would be entertaining and well-received by the public."
Death cough is the first iOS battery app that is not designed to be in the foreground. It doesn't attempt to tell you how much operational time you have left. It's not supposed to be displayed at all. "Its sole intended purpose," says Pressnell, "is to sit, patiently waiting, in the background, waiting to alert you when the battery is running low." Never get caught with a dead battery again. Let your phone tell you when it is dying.
Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
* Requires iOS 4.0 or later
Pricing and Availability:
Death Cough 1.1 is only $0.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Entertainment category.
Verietas Software
Death Cough 1.1
Purchase and Download
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Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, Verietas Software develops and publishes interesting and useful mobile applications of all types and is the developer of numerous apps in the top category charts. Copyright (C) 2011 Verietas Software. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.


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Business HighlightsSeptember 26,2013US new-home sales jump 7.9%
WASHINGTON Americans stepped up purchases of new homes in August after cutting back in July, suggesting that higher mortgage rates are not yet slowing the housing recovery.
Sales of new homes increased 7.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 421,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That comes after sales plunged 14.1 percent in July to a 390,000 annual rate.
The rebound in sales could ease worries that higher mortgage rates have started to dampen sales. It coincided with the best month of sales for previously occupied homes in more than six years. And homebuilders remain more confident in the market than theyve been in eight years.
JPMorgan in $11B settlement talks
ALBANY, N.Y. An $11 billion national settlement is under discussion to resolve claims over JPMorgans handling of mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the recession, said a government official familiar with ongoing negotiations among bank, federal and state officials.
The Justice Department is taking the lead on the settlement, which would include $7 billion in cash and $4 billion in consumer relief, though the deal also would include states with claims against the bank, the official said. The official spoke Wednesday with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because a settlement hasnt been reached and the person wasnt authorized to discuss it publicly.
The government has continued investigating JPMorgan over mortgage-backed securities, which lost value after a bubble in the housing market burst and helped spur the financial crisis.
- Associated Press
Nairobi attack puts onus on mall safety
NEW YORK Some malls around the world have been scrambling to add security guards to look for suspicious people following a deadly attack on a shopping center in Nairobi over the weekend. But for other malls, its been business as usual.
The mixed reactions by malls across the globe isnt unusual in an industry whose security efforts vary from unarmed guards in most shopping centers in the U.S. to metal detectors and bag searches in places like Israel to main entrances that resemble airport security lines in India.
The disparity offers a glimpse of why any moves following the Nairobi incident to increase mall security in countries that have less strict procedures arent likely to last: The industry continues to struggle with how to keep shoppers safe without scaring them away.
Factory good orders up slightly
WASHINGTON Companies placed slightly more orders in August for U.S. long-lasting manufactured goods, stepping up demand for cars, trucks and machinery. Even with the gain, business spending on factory goods may not be strong enough to accelerate economic growth in the July-September quarter.
Orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, increased 0.1 percent in August, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That comes after orders plummeted 8.1 percent in July, which was largely because of a steep drop in volatile commercial aircraft orders.
US household wealth jumps
WASHINGTON U.S. household net worth jumped $1.3 trillion in the spring, fueled by gains in home and stock values.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that net worth rose to $74.8 trillion in the April-June quarter, up 1.8 percent from the first quarter. Home prices and stock markets have risen further since then, suggesting that Americans net worth is now even higher.
The gains in wealth havent been evenly distributed. Home ownership has declined since the recession, particularly among lower-income Americans. And the wealthiest 10 percent of households own about 80 percent of stocks.
Americans wealth bottomed at $57.2 trillion in 2008 during the Great Recession. Its since risen $17.6 trillion.
Household wealth, or net worth, reflects the value of assets like homes, stocks and bank accounts minus debts like mortgages and credit cards.
Apple app sends drivers to runway
ANCHORAGE A glitch in the Apple Maps app on newer iPhones and iPads guides people up to a runway at a major Alaska airport instead of sending them on the proper route to the terminal, an airport official said Wednesday.
The map actually stops at the tarmac, but twice this month, wayward drivers have continued across an active runway at Fairbanks International Airport.
There were no injuries in either the Sept. 6 incident or the second one last Friday, mainly because they both happened early in the morning, between flights.
By the Numbers
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 61.33 points to close at 15,273.26 Wednesday. The Standard & Poors 500 index slipped 4.65 points to 1,692.77. The Nasdaq eased 7.16 points to 3,761.10.
Benchmark oil for November delivery dropped 47 cents to finish at $102.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $2.67 per gallon. Natural gas was flat at $3.49 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil rose 1 cent to $2.97 per gallon.
Brent crude, the benchmark for international crudes used by many U.S. refineries, slipped 32 cents to $108.32 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.MORE IN National / World BusinessNEW YORK Worries about the outlook for growth in China and a slide in the price of oil pushed... Full StoryWASHINGTON Fewer Americans bought homes in August, as investors retreated from real estate and... Full StoryMONTPELIER Lets not call this a beer run. That has such a Friday night frat boy connotation. Full Story
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- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day in 1776, as Nathan Hale is hanged by British military authorities for spying, he utters his famous last words — or does he? In 1975, Sara Jane Moore attempts to kill President Gerald R. Ford in San Francisco.
- TOMORROW'S HEADLINES TODAY: Patrick McArdle reports and the theft of an $89,000 shotgun, police release a video of the Monday Castleton robbery, O'Gorman reports a lawsuit by a local man claiming his vehicle unlawfully seized, police leave him in cold.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: Giles Corey of Salem, Mass., is pressed to death during the Salem witch trials; on this day in 1952, film comedian Charlie Chaplin, while traveling to England, is denied re-entry into the United States by U.S. attorney general.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: Dutch father of microbiology Antonie van Leeuwenhoek discovers the existence of one-celled organisms; in 1967, The Doors are booked to play the Ed Sullivan show; in 1858, freedom fighter Dred Scott dies on this day in St. Louis.
- TOMORROW'S HEADLINES TODAY: No money this year for western rail project, Lola Aiken memorialized in Montpelier, Supreme Court Castleton murder suspect will remain in jail, Shaftbury man fires shots from his AK-47 into neighbor's home.
- RICHARD'S POOR ALMANACK: On this day in 1959, Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev arrives in U.S. for historic 13-day visit; in 1987, Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze sign nuclear reduction agreement.


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Admitting that recent incidents such as assault on foreign women tourists have generated negative publicity for India, Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi on Monday said safety of foreign tourists remains a matter of concern and he has written to all the Chief Ministers to take steps to create conducive and friendly atmosphere for them.
While chairing the meeting of National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) held in the national capital, he said, "A few recent incidents, where foreign women tourists were sexually assaulted, have generated widespread negative publicity for India."
He added, "As law and order is a State subject, I have written to all Chief Ministers to take effective steps to create conducive and friendly atmosphere for all tourists".
Pointing out that the sector has witnessed substantial growth in the last decade. The minister said Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2012 have reached 6.58 million. The estimated number of domestic tourist visits in 2012 was 1027 million.
On the role of private sector to boost the industry, Mr. Chiranjeevi said, "We need active involvement of the corporate sector, to adopt important tourist sites and monuments under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)."
To set precedent, the ITDC has come forward and adopted the Qutub Minar. Now ONGC has come forward to adopt six monuments - Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Elephanta caves, Ellora caves, Mahabalipuram, and Golconda Fort, he said, adding, "We have identified about 120 monuments across the country that can be given for adoption."
NTAC is a think tank constituted by the government. It comprises of experts from various fields, including representatives of industry associations as well as other ministries and advises the Tourism ministry on various aspects of tourism with the objective of promoting domestic and foreign tourism in the country.
Keywords: Tourism industry, Foreign tourists, Assaults, bad publicity


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My heart aches from missing the later part of the Holy Father's visit due to family emergencies as well as the breakdown of my computer -- which didn't work at all for the later part of the visit and then has worked off and on this week for only short spurts of time. I managed to catch glimpses of him on EWTN during this time, but it just wasn't enough for me.
Thankfully, I found this concise, well-written, and very enlightening editorial from the National Catholic Register to fill me in on what I missed, to interpret the events for me, and to point out the significance of his visit. Most importantly --this editorial helps me to understand who Pope Benedict really is and what he wants me to do to build the kingdom of Christ in the world.
The World Meets Benedict
As we launched Pope2008.com, our blogsite covering the papal events; as we put together stories for the Register; as we planned features for our sister publication, Faith & Family magazine, as our own Circle Press published the book Benedict of Bavaria; one thing became very clear: The world already knew Pope Benedict XVI.
After all, he had been Pope since 2005 — nearly the equivalent of a full presidential term. Before that he headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for decades. We already knew that the old canards about him weren't true. He was caricatured as a stern figure hurling anathemas. That wasn't him.
We already knew him, from his first encyclical, as a deep thinker about love, and, from his next, as the "Pope of hope." We already knew him as the brave Christian witness who traveled to Istanbul in the wake of Muslim fundamentalist riots. And we already knew him as a lover of the liturgy who wanted nothing more than to deepen Catholics' worship.
But there were some things we didn't know. We had to see him for ourselves, in our churches and on our streets, to learn them.
We didn't know that he had a profound pastoral touch. As we followed the Holy Father around Washington and New York, we kept finding people who were moved by their encounters with the Pope. He would lock eyes with them, touch them gently, and communicate peace wordlessly.
We also didn't know that Benedict's deep concern for the victims of abuse was such that he would want to make it the centerpiece of his visit. He mentioned it in formal remarks at least six times on his trip, and his visit with victims of abuse — a seventh instance of the theme — caught almost everyone off guard.
We also didn't know Benedict's immense, "John Pauline" optimism. The previous Pope spoke of great things to come. He promoted the New Evangelization, which for him was nothing less than the re-Christianization of the Western World. He organized the Great Jubilee for the whole Church. He told us to prepare for the new springtime of the faith.
But Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had predicted a chastened, smaller church. When he became Pope Benedict, we felt a bit as if our high hopes were a dream we once had, but had outgrown.
We didn't know Benedict would come to us and revive them all, calling us once again to the New Evangelization in a "great jubilee" for America to prepare for the new springtime of the faith. We also didn't know how much Benedict loves America, though we could have known it. It was there to read in more than one interview. But all of that seemed abstract — until we saw him bound down the airplane stairs, delighted and eager to be here.
Throughout his stay, one of the most common observations commentators made was that Benedict was clearly glad to be here. He never seemed tired in public; the reports of those who witnessed the last event of each day matched those who witnessed the first: He was a sprightly, alert and engaged man.
He was very forthright about his feelings for America, also.
When he spoke at the White House, he praised America's founding principles. At each of his Masses, he reminded us that the Church's presence in America is the result of the Holy Spirit's efforts. At Yankee Stadium, he even gave Americans our marching orders: Build the Kingdom of Christ in the world.
First: Build the Kingdom in business, media, science, education; everywhere. "Praying fervently for the coming of the Kingdom also means being constantly alert for the signs of its presence, and working for its growth in every sector of society."
Second: Build the Kingdom first in yourself, through a passionate love for Christ that looks at the Church supernaturally. "It means facing the challenges of present and future with confidence in Christ's victory and a commitment to extending his reign," he said. "It means not losing heart in the face of resistance, adversity and scandal."
Third: Build the Kingdom through an integral, authentic life, not a compartmentalized one. "It means overcoming every separation between faith and life, and countering false gospels of freedom and happiness," he said. "It also means rejecting a false dichotomy between faith and political life, since, as the Second Vatican Council put it, 'there is no human activity — even in secular affairs — which can be withdrawn from God's dominion.'"
"The World Meets Benedict" suddenly seems to fit after all. We did meet Pope Benedict XVI in a new way this year.
But for that meeting to be more than just a touching memory, we need to take up the Pope's challenge. We need to do as he says, to make sure that the world meets someone far, far more compassionate, wise and brave than Pope Benedict.
Next, the world needs to meet the one his visit was named for: Christ our hope.
Solomon's Travels
7 months ago


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Festival: "Creative State Opening Day"
Date: Sunday, September 29, 2013
Time: 12:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Time: 12:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Location: Creative Arts and Fine Arts buildings
Web: http://creativestate.sfsu.edu/node/6601
Sponsor: College of Liberal and Creative Arts
Contact: SF State Box Office
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (415) 338-2467
Kick off the new season of the Morrison Chamber Music Center with an afternoon of free events including live music by the Alexander String Quartet and clarinetist David Shifrin, readings of new plays, a dance showcase, film screenings and more. The Fine Arts Gallery will be open with its exhibit "The Illuminated Library," featuring a performance from SF State's Gregorian chant ensemble, Schola Civilis. Local food trucks will be on hand for refreshments. Free tickets required for the Alexander String Quartet/David Shifrin concert.
Save to: Windows Live Calendar - Google Calendar - Exchange/iCal


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Persona 4: Golden Returns With A Batch Of English ScreenshotsBy Ishaan . September 6, 2012 . 6:00pm
Atlus USA have released a batch of English screenshots of Persona 4: Golden for the PlayStation Vita.
Atlus USA have released a batch of English screenshots of Persona 4: Golden for the PlayStation Vita.
Amazon have the art book listed for a September release.
Atlus has a special bundle for Persona 4: Golden. The Solid Gold premium edition includes a set of stickers, protective skin, a pack of wallpapers, a Persona 4 themed hard pouch, and face cover to keep the Vita's gorgeous screen looking good as new.
If you pre-order Persona 4: Golden from GameStop, EB Games Canada or Amazon, you'll get the skin to apply to your PlayStation Vita.
A quick update about Persona 4: Golden comes from one of our sources. We hear Atlus has the PlayStation Vita version locked down for a November release.
See more screenshots of Persona 4: Golden's TV shows and the new winter scene inside.
Sentai Filmworks say that the Japanese licensor of the series required that they remove the Japanese language track from the Blu-ray release.
Where once there was one…now, there were two.
All that promotion by Atlus in the form of concerts and anime and the movie paid off.
Persona 4: Golden released on the PlayStation Vita in Japan last week, marking the system's first major high-profile game since its launch.
Persona 4 is everywhere from TV shows, to arcades, and on your daily commute if you own a PlayStation Vita. If that isn't enough Persona 4 for you, in October you can see actors play Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, and the protagonist Yu again.
Each 500 mL can of Ribbon Citron costs 110 yen ($1.40) and should recover 10 SP if the real beverage is anything like the in-game counterpart.
New clips show off battle scenes with joint attacks and Rise's new "Cheer Up" support ability where she jumps in to power you up for an all-out attack.
The game also allows you to re-watch anime cutscenes that you'd seen in the game, as well as the PS2 and Vita intro videos.
"It's important fans don't base their impressions on the [Persona 4: Arena] tutorial video," Atlus USA's Aram Jabbari said to us at E3.
So, after you see what happens post-Persona 4 in Persona 4: Arena, you can play an enhanced version of the murder mystery RPG on PlayStation Vita.


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What is horrifying right now at this moment in time, the most recent chicken scratch in my leather wrapped book of thoughts are RECIPES.
Where did the real me drift off to?
I am two tip toes
knees with scars
backporch at the sea shore
and tobacco colored guitars
collarbone and shadows
arms like an ivy vine.
A pocket full of quarters
and no watch to tell the time
my heart finds solace
in a flannel shirt
a rough patched chin
and a smudge glass door
fingers tapping out a song
the hollow sound of our metal sink
keeping rhythm our shoeless feet.
"She would smile and show no surprise, convinced as she was, the same as I, that casual meetings are apt to be just the opposite, and that people who make dates are the same kind who need lines on their writing paper, or who always squeeze up from the bottom on a tube of toothpaste."
Julio Cortazar, Hopscotch
The girl who runs free. Carefree. The girl who lives a thousand lives and then lives to tell a thousand more. A girl who is loved by many but never truly known by most. She lives and loves without abandon, she champions her struggles on her own. She proudly displays her heart on her sleeve, but only allows a little bit at a time to be taken. A girl with a loud voice and a carrying personality. The girl you only read about in novels with continually changing aliases. A girl with a past but even better, a future.
I am painstakingly the worst kind of narcissist. I am the one that hides her face from her public in fear of imperfections. Shielding from cameras, shying from contact.
I once prided myself on being the constant center of attention. My wild ways got the best of me - I was a horse unbroken. That attention then one day turned so negative, the effect I allowed to power my fear more than my confidence. Not fear of judgement. Fear of life.
This, in itself, no longer feels free.
To be more like her, to even be more like him - to be prolific and poetic with my dictionary words. To live in a typeface of regularity.
My life is lived through eyes that have faced more than life and more than death, and although embraced, just once I would like to hide the sadness that those eyes can find in everything.