text:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry, the president's nominee for secretary of state, put America's anxiety over Iran front and center during his confirmation hearing, saying the "questions surrounding Iran's nuclear program" must be resolved.
"The president has made it definitive," Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday during what is expected to be an easy confirmation process.
"We will do what we must do to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and I repeat here today, our policy is not containment. It is prevention, and the clock is ticking on our efforts to secure responsible compliance."
There are sanctions and they are working, he said, noting Iran's currency, the rial, has dropped, and other nations have been cooperating in reducing dependence on Iranian oil.
He said there is hope that progress can be made on the diplomatic front with Iran, which says its nuclear aspirations are solely peaceful. World powers believe Iran wants to build nuclear weapons.
"Iranians need to understand that there's no other agenda here," he said. "If their program is peaceful, they can prove it. And that's what we are seeking."
The longtime Massachusetts senator was asked about and addressed a wide range of issues before the committee, a panel he chaired for the past four years.
Regarding the Arab Spring, he cited the self-immolation of a Tunisian fruit vendor that triggered the first uprising and the revolt in Cairo's Tahrir Square as examples of ferment.
The major social cause, he said: "Burgeoning populations of young people hungry for jobs, opportunity, individual rights, and freedom are rebelling against years of disenfranchisement and humiliation."
He said Syria and its president, Bashar al-Assad -- now embroiled in civil war -- was well aware of Syria's youthful population and knew he needed to adjust to it.
"I remember president Assad said to me, 'I have 500,000 kids who turn 18 every year, and I don't have a place to put them. I don't have jobs. I need to be able to change what's happening here.' And, you know, clearly thinking down the road, you know, he wanted to try to find some way to reach out to the West and see if there was some kind of accommodation," Kerry said.
"That never happened. And it's now moot, because he has made a set of judgments that are inexcusable, that are reprehensible." As a result, Kerry said, "time is ticking" and al-Assad is not likely to remain in power much longer.
At the end of his opening remarks, a protester interrupted the proceeding and shouted, "I'm tired over my friends in the Middle East dying," and Kerry addressed that after she was led out of the room.
"When I first came to Washington and testified, I obviously was testifying as part of a group of people who came here to have their voices heard. And that is, above all, what this place is about," he said.
He said the woman was "voicing her concerns about that part of the world. And, he said, knowing that his fellow senators have traveled there, "I know you heard this kind of thing.
"People measure what we do. And, in a way, that's a good exclamation point to my testimony. "
If approved by the committee, Kerry's nomination will go to the full Senate. Before he spoke, outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, praised Kerry and called for his confirmation.
President Barack Obama nominated Kerry last month.
"Over these many years, John's earned the respect and confidence of leaders around the world. He is not going to need a lot of on-the-job-training," Obama said.
"I think it is fair to say that few individuals know as many presidents and prime ministers or grasp our foreign policies as firmly as John Kerry, and this makes him a perfect choice to guide American diplomacy in the years ahead."
Asked about Afghanistan, Kerry said the first priority is to transition security responsibility to the Afghan forces and "maintain a capacity to prevent the kind of basing for terrorism which took us there in the first place."
"There will be a counterterrorism mission that will continue. President Obama's been very clear about the fact that that the counterterrorism mission will continue beyond 2014. And that the training will probably continue beyond 2014," he said. "So there is going to be, according to the president's own statement, some measure of engagement, but the effort is to have the Afghans in the lead. Continued training of the forces. Build an enduring partnership with Afghanistan. And support an Afghan-led reconciliation. Not a U.S.-led, but Afghan-led reconciliation if it is possible. "
Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, expressed concern about the secretary of defense nominee, former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel -- disliked by some Republicans and conservatives because of his views.
Corker said Hagel's affiliation with a group called Global Zero is "just concerning." The group is devoted to eliminating nuclear weapons, and Corker doesn't want the U.S. nuclear arsenal to be weakened.
But Kerry said Hagel is "realistic." And the Global Zero initiative "is not talking about today's world."
"It's a goal. It's an aspiration. And we should always be aspirational," he said. "But it's not something that could happen in today's world, and nor could any leader today sit here or in any other chair and promote to you the notion that we ought to be cutting down our deterrent level below an adequate level to maintain deterrence."
He said Hagel is "a strong patriotic former senator, and he will be a strong secretary of defense."
Kerry touched on various other issues, including Latin America, Mali, Somalia, Russia, the plight of women and girls in Asia, and the foreign affairs budget being "less than 1% of the entire budget of government."


text:
Dart, the new open source structured web programming language currently in technology preview, is making me excited about web programming again. I'm watching it closely, fully understanding it's extremely early in the game to make any predictions. However, at least I can say I'm hopeful that there's a team out there attacking the very real problem of "not enough complex and full featured web apps" by working on an a language/libraries/VM option for modern web apps.
My background
I am a Java developer in a past life, where I grew to love the rich libraries, composable and modular applications, helpful tools, and refactoring techniques. I am a web developer at heart, with a true love for browser based client side web apps. This dichotomy was a bit of an uneasy fit, as part of me wanted a language with more structure (enabling tooling and modularity), and the other part of me wanted the insanely quick iterations of web development and the native-to-the-browser experience.
Dart really strikes a chord with me as it seems like it can be a development environment that answers to both desires: structured development and web development. I can build modular, structured web apps which are assisted by tools while still targeting the browser for modern web apps.
Just the pure fact that I can refactor my web app is enough to get me to pay attention.
How does Dart help?
Dart has a familiar syntax to any Java or JavaScript developer. I know some people wanted Dart to be an esoteric and unique language, but Dart was built for mass adoption. It needed to be accessible by the average app developer.
Dart is a class based, single inheritance, language with interfaces and libraries. You can build a structured web app and compose it in a standard and well defined way. Most of those patterns and practices you learned in other class based languages are available to you. Perhaps best of all, the libraries built by one developer are accessible to another developer in a standard way. It's important to point out that classes are essentially optional, as Dart supports bare functions.
Dart is single threaded, but supports concurrency through isolates. This means Dart avoids the complexity of multi-threaded languages, yet can take advantage of ever prevalent multiple core machines. Isolates are inspired by Erlang actors.
Dart is optionally typed, perhaps the most contentious design decision. Understanding the constraints under which Dart is developed makes it clear why this is the right choice. Dart needs to compile to JavaScript and needs to be accessible to the millions upon millions of JavaScript developers. Forcing a type system, which would almost certainly be unsound anyway, introduces friction for the developer and the JavaScript compiler. However, types are very useful as annotations to tools, e.g. to allow refactoring, and for documenting libraries and interfaces. The types don't affect the running program, which is why they are optional.
Dart can start fast, due to snapshots. A Dart app's heap can be snapshotted and sent over the wire, significantly reducing application startup time. A browser, for instance, doesn't have to re-parse the application's code on page reload or startup.
Dart is batteries included, delivering much more than just a language. The Dart effort is a full attempt at making web developers more productive. The Dart ecosystem is working on a language, libraries, concurrency, a virtual machine, an editor, a documentation tool, a compiler to JavaScript, and even a UI framework. These are coordinated efforts, intended to address developer productivity from many different angles.
Dart is novel, introduces fun concepts like "classes are interfaces", isolate based concurrency, named constructors, factory constructors, and of course optional types.
Dart fixes the DOM with a Dart friendly DOM library that feels natural and refreshing. The Dart team has created a new HTML library for adding events, finding elements, adding elements, that takes advantage of Dart's syntax.
How to get started
Dart is currently (as of 2011-11) in "technology preview", but you can play with it today. I recommend these steps:
- Read the Technical Overview
- Download the Dart Editor
- Read about the new DOM libraries for Dart
- Write some sample code
- Send feedback to the mailing list
- Subscribe to the News and Updates Atom feed and follow @dart_lang
- Write more code
- Send more feedback
- Repeat!
As a software engineer with exposure to many different languages and environments, Dart seems to hit a sweet spot for me. Dart is what I want to build my modern, structured web applications: a class based, single inheritance language with interfaces, optional typing, just enough sugar, and isolates based concurrency. Dart is a "batteries included" effort, aiming to deliver a language, libraries, editor, and virtual machine. Dart's ultimate goal is to help modern web developers more productive and deliver bigger and better web applications.
I am excited because Dart is an effort to make "programming in the large" easier for both structured and unstructured developers across the entire web. Anything that tries to make the modern web compelling for modern apps is exciting to me.
If you are interested in building modern web apps for modern browsers, and are looking for a more structured "batteries included" ecosystem, now is the time to look at Dart. It's early in the game, so your feedback has the chance to make an impact. Here's how you get started:
- The official Dart website - hosting the library reference, language spec, articles, etc
- The Dart editor - start with this tool
- Dart articles - good for getting perspective
- Dart presentations - slides from talks and presentations
- Transcript of a Quick Tour of Dart - talk by Gilad Bracha
- Dart Watch - Dart blog
- Dart News - G+ stream of all things Dart
- Dartboard - try writing Dart code in the browser, no downloads required!
- Dart Mailing List - general Dart discussion. Post your feedback here.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
FORT RILEY, Kan. -- A senior Fort Riley leader will conduct a Listening Session at 10 a.m. April 18. The public is invited to attend.
Brigadier General Don MacWillie, the assistant division commander for support, will address the public during an open forum at the 1st Infantry Division Headquarters.
The Army, while simultaneously drawing down our end strength, must continue to redistribute and reshape in order to enhance readiness, increase agility and flexibility and meet the requirements of the Nation's Defense Strategy – all in a fiscally constrained environment.
To ensure that all communities affected understand the process the Army will use to reach stationing decisions, the Army is conducting community listening sessions across the country. At these sessions, community leaders will be able to contribute their valuable input into the Army's stationing process.


text:
Suppose $A_{n \times n}$ is a matrix and $A' = (|A_{ij}|)$ is its entry wise absolute form, can be give an upper bound and lower bound of the L_p norm $\|A\|_p$ using the L_p norm of the absolute matrix $\|A'\|_p$.
Okay, so it's established that $\| A \|_p$ means the induced norm. A few basic facts: $$ \| A \|_1 = \max_{j} \sum_{i} |a_{ij}| \le n^{1-1/p} \| A \|_p, $$ $$ \| A \|_\infty = \max_{i} \sum_{j} |a_{ij}| \le n^{1/p} \| A \|_p, $$ $$ \| A \|_p \le \|A\|_1^{1/p} \| A \|_\infty^{1-1/p}. $$ The first two lines are elementary (the inequalities following from standard comparisons of $\ell_p$ norms for vectors), and the third is a finite-dimensional version of the Riesz–Thorin theorem. Putting these together, $$ \|A'\|_p \le \| A' \|_1^{1/p} \| A' \|_\infty^{1-1/p} = \| A \|_1^{1/p} \| A \|_\infty^{1-1/p} \le n^{\frac{2}{p}(1- \frac{1}{p})} \|A\|_p. $$
When $p = 2$ and $A$ is a Hadamard matrix this is sharp, and of course it's sharp for $p=1$ or $p = \infty$. I'd guess it's sharp always but I haven't thought about it.
As noted by Pietro, $\| A \|_p \le \| A' \|_p$ always.
There is quite a bit of information on this in Chapter 5 of Horn and Johnson "Matrix Analysis" (Cambridge University Press 1985). Perhaps it is even an exercise there. :-)
The matrix L_p norm means $\max\limits_{\|x\|_p = 1} \|Ax\|_p $, here $x$ is an $n \times 1$ vector, and the $Ax$ is an $n \times 1$ vector too. so when $p=2$, it is the well known operator norm.
Thanks. I try to answer the question in a particular sense. It can be seen that even for the operator norm, that is $p=2$, when n is really large, a entry wise random $+1,-1$ Bernoulli matrix have the largest singular value similar to $\sqrt{n}$, but the absolute matrix have the largest singular value $n$, so asymptotically, when $n$ is really large, we cannot have a constant $C>0$ such that $C \cdot \|A \|_2 \geq \|A' \|_2$.
As @Pietro Majer has said, I think it is easy to get $\|A \|_p \leq \|A' \|_p$. but the other way around for a fixed n is still hard to me.


text:
Suppose is a theme suitable for all type of business. This theme is a combination of classic, minimal and modern elements. It comes with a lot of HTML Shortcodes, jquery plugins (tabs, accordion, sliders…) and with ability to edit the design very easy. Changing only a few lines of code you can give a new look to your template. Also it has styled default forms like radio buttons, inputs, checkbox, textarea, select lists and so on….
Modern design with modern HTML5 tags! It use most important HTML5 tags and attributes like header, footer, section, article, mark, placeholder… It is compatible with all major browsers, so don't worry is cross-browser
- 90 background patterns
- 6 JQuery Sliders
- 30 pre-made color schemes
- Unlimited color availability
- Quicksand filterable portfolio
- Multiple blog page styles
- PHP /Ajax contact form with random captcha support
- Styled default forms view
- Tabs
- Accordion
- Toggle
- Multiple table styles
- Pricing box
- Lightbox Evolution
- 960 Grid System
- Blockquotes
- Multiple image hover effects
- Dropcaps
- Highlights
- Decorated lists
- Alert messages
- Buttons
- PSD, AI Elements
Blog stylesThis theme come with multiple blog styles. So, you can choose your favorite view.
Portfolio like full theme is based on 960 grid system which make it easy to edit or change. The filter is based on Quicksand JQuery Plugin.
a) 2, 3, 4 columns – first 3 styles contain the title (top), specific icon, date and "Details" button.
b) 2, 3, 4 columns – another view. Title (bottom), another specific icons, also date and button.
c) Gallery 3, 4 columns – gallery mode, only image and specific icon.
d) Gallery 3 columns nospace – gallery display in 3 columns without space between items, specific icon, and title.
e) Item full details
Lightbox Evolution: This is a premium plugin, one of the best on Codecanyon. Can display images, HTML elements, SWF movies, Maps, and Ajax requests
Quicksand Portfolio: This enables your visitors to reorder and filter your portfolio items based on category with a nice shuffling animation.
Skitter Slider: One of the best free JQuery Slider over Internet.
jQuery Cycle Plugin (2 styles): The jQuery Cycle Plugin is a slideshow plugin that supports many different types of transition effects. It supports pause-on-hover, auto-stop, auto-fit, before/after callbacks, click triggers and much more.
Roundabout: Roundabout is a jQuery plugin that easily converts unordered lists & other nested HTML structures into entertaining, interactive, turntable-like areas.
Nivo Slider: Most popular JQuery slider.
zAccordion: zAccordion is a horizontal accordion plugin for jQuery
Chosen: Chosen is a JavaScript plugin that makes long, unwieldy select boxes much more user-friendly. Plugin destinated to enchange view of default HTML select lists.
Uniform v1.7.5: Plugin destinated to enchange view of default radio, checkbox buttons and file upload field.
Images are purchased from PhotoDune and are not included in the package.
Cufon special characters supportv1.2.1
Optimized source code. Removed unnecessary scripts.v1.2
Contact Form with random captcha. 9 new color schemes. Search Form on blog. LightBox Evolution Docsv1.1
Added IE7 compatibility.v1.0
Initial release
Sources and Credits:
- JQuery Skitter Slider – http://thiagosf.net/projects/jquery/skitter/
- jQuery Cycle Plugin (with Transition Definitions) - http://jquery.malsup.com/cycle/
- Nivo Slider v2.6 – http://nivo.dev7studios.com
- jQuery Roundabout – v1.1 – http://fredhq.com/projects/roundabout/
- jQuery zAccordion Plugin v2.0.0 – http://www.armagost.com/zaccordion
- html5shiv – http://remysharp.com/html5-enabling-script
- Color animation jQuery-plugin – http://www.bitstorm.org/jquery/color-animation/
- jQuery Easing v1.3 – http://gsgd.co.uk/sandbox/jquery/easing/
- Chosen, a Select Box Enhancer for jQuery – https://github.com/harvesthq/chosen
- Uniform v1.7.5 – http://pixelmatrixdesign.com
- Quicksand 1.2.2 – http://razorjack.net/quicksand
- jQuery Quovolver – http://sandbox.sebnitu.com/jquery/quovolver
- 960 Grid System – http://960.gs/
- Fugue Icons – http://p.yusukekamiyamane.com/
- IconFinder – http://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=iconset%3Alocationicons
- Retina Icons: http://www.iconfinder.com/browse/iconset/TWG_Retina_Icons/


text:
Majors & Programs
Take your pick.
Still deciding?
That is totally normal. In fact, about a quarter of the freshman class start college unsure of their major. Use your first two years at SLU to figure out what you want to do. Visit Career Services. Take lots of different classes. Volunteer.
At SLU we even offer a class called "Career Decision Making" that helps match you to possible majors and careers. The goal is not to see you get just a degree, but to find your life's work.


text:
Why book on Sonesta.com?
Whether looking for a business trip, romantic getaway, family vacation or weekend escape; you will find the hotel's best rates and the greatest selection of packages currently available right here.
Best Available Rate
Preferred Twin / Preferred King
$99 - $209 single/double
Sonesta King $119 - $229 single/double
Royal King $139 - $249 single/double
Business Suite $179 - $289 single/double
Our best unrestricted rate affords a flexible cancellation policy. Cancel one day prior to scheduled arrival day to avoid penalty.
Room rate includes complimentary access to the fitness center where guests can enjoy a gym, jacuzzi, sauna and Turkish bath.
Check our best rates based on your actual dates for travel.
Rates do not include taxes. Subject to availability. Children under 12 stay free with an adult. Not available to groups (10 or more rooms).
Advance Purchase Rates
Sonesta rewards you when you make your travel plans in advance!
10-day advance purchase saves you 20% off daily rates
8-day advance purchase saves you 15% off daily rates
Click below to check your savings based on your actual dates of travel:
Book Now for 10 day
Book Now for 8 day
Rate includes complimentary breakfast, Wi-Fi, and free access to the fitness center (gym, jacuzzi, sauna and Turkish bath).
Advance purchase rates require full pre-payment, are non-refundable, and may not be cancelled. Once booked, room rate and tax for your entire stay will be charged to the credit card used to confirm the booking. Rates do not include taxes. Subject to availability. Advance purchase rates are not available to groups or during special events.
Extend your stay
Sonesta rewards you if you extend your stay!
If you book for 3 nights or more get 15% off
If you book for 2 nights get 10% off
Click below to check your savings based on your actual dates of travel:
Stay 3 or more nights
Stay 2 nights
The rate includes breakfast buffet, wireless internet, unlimited access to the wet area and gym.
Early departure will be charged in full.
Rate doesn't include 10% of tax. Offer subject to availability. Rates are not available to groups or during special events.
AAA/CAA Discount
Sonesta welcomes AAA/CAA members and offers the Best Available Rate to AAA/CAA card holders everyday. Our discount provides AAA/CAA members with the opportunity to save even more when they stay with us, whether it's for a quick weekend getaway or a week long vacation.
Receive 10% off of the Best Available Rate with your AAA or CAA membership. . Rate shown includes discount.
Room and rates are subject to availability. Restrictions may apply. AAA/CAA Membership ID required at check-in.
Room and rates are subject to availability. Restrictions may apply. AAA/CAA Membership ID required at check-in.


text:
|The Fairy Doll
Photo by: Virginia Trudeau and Deedee Sherman
The Children's Ballet Series's performance of " The Fairy Doll": is the story of a Can Can doll who lives in a Toy Shop with other magical toys. They all come to life at night when the Shop Keeper is gone. One day, the Shop Keeper sells the beloved Fairy Doll to one family while her Cavalier is sold to another, breaking their hearts. The dolls try to prevent the two Can Can dolls from being separated by causing chaos in the Top Shop.
Order Your Tickets Now by Calling 407.849.9948.
Reserved seating: $12 per ticket and includes guaranteed reserved
seat in the prime seating area for the performance (must be purchased in advance).
Ticket Information
Mail Out: You have the option to have your tickets mailed to you as long as your purchase occurs at least 10 calendar days prior to the event. Additional fees may apply. Orders placed within 9 days or less of the performance date will have tickets available at Will Call.
Will Call: The Will Call office is located in front of the entrance to the auditorium and it is open 1 hour prior to event. Holding tickets at Will Call is a free service offered by Central Florida Ballet; there will be no additional service charges if you choose this option.
Credit Card Payments: Visa or MasterCard is accepted (a 4% transaction fee applies).
*Note - All performances, dates, prices, and times subject to change. All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges.
|Last Updated ( Monday, 22 April 2013 )
|Next >


text:
Meet and Communicate with Fun Singles Near You on BlackSingles.com
Register now to search thousands of members and post your FREE profile!
See who's on BlackSingles.com:
i'm honest,caring,responsible,relible. love meeting new people . im mixed with black n white mainly. mixed with others too.
sweetgurl18 is a 21yr-old single man in West Bend, WisconsinView Profile
I am kind, passinate, caring, big hearted, loyal, likes kids, hard worker, easy going, a good listener, and likes to communicate.
119692278 is a 46yr-old single man in West Bend, WisconsinView Profile


text:
Pre-registration is required for all sessions. Workshop offerings include advanced, intermediate, introductory and all levels. Workshops may also be geared towards specific clientele: pre-school (Presc), latency (Lat), adolescent (Adol), adult and all ages.
© 2016 National Sexual Violence Resource Center – Founded by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape
This site is supported by Grant/ Cooperative Agreement No. 1UF2CE002359-03 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


text:
Mobile Broadband subscriptions are expected to reach 1 billion in 2011: so many of us are already users, but do we all know how it works?
Mobile broadband technology allows you to do everything you usually use your broadband connection for without needing a fixed-line telephone connection. This means you can access the internet while you're on the move or away from home. Send email, visit websites — even watch streaming TV and download files — it's all possible.
Mobile broadband works using either a small portable USB modem (often called a dongle, or broadband stick), a data-card or a built-in device (on some laptops and smartphones) to connect to the internet using the same signal mobile phones use. This means, wherever you are, as long as you can get a signal from your mobile broadband provider, you can connect to the web, unlike Wi-Fi internet access, which is limited to a few meters around the emitting router.
Most of us have used this technology on our mobile phones through 3G, short for third generation technology. This allows users to access the internet at high speeds through a 3G network. This is made possible by two complementary technologies, high speed download and upload packet access.
Find out more, or book a visit in our showcase in London or our mobile showcase that will be coming near you to see, through live demonstrations, how different applications used on mobile broadband can help you stay connected when on the move.
Duration : 0:1:36


text:
Wareham police have arrested three men for failing to register as sex offenders.
Jason P. Ray, 46, of 4 Church Ave., Apt. 34; John Kapalka, 34, of Brandy Hill Apartments, unit 11D; and Harold Fratus, 49, of 35 Summer St., Kingston; were arrested by Wareham detectives at the end of July.
Police found Ray hiding in his Church Avenue apartment July 29. He was also arrested on three separate outstanding warrants.
Fratus was also arrested July 29 at Percy's Restaurant, and Kapalka was arrested July 31 at the Cape Cod Nursing Home in Buzzards Bay.
Detective Sgt. Michael Smith and Detective William deSilva of the Wareham Police Detective Division made the arrests.
Location, ST | website.com


text:
Welcome to the Tennis4you Forums!!!
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
I am not interested in any peace with you.beat it.your account was thrown out of the window earlier.I am just not fighting anybody for 9 months.mimzy says all I do is fight so as of today I am not fighting anymore.all fighting is ending for 9 months effective today.my plan now is to build a more pleasant future going forward.


text:
I'm a web dev since a decade now, but my design skills are... well, are the designs skills of a programmer! Anyway, I've been working on a personal project for some time now and I would like some advice on what I should do with the design of the website? Hire a pro or use 99designs (or website like that). Plus, what are the costs of the pros VS 99 designs?
I have no logo and no design. Anybody have any experience with this?
I'm a web dev since a decade now, but my design skills are... well, are the designs skills of a programmer! Anyway, I've been working on a personal project for some time now and I would like some advice on what I should do with the design of the website? Hire a pro or use 99designs (or website like that). Plus, what are the costs of the pros VS 99 designs?
As a professional graphic designer I should encourage people to hire professional designers, and there are certainly* advantages to that. First off:
*That said, there are some major caveats to the above:
So as a designer, I prefer clients not to crowd source their design work. But as a consultant, I have to acknowledge that crowd sourcing makes the most business and financial sense in 95% of the cases for small to medium-sized businesses.
However, if you have greater business aspirations (i.e. you want to become a 37Signals or YouTube instead of just a moderately successful web company, or you want to attract enterprise level clients to your business rather than just small accounts), then you will need to think bigger. Then it might make sense to shell out a little more and hire a professional brand consultant, as branding is a major component of a comprehensive marketing strategy. But this only applies to that rare 5%.
@Lèse majesté has a lot of valid reasons why you should hire a professional designer.
Another alternative is to collaborate with a (or a few) friend(s) who is a designer - I think this way, communication will be better.
Another option is theme forest which has some really good web templates whether html/css or wordpress themes (if you use wordpress). I find a lot of designs at 99designs or crowdspring of low quality.
If you have any aspirations for being a successful freelancer or starting your own business, I'd personally use the opportunity to "audition" graphic designers for future work. There's no better resource to have around than a good designer you can call on a moment's notice.
Disclaimer--I was a designer prior to being a developer (am now UI developer) The main difference for me between crowd sourcing and using a pro is that there's a level of communication that's lost in crowd sourcing. Its the reason that canned templates just don't make a GREAT website--they weren't purpose built. Sure, you can modify based on the theme given...but then, what are you paying for, really? Also, maybe this won't happen with your personal site, but there's a tremendous amount of flux in design and the web process--no matter how bulletproof your requirements documents or wireframes are, things change....often, they change a LOT. Now what? Can you reliably count on the low-ball offer at 99 designs to quickly and cost-effectively change to fit your needs? Did they properly layer and design for elements such as navigation and content? That alone could cost you hours worth of extra work in the cutup phase. If they give you poorly formatted html and CSS, you could REALLY be in for extra work.
Great design STARTS with a designer. I take mine to all my client planning meetings because they help shape the wireframes that lead to the final requirements. Who knows better than them what "works" with design? And, let's face it, clients don't care how great your code is--they care how easy it is to work with. Code only matters to a client when it doesn't work....
Good luck.


text:
Video: The GOP's got a fee-vah and the only prescription is more Hillary!
posted at 10:28 pm on October 21, 2007 by Allahpundit
I considered giving you the clip of the opening Rudy/Mitt/Fred/McCain "real Republican" free-for-all but when push comes to shove this is much the bigger selling point for the GOP next year. (Just ask Mary Katharine.) Being the un-Hillary is no small distinction with 50% of the public claiming they'd never vote for her, and the candidates realize it only too well: watch as an engraved invitation from Chris Wallace to Hillary-bash becomes a platform for the most memorable lines of the evening, culminating in a standing ovation for McCain's killer. He's been using variations on this line for 25 years, often to even more devastating effect. To wit:
From the start, McCain was attacked as an opportunist and a carpetbagger. His high-priced Washington consultants, big war chest and television ads did nothing to alter that image. At a debate with his three Republican primary opponents [in 1982], he took aim at the issue and killed it dead. "Listen, pal," he replied to a challenge to his status as an Arizonan. "I spent 22 years in the Navy. My father was in the Navy. My grandfather was in the Navy. We in the military service tend to move a lot. I wish I could have had the luxury, like you, of growing up and living and spending my entire life in a place like the First District of Arizona, but I was doing other things. As a matter of fact, when I think about it now, the place I lived longest in my life was Hanoi." The issue didn't come up much after that.
Frank Luntz's post-debate focus-group verdict: Giuliani and Huckabee, who are clearly the class of the field at these things, did well while J-Mac, his zinger notwithstanding, fell flat. Oh, and no one's voting for Ron Paul, which I guess proves that they're all in on the conspiracy.
Note: The clip has been edited for brevity.
Related Posts:
Breaking on Hot Air
Texas mom hires photographer to celebrate officer who saved her daughter's life
Rudy Giuliani: Electronic monitoring devices for people on the terror watch list would be an excellent idea
As Zika arrives in U.S., Dems who blocked funding over Planned Parenthood demand action
- Post-Debate Round-Up : The American Pundit
- Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video: "Real Republican" battle royale
- Highlights from the Republican debate
- Stop The ACLU » Blog Archive » Video: McCain on Woodstock: 'I Was Tied Up At The Time'
- Michelle Malkin » GOP debate: Claws out for each other…and Hillary
- Neocon News » Aww, yeah. GOP debate time.


text:
Today in Tweet Beat, Beth Chapman can't have anything nice. Plus, The Real Housewives of New York are back together and armed with lots of bras.
With the NYC Housewives at a photo shoot. I missed them!
All the bras on set for the RHONYC shoot how funny!?! http://twitpic.com/3ecqbt
#ifIHadSuperPowers i'd erase the ability to be mean.
Xmas comes to close to Thanksgiving.. I was just nice and family friendly a couple of weeks ago! I gotta do it again?!
I'm thinking about my sensuous woman penis. I miss it. I think I'm gonna bring it back
DON'T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER'S DEAD is on. @1capplegate, you've always been hot.
Wait I just read the wrong sign by accident and it seemed so true! This astrology stuff not so sure...
As I sit on this plane about to head to LA to shoot CSI, I ponder life, how fragile it is and the fact that you REALLY DO only get one....
...As I ask GOD to put his hands over the top and under the bottom of this plane, I find myself ridiculously clear minded and unafraid...
I just saw Joaquin Phoenix in all his bearded glory, waiting on the side of the road!!!


text:
Megafans! Sign up or renew for any Megadeth Cyber Army membership between Sept 1-8 and receive 30% off the regular and renewal prices. Get an added BONUS Megadeth Unplugged CD signed by Dave Mustaine with an Ultimate membership. Use code: JULY30% at checkout. Sign up or renew today! cyberarmy.megadeth.com
Hey Megadeth fans, did you know that Dave Mustaine tweets daily and chats with fans on Twitter? Check out Dave's newest tweets about the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen International where he served as the honorary pace car driver. Follow @DaveMustaine at twitter.com/davemustaine!
Megadeth will play for the first time ever in Mumbai, India at the Harley Rock Riders festival on Friday, October 30. Tickets are now on sale at insider.in. See tour details at megadeth.com/tour.
On this day in 1999, Megadeth's eighth studio album Risk was released. The title stemmed from Dave Mustaine's decision to take a risk with the musical direction of the album. Megadeth expanded its horizons and explored new avenues with the 1999 release of Risk. The album debuted at #16 on U.S. Billboard charts and was certified Gold in 1999. Download it on iTunes or get the album at Amazon.com.
Megadeth is confirmed to headline a show at Hui Yuan M Zone Center in Beijing, China on Tuesday, October 6. Details are at megadeth.com/tour.
Dave Mustaine Answers Your Questions (Part 6) [Exclusive Video]. Preorder the new album and get free exclusive bonus content. Check it out at pledgemusic.com/megadeth.
Vote for "Tornado Of Souls" to win in Ultimate-Guitar's Showdown tournament for the greatest guitar solo ever! The second round of UG Showdown Mk. II has Megadeth's "Tornado Of Souls" going up against Pantera's "Cemetary Gates". The voting for this round ends on August 29 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Vote at Ultimate-Guitar.com.
To celebrate the forthcoming new Megadeth album you can win a Dave Mustaine Livewire set in gold, nickel or black nickel! Head over to Seymour Duncan's Facebook page to enter! facebook.com/seymourduncanpickups. More info on the new color options here: bit.ly/1Jl1J7j
Australia / Eire / UK VIP Upgrade Packages on sale now at megadeth.com/tour-vip. VIP Upgrades include meet & greet photo op with Megadeth, Cyber Army 'Community Access' 1-year membership, Megadeth ring, autographed photo, VIP laminate, exclusive merchandise & more!
Megadeth to perform at the NH7 Weekender festival in Shillong, India on Saturday, October 24 and in Calcutta, India on Sunday, November 1. Tickets and tour info at megadeth.com/tour. You can now watch the NH7 Weekender Megadeth trailer below.
Tweets from @Megadeth/megadeth-dave-mustaine


text:
The Warren County Juvenile Detention Center is under investigation for possibly letting an accused rapist go free.
On June 13, a 17-year-old male was taken into custody, charged with raping a 14-year-old Logan County girl in a home on East Second Street in Russellville.
Russellville Police Detective Kenny Edmonds says when Logan County officials attempted to transfer the minor to Warren County Juvenile Detention Center, they were told he could not be admitted because he did not have a social security number.
With no other alternative, Logan County officials released the suspect. Police speculate he is an illegal immigrant and has now left the country.
Leah Settle with the State's Department of Juvenile Justice says Warren County staff made an error in not admitting the 17-year-old to the Juvenile Detention Center.
She says an investigation into the case is now underway and disciplinary action against departmental staff of the detention center will most likely be taken.


text:
I'm not sure how I feel about the campfest that is BF3 just yet. I'm giving it an honest go, but I want to get some more weapons. What is the best game type to level up in or are they all mostly the same?
The best game modes to level up in would be Conquest and Rush.
The reason these two are the best are because they contain objectives that are worth a lot of points.
The fastest is probably conquest as capturing a point (including neutralizing the point first) will net you 450 points (350 for assisting a capture) and there are many many points to cap per round. In addition, if you kill anyone while inside a flag's area of influence, you'll gain an extra 30 points per kill.
Rush is the second best as you can also get 600 points per objective (100 for arming, 500 for destroying. Only 200 for defusing) played, but they're aren't as many, and it's harder to get defends etc.
I would say go with Conquest. You can get +200 (+150 for assist) for neutralizing a flag, and +250 (+200 for assist) for capping a flag. In addition to the normal fighting points, and squad order points you would get. Over a long game - especially a hotly contested one you can get a good deal of point by going flag to flag.
Conquest will reward you the most XP if you play the objective. If you can handle your gun well, you should try Team Deathmatch. In TDM, all the maps are cut off to a smaller area and every round is under 15 minutes. Also, if you are going for service stars for your gun, TDM is the best option as the matches are oriented on infantry combat. However, since you wish to unlock more guns, that would require you to level up your class. Conquest would be the best for gaining XP for your classes.
This deviates from the question a bit, but if you like playing medic I've found picking a 64 player server with the Metro map is a great way to level up. You can get 500 XP or more just from the choke points by the esculators, per death.
TDM is the best, since there is a lot of action, and it is easier to get kills, not to mention the fact that there are so many players on Battlefield 3 now, that you cannot capture a flag.
TDM indeed is the best. Take a small CC map like Noshar Canals in TDM and just zigzag through the containers and kill. 32 vs 32 man 1000 ppm cant be achieved with other gamemodes, capping flags for points is for noobs. Just fckn kill.
i would actully suggest noshahr canal with extended tickets back to back! i usually rack up over 7 thousand points even when not in the top three positions :D hope this helped
Noshar Canals by far is the best map for XP. It's fast paced, instant kills and there are plenty of ribbons to be won. The only bad thing is the shortened time in which you can revive someone :(


text:
Scooby-Doo Fancy Dress
Where are you Scooby Doo? Well, he is to be found in our fantastic Scooby Doo Fancy Dress category along with all his other Mystery Tour Bus crew. From cartoons to the big screen, Scooby Doo and the gang have been entertaining us for generations and are still going strong today. From the fashionable Daphne Blake to geek-chic Velma, hapless Shaggy and of course their canine buddy Scooby Doo, we have the official costume collection right here. If you have a group to dress up why not consider dressing up as the entire gang and spend Halloween night solving spooky mysteries. Start up that mystery machine and take a tour through our Scooby Doo costumes category.
Showing 1 - 8 of 9 items
Scooby-Doo Daphne Costume
£27.99 Show me more
Adult Shaggy Costume (Scooby-Doo)
£29.99 Show me more
Scooby-Doo Costume
£29.99 Show me more
Adult Velma Costume (Scooby-Doo)
£27.99 Show me more
Adult Fred Costume (Scooby-Doo)
£29.99 Show me more
Child Deluxe Scooby-Doo
£19.99 Show me more
Child Scooby Doo Box Costume
£15.99 Show me more
Deluxe Scooby Doo Costume
£39.99 Show me more


text: Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Hallden of Naugatuck celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with a family gathering hosted by their children at The Chowder Pot in Hartford. Mr. and Mrs. Hallden were married Nov. 4, 1972 at Christ Church in Ansonia. They have two children, Rachel Goetz of South Windsor and Jason Hallden of Torrington.


text:
Print this page
Artbeads Ratings and Reviews
See All Reviews
Shop Now At Artbeads
Choose a Category
Shop Alphabet Beads
Shop Artbeads.com Store
Shop Bags & Boxes
Shop Bali Beads
Shop Base Metal Components
Shop Beading Books
Shop Bracelets & Neckwear
Shop Charms
Shop Clearance Items
Shop Copper Clasps
Shop Copper Components
Shop Copper Pendants
Shop Crafts & Accessories
Shop Cubic Zirconia Beads
Shop Earrings
Shop Freshwater Pearls
Shop Gemstone Beads
Shop Gift Certificates/Cards
Shop Glass Beads
Shop Gold Beads
Shop Gold Components
Shop Hill Tribe Silver Beads
Shop Horn Beads
Shop Jewelry Kits
Shop Limited Edition
Shop Limited Edition Gemstones
Shop Limited Edition Glass Beads
Shop Natural Beads
Shop Natural Components
Shop Pendants
Shop Pewter Beads
Shop Pewter Components
Shop Porcelain Beads
Shop Resin Beads
Shop Seed Beads
Shop Shell Beads
Shop Shell Pendants
Shop Silk Beads
Shop Silver Components
Shop Sterling Silver Beads
Shop Stringing Materials
Shop Swarovski Components
Shop Swarovski Crystal Beads
Shop Swarovski Pendants
Shop Swarovski Rhinestones
Shop Tools & Supplies
Shop Vintage Beads
Shop Watch Faces
Shop Weekly Specials
Shop Wire & Chain
Shop Wood Beads
Shop Wooden Components
Reviews Home
(Unknown) Reviews
Product Reviews
Fire-Polished Bead 6mm Pastel Green (50pc Pack)
For a gorgeous shade of green in your designs, try these 6mm fire-polished pastel green beads. These beads are made from transparent green glass that is pressed into a round faceted shape. Their 6mm size works well for making bracelets, earrings and necklaces. Try them silver and other pastel beads or mix them with gold for a rich design. Since these Czech glass beads are still made in small quantities by hand, there may be a slight color variation from one batch to the next. These beads come in a 50-piece pack. Feel free to browse for other
fire-polished Czech glass beads
Customer Reviews for
Fire-Polished Bead 6mm Pastel Green (50pc Pack)
This product has not yet been reviewed.
Click here
to continue to the product details page.


text:
|Step 1.) Go to the Start menu at
bottom left of your screen. Click on the 'Control Panel'.
|Step 2.) Double-Click on 'Add or
Remove Programs' option.
|Step 3.) Locate the Desktop Alert product currently in your system. You can do so by selecting your applications to appear in order by Name. Once you've located the application, select the
'Change/Remove' button. Your system will ask you if you wish to remove
the application from your computer. Simply select YES and that's it!
You're ready to download the new product, here!


text:
"Death of an Adjunct" and the value of labor
My condolences to Margaret Mary Vojtko's family.
I want today to make a small point addressing the question of labor and value. Again, I want to be brief. So here's an anecdote.
A few weeks ago, a close friend of mine developed a virus that damaged his hearing. He went to see a specialist who carried out a delicate medical procedure. The procedure involved the insertion of a needle into his eardrum, and the injection of some anti-inflammatory medication. Not a very pleasant experience to be sure, and upon leaving the doctor's office my friend happened to glance at the medical bill. The cost for a procedure that lasted approximately ten minutes? Three thousand dollars.
For those paying attention to the Vojtko story, that's the same amount, roughly, that many adjuncts are paid per course per semester.
Consider this stark contrast, then: two experts in their fields, highly educated and skilled practitioners following their respective callings. One person receives three thousand dollars for the labor of fifteen weeks. The other receives -- or rather, charges -- three thousand dollars for the labor of ten minutes.
Is this just?
About the Author
Robert Geroux is a political theorist.
34 comments
- All
- Editor Featured
I appreciate your raising this issue, and, again, I don't want to butt in here too much. But I think framing the fairness question by comparing Ms. Vojtko to a medical practioner clouds the argument (i.e., is a teacher more valuable than a doctor).
Better to compare adjunct to tenured faculty with equivalent education. This is difficult, but here's a stab at it:
The NEA reported that in 2009/10, a full time instructor (someone with an M.A. or ABD, those who tend to fill the adjunct ranks) in liberal arts earns $65,377 per year. http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/C-Clery_2011_24Feb11_p7-28.pdf
The overall pay for an adjunct at the same educational level is about $3,000. http://chronicle.com/article/Adjunct-Project-Shows-Wide/136439/
Remember that most schools are limiting adjuncts to two courses per semester in order to dodge ACA requirements. So, at best, an average adjunct might teach six courses and make $18,000 per year.
But even if the adjunct were teaching a full-time load, say 12 courses, s/he would earn $36,000, or about $29,000 LESS than a tenured instructor with the same level of education and expertise.
Now ask whether that's fair.
Robert - yes, that view certainly is understandable. Any sports fan who works for a living has similar thoughts when watching the NFL tight end drop a pass or the major league shortstop airmail one into the right field stands.
I suppose, as with the overpaid athletes, the problem is rooted in supply and demand. Universities get away with paying what are, semi-literally, slave wages, because they can, because there are way more desperate and starving PhDs than positions. But noting that, what is the solution? I would guess that universities also have an financial incentive to pump out as many graduate degrees as the constraints of classroom and lab space allow. Maybe university tenure-track professors are slated to go the way of service station attendants and bowling alley pin setters.
Sorry, one more thought: I expect the MD would tell us that he faces the same sort of downmarket competition: a physician's assistant or a nurse practicioner or some such presumably is pretty deft with a needle, too. My group health insurance plan won't pay for my getting a flu shot in the doctor's office anymore; I'm expected to go to Walgreen's. (Is a drug store really a sterile environment?)
See, I knew that doctor/adjunct analogy would send people off on tangents. My friend Jim is now off worrying about the sterility of his Walgreen store (and probably wondering why they don't stock Vernor's) instead of getting outraged about adjunct pay.
Focus, Jim! :-)
Anyone interested in knowing what adjuncts are paid at your college or university can go to the Chronicle of Higher Ed's Adjunct Project and type in a college: http://adjunct.chronicle.com
(Okay, I've now posted half the comments, so I'll get offa here.)
Is it "just" that a "specialist who carried out a delicate medical procedure" makes as much in ten minutes as an 83-year-old adjunct makes for teaching a whole course in French?
Apples and oranges.
Neither was forced onto a career path. Both made their choices as adults.
Agree, Jim, about Ph.D. programs. Odd how universities continue to pretend that those enrolled in Pin Setting programs will ever find employment.
As to tenure? Here's what one university -- Brown, requires of those seeking Tenure and Promotions: http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/dean-of-faculty/tenure-and-pro...
Gerelyn and all - regarding that link to Brown's process to attain tenure - I confess I didn't wade through all of those pdfs at the link you provided. But here is my question: would someone whose status is adjunct even be invited to partake of that process, i.e .would an adjunct even be considered as a candidate for tenure, even if she has been an adjunct for 25 years? My impression, which certainly may be mistaken as I don't live in academia, is that adjuncts are the equivalent of "temps" or "contractors" in the business world, and it is only the "FTEs" in the professoriate who even qualify for consideration for tenure.
Agree, Jim. A person who has been an adjunct for 25 years would not be considered for tenure. Miracles can happen, but I can't see an adjunct suddenly begin researching and writing and publishing scholarly books and articles. And who would write the many references required?
(Law school adjuncts occupy a slightly different realm, imho. Some are retired lawyers who want to teach future lawyers what they've learned. Some are still active in law or business, but want to teach one course a semester, or deliver a few lectures, not for money, but to share their experiences, wisdom, knowledge, etc. Very different from adjuncts who scurry from one community college to another, trying to earn enough to . . . .
Robert, as to what is just and what is fair and what is possible? Perhaps those already with jobs as assistant professors, associate professors, etc. should do what they can to end the exploitation of universities' victims. Sympathy is easy; action is hard.
Go out on strike in solidarity with adjuncts. Refuse to teach another class until they're given good wages, good benefits, offices, etc.
Stop cooperating in graduate programs that lead nowhere. Post big signs on office doors warning potential graduate students about what really lies in store for them.
Point out how much a Ph.D. will cost, breaking it down into tuition, fees, books, living expenses, lost wages.
Point out how long it takes.
List the jobs currently held by those who earned Ph.D.s from the department for the last ten years, with salaries.
I think Jim is correct to see tenured university professors in considerable jeopardy. I've been a librarian at a university for 30+ years and spent some earlier years as a teaching assistant and then an adjunct instructor, so I'm a bit of an insider (though not at an administrative or decision-making level). Universities are facing incredible financial stress. Everyone knows that tuition is obscenely high, so administrations are looking at ways to save. One strategy is online education (savings on infrastructure--you don't need to build those new dorms, classroom buildings, and parking lots if a high proportion of your students are virtual) and another is replacing more professors with adjuncts--no benefits, low wages, and great flexibility for the department or university in firing (or simply not rehiring) faculty. We are moving more and more to a two-tiered system. Big name faculty stars who bring in grants and graduate students at the top of the pyramid, with most of the teaching done by essentially disposable adjuncts. I think it mirrors what is happening in many other professions and occupations (e.g. law), and if the trend continues it will contribute to the shrinking of our middle class. It might not be necessary (other solutions might be found), but it seems the way we have chosen--or are simply drifting towards..
A person who has been an adjunct for 25 years would not be considered for tenure. Miracles can happen, but I can't see an adjunct suddenly begin researching and writing and publishing scholarly books and articles. And who would write the many references required?
I'm just wondering about the assumptions behind this claim. Is it that adjuncts don't research, write, publish? That they either don't have expertise or don't keep it up? Is it that they have no references? If so, this just doesn't really tally with my experience, with that of adjunct I work with, with that of adjuncts I meet at regional conferences, or from reading about the state of adjunct employment in the Chronicle of Higher Ed.
For those who aren't familiar with the way higher ed operates (not Jean! But I can see from some of the comments above that some people aren't), I thought it might be useful to clarify a couple things a little.
First, to make my own position clear: I think the adjunct situation in higher ed is a moral disgrace, especially in Catholic colleges and especially where unions are not allowed. I'm sympathetic to the budget problems of administrators, but not *that* sympathetic; it's just unacceptable under any circumstances to casualize your core labor like this. Cut football if you have to; figure it out. Furthermore, I think the lack of professional respect given to adjuncts by universities and by tenure-track peers is *also* a disgrace (although it seems to me that the latter problem is fading; most of the TT people I know personally, especially the younger ones, are perfectly aware that adjuncts can be spectacular teachers and also scholars, and many of them understand that there but for the grace of God, etc.)
All right, all that said, it's still not really accurate to compare the pay for adjuncts to the pay for TT professors in an apples and oranges way. TT people teach (not at Harvard, but at most normal colleges/universities) 5 to 8 classes a year. (2/3 and 3/3 loads are typical at better-off places; 4/4 at small and/or poor colleges.) They *also* are expected to perform research and publish (in varying amounts depending on institution and teaching load), and to fulfill a variety of administrative duties -- student advising along with committee work, planning events (like speakers), recruiting and mentoring majors. The job is holistic: teaching, research, and "service" (all the other stuff).
Adjuncts *do* often research and publish, either because they are trying to get a TT job or because they're so invested in their subject that they're doing it without hope of financial reward. But they're not paid for it, or for anything else. That's one major reason why the "full-time" salary is so low; it's because the university doesn't regard a full teaching load, even of 4/4, as a full-time job. (This is crazy considering how much work teaching is, but still, that's the theory.)
Adjuncts are hired as adjuncts and can't be "considered for tenure" while adjuncts. Every once in a while an adjunct is hired into a new tenure-track job (my understanding is this happens most frequently at less prestigious institutions -- like community colleges -- which highlights the snobbery aspect, yes) and recently there's been some noise about making full-time, permanent, with benefits, non-tenure-track positions. I'm not sure how widespread that is as a reality yet, and some adjuncts object to it on the grounds that they're going to keep researching, so why create an intentional two-tier system to replace an accidental two-tier system.
Finally, in response to a comment on an earlier thread about this -- believe me, teaching six classes a year (plus all the other stuff one is supposed to be doing) is MORE than a full-time job. Almost everyone I know has worked 50-60 hour weeks, if not more, for the first five or six years after getting out of graduate school; keeping up with/responding to student work alone is a huge job, let alone lesson planning, let alone the research/publishing/service parts of the job. The problem is not that TT people are doing too little for their massive (hah!) salaries, the problem is that adjuncts aren't being paid nearly enough for the crazy amount of work *they* are doing.
The Chronicle of Higher Education is "a publication said to employ more pseudonyms than any other American newspaper. The life of the mind is born of fear."
-- from "Academia's Indentured Servants," by Sarah Kenzior, Ph.D.
For a collection of essays by adjuncts, see Academic Apartheid: Waging the Adjunct War, by Sylvia M. DeSantis. Try search terms like "tenure."
Catherine, Jean, Kevin et al, many thanks for the explanations and insights. Catherine, regarding this:
The job is holistic: teaching, research, and "service" (all the other stuff)
This makes sense, and there is a sort of parallel in the world of ministry (as when a parish priest is expected to say mass and run a parish and school and be the area dean). I have to say, though, that my experience as a student is that the quality of teaching in the undergraduate world is kind of all over the map. I was subjected to some teachers that, quite frankly, were pretty bad, and in one particular case, a bad one whom I couldn't avoid changed the trajectory of my graduate school plans because I couldn't do well enough in his class. Again, there are parallels in ministry: a priest may be a gifted preacher but a terrible administrator; or he may be wonderful in one-to-one ministry but suffer from stage fright in front of a big group.
I hope this comment doesn't subvert the cause of treating adjuncts fairly - I really think it's a separate although somewhat related issue - but there are some professors who shouldn't be teaching. And then there are people like me, who are competent for teaching the "101" undergraduate classes in a given field but who really aren't academic creatures.
I suppose part of the macro picture here is that universities are dismantling the holistic model you describe by separating out the teaching from the other dimensions of academic life. Do you agree? If, in the course of doing this, more consistently excellent classroom instruction is a result, then honestly, I don't think it's all bad. If an adjunct is an excellent teacher, and a tenured professor is a terrible teacher, nobody is well-served by foisting the tenured profs on the students. And if the adjunct is given preference - well, that may strengthen the case to treat the adjunct justly, including creating an adjunct or teaching-only career track.
This comment was triggered in part by one of my children who is an undergraduate, who came home disgruntled the other day because the adviser in one of the science lab courses apparently is a poor communicator and a nasty piece of work as a human being. My experience as a student is that these "TAs" typically are graduate students themselves, not quite the same thing as an adjunct. But this TA (if I have the basic academic profile correct) may well have a better shot at a tenure-track job in a year or two than a competent teacher adjunct who has been out in the world for ten years, yes? And that doesn't seem right, either.
Some little known principles about college teaching:
The function of a college professor is to preserve and expand knowledge and profess it, that is, make it available to the world. Therefore, a professor is typically both a researcher and a teacher.
Tenure is to be awarded on the basis of expertise. Having a doctorate is a certification of experise, but there are some professors without that degree who qualify without it. For instance, Alasdair MacIntyre, whom I tout incessantly, began teaching in a minor English university with two master's degrees. Within just a few years was at Oxford. Never got a Ph.D. because he's so extraordinarily brilliant he doesn't need one.
Theoretically the already tenured members of each department vote on who shall be admitted to a permanent job (tenure). In actual practice, however, deans and presidents (having the purse-strings) decide. So there can be a circumstance in which a dean with expertise in, say, music decides who gets tenure in engineering or economics. Does this indicate something is radically wrong with the administration of American universities? You betcha. It means the experts are no longer really in charge of standards.
Tenure is NOT awarded (theoretically) as a way to attract fine faculty. It is awarded in orer to protect professors whose views go against accepted opinions, especially popular political and theological ones. The reason such people must be protected, even when the other experts think they're wrong, is because new ideas are always fought against and some of the most important new ideas have turned out to be true. Also, it is assumed that if the currently accepted opinion is acutally true that the other professors can and will defend it as it deserves, and the bad new ideas will fall by the wayside. This is why it is a function of professors to criticize, criticize, criticize, and since the time of Socrates they have gotten into trouble for it.
Yes, adjunct teachers can be fine teachers and also fine researchers. In another age they would be in tenure track or have tenure. And that is just one of the reasons why the current system stinks. It also stinks because it tempts some of the adjuncts to be toadies so they'll get one of the scarce full-time jobs.
They *also* are expected to perform research and publish (in varying amounts depending on institution and teaching load), and to fulfill a variety of administrative duties -- student advising along with committee work, planning events (like speakers), recruiting and mentoring majors. The job is holistic: teaching, research, and "service" (all the other stuff).
Catherine, I appreciate and respect your perspective, but I think the distinction you make between TT and adjunct above has become quite blurred, though I still hear it touted by admin as a reason that adjunct are paid less. The English department in which I teach has exactly one full-time TT position and 13-16 adjunct positions, depending on enrollment. As a result, the college must rely on us for all the things you mention, and they do pay us on an hourly basis for some of these "extras," though getting them to do so was a struggle. Despite the fact that nearly all of us are adjunct and we have clout, there is a real hesitancy to unionize or form an independent bargaining unit. Many are hostile to unions, some don't want to pay dues, others are simply afraid. They juggle schedules at one or two other schools, and they fear that their contracts will not be renewed if they are seen as agitators.
Ann, thanks for that long perspective.
And, Jim, thanks for trying not to conflate TAs, who are usually young people, often unduly impressed with themselves and without any teaching experience whatever (I used to be one) and adjuncts, many of whom have decades of experience teaching and studying in their field.
For me the bottom line is this: I don't expect to be paid as much as a PhD. I don't expect to be paid as much as a tenured professor. I willingly went back to teaching because it afforded me flexibility when my son was born, and I knew the score re pay and benefits. However, the adjunct deal continues to erode as the cost of benefits rises for employers and as admins see adjunctification as a way to balance the bottom line.
Sixty years ago Robert Hutchins offered a neat solution to the problem of athletics. Forget the student-athletes. Each college should just hire their own bunch of athletes and should pay them a fair wage. (They earn a bundle for the schools.)
Of course, given what athletes are paid these days, the colleges might not be able to afford them. I say let the NFL, ABL, whatever, start their own farm systems, and let the colleges go back to their old, honest nonprofessional teams.
This raises the problem of alumni, and that's a whole different kettle of worms.
Is it just? First, let me note that I agree that much of medicine is overpriced and that adjuncts are overpaid. Still, I'd expect to see a huge salary disparity. In any sort of market where people are free to do what they want, almost everyone will pay money to restore their sense of hearing, and moreover they will pay top dollar in order to ensure that the person sticking a needle in their eardrum is highly qualified and knows exactly where to stick the needle. By contrast, almost no one will pay money to learn French, and even if they do pay money, they won't pay very much, because learning French isn't nearly as important to them as still being able to hear.
There certainly can be injustices in markets, but what we see here is more a reflection of the fact that some people know highly technical skills that are a huge help to other people, while others don't.
WastingTime --
You are comparing apples and oranges. Medicine is only extremely practical -- it helps our bodies to stay well. But French and the other Humanities teach us the alternative ways of living available to human beings and how to live well and how to avoid living badly. This goes far beyond merely keeping a body in good health.
Americans to the contrary notwithstanding, having a healhty body is not the same thing as living a worthy and interesting life. A healthy body is not the same thing as a fulfilled mind and heart. A good life requires all three.
Learning French doesn't teach you any of those things; even if it did, the fact that you might value learning French highly doesn't respond to the point that most people would find it useless whereas keeping their hearing is very useful.
As noted above, I think comparing the worth and remuneration of a medical doctor to, say, an adunct who teaches French sends people on the worthy but tangential exploration of what matters most to us as human beings.
I think it might be interesting to look at why treatment of adjunct faculty compared to their tenured counterparts fails to get much sympathetic traction as, say, the single mother of three who is working two fast-food jobs for minimum wage.
When Walmart or McDonald's workers walk out and stage a demonstration, it gets coverage. These stories often feed familiar narratives about the greed of corporations who make money on the backs of low-paid workers, the pluck of unskilled workers with common horse sense, and their dreams of a better future for their kids.
There is a certain schadenfreude about the comedownance (sorry) of the well-educated who find themselves scraping together a living from their brains, as if an advanced degree was merely a self-indulgence, not a necessity like bringing home the bacon or a calling like being a priest. My father, who was strictly of the "if you're so smart, why ain't you rich" school of thinking, was constantly telling stories at family gatherings about how much more financially successful my brother, a high school graduate with an innate business sense and musical ability, was. "Now you've gotta ask yourself," he'd say, being sure to position himself where I could hear, "who's really the smart one?"
The fast food "single mother of three" works at her jobs because she is unable to find a better job. The adjunct single mother of three could probably find a better job if she wanted to, but maybe she prefers the cachet to the cash.
Tenured professors don't make that much money, either, compared to what they could be making if they had chosen business over professing. See, e.g., the case of St. Louis University, transformed by Lawrence Biondi, S.J., now brought low by tenured faculty.
For an example of why some/many/most people feel little/no sympathy for adjuncts, see "The Incredible Invisible Adjunct" in Academic Apartheid.
"Learning French doesn't teach you any of those things; even if it did, the fact that you might value learning French highly doesn't respond to the point that most people would find it useless whereas keeping their hearing is very useful."
Might Be --
I'm speaking from experience. I'm profoundly deaf. If I had to choose between hearing and my liberal educaiton, I'd choose the liberal education in a flash. Qualification -- my science education was very poor, and to that extent, my education was bad. But the my education in specifically human matters (history, lit, art, philosophy, the theology I've picked up) and the means to rationally consider human topics (critical thinking and a bit of artistic practice) were far more valuable than merely being able to hear. Loss of hearing means you lose music and the sound of the human voice (though not speech). But other wise, the other stuff far outweighs what I used to get from hearing, including music.)
Maybe the best thing about a good liberal education is that it teaches you how to really read -- how to extract the wisdom of the past without having to re-invent the wheel for ourselves. We can continute to read outside of college and thereby add to the store of wisdom a basic liberal arts program provides us..
I suspect that your basic education might have been *called* a liberal education, but it really wasn't one. For instance, two years of French might make you able to speak it a bit (a practical matter), but it would not necessarily make you capable of reading French literature. If that is so, then, you're right -- the French you took wasn't sufficient to be part of a liberal educaiton for you.
Jean --
You told Jim P. to focus. But maybe the problem is a highly complex one, and so we need to look at the wider set of causes of this grossly inequitable systemic practice. After taking a wider look, we can try to invent a solution.
In other words, just focusing on a problem is not always the best way to solve it. Looking back, sideways and forwards are often all required. (Yay, history; yay, studying human nature, yay, studying logic, especially fallacies, yay, studying economics, etc., etc.)
Ann -- think of it this way. Suppose you suddenly have a condition that could make you go blind. There's a highly specialized doctor who could do an incredibly sensitive operation on your eyes that would preserve your eyesight. On the other hand, you could take courses in a Chinese dialect.
Which service would you pay more for? If you choose the Chinese dialect for some reason, do you realize that this is a highly unusual preference?
Ann, I think the immediate problem is fairly simple: Adjuncts are paid substantially less money and benefits for an equivalent amount of work by their tenured counterparts, and these wages need to be brought into better parity.
Some of the justification for low adjunct pay is just incorrect--they don't keep up in their fields, they don't research, they don't attend conferences, they don't counsel students--is just wrong.
Some of the justification for adjunct pay is specious--low adunct pay allows students to get more financial aid. That's sounds great for students, but is it fair to do it on the backs of a certain group of teachers?
There's also a "customer" problem with the adjunct system. If I were paying $500 per credit hour for a class (the going rate at some universities that rely heavily on adjuncts to fill general ed classes), I would not be happy to learn that the class was taught by someone who is often hired in a hurry and never evaluated by a department head or even a colleague.
In the long run, if you bring adjunct pay up to a more equitable level, yes, there will be ripple effects. Schools may not be able to hire as many teachers. They may not be able to accommodate every student knocking at the door. They may have to go up the employment chain and rethink what they're paying admin and "star faculty." They may have to ditch some of their bright shiny renovations. I submit that some of this belt-tightening and soul-searching might actually be good for higher ed.
Unhappy adjuncts might take comfort from an amusing (imho) article in The Chronicle of Higher Education: "Why Are Associate Professors So Unhappy?"
From that:
Ms. Soltan recognizes, however, that higher education attracts people who are "neurotic, ever unhappy, and ever restless," which, she says, is partly a good thing.
The comments below the article are more about why she is called "Ms." instead of "Dr."
MightBe --
You talk as if a liberal education is just a matter of learning to speak a foreign language. It's much, much, much, much broader than that. And it's always expensive. There's your dilemma -- are you willing to pay for a very great good that will make a huge difference in your life and might even be a condition of discovering what will make you truly happy. Yes, we're talking happiness here, not just chatting with a cab driver in Paris.
Someone can always be counted on to go off on tangents irrelevant to the topic at hand. My turn this time, I guess.
Congratulations on "comewdownance," a triumph of logic over convention. It encourages me to lodge a predictably futile protest against a different term, "medical doctor." (I'm not criticizing you, of course: you just decided not to swim against the current in this instance.)
If "M.D." means "medical doctor," does "Ph.D." mean "philosophical doctor"? Is someone with an Sc. D. a scientific doctor, and one with an Ed. D. an educational doctor? Are those awarded the J.D. judicial doctors, and those with a D.D. divine doctors?
All the foregoing would immediately be recognized as barbarous back-formations. Yet "medical doctor," which began as an innocent mistake (though still a mistake) has now been canonized by government agencies. In California, at least, notices in waiting rooms inform all interested parties about the board responsible for the licensing of "medical doctors."
The degree is still "Medicinae Doctor," in English "Doctor of Medicine." A shorter and equally accurate term is "physician," dang it all.
Hmm, my reply to the 1:47 p.m. Sept. 22 posting by Jean Hughes Raber is shown after numerous intervening ones, though I clicked on "reply." Looks like some sort of glitch in the system.
Julian, "medical doctor" seems a handy way to differentiate a physician from others who hold doctorates of other types. Using the term doesn't necessarily mean that one doesn't know the Latin origin of the M.D. designation, does it?
For those still interested in this thread, there was an interesting segment on PBS's "NewsHour" about how those in the hospitality industry are weighing the pros and cons of cutting employee hours to avoid the employer mandate in the ACA. Many colleges who hire adjuncts have already cut adjunct hours below the 30-hours-per-week point to avoid having to pay them benefits. My department introduced six new adjuncts at our faculty meeting yesterday ... adjuncts who will take the courses that have been taken away from us so the college doesn't have to pay any of us benefits. The mandatory meetings and professional development will be about $1,200 per year for each of these folks. I presume there are other HR costs associated with hiring these folks.
One restaurateur in the NewsHour segment noted that cutting his employees is going to mean dealing with higher turnover, recruitment and training, not to mention possible reduction in the quality of his product. He feels it's worth it to provide benefits to the employees so he can concentrate more on his business and less on HR headaches. Here's the NewsHour report:
Jean, whether they know the Latin origin of "Ph.D." or not, people seem to find the initials "handy" enough without resorting to an erroneous back-formation. Same is true for the other examples cited. I'd think "M.D." would serve perfectly well, or "physician." Those Swiftean enough to prefer longer terms can always say "Doctor of Medicine." Hard to see the need for "medical doctor." (Irrelevantly enough, I'm reminded that Muriel Spark liked "Doctors of Philosophy" so much that she made it the title of a play.) Anyhow, I did predict that my protest would be futile...
Sorry about inserting a typo into "comedownance," by the way.
Jean, the restaurateur on the NewsHour segment understands what the Costco folks understand: better-treated employees may cost more in salaries and benefits, but they're actually more cost-effective. The alternative model is that of WalMart. Have to wonder how far lower employee turnover would go toward allowing better medical coverage for more WalMart employees, so that taxpayers (through Medicaid, etc.) wouldn't have to take up so much of the slack.
Then there's the plight of workers in hospitals run by religious institutions:


text:
In a web app, let's say I have a list of options for the user to select from. I would usually use a drop down in this case,if there is a reasonably small number of options, but how should i approach this differently if there are 50 options? or 100? or 1000?
Perhaps combine a two pane approach with a search?
The UI filters dynamically on the client side as you type in the search box. I like it better than search only, because you can discover what all the options are.
For bonus points, you can construct this on the fly from a regular select/multiple control.
A couple of ideas:
Well, if you have an app where a user can select from 1000s of options, my first response would be that you've designed something incorrectly. Try zooming out and considering the information architecture leading to so many options and see what you can do about that. Does the user really need all those choices? Can you get rid of a few for her or choose some sensible defaults? How do you deal with the paradox of choice problem?
But in more practical terms, try breaking the information up into categories and presenting them that way. I could be more helpful if I knew what information you were designing for, since that often influences what kind of visualisation or controls you can use.
Consider time zones. You can be really specific and offer each individual time zone, leading to a huge list thst you have to do some hardcore work on to make digestible for the user. Or, you can choose only the time zones nearest to most places, which might leave a few exceptional users out, but cover 99% of them.
Same thing with choosing a time for an event. Being specific means a user can choose down to the minute. 60 item dropdown menus? Or you can segment time by 5 minutes. Suddenly the user only has to choose from 12 options, and it's specific enough for the use case.
for that many options any type of multi select would be annoying. Think one wrong click and a half an hour gone.
You should use 2 boxes with arrows like this
it's not too hard to do with a few lines of JS


text:
Can they touch each other? Hug? Are they allowed to expose their legs, arms, etc., in front of each other? Can they swim together? Dance together?
Sign up
- Anybody can ask a question
- Anybody can answer
- The best answers are voted up and rise to the top
If I recall correctly, Yichud is okay short-term, but not preferable long-term.
Here's the Rambam (Laws of Prohibitions on Relations Ch. 21), I don't know what the other opinions are.
So the first point here is that this is about grown-ups. For four-year-olds, well ask a child psychologist how much exposure is healthy, I guess.
So affectionate touching between adult siblings is not recommended. (Though I recall reading of a Baalat Teshuva who came from a non-observant, very-huggy family who was allowed to hug her brother at his wedding, as it's only "distasteful", not prohibited like hugging someone else's spouse.) Similarly Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote that if a rabbi sees people kissing other people's spouses (something downright prohibited), he should absolutely correct them. If he sees people kissing their grown siblings of opposite gender (or aunts/uncles), which is merely frowned-upon, it's the rabbi's call whether to say something.
As far as how clothed they need to be in front of one another (which is basically the question of mixed swimming), I'd think just applying common-sense boundaries would be appropriate. Not sure exactly where to draw those lines.
As for dancing, if dancing = hugging, then we'd apply the above Rambam (distasteful and strongly not recommended). If dancing is less than hugging, then I guess it's some common-sense boundary question. Rabbi Yehuda Herzl Henkin has some sources that according to some, social dancing was prohibited "as it might lead to affectionate touching", not that it itself was. (And of course there's dancing, and then there's dancing ...)
The Misnah Berurah in Hilchos Krias Shema says that the same hilchos Tznius applies for siblings as it does for other people.


text:
Concerns of Police Survivors is hosting a screening of the documentary "Heroes Behind the Badge" for the Lake of the Ozarks area on Monday, April 15th at the School of the Osage High School Auditorium. There will be two showings; one at 4:30 pm and one at 7:30 pm.
Heroes Behind the Badge recounts the harrowing stories of law enforcement officers who were caught in the line of fire and survived, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
"It is our hope this documentary changes the perception of law enforcement," said Carolyn Davinroy, C.O.P.S.' Director of Development. "It is important to support law enforcement officers in our Lake Area and throughout the United States."
Donations will be greatly appreciated at the door. Proceeds will benefit National Concerns of Police Survivors located in Camdenton, MO and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Concerns of Police Survivors is a nationwide not-for-profit organization with 53 Chapters around the country. Members of C.O.P.S. are always prepared to help survivors when they need it, where they need it.
Location, ST | website.com


text:
Recently I made a LEGO race car with a driver who wore a helmet. Unfortunately, after the race, I tried to take off his helmet and his head came off inside the helmet. Any suggestions about getting it out so he can see again?
You can use some sugar liquid to use as temporary glue to make the head stuck to the torso. Then wait till the sugar is sticky and then try to remove the helmet. Once the helmet is loose you can put the head and torso in warm water to loosen the sugar glue and take it off. Then wash thoroughly to remove remaining sugar.
A trick that's worked for me in the past, is to use a 1x1 cone with a Technic axle in it (it needs to be the cone without the top groove, unlike the example below) - this will allow you to force the tapered end of the cone into the hole on the bottom of the head, and by fastening a Technic gearwheel, brick or larger cylinder to the Technic axle, you'll be able to ply a fair amount of force to increase the clutch of the cone piece in the head and twist to loosen it from the helmet with a push-twist-pull movement. Good luck.
Your problem is that the clutch (what holds bricks together) between the helmet and the head is too high, and in any case higher than the clutch between head and torso.
This means the solution is to increase the clutch between the head and another part you'll use to remove it. I would first recommend trying other torsos, maybe one has enough clutch to easily take the head with it and beat the helm. Twisting the parts while trying to separate them should also help.
If that fails, other LEGO parts might help, but I'm not sure which ones - torsos have a longer stud probably for that very reason. Maybe a Technic pin with friction?
You could also try slipping some paper around a torso stud, but be careful not to just push the paper alone inside the head.
A quick and easy way to remove a helmet stuck onto the head...I tried something similar to the toilet tissue paper idea above. I used a piece of Bounty kitchen roll, approximately 3cm x 3cm, (which is actually thicker then a single ply toilet tissue) and placed this over the stub of the body then pushed the head onto this. The head will not go all the way down, but far enough for it to remain firmly in place. Then I was able to remove the helmet very easily.
You need to get something into the head-hole to grip the head whilst you remove the helmet.
You could try a pair of snap-ring pliers or needle nose pliers. Insert both jaws into the hole and pull them apart as much as possible whilst you remove the head from the helmet. You might need a helper - someone to remove the helmet whilst you grip the head with the tool.
You may not be able to avoid scratching the inside of the head-hole slightly - but a scratch where it won't be seen is probably better than throwing two parts away.
Worst case, you write-off the head completely, but at least you've still got a useful helmet. If you do get to the point where you can't remove the helmet without damaging it, you could resort to super-gluing something to the inside of the head and pull it out.
Take some scotch tape and wrap it round the neck thing. Then you just put the head on and pull the helmet off. If that doesn't work, use more tape, it will make the head stay on the neck a little better.
You can also try to use soapy water. You know how people use soap to remove a stuck ring from their finger? The same works for stuck LEGO helmets. Just immerse the helmet/head in some water with lots of soap, then do as Joubarc mentioned; attach them back to a torso, and now wiggle off the helmet...(c:
You should try to use a torso that is really, really gripping. The newer, the better. Do you have any Exo-Force minifigures? I found those torsos really, really tight. Whenever I got something stuck, I always plonk them on Hikaru's torso. Works most of the time. Helps if you twist it around. Once the helmet turns but the head doesn't, you're gold.
Dude it's super easy. Put the head and helmet on the lego body.Then squeeze the helmet, and pull up at the same time
I know this is going to sound weird, but wrap a piece of single-ply toilet paper over the neck of the body piece. Jam that in the head's hole and twist until the face starts to move. Then pull. The head should come out of the helmet no problem!
You can put a little bit of 2 sided tape on the neck of the torso and stick it in the head and pull and it works
I just removed a non-LEGO crown which was very very tight top on Nadakhan's head. It was so tight, it seemed that only destroying it could help. But my son loved the crown and especially head, so here is my solution:
Good look to everyone with the same problem :)
Just, let the time goes by, that happenned to me with a dwarf beard, I had to wait 2 months, and after that, it came off easily. In your case, I need that Anakin's hair just gets stuck in it's head.
You could always use a tight torso and put it inside the head. I actually used mega block brand legs to take out the head of my minfig. Sometimes it doesn't work but most of the time it does.
Put the head (with the helmet stuck on) on a torso. As you take the helmet off, bend the helmet a little.
As long as there is more friction between the torso and head than the head and helmet it should come of with some effort.
U can put some duct tape on top of an axle lego and push it into the head hole and twist until it comes out!
Take a piece of tape, Put it around a torso neck cut it until about half of a centimeter is still above the top of stud. Now force the head with stuck helmet on it. Pull on the helmet and it will come off! To get the tape off the torso use pliers or your fingers to grab the bottom and pull upward until it comes off.


text:
Bennington College invites applications and nominations for the position of President, which will commence July 1, 2013. Situated on 440 breathtaking acres in Bennington, Vermont, the College currently enrolls 826 students (688 undergraduate and 138 graduate) and offers an enviable student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Bennington was the first American college to include the visual and performing arts in a liberal arts education, and it is the only college to require that students spend the winter term—every year—at work in the world.
Bennington's president must be eager and able to lead a talented, devoted faculty; an exceptional management team; and a lively, committed support staff. He or she must challenge students with wisdom, kindness, and authentic interest. Regardless of previous experience, he or she must be a "practitioner of ideas," committed to public as well as academic discourse, and eager to bring the values and the insights of his or her own profession and practice to the urgent issues of our time. Above all, Bennington's new president will be expected to embody and champion the core values of this unique institution. Though Bennington's alumni body of 11,000 is relatively small, it has had a significant impact on the intellectual and cultural life of America since the opening of the College in the early 1930s.
Since its founding in 1932, Bennington has viewed students as protagonists in their own educations. With the help of the faculty, each student is required to develop, revise, implement, and evaluate an individual academic plan that frames and constitutes his or her undergraduate trajectory. In support of this educational program, Bennington has assembled a faculty that believes that all liberal learning can be taught effectively by teacher-practitioners free to teach, in the words of one, "what keeps me awake at night." The result is a continuously evolving and intentionally elastic institution that puts a premium on the creation of new work, personal responsibility, and the contribution of the individual while ensuring that students learn, perhaps above all, how to merge the ideals of personal freedom with those of public responsibility.
Bennington's unique innovations in curricula continuously challenge yet sustain its students and faculty to graduate small classes of tested students, regardless of chosen field, notably confident in their capacity to engage and succeed in the world in a manner advanced and distinct among peers.
The College encourages nominations from diverse realms of interest, experience, and accomplishment. The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate a commitment to Bennington's core values and the ability to nurture and extend their expression both on campus and to the rest of the world.
The president of Bennington College works closely and collaboratively with a board of 22 trustees, faculty, staff, students, parents, and alumni to provide leadership and direction to the College. The new president will be expected to enhance the College's existing strengths and help it develop new ones during his or her tenure as its tenth president.
Among the major challenges facing the new president will be providing strategic leadership and management direction for the next phase of Bennington's development that will preserve and capitalize on its mission and unique educational model while adhering to its culture of innovation and self-reliance; strengthening Bennington's reputation for academic and creative excellence; extending the College's reach within the region and raising its profile in the United States and abroad; and mobilizing the human and financial resources needed to achieve Bennington's goals and aspirations.
Leading candidates for the presidency of Bennington will have distinguished records of accomplishment in higher education, diplomacy, scholarship, the arts, and/or other professional fields where in Bennington excels. They will have demonstrated great leadership and management skills, a passionate commitment to liberal arts undergraduate education, and exceptional professional education and research.
Strong personal dedication to the values of self-direction, community service, international understanding, and academic excellence is an important prerequisite, as is the ability to inspire students, faculty, and staff to uphold these core values. The successful candidate will also have a commitment to engage personally in fundraising and a proven record of accomplishment in this area. A doctoral degree is preferred but not a requirement for selection.
Leading candidates will possess intellectual depth, moral conviction, and personal integrity; the capacity to communicate effectively to individuals, small groups, and large audiences; and the sensitivity and flexibility to respond cooperatively and effectively to requests from others. They should have the ability to articulate an institutional vision with passion and clarity, to focus on strategic priorities, and to mobilize support from all College constituencies. Leading candidates must be fair and decisive and possess an assured, open personal style that underlines an intense sense of purpose. They should be active, versatile, energetic, well organized, and appreciative of the special mission, culture, and unique history of Bennington College.
Please send applications and nominations to the attention of Jane Phillips Donaldson
and Sarah James at email@example.com.


text:
I am using a Neewer TT520 flash with a Nikon D7000. I am new to flash photography. When I mount it on camera I noticed that at times the flash didn't fire. I've spent some time researching it and discovered that the red light takes long to turn back on after every shot. This wasn't the case initially (about a month back). Is this issue related to the battery or has it something to do with the camera settings?
The recharge time is shorter if your batteries are fresh. It is also shorter if you use more expensive ones , like Duracell than cheap noname brands from discount stores, like "Ikea" and "Powercell". Actually, some devices refuse to run on cheap batteries.
To improve the charge time further, use 1900-2300mAh rechargables. They have higher peak amperes and last longer. I recharge once per month, while normal AA batteries go flat after one session. You can get some that keep charged when not used as well. Example figure from http://speedlights.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/yn460-ii_recycle_times_full_power_in_seconds.jpg
The fastest recharge I've ever done was when I rigged a flash to run off a car battery. It is not that portable, but for outdoor tripod work it is useful. You can also rig it to run from a PSU if you are near a powersocket.
You also gain recycle speed as you lower the power output, at a very good exchange rate. Two flashes of half power is the same light output but the recharge time for two half power flashes is faster than one full power. In my distant past testing, I lowered the recharge time to 25% as the power output was 50%.
Flashes are the biggest strain on batteries in photography, they use an awful lot of grunt. So I can pretty much guarantee your problem is flat batteries.
Manufacturers continue to use AA's because of their ubiquity; you can get them everywhere and pretty much any time even in remote locations. Because they're being pushed hard it does mean they will run down and go flat quickly.
You don't have to use rechargables but if you don't make the investment in a good charger and batteries you'll want to start buying good quality normal batteries in bulk/wholesale and don't bother with cheap ones, you'll end up with pockets full of 'dead' ones.
An additional factor in favour of NiMH rechargables (including the eneloop)is that they supply a good amount of power until they're practically exhausted which keeps recycle times good for a longer period. Normal lead-acid batteries ramp down their output more smoothly and the recycle time increases with each charge of the flash.
As per the suggestions, I replaced the batteries and it considerably improved the performance. I also noticed that light takes longer to come back on if I increase the light quantity Output.