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culture shock
We also have a trampoline, and jumping on the trampoline was his favorite thing to to in Haiti. He spends a lot of time out there with his siblings, laughing and jumping (and showing them up with his flips and stunts).
Other things have not translated so well. We like taking the kids for ice cream. He thinks it's disgusting. I think frozen anything is pretty foreign to him. I have never seen a kid throw a fit over the proclamation "let's go for ice cream!" But that's exactly what happens in our house.
He also hates watching tv. He yells at me whenever I turn it on. My kids don't watch a ton of tv, but it is definitely something in our house that serves a purpose. (And that purpose is me taking a shower in the morning). I've been working really hard to warm him up to watching tv. Never thought I would be saying that . . . I'm training a kid to watch tv. But seriously. Mommy needs a shower.
He's perfectly content to ride a princess bike, or walk around in princess shoes. But for some reason, a pink sippy cup is where he draws the line. He will NOT TOUCH a pink sippy cup. But he's cool with the pink bike with pom poms.
He thinks gloves are awesome. He thinks harmonicas are the coolest thing ever. He doesn't like the carousel. He loves India's bedazzled flip-flops but refused to wear jeans for the first two weeks. He is totally freaked out by the blender. He loves Mexican food, but won't touch potatoes. He will eat a chicken bone cleaner than most adults. He is obsessed with all things camouflage - he got a pair of pants that were camoflauge and he refused to take them off for about a week. I think I finally figured out what that was about:
UN guys? Superheroes. But Spiderman? Not so much.
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I am new to your blog and your story is inspiring. Can you help me get caught up? How old are both of your sons? When did you adopt each one? Sounds like you got to take your second son home early due to the earthquake? Were you there just to visit him?ReplyDelete
Looking forward to watching them grow and get to know American life. Maybe Ice Cream will grow on Kembe!
what a sweetie. sounds like he's adjusting really well.ReplyDelete
(and i about died when you talked about him probably freaked out by "smaples" in the fridge. i suppose there will be strange barriers for a while!)
uh, SAMPLES...ReplyDelete
Some of those things are sensory, just like my son. Ice cream and soup? NEVER. Still hates anything hot but loves ice cream. (he lived the farthest from the orphanage kitchen so he got cold food).ReplyDelete
Fuzzies on pajamas kept him up until 4 in the morning when I finally changed them. (jeans are scratchy) Wouldn't go near a vacuum for 3 years bc of the sound and was beaten by a broom so badly the first time he saw it he went into shock.
tv is probably too visual and auditory for him. Try having him just listen to it without watching it. he might do okay with that. Or, have him sit in the room with a book instead. we trained AJ to watch it without sound.
Even two years in, we had major aversions to cheese and peanut butter.ReplyDelete
Total cammo addict.
And I had one of those moments where I realized I was actually saying, "No, today we're not going to take our rib bones out of the restaurant so we can suck the marrow out of them on the way home" or "Could you please chew off the tendons a little more quietly, Sweetie?"
They are soooo not wasteful, and I still find myself very disturbed that it goes against American culture. I don't care at home, but am still trying to help them find a balance in public. Hurts my heart to see them NOT want to embarrass themselves in public, but the thought of throwing away a perfectly juicy bone ...
- Anonymous12:57 PM
Oh the memories...my 18 month old (at the time) Ethiopian son had nearly identical likes/dislikes. Ice cream was at the top of cruel & unusual punishment list for at least a year home. TV...second on that list for 2 years, unless you count fiddling with the buttons and decks, etc. Anything or anyone with a mask or costume on completely unglued him...which included any superhero, 3 year old, doctor, you name it. Vacuums...mercy...my husband had to take him out of the house. The carousel was to be absolutely avoided at the zoo. And bird feeding. Oh, and bugs. Good grief...I got all my new, plentiful grey hairs that year from fits over bugs you'd need a magnifying glass to see that were on the outside of his window near his crib. Lord have mercy on us all if one actually landed on him while he was outside.ReplyDelete
Basically any situation that signaled to him that his environment was out of his immediate control, or overly stimulating, was horrifying. And when I say horrifying, I mean commence a screaming fit so loud it causes everyone within a 100 foot radius to stop dead in their tracks to find and help the kid that sounds as if he is being torn limb from limb.
Any routine that he could get a handle on was extremely comforting for him. From getting a meal on the table to taking out the trash, to naptime/bedtime routines, he appointed himself the resident expert and would point out what to do next to my husband or me. Again, I think it was the control thing. We still see remnants of this now, but it feels like the motivation has changed.
Anyway...have fun with it when you can and stay calm as much as possible (I totally failed in this during the early months). Three years later, we all like to laugh about how much he used to dislike ice cream and TV. Last weekend, he got on a carousel for the first time and LOVED it. Last month when Reptile Man visited his preschool, he actually let the guy put a tarantula on his head and a very large snake around his shoulders. Can't say I'd be okay with that. Also, he begs me to help with the vacuuming now. Which, of course, I'm happy to indulge. The dude has come a long, long way.
Like Pickel said... many of those things sound sensory to me. Have you ever read "The Out-of-Sync Child?" Lots of this will probably go away with time and exposure, but it might help to learn a bit more about sensory issues.ReplyDelete


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Hygiene on the go
The Philips Avent toddler drinking cup is the easy step from bottle to cup. The flip-top lid keeps the spout clean at all times, even when on the go. It is amazingly spill-proof whether shaken or thrown in the air, and yet easy to drink from See all benefits
Unfortunately this product is no longer available
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Cups, spouts and handles can be used with the entire Philips Avent range; attach directly to breast pumps or use a teat instead of the spout when feeding. The soft spout and handles can also be put on the feeding bottle for an easy transition from bottle to cup

subset: commoncrawl


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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce will honor 10 businesses and individuals at the annual Chamber Awards Gala on Friday, May 17, at the Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston. The annual event includes an evening of live music, silent auction, table wines donated by local wineries and businesses, hors d'oeuvres and a sit-down dinner and awards program.
Tickets, priced at $85 per person, are available through the Chamber of Commerce office, 895 Center St., Lewiston, or by calling 754-9500.
"The awards are given based on leadership, dedication and achievement in the community, and are chosen by their respective business associations and municipalities," said Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Pauly. "The event wouldn't be made possible without the support of our many community sponsors who allow us to give credit to the deserving recipients."
Gold sponsors Include: The Buffalo News, First Niagara Bank, National Grid, Niagara Frontier Publications, Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours, Mount St. Mary's Hospital and Health Center and the Niagara Gazette.
Silver sponsors include: Artpark & Company, KeyBank, Manning & Napier Benefits LLC, Niagara University and Tedesco Construction Services Inc.
Bronze sponsors Include: Amendola Property Management Inc., Angel to Apple, Blossomview Farms Pet Sitting Services and Farm Animal Care, Conestoga-Rovers and Associates, Cornerstone Community Federal Credit Union, The End of the Road Boutique, Gorge Travel Inc., JBM Consulting/HRWebsource.com, The Lewiston Insurance Agency, M&T Bank, Niagara Hospice, Orange Cat Coffee Co., Ransomville Business & Professional Association, Rhoney Funeral Home, Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course and Slender Inspirations.
Pictured, from left, are gala sponsors Ann Britton of Cornerstone CFCU, Janet Brown of M&T Bank, Megan Dearing of The Buffalo News, Michael Cushman of Rhoney Funeral Home, Robert Fagiani of KeyBank, Pauly, Gloria Baker of First Niagara Bank, Fran Roach of Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course, Margy Toohey of The Lewiston Insurance Agency, Michael Broderick of Orange Cat Coffee Co., Jamie Symmonds of Angel to Apple, Jeannine Brown Miller of JBM Consulting/HRWebsource.com, Margaret Mokhiber of Slender Inspirations, and Maureen Rizzo of Niagara Hospice.


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Thursday, May 9, 2013
Scathing Review
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this tech combines a laser with a digital camera of the iPhone variety, but with compact footprint. It reads the infrared fingerprints left ...
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Spanish @ Adams State
Interested in improving your Spanish or just want to be more marketable?
Bilingualism is important in an increasingly global economy, and Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world.
Adams State offers a full major and minor language program in Spanish, as well as a program for secondary education.
Business professionals and medical personnel are just two types of people utilizing language skills to succeed in their industries:
Spanish For Business
Business contacts that deal with the Spanish speaking population are more likely to have positive results when the business representative demonstrates a knowledge of the client's language and culture.
As a result, most companies who do business with the Spanish speaking population prefer employees who know the language of their clients.
Spanish For Medical Personnel
Medical clinics, hospitals, emergency centers and nursing care units routinely seek out employees who can speak Spanish.
Paramedics and other emergency personal consistently encounter situations where a knowledge of Spanish is crucial. An increasing number of doctors and nurses are including Spanish in their studies.
Other Potential Careers
- Translator or Interpreter
- News Analyst or Commentator
- Public Relations Manager
- Foreign Service officer
- Elementary or Secondary school teacher
- Adult Educator
Get Involved with El Parnaso
- Learn about and help preserve Spanish culture.
- Participate in one of the oldest organizations on campus.
- Engage the community in cultural events such as Pan American Day and Dia de los Muertos.
- Contact Dr. Eva Rayas-Solis
- firstname.lastname@example.com or (719) 587-7852
What sets us apart?
All of our Spanish courses are taught in accordance with the language communicative objectives established by ACTFL guidelines.
All Spanish language majors take a comprehensive exam in Speaking, Writing, Culture and Literature. Students wishing to teach Spanish must score a 2 (Advanced Level) or higher on the ACTFL scale.


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Alcohol Inks Color Wash
Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks! Acid-free, fast drying transparent coordinating dye inks specially formulated to create a colorful, polished stone effect. Use on glossy paper, dominoes, metal, shrink plastic, glass, and other slick surfaces. Alcohol Blending Solution is available for lightening colors and cleaning inks from non-porous surfaces.
Shop Tim Holtz mixed media and scrapbooking supplies. We offer all Tim Holtz products with a 10 percent discount and FREE Shipping with your $75.00 order.
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This 15 week online support group is for people ages 20-39 who have lost a loved one to cancer. In this group led by an oncology social worker, members provide support to each other and share resources and information. CancerCare believes our online bereavement groups are most helpful for people through two years after their loss.
To join this group, you will need to complete our online registration process. After joining this password-protected group, you can read and post messages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Start Date
Friday, June 1, 2018
(Group accepts new members after start date.)
End Date
Friday, September 14, 2018


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Bohyme 18" Pro-Tips in #30
Bohyme Pro Tips use the highest quality 100% remi human hair. Not only are they easy to install and remove, but they can also be utilized for a full head of extensions or different colored highlights. Also available in body wave texture.
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The Best Western Braselton Inn, Braselton, GA offers plenty of Southern hospitality. Just outside this charming hotel in Braselton, Georgia, guests will find plenty to do, like watch the thrilling races at the nearby Road Atlanta Race Track and experience exciting horse shows at Chateau Elan Winery & Resort, in addition to shopping and dining nearby. The Lake Lanier Islands and Mall of Georgia are also just a short drive away. Each spacious, comfortable room at the Best Western Braselton Inn features free high-speed internet access, an in-room coffee and tea maker and cable satellite television with HBO and ESPN . Guests of this Braselton hotel will also wake up to a complimentary full hot breakfast served each morning and take a swim in the outdoor swimming pool. Both smoking and non-smoking rooms are available. Business guests will enjoy this Braselton hotel's close proximity to the Mayfield Dairy and Haverty Furniture, in addition to on-site business services. Guests arriving for weddings at Chateau Elan will enjoy the Best Western Braselton's affordable rates and clean rooms. This Braselton, GA hotel is waiting to welcome you. Book your stay at the Best Western Braselton today. Enjoy your stay.
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HENDERSONVILLE — Christopher Eric Hamilton age 55 of Hendersonville, N.C., died Sunday, November 4, 2012. He was born January 11, 1957, in Henderson County.
Mr. Hamilton attended Valley Hill Baptist Church. He worked for 20 years at DuPont and 10 years at Arvin Meritor. He was a devoted son and father. He loved spending time with his family.
He is survived by his mother, Marjorie Staton Hamilton of Hendersonville; his children, Michael Alexander Hamilton of Marshall, Matthew Christopher Hamilton of Mars Hill and Angela Lynne Hamilton of Greenville, S.C.; three grandchildren, Matthew Nathaniel Hamilton, Jakob Alexander Hamilton and Malachi S. Hamilton; a sister, Jane Hamilton Chambliss and her husband, Jim; brothers, Evans L. Hamilton and his wife, Barbara, and J. Kirby Hamilton and his wife, Shirley, all of Hendersonville; an aunt, Laura Osteen of Hickory; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his father, Evans S. Hamilton; and a brother, Wayne Hamilton.
Funeral services will be held Friday, November 9, 2012, at 2 p.m. at Valley Hill Baptist Church. Burial will follow in Oakdale Cemetery. The Rev. Danny Pridmore will officiate.
The family will receive friends Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Directors.
An online register book is available for family and friends by visiting www.thosshepherd.com. Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral directors is in charge of arrangements.
Christopher Eric Hamilton, 55
HENDERSONVILLE — Christopher Eric Hamilton age 55 of Hendersonville, N.C., died Sunday, November 4, 2012. He was born January 11, 1957, in Henderson County.


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Mentor program moves to new grant, seeks volunteers
Mentor program Project AIM will be starting its third year this fall, and volunteers are needed.
Previously funded by the U.S. Dept. of Education Grants for school-based mentoring programs, Project AIM will be moving under the Safe Schools Healthy Students grant umbrella.
"We appreciate the way the community has embraced the grant, and we're looking forward to another year," AIM Coordinator Cathy Curtis said. "We want people to know that mentoring opportunities are continuing under another grant."
Curtis is currently accepting applications from people who wish to make a difference in the life of a child — grades three through eight — and who can donate just one hour a week to spending time with a child that will be hand-picked based on the application process.
"The crux of what we do is one-on-one mentoring that complements the student's participation," Curtis said. "The mentors usually spend the first 30 to 40 minutes helping the student with homework, then they spend the rest of their time playing games, talking and just getting to know each other."
For those that are interested, but may not really understand the impact they can have by volunteering just one hour a week, Curtis assures that the effect is immense.
"As one of the program evaluator, I can say that Project AIM has been extremely successful. Project AIM is definitely having an impact in mentees' lives and is a positive force in the Starkville community," said Dr. John Bartkowski, adjunct professor with Mississippi State's Dept. of Sociology. "A substantial proportion of student mentees have improved their performance in reading, language, science and math. In the first year of the program alone, over four in ten student mentees improved their performance in these courses. It usually takes several years to achieve these results."
"The students in Project AIM are benefiting in personal ways, too. We tracked students' self-esteem throughout the program. We are seeing improved self-concepts among students," said Dr. Xiaohe Xu, who works closely with Bartkowski as an evaluator. "Teachers report greater academic commitment among mentees. Mentees are less intimidated by challenging assignments than they were before becoming involved in the program, and they are more willing to learn new skills in class."
In addition to making a difference in a child's life, mentors can look forward to having fun themselves. Mentor mentee groups participate in community service activities, and even enjoy end-of-the-year celebrations with live entertainment. This past year's celebrate featured a juggler, plate spinner and motivational speaker. Students were presented with school readiness back packs filled with school supplies, snacks, magazines, puzzles and even new dress code-compliant shirts.
"In most cases, nearly 100 percent of mentors, students, and parents reported that they were satisfied with the program. These types of results are very difficult to achieve, and are a product of the commitment the Project AIM staff," Xu explained. "It's obvious how much they care about the students and mentors in Project AIM, as well as the parents whose children participate in the program."
Still need convincing? Below are actual testimonials from real Project AIM mentors about the high points of their experience:
• "... establishing a life-long relationship and improved grades for the mentee."
• "... the day he was so excited, he showed me his project grade. It was a 98. He was smiling from ear to ear."
• "... when he asked if I would be his mentor again this year."
• "... being able to progressively witness positive changes in my mentee's life."
• "... watching [my mentee] so intrigued by reading a book that he failed to realize the bell had rung."
• "... discovering I could make a difference not only for the child I was mentoring, but for other children in the program."
• "... my mentee telling me I was her best friend."
• "... when [my mentee] invited me to come to all of his band recitals. He finally wanted me to be at the things he loves to do."
• "... when my mentee sometimes asked if I could come twice a week instead of once."
For those interested in mentoring, contact Cathy Curtis at (662) 418-4021


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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
State Sen. Mark Grisanti was successful in fighting for increased school aid for school districts located in the 60th Senate District. The New York State Legislature passed its third consecutive on-time budget, which included an increase for every school district located in Grisanti's district.
"Our school districts provide invaluable services here in Western New York and across New York state, and they operate on a tight budget," he said. "We must provide the resources necessary to educate our children, keep them in school, and ultimately graduate prepared for college or the workforce. We were able to increase school aid across the 60th District, and this will help children receive the resources they need to succeed."


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Message From Our President
To come from a legacy of passion, experience and integrity – as all of us do at Northwood Realty Services – is an unbelievable blessing. It permits us to stand on the shoulders of the smart, hard-working people who came before us. It provides clarity of purpose and a record to which we are challenged to match and surpass every day.
But a legacy draws its meaning and power from the past. And Northwood has always been an organization that prefers to look forward.
Achievement, fulfillment, success – they all must be created with an eye on the future and forward motion is the key, not resting on past accolades. Our future is where we take it and how we make it.
That's why everything we believe in and act upon at Northwood remains driven by our commitment to supporting our agents better than any other firm. It's why we constantly innovate to provide buyers and sellers with the easiest access to the finest, most comprehensive real estate services anywhere. We welcome your feedback and ideas, as well. Please feel free to call or e-mail us.
Our legacy at Northwood is undeniably great, but we believe just as strongly that our best days are always just ahead.
- Tom Hosack


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Happy Halloween! Ah, my favorite day of the year. Unfortunately we are having house guests tomorrow so my mom is going crazy, making me Soft Scrub the bathrooms and make sure the place looks spotless. Oh well. I have my official Halloween manicure for you today!
This is pretty freaking adorable, isn't it? I was at the drugstore yesterday buying Halloween candy for trick or treaters and I noticed that Sinful Colors polishes were on sale for 99 cents. I knew I had run out of options for a Halloween manicure, so I picked up Serena & Chloe, an orange jelly polish with orange glitter. As with many Sinfuls, Serena & Chloe is a bit sheer. I used three coats here to attain satisfactory coverage. On my ring fingers I used one coat of Rimmel Black Satin and a cute little ghost decal.
Alright, that's all I've got for you. I hope everyone has a nice Halloween, and don't forget to rabbit rabbit tomorrow morning.


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H.R. 320, Student Support Act
Sponsors: Rep. Lee (CA), Rep. Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Kaptur (D-OH), Rep. Chu (D-CA)
Latest Information
ACA supports the Student Support Act, which was re-introduced on January 18, 2013. It amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 requiring the Secretary of Education to make matching grants of at least $1 million to states for allocation to local educational agencies (LEAs) so that additional school-based mental health and student service providers may be hired, thereby reducing the student-to-provider ratios in elementary and secondary schools to specified minimum levels recommended by the leading counseling, guidance, and mental health organizations.
As of February 11, 2013, there are twenty co-sponsors.
What you can do
Ask your Representatives to sign on as co-sponsors to help build bi-partisan support. To take action right away, use our online email tool with suggested messaging: http://capwiz.com/counseling/home/
If your Representative has already signed on as a co-sponsor, please send a quick thank you message to let her/him know how important this issue is to you.
Since the 110th Congress, Representative Barbara Lee has introduced legislation entitled the Student Support Act. Nationally, the ratio of students to school counselor is 471. This is nearly double ACA's the recommended ratio. As the Rep. Lee stated in a letter to her colleagues on 1/17/2013, "In order to prevent senseless gun violence from occurring in Sandy Hook, Oakland, Chicago, or any of our communities and schools in America, we must have – as part of a comprehensive plan – an initiative to address the weaknesses in our nation's mental health services."
* These findings are from the text of this bill, H.R. 320.


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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST July 27, 2004
Contents of this issue:
Granholm approves ISD reform bills
Commentary: Growing Detroit bureaucracy keeps money out of the classroom
EMU faculty push for university president's dismissal
Administration officials suggest changes will be made to NCLB
Lawmakers debate vouchers vs. tuition tax credits
Department of Education hosts NCLB seminars for teachers
Study: Alabama remedial education costs $541 million annually
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Jennifer Granholm last Wednesday approved several measures requiring heightened accountability in the state's intermediate school districts (ISDs), completing the first wave of measures intended to rein in ISD power.
The new rules include changes in the way ISD boards are chosen, eliminating secret elections of ISD board members by local school boards. Currently, local boards are allowed to shield their votes for ISD board members from the public eye. In addition, the laws allow local school boards and citizens to remove ISD board members.
ISDs must now also obtain approval before sending board members and employees on trips out-of-state. Legislators introduced the laws in response to financial scandals by the Oakland ISD and hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses by the Genesee ISD.
Flint Journal, "Granholm signs ISD reform bills," July 22, 2004 http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-22/ 1090510101103770.xml
Detroit News, "New laws lend teens, districts some leeway," July 22, 2004
MichiganVotes.org, House Bills 5376, 4947, 4338
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Eliminate Intermediate School Districts," August 2003
Michigan Education Report, "What Are Intermediate School Districts?" Winter 2000
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Less Government, Not More, Is Key to Academic Achievement and Accountability," Oct. 3, 2001
DETROIT, Mich. — Claims that the Detroit Public Schools cannot afford to educate students at its current level of funding are unfounded, according to a Detroit Free Press commentary published today.
According to an analysis by Andrew Coulson, a senior fellow in education policy with the Midland-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy, the Detroit school district employs over 1,700 more people since 1997 to teach about 35,000 fewer children — a costly, unnecessary burden on a district already plagued by annual deficits reaching $250 million.
The Detroit school district and the State of Michigan report different numbers for the district's declining enrollment and expanding employment, but both data sets indicate the same trends. "It's clear that the district is having difficulty making reasonable personnel decisions," stated Coulson.
The increase in staff coupled with the decrease in students explains the soaring per-pupil costs for educating children in the Michigan's largest city. In 1997, the district spent $8,830 per pupil, while in 2003 that number exceeded $11,000, adjusted for inflation. "For that amount of money, a few neighbors could get together and hire a full-time tutor for 6 children at an annual salary of over $66,000," said Coulson. "Talk about small class size and individualized attention."
The best way to fix Detroit's overspending is not more money, said Coulson. Instead parents should be allowed a wide range of school options that would encourage the district to compete for students, which Coulson said would inevitably raise student achievement and help lower the district's costs by making it more frugal — instead of hiring more staff to oversee fewer students, as it has done.
Detroit Free Press, "Detroit students need choice," July 27, 2004
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Playing Monopoly with Detroit's Kids," July 2004
Detroit Free Press, "Detroit schools' shortfall worsens," June 29, 2004
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Funding: Lack of Money or Lack of Money Management?" Aug. 30, 2001
YPSILANTI, Mich. — A letter sent to Gov. Jennifer Granholm calls for the dismissal of Eastern Michigan University President Samuel Kirkpatrick and the replacement of other top officers at the institution.
The university's chapter of the American Association of University Professors sent the letter to Granholm after Kirkpatrick announced his intentions to resign over a recent construction scandal covering up millions of dollars in misappropriated student funds. A dismissal by Granholm would preclude Kirkpatrick from a $514,000 resignation package.
Such a request is unprecedented and necessary only because of the deception practiced by top university officials, said AAUP vice president Jim VandenBosch. "Sending a letter to the governor asking for the removal of the chair of our board is a radical new move for us, so we want to be somewhat circumspect about how we do this," he said.
Other officials the letter requests Granholm replace are Board of Regents Chairman Philip Incarnati and Paul Schollaert, provost and vice president of academic affairs.
Ann Arbor News, "EMU faculty asks governor to step in," July 22, 2004
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-2/ 1090507279290000.xml
Administration officials suggest changes will be made to NCLB
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — An official with the U.S. Department of Education suggested last week that the federal government is cautiously considering changes to the No Child Left Behind Act.
Eugene Hickok, the deputy secretary of education, told state lawmakers at the National Conference of State Legislatures that his administration is "looking at amendments" that would alter the ways states must comply with the expansive federal law, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
But Hickok said his organization is moving towards reforms to the law at a slow pace, because it is still in its infancy. "There are a lot of people who would like to open up the statute to destroy the statute," he said, which would deny any chance to see whether the law works.
The law has been in place for only two years, which is not enough time to determine the law's efficacy, said Hickock. "In education, we don't stick with anything," he said. "When it gets tough, we tend to back off."
Salt Lake Tribune, "Changes to No Child Law?" July 23, 2004
Michigan Education Report, "President signs 'No Child Left Behind Act,'" Winter 2002
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Legislators across the country are devoting more time to comparing school choice programs, suggesting that the debate over choice has undergone a significant shift.
"Legislators once debated whether parents should be allowed to choose their child's school. Now they debate which form of school choice is best for parents and kids," said Joseph Lehman, a Mackinac Center for Public Policy vice president who addressed lawmakers last Tuesday at the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
NCSL invited Columbia University researcher Clive Belfield, Florida Education Association official Marshall Ogletree, and Lehman to compare vouchers to tuition tax credits on their ability to overcome legal hurdles, promote fiscal soundness, and provide educational accountability.
Lehman, who believes tax credits can be more effective than vouchers, said the most effective choice programs are those available to all children, not just target groups identified by geography, income, or age.
Belfield explained that tax credit programs are typically freer of regulation than vouchers. Ogletree criticized Florida's limited choice programs that have attracted tens of thousands of parents.
"It is becoming less and less politically acceptable to oppose all forms of choice," Lehman said.
Salt Lake Tribune, "Panelists debate tuition tax credits vs. vouchers," July 2, 2004
Michigan Information Research Service, "Mackinac Center Pitches Tuition Tax Credits,"
July 20, 2004
Gongwer News Service, "School choice," July 21, 2004
Mackinac Center for Public Policy speech, "Vouchers or Tuition Tax Credits: Which Is the Better Choice for School Choice?," July 20, 2004
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Federal Department of Education this summer is hosting a seven-city workshop targeted at educators to help teachers learn how the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act affects them and their students.
The Department hired 50 veteran teachers to host seminars detailing the Act's accountability standards and how to effectively follow the new rules in the classroom. "We're trying to communicate the key parts of No Child Left Behind in a way teachers can use in the classroom," said Ren' Islas, special assistant to Secretary of Education Rod Paige.
Organizers for the tour said that the main purpose for the events is to dispel criticisms of the law that say the new accountability rules are unattainable by teachers. Teachers' unions lead criticism of the tour and the Act; California Teachers Association president Barbara Kerr called the tour an "insulting" gesture.
Los Angeles Times, "Teachers Get Lessons on No Child Left Behind," July 24, 2004
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/ la-me-topteach24jul24,1,4012882.story?coll=la-news-learning
Michigan Education Report, "President signs 'No Child Left Behind Act,'" Winter 2002
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A study published earlier this year by the Birmingham-based Alabama Policy Institute reports that one in three high school graduates in that state lack basic reading, writing and math skills, costing taxpayers and businesses $541 million per year in remedial education shoring up graduates' basic skills.
The cost stems from an inability for the state's education system to teach basic skills to students who will eventually join the Alabama workforce, says the study. "If you can make sure those students learn what they should be learning in the beginning, by the time they graduate they will have basic skills they need and the state won't have to spend the money remediating them in college, creating more money for reading programs in the early age," said Christopher Hammons, an associate professor at Houston Baptist University, who performed the study.
A similar study conducted by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy found that remedial education in Michigan costs taxpayers and business in the state over $600 million annually.
Birmingham Post-Herald, "Early basic education urged," June 28, 2004
Alabama Policy Institute, "The Cost of Remedial Education," April 2004
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Cost of Remedial Education," August 2000
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education Report (http://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org), a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
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Big Data DiscussionsModals September 10, 2014, Comments Off
Hadoop and Big Data
Doug Cutting, Cloudera's Chief Architect, helped create Apache Hadoop out of necessity as data from the web exploded, and grew far beyond the ability of traditional systems to handle it. Hadoop was initially inspired by papers published by Google outlining its approach to handling an avalanche of data, and has since become the de facto standard for storing, processing and analyzing hundreds of terabytes, and even petabytes of data.
Apache Hadoop is 100% open source, and pioneered a fundamentally new way of storing and processing data. Instead of relying on expensive, proprietary hardware and different systems to store and process data, Hadoop enables distributed parallel processing of huge amounts of data across inexpensive, industry-standard servers that both store and process the data, and can scale without limits. With Hadoop, no data is too big. And in today's hyper-connected world where more and more data is being created every day, Hadoop's breakthrough advantages mean that businesses and organizations can now find value in data that was recently considered useless.
Reveal Insight From All Types of Data,
From All Types of Systems
Hadoop can handle all types of data from disparate systems: structured, unstructured, log files, pictures, audio files, communications records, email – just about anything you can think of, regardless of its native format. Even when different types of data have been stored in unrelated systems, you can dump it all into your Hadoop cluster with no prior need for a schema. In other words, you don't need to know how you intend to query your data before you store it; Hadoop lets you decide later and over time can reveal questions you never even thought to ask.
By making all of your data useable, not just what's in your databases, Hadoop lets you see relationships that were hidden before and reveal answers that have always been just out of reach. You can start making more decisions based on hard data instead of hunches and look at complete data sets, not just samples.
Download this whitepaper to learn the history of Apache Hadoop.
Redefine the Economics of Data:
Keep Everything, Forever, Online
In addition, Hadoop's cost advantages over legacy systems redefine the economics of data. Legacy systems, while fine for certain workloads, simply were not engineered with the needs of Big Data in mind and are far too expensive to be used for general purpose with today's largest data sets.
One of the cost advantages of Hadoop is that because it relies in an internally redundant data structure and is deployed on industry standard servers rather than expensive specialized data storage systems, you can afford to store data not previously viable. And we all know that once data is on tape, it's essentially the same as if it had been deleted – accessible only in extreme circumstances.
Enterprises who build their Big Data around Cloudera can afford to store literally all the data in their organization, and keep it all online for real-time interactive querying, business intelligence, analysis and visualization.
Restructure Your Thinking:
Make Big Data the Lifeblood of Your Enterprise
With data growing so rapidly and the rise of unstructured data accounting for 90% of the data today, the time has come for enterprises to re-evaluate their approach to data storage, management and analytics. Legacy systems will remain necessary for specific high-value, low-volume workloads, and complement the use of Hadoop -optimizing the data management structure in your organization by putting the right Big Data workloads in the right systems. The cost-effectiveness, scalability, and streamlined architectures of Hadoop will make the technology more and more attractive. In fact, the need for Hadoop is no longer a question. The only question now is how to take advantage of it best, and the enterprise-proven answer is Cloudera.


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The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield joined a young leukemia survivor at Disneyland in California on Monday (03Mar14) after a planned superhero segment featuring the pair was axed from the Oscars ceremony.
The actor had initially been booked to appear as a presenter at the Academy Awards and producers wanted him to take part in a separate sketch, in which five-year-old Miles Scott, known as Batkid, would be made an official superhero.
The skit was cut from the live prizegiving on Sunday (02Mar14), and Garfield was a no-show at the high-profile event, sparking false reports suggesting he had dropped out of the gig and snubbed Scott.
However, a spokesperson from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the Oscars, has now cleared the story up, blaming time constraints for Batkid's absence.
The representative tells Foxnews.com, "Due to the nature of a live show, hard decisions sometimes must be made which require the Academy to cut segments due to the logistics of production.
"Andrew Garfield understood that his segment had to be omitted, and he drove to Disneyland on Monday to spend time with five-year-old Miles Scott and his family."
Scott hit headlines in November (13) when he took to the streets of San Francisco, California with more than 11,000 volunteers and organisers from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to turn the place into fictional Gotham City, where Batman fights crime.
The youngster, who was dressed up as a mini-Batman, teamed up with city officials to help 'save' San Francisco from ruin.


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Excerpted from The Instant Coin Collector by Arlyn G. Sieber Ask a longtime coin collector about the first series he or she collected, and they will probably say Lincoln cents. U.S. one-cent coins have been a staple for new collectors since the Whitman Publishing Co. introduced its venerable "penny board" in the 1930s. This tradition continued as the board evolved into a folder in the 1940s. The U.S. Mint now produces billions of one-cent coins a year, so there is little to no chance that any one of them popped into a folder today will command a substantial numismatic premium in the future.
The Instant Coin Collector The one guide you need to get started in collecting coins quickly and easily! Get your copy today!
But the basic premise of collecting one-cent coins—the satisfaction of pursuing and ultimately completing a series collection—has not changed since the penny board was introduced in 1934. The collecting knowledge gained by pursuing one-cent coins can provide the foundation for a positive experience when moving up the collecting value ladder. Any mistakes made at this level are a cheap education that can pay off big in the future. The Story Behind the Coin The Lincoln cent was introduced in 1909 to commemorate the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Lincoln thus became the first president to be depicted on circulating U.S. coinage. Designer Victor David Brenner fashioned the bust of Lincoln on the obverse. His design for the reverse consisted of the words "One Cent" framed by two wheatears. Lincoln cents with this reverse design are commonly referred to as "wheat cents." The reverse design was changed in 1959 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. Designer Frank Gasparro composed a depiction of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., which replaced the wheatears design on the reverse. Where to Get Them Sources for a Lincoln Memorial cent collection are as close as one's pocket. Collectors can check their pocket change for dates and mintmarks that fill empty spots in their collection. Pocket change is a particularly good source for current-year or recent-year issues. Clean, brightly-colored specimens with little wear can be found and put aside for a collection. When a new year begins, start watching pocket change for coins with the new dates. Even older Lincoln Memorial cents, dating back to the 1960s or even 1959, can be found in pocket change. To fill a collection more quickly, search a larger quantity of coins, such as change from a small business, if possible. Or, obtain several rolls of one-cent coins from your bank. Mintmarks Lincoln Memorial cents have either no mintmark, a "D" indicating the coin was struck at the Denver Mint, or, starting in 2001, a "P" for the Philadelphia Mint. Those without mintmarks were struck at either Philadelphia (1959-2000) or West Point (1973-1986). The San Francisco Mint ("S" mintmark) produced cents for circulation from 1968 through 1974. Starting in 1975, it produced S-mintmark cents for inclusion only in special collector sets (proof and mint sets). The mintmark appears below the date on the obverse of Lincoln Memorial cents. A magnifying glass helps decipher them. Condition When comparing Lincoln cents, it is tempting to automatically keep the shiniest example of a particular date and mintmark. Original, bright-bronze color on a cent does indeed indicate a coin that has seen little circulation. But also check for wear on the design's high points. On a cent, these include Lincoln's cheekbone and the detail in his hair. A magnifying glass and incandescent lighting aid in examining a coin's condition.


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Mt. Jewett station sees high opening-day bear harvest
MT. JEWETT – If the number of bears processed over the weekend at the bear check station located at the Mt. Jewett Fire Hall in McKean County is any indication, hunters are meeting with quite a bit of success in their quest to bag a bruin this year. The check station was open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, though workers noted that they stayed later due to the high volume of bears being brought to the location. Hunters have 24 hours to take a bear to a check station after it is harvested. Because of this requirement, check stations were also open on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., during which time a steady flow of bears continued to be brought to the Mt. Jewett location. As of around 11 a.m. on Sunday, 136 bears had been processed at the site. John Dzemyan, Land Manager for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, noted that the number of bears being brought to the site was a bit higher than normal. "We knew we had a lot of bear out there," Dzemyan said. "We just didn't know whether the hunters would get into the right spots and get them. We didn't know if the weather was going to be good, but the weather was good enough. There were plenty of hunters and lots of bears."Last year, there were 59 bears taken to the Mt. Jewett check station on the opening day of the season, while in 2009 there were 89. The 10-year average for the site is 86 bears on opening day and 131 bears total. Prior to this year, the most bears taken on opening day was 133 in 2005. That year there were a total of 177 bears processed at the site throughout the three-day hunting season. While Dzemyan indicated that no 'monster bears' had been brought to the Mt. Jewett check station so far this year, two harvested on the first day had estimated live weights of over 400 pounds. Both of those bears were harvested in St. Marys and had dressed weights of 392 pounds and 359 pounds.The heaviest bears processed at the station since 1998 were a male harvested in 2007 in Roulette Township, Potter County with a live weight of 712 pounds and a female harvested in 2004 in Hamlin Township, McKean County with a live weight of 352 pounds. In 2010, the heaviest bears seen at the check station were a 551-pound male harvested in Jones Township and a 290-pound female harvested in Eldred Township, McKean County. See full article by purchasing the Nov. 21 edition of The Kane Republican.


text: We are the Martians Close Just Start Exploring ›› Richard Zurek Mars Program Chief Scientist Elizabeth Barrett Science System Engineer Jordan Evans Engineering Development and Operations Manager-Mars Science Laboratory Daniel Wenkert Senior System Engineer Karen McBride Mars Program Executive/Program Scientist Fengliang Xu Tracy Drain Systems Engineer Aubrey Watson Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer Team Member Chuck Scott InSight Flight System Manager Barbara Cohen Research Asst. Professor Darby Dyar Professor Andy Collins Group Supervisor Liz Rampe Postdoctoral researcher Robert Anderson MER Investigation Scientist Jennifer Shechet Research Scientist Steve Squyres Professor of Astronomy David Smyth Principal Computer Scientist Geoffrey Hauser Imbedded Software Engineer Sarah Johnson Long Term Planning Morten Madsen Associate Professor Tomas Martin-Mur MSL Navigation Team Chief Daniel Zayas Thermal Systems Engineer Firouz Naderi Mars Program Manager & Director for Solar System Exploration Programs Louise Jandura Sampling System Chief Engineer Charles White Senior Member Technical Staff (Key) Alice Jerahian Payload Operations and Flight System Engineer Chris Leger Member of Engineering Staff Roy Gladden Sequence Systems Engineer Bryan Allen Mission Data Operations Team, Software Engineer Essam Heggy Scientist Valerie Fox PhD Candidate Terry Martin Research Scientist Sharon Laubach Team Chief, Integrated Sequencing Team Geoffrey Lake Database Administrator Harry McSween Professor adam steltzner Mechanical Systems Lead Dan Johnston MRO Project Manager Bethany Ehlmann Assistant Professor Kobie Boykins Staff Mechanical Engineer Emily Eelkema Systems Engineer Randy Lindemann Mobility Engineer Elsa Jensen MSSS Mission Operations Manager Lis Cohen Meteorology Graduate Student R Aileen Yingst Senior Scientist Emily Logan Mission Operations Engineer Dorothy Oehler Research Scientist/ Participating Scientist, Mars Science Laboratory Leslie Lipkaman Operations Scientist Matt Golombek Principal Scientist Z. Nagin Cox Engineer Adrian Hooke Project Manager Kaichang Di Research Associate Irina Pradler Postdoctoral Fellow Natalie Martinez-Vlasoff Mission Operations Engineer (Mars Rover Sampler System) John Bresina Senior Research Scientist Kelly Clarke Software Engineer Marion Nachon Anthony Scodary Instrument Systems Engineer Tim Olson Chairman, Division of Sciences Deborah Bass Deputy Project Scientist Phoenix Mars Lander Marisa Palucis Graduate Student Terry Himes Ground Data Systems I&T Lead Engineer Louis D'Amario Member Principal Staff Heidi Manning Professor of Physics Kurt Schwehr Research Assistant Professor Zareh Gorjian MTS Ken Herkenhoff Research Geologist Jim Taylor Flight Team Telecom Engineer Melissa Rice Postdoctoral Scholar Andrew Mishkin Deputy Sequence Team Chief for Surface Beth Dewell Tactical Mission Manager Robert Brodkin Senior Field Engineer Kirsten Siebach Planetary Geology Graduate Student Kathleen Crean Group Supervisor Erik Bailey Aerospace Systems Engineer Bent Ehresmann Postdoctoral Researcher Alicia Vaughan Systems Engineer Allen Chen Mars 2020 Cruise and Entry, Descent, and Landing Phase Lead Scott Carpenter Staff, Spacecraft Structures and Dynamics Group Samantha Jacob Graduate Student Megan Richardson Mechanical Engineer Ed Bennett Configuration Management Engineer Robert Lineaweaver Flight Controller Ronald Greeley Professor Chuck Baker Mission Planner Ekko Burt Electrical Engineer Nilton Renno Professor Jennifer Trosper Deputy Project Manager Bobak Ferdowsi Flight Director Mars Science Lab Pauline Hwang InSight Mission Ops System Lead Mark Ryne Senior Member Technical Staff W. Bruce Banerdt Mars Exploration Rover Project Scientist Pamela Conrad SAM Deputy Principal Investigator Mark Maimone Rover Driver and Mobility Flight Software Designer and Developer Genevie Yang Science Planner, Sequence Integration Engineer, & Data Management Engineer Barrie Gauthier Electrical Systems Engineer Douglas Petercsak Chief Staff Engineer Marie McBride Assistant to MAHLI instrument Principal Investigator Megan Mickelson Science Planner Peter Xaypraseuth Mission Planner - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project Edward Tunstel Senior Robotics Engineer Chris Voorhees Mechanical Systems Engineer Jose Guzman Integration and Test Engineer Scott Shaffer Radar System Engineer Curiosity Mars Rover Robot Geologist Geoffrey Landis Physicist Anthony Ganino Engineer, Staff John Grotzinger Project Scientist, Mars Science Laboratory Jeremy Shidner Research Engineer Mike Seibert Software Engineer Jeffrey Marlow Geobiologist, PhD Student Jim Bell Associate Professor Michael Wyatt Post-Doctoral Research Associate Michael Watkins Manager, Navigation and Mission Design Section Amy Williams Graduate Student Researcher Sherie Paulson Group Supervisor, Project Schedule Analyst Mason Takidin Project Resource Analyst Matthew Robinson Senior Member of Engineering Staff Navid Dehghani Ground Systems Manager Ben Jai Quy Ho Software Engineer Joel Rademacher MER Payload Project Element Manager Michael Hecht Investigation Scientist Robert Steinke Technical Staff Paul Fieseler Lead Sequence System Engineer Gerald Condon Aerospace Engineer - Special Projects Office Chris Potts MER Deputy Navigation Team Chief Charles Phillips Thermal Engineer Michael ('Mike') Malin President and Chief Scientist Todd Barber Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) Propulsion Engineer Thomas (Tommy) Thompson 2003 Mars Express Project Science Manager Abigail Fraeman Postdoctoral Researcher Ashwin Vasavada Deputy Project Scientist Eric Gobst Systems Integration and Test Team Jeff Johnson Research Geologist William Farrand Research Scientist Robert Gounley Engineering Team Lead Todd Litwin Software Engineer Muriel Saccoccio Science Operations Megan Wu Staff Scientist Rongxing Li Professor Alicia Allbaugh Mars Science Laboratory Integrated Planning and Execution Deputy Team Chief Ashley Stroupe Robotics Software Engineer/Mars Rover Operations Nina Lanza Postdoctoral Research Associate Martin Greco EDL Activity Lead Jonathan Grinblat InSight Lead Payload Systems Engineer Fernando Abilleira Trajectory Analyst, Mission Design Mark Wilkinson Avionics Engineer Dale C. Ferguson Group Leader for Space Environments Shonte Wright Thermal Engineer Colette Lohr Mission Lead William Abbey Staff Technician David Coscia Engineer Nicole Spanovich Science Operations Team Chief Laetitia Le Deit Postdoctoral Research Associate Hallie Gengl Mission Operations Engineer Roger Klemm Flight Software team member Thomas Stein Computer Systems Manager Nimisha Mittal Mission Operations Engineer Debarati Chattopadhyay Tactical Uplink Lead Scott Striepe Aerospace Engineer James (Jim) Erickson Mars Science Laboratory Project Manager Caroline Freissinet Researcher (NPP postdoctoral fellow) Janis Chodas Flight Software Manager / Post-Landed Development Manager Betsy Wilson Telemetry Engineer Robert Bonitz Senior Robotics Engineer Fred Serricchio Senior Attitude Control System Engineer Arturo Rankin Mobility Downlink Catherine Weitz Program Scientist/Research Scientist Jason Willis Project Systems Engineer Barbara Cohen Research Assistant Professor Barry Tossman Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer Project Manager Claire Newman Research Scientist Jack Farmer Prof. of Geo Sciences/Dir. of Astrobiology Jim Rice Astrogeologist Dan Moyers Mars Exploration Rover Systems Engineer Jim Montgomery Surface Attitude Positioning & Pointing Subsystem Downlink Analyst Peter Ilott UHF CogE Laurie Leshin President Charles (Chuck) Acton NAIF Manager Diana Trujillo Surface Sampling System Activity Lead (SSS AL) Frank Picha Propulsion Engineer Bruce Bon Software Engineer Bob Deen Principal Software Developer Jaime Catchen Systems Engineer Matt Lenda Engineer Keith Novak Senior Engineer Mallory Lefland Systems Engineer Eric Baumgartner Ph.D., Senior Engineer Julie Townsend Cruise Activity Lead for MER/Tactical Uplink Lead MER surface ops Troy Hudson Technologist III Albert Haldemann Mars Exploration Rover Deputy Project Scientist Jessica Collisson Integration and Test Engineer Jennifer Herman Power subsystem engineer Lyn Doose Planetary Scientist Lucy Thompson Senior Research Scientist Tanya Harrison Assistant Staff Scientist Ray Baker EDL Systems Engineer / Senior Propulsion System Engineer Moriba Jah Astrodynamics Team Lead Charles Baker MSL Launch, Cruise and EDL Mission Planner Jill Krezoski Charles Malespin Research Scientist Paolo Bellutta Rover Planner Andrew Ingersoll Professor of Planetary Science Ratnakumar Bugga Senior Member Technical Staff, Electrochemical Technologies Group Peter Waydo Mechanical Engineer Saina Ghandchi Systems Engineer/ Hardware Design Engineer Theresa Kowalkowski Mars Exploration Rover Mission Planner Karen Deutsch Software Quality Assurance Victoria Hamilton Section Manager, Planetary Physics Rebecca Williams Senior Scientist Stirling Algermissen Operations Product Generation Subsystem Tactical Analyst Diana Blaney Mars Exploratin Rovers (MER) Deputy Project Scientist Tom Hoffman Project Manager Eric Olds Group Leader, Electronics Packaging Scott Maxwell Rover Driver Wendy Calvin Research Associate Professor Michael Williams Project Schedule Analyst Alfred McEwen Professor Vandi Verma Rover Driver Raymond Francis PhD Candidate Alfred Khashaki Design Engineer Helen Mortensen MSL OPGS Lead/ECAM PDL/ECAM PUL Ka-Ling Jack Tse Deputy Mission Assurance Manager, MRO Project Shivaly Reddy Electronics Engineer II Steve Jolly System Engineering Senior Manager Rob Manning MSL Chief Engineer Mark Adler Mission Manager Joy Crisp Mars Science Laboratory Deputy Project Scientist John Grant Geologist Amy Culver Engineering Camera Payload Uplink Lead Todd Bayer Orbiter System Engineer, MRO Project Ratan Mohapatra Researcher Jen Blank Senior Scientist Jason Reid Sample Acquisition, Processing, and Handling (SA-SPaH) Downlink Chair Kyran Owen-Mankovich Ground Data Systems (GDS) System Engineer Brigitte Gondet Scientist Nagin Cox Systems Engineer- Tactical Uplink Lead Charles Whetsel Chief Engineer, Mars Exploration Program Preben Bertelsen Assistant Professor Darin Skelly Mission Integration Manager David Wilt Electrical Engineer Nathalie Cabrol Planetary Geologist Ravi Prakash Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems Engineer Dawn Sumner Professor Jennifer Eigenbrode Scientist Howard Eisen Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Flight System Manager Kirk Breitenbach Spacecraft Systems Engineer Rachel Drummond Astronautics and Space Engineering Erisa Hines Rover Planner Larry Crumpler Research Curator, Volcanology / Space Sciences Suzi Gordon Master's Candidate Michael Mischna Research Scientist Shaunna Morrison CheMin Payload Uplink/Downlink Lead (PUDL)/PhD Student David Beaty Mars Program Science Manager Lauren Edgar Postdoctoral Fellow Jim Graf Former MRO Project Manager Valérie Mousset ChemCam Engineering Payload Uplink Lead (ePUL) Mark Powell Technical Staff Rick Welch InSight Mission Manager Scott Perl Undergraduate Student Dawn Sumner Associate Professor of Geology and Chancellor's Fellow All Mars Missions Women Role Models Human Exploration Mars 2020 InSight Mars Science Laboratory Mars Phoenix Lander Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Exploration Rovers Mars Express Orbiter Mars Odyssey Mars Polar Lander Mars Climate Orbiter Mars Global Surveyor Mars Pathfinder Mars Observer Viking 1-2 Mariner 8-9 Mariner 6-7 Mariner 3-4 Mars Proposals Mars Home


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Kim Wilmath
Director of Communications
PRESS RELEASE: Chancellor Frank T. Brogan picked to lead Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
TALLAHASSEE—After 35 years of service to the State of Florida, Frank T. Brogan, chancellor of Florida's State University System, has been selected to serve as the chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) beginning Oct. 1.
"Florida's university system is on a clear path toward greater prominence and relevance thanks to the support and dedication of the Board of Governors, university leaders, faculty and staff," Brogan said. "It's never easy to leave a place you love, but it is so much easier knowing that Florida is poised for a bright future."
"I am excited to join PASSHE in their commitment to provide high-quality, affordable higher education opportunities for Pennsylvania's families. Balancing quality and accessibility has been my top priority in Florida and should be the mission of every good public university," Brogan said.
Brogan was selected by the Pennsylvania Board of Governors at the conclusion of a nationwide search process that included meetings with students, faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, community and business leaders as well as elected state leaders.
"We were looking for a strong administrator and a transformational leader who will collaborate with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders representing divergent views on what is best for our students and their families," said Pennsylvania Board of Governors Chairman Guido M. Pichini.
"Frank Brogan will be that leader." Pichini said. "He has had an impressive record of success throughout his career. He understands the many complexities and challenges facing public higher education and the vital role public universities play both in preparing students for a lifetime of their own success and in ensuring the economic vitality of the state. We are excited about him becoming our next chancellor."
A lifelong educator, Brogan has also served as president of Florida Atlantic University, lieutenant governor of Florida with Governor Jeb Bush, Florida's commissioner of education, superintendent of Martin County Schools, and as a middle school principal, assistant principal and teacher.
Brogan took office as Florida's university system chancellor in 2009 during a time of deep acrimony between the Florida Legislature and the Board of Governors. As the longest-serving chancellor since the creation of the Board of Governors in 2003, his tenure brought a welcome stability for the system.
During Brogan's tenure, relationships with the Florida Legislature were restored, as evidenced by the landmark governance agreement of 2010 that provided clarity regarding oversight of the university system.
Meanwhile, the university system demonstrated significant progress in providing access to high-quality higher education. In the past few years, the system increased enrollment by 7 percent, increased degree production by 12 percent and saw record high attainment in academic standards, graduation rates, national rankings and research.
That good work was done in an accountable, transparent way thanks to a robust new strategic plan. That plan, which includes 39 key performance benchmarks, is an integral part of Florida's nationally recognized accountability framework that tracks progress of university and system goals.
This past legislative session in particular, the university system took several major steps toward further excellence. The board and Legislature worked together to implement a number of top priorities, including establishing a path for universities to reach preeminent status, creating the nation's first fully online institute operated by a public research university, and providing a platform for a performance-funding model that fosters the unique mission of each institution while advancing system goals.
Additionally, the Legislature reversed last year's $300 million budget cut and added more than $400 million in new funding for operations, facilities and maintenance.
Florida education leaders have high praise for Brogan's work during the past four years:
"Florida's university system has experienced a renaissance, and we want to thank Chancellor Brogan for his leadership, commitment and vision as he worked side-by-side with the Board of Governors to move us forward. As a public servant, Frank Brogan is Florida's top export, and we will miss him," said Board Chair Dean Colson.
University of North Florida president John Delaney said, "As a former university president, Chancellor Brogan understands the front-line challenges universities face. Pennsylvania is getting a good person, a great chancellor and a remarkable leader. He knows the realities of daily life on campus and can translate that knowledge into good public policy."
Florida Governor Rick Scott said, "Frank Brogan has had an incredible career in public service – especially in education. Florida's education system has benefited from his hard work and his commitment to providing every Florida child with a quality education. His service will be greatly missed by education leaders throughout the state. I have no doubt, however, that he will continue working to provide families with more opportunities, so they can live their version of the American Dream."
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett congratulated Brogan and said he looked forward to working with him as PASSHE's chancellor.
"I feel confident that he will lead PASSHE on its continuing mission of providing accessible, affordable and top-quality education for our students, preparing them to compete in the global economy for job opportunities in the future," Corbett said.
Said Brogan: "It has been my highest honor to serve the people of Florida for the past 35 years and to work with so many dedicated educators and public servants. As Courtney, Colby John and I prepare for this new adventure in Pennsylvania, we will carry with us so many memories of love, loss, laughter and life. Florida will forever be part of our family."
About the State University System of Florida
The State University System of Florida is a constitutional body led by the 17-member Board of Governors. The system has 12 universities and more than 335,000 students, making it the second-largest public university system in the nation. Responsibilities include defining the distinctive mission of each institution and managing the system's coordination and operation. The Board appoints a Chancellor who serves as the system's chief executive. For more, visit www.flbog.edu.


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MAHF: Founders, Keepers
The Medical Advertising Hall of Fame's three new members have each made lasting contributions. Kevin McCaffrey and Larry Dobrow take a look at their achievements and find that, years later, digital media, healthcare advertising and promotional analysis still bear their imprint
Peter Frishauf
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS1960s While a student at NYU, switched major to journalism, becoming editor of Washington Square Journal 1970s Started F&F Publications, bought Hospital Physician from Medical Economics and launched Physician Assistant. F&F was sold in 1977 and Frishauf served as editorial director for new owners, PW Communications 1980s Raised venture capital through Alan Patricof Associates to start SCP Communications, a paper-free electronic community 1990s Left SCP and formed Medscape, amidst growing popularity of the internet
1998-1999 Stepped down as CEO to assume role of chairman of the executive committee; Medscape completed its IPO and reached 600,000 registrants
2002 Medscape was sold to WebMD, ending Frishauf's formal relationship with the company
Today the physician's media mix teems with health and medical information sites, social networks and other resources. Not so the World Wide Web of the mid-1990s. Medscape set the industry standard with some of the first medical, peer-reviewed and CME content. It featured targeted advertising before most pharma companies even had websites. And nearly two decades after its launch, Medscape continues to be a major online clinical destination. Much of the credit goes to co-founder Peter Frishauf.
When were the seeds for these achievements planted? A turning point was Frishauf's decision to switch his major to journalism while at NYU, during a time when the Vietnam War was top of mind for the country, and especially its students. Frishauf, much like his peers, wanted his voice to be heard and sought a larger audience.
"I started out as pre-med," he says, "but I was bored with basic science studies during this era of great social upheaval. I was much more interested in addressing broader issues."
In 1968, Frishauf started out as a copy boy ("before there were copygirls," he quips) at the New York Daily News. "I was the low person on the staff, but you got to see every piece of the operation. They were using very slow technology, but still worked quickly with an efficient and engineered workflow. I kept having this notion that you could replace copy boys with computers. "
Frishauf is the son of an electrical engineer and a physician, and the apple didn't fall far from the tree as far as where Peter ended up focusing his professional endeavors. In 1981, 14 or so years before the internet began to gain traction, Frishauf started a paper-less electronic company and community called SCP Communications, where he set about re-engineering the workflow processes for peer-reviewed scientific publishing.
Frishauf channeled the work philosophy he witnessed at the Daily News, applying the process to magazines. "I often wondered why magazine publishing is so embarrassingly slow when science is so important," he says. "The so-called peer-reviewed journals would say, 'That's because we want to get it right,' but articles would take somewhere between an hour-and-a-half to three years to be published. There had to be a better way to do things."
Continues Frishauf, "I thought computers would really be a great tool to create the kind of productivity that I saw in newspapers, but with a smaller startup kind of a staff."
This insight was the foundation for the microcomputer Peter would re-engineer to form a multi-user and multi-task system. "We created a system which pretty much eliminated typewriters from the equation," he says. "It was very much like Google Docs. Memory and disc space were precious at the time, so the technology forced us to share."
As the web began to take off, the price of sharing information fell—allowing the birth of Medscape to take place in three short months in 1995. "When the internet came along, the cost of sharing information just dropped like a rock," notes Frishauf. "The key was: could you trust the information? We were uniquely qualified because we had a lot of experience creating trustworthy information and as an electronic community." Within one year, they would see over 40,000 registrants and 700 daily visitors.
In 1999, Medscape had over 600,000 registrants and hired Dow Jones veteran Paul Shiels as CEO. Frishauf served as chairman and advisor. That year, Medscape completed a successful IPO. Frishauf served on the board of directors until 2002 when Medscape was sold to WebMD. His formal relationship with the company would end one year after its acquisition, but not his influence: Frishauf remains a vital force as a leading digital guru. —Kevin McCaffrey
David Labson
1960s Received BS degree in pharmacy from Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University) and, with Sloan MBA in hand, signed on for Merck's two-year fast-track manager program
1970s Left Roerig division of Pfizer to found Health Industries Research, a pharma marketing consultancy; introduced Exposure Value Audit, HIR's first research product, then FOCUS syndicated readership study, a product designed to assess the reach, frequency and impact of medical advertising
1980s Sold HIR to VNU, which merges it with PERQ Research; published first issue of Contemporary Internal Medicine, a monthly journal for internists
Had David Labson never existed, or had he wrapped his agile mind around a field other than medical marketing, the business would eventually have warmed to the use of data. Sooner or later, it would have embraced the practical metrics that Labson embedded into his analysis tools. At some point, it would have found a way to steer needed information to medical marketing agencies, which hadn't yet been brought into the research loop.
But it would have taken far longer than it did on Labson's watch. More than two decades after his death, the syndicated readership study he developed, FOCUS, is still among the industry's most trusted methodologies (albeit under a different name). And that's before you take into account the wisdom he imparted as a consultant.
"When people bought the research, what they were really buying was David Labson's consulting services," says Mark Branca, director, IMNG Society Partners, who worked at Labson's firm Health Industries Research. "He did it all with such ease."
Labson grew up in Roanoke, Virginia, and entered the Medical College of Virginia. But his plans to become a doctor changed after one biology class. "He did his first dissection and just couldn't stand it," recalls his wife, Lucy. To assuage his parents, he pursued a pharmacy degree, but a professor steered him toward business school.
Two years later, Labson graduated from MIT's Sloan School of Management and took his first industry job: in an immersive management training program at Merck, known internally as "the Golden Boy program." That led to a post at Geigy, where he started as a market research analyst and, before long, headed the department. Soon, however, a sort of professional restlessness set in. He switched gears, joining Pfizer's Roerig division as a product manager and ascended to the post of co-director of marketing.
The wide range of experience early in Labson's career laid the foundation for what would come next. "He could talk about every side of the business. He could put himself in the shoes of just about any type of client," Branca says. Those early jobs fueled his drive to ask tougher questions—prompting him to venture out on his own.
"He had this entrepreneurial, independent streak," Lucy recalls. "Every other year, something would come up—'Wouldn't this be a great thing to do?' Eventually, I said, 'Go ahead and see what happens.' The worst thing would have been to never give it a shot."
Thus was Health Industries Research born. Within four years, Labson had devised his game-changing Exposure Value Audit and FOCUS measurement products, which measured readership, ad exposure and qualitative aspects of media. To hear another healthcare media godfather tell it, Labson refused to accept the status quo.
"He felt that, in addition to the data on readership and ad page exposure, it was important to know the nature of the environment that publications provided for an ad message," says David Gideon, founder and CEO of PERQ, which ultimately merged with HIR. Gideon also praises Labson for his inclusive bent: "At a time when virtually all syndicated research was only sold to manufacturers, David made the decision to make his available to ad agencies."
Labson sold HIR to publishing/research conglomerate VNU and, when he died in November 1990 at the age of 50, had just founded a publishing company, Aegean Communications. However great his professional achievements might have been, though, his peers remember him as an even better person.
Branca says he "can't begin to count" the number of personal and professional generosities he witnessed during his time at HIR—Labson picked up the tab for his MBA—and says that the happiest he ever saw Labson was on the day he learned his son had been admitted to Harvard. Lucy, on the other hand, quips that "the man was always happiest with a clipboard or a ball in his hands"—which explains his devotion to coaching a basketball travel team for seventh graders long after his son had entered high school.
But Lucy says it mostly speaks to her late husband's generosity of spirit, as did his involvement at the local synagogue (David was its president when he died). "He was very present, both for me and for [their son] Mike. We traveled extensively, to Egypt and Israel and Greece and China, and spent so much time together," she says. "But there was never a time when someone needed a good friend that he wasn't there for him. He never shied away from hard situations. He was really a fearless person." —Larry Dobrow
Dorothy Philips, PhD
1960s Received her MBA from NYU and won a Ford Foundation grant for her PhD on the study of promotional tools in healthcare communications
1970s Joined J. Walter Thompson as a consultant, and rose through the ranks to SVP, marketing services, where she grew a business in coordinating healthcare symposia
1980s Left JWT for Barnum Communications, starting in account services and becoming president four years later
1990s-2000s Started her own agency, Philips Healthcare Communications, where she served as president until 2012 and did some of the first promotional work for vaccines
Dorothy Philips, one of the few non-Mad Men to break into healthcare advertising during its golden age, forged a path to success on which countless women have followed. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, Philips saw few opportunities. One area she enjoyed was market research, where she landed her first job. "It was creative and we were doing things that nobody else had been doing, like focus groups and going to stores," she says. "I really enjoyed the contact with consumers." Soon after, Philips would also marry and, this being 30 years before the Family Medical Leave Act, was out of a job as well. "In those days, they told me, after they found out I was pregnant, 'Thank you very much,' and to stay home and take care of my baby."
Philips wasn't content to remain a stay-at-home mom. She completed her MBA at NYU and, after applying for a research assistantship and receiving the position, found a new home in academia. This, too, suited her talents. "I went to work with one of my professors, but while doing that, he had a Ford Foundation grant which would pay for my PhD," she says. "It was for business, marketing and economics, so I thought if I was going to have difficulty finding a job, maybe I should stay in school—I was good at it!"
Philips received that grant and began to work on her doctorate. But her plan to lay low in academia didn't last long. A short time later, a client of her husband's changed everything. "My husband was doing work for a client from a pharma company. The client knew I had a research background, and she asked me if I would do a project for Pfizer," she explains. "The project involved taking a look at promotional tools in the pharmaceutical industry, so I did. And what I found was that there was little information to be found anywhere."
Inspired by this knowledge gap, Philips had found a topic for her dissertation: a study of promotional trends in what was then called the ethical pharmaceutical industry. "In the process of doing this, I went across the country and interviewed the marketing VPs of 28 companies." Through that process, she met Jim Barnum, who had started a healthcare unit for consumer ad agency J. Walter Thompson. He would have a great impact on the rest of her career.
"[Jim] was a very imaginative person," she recalls, "and he was ahead of the times. In 1971, he was thinking of starting a subsidiary agency that would provide medical education for doctors via TV. So what I was doing was showing that this kind of idea had some legs—he then went through what I was doing, and asked me to work for him. So I did."
Over the next eight years, Philips' career in advertising would flourish, but Jim Barnum left J. Walter Thompson, later relaunched as JWT, to start his own agency. She would eventually assume the role of SVP, marketing services for Deltakos, the official medical advertising branch of JWT. But even a decade after being told to leave her job when becoming pregnant, past notions remained: "I remember people saying things like, 'There were no women sales reps in the pharmaceutical business, because the bag was too heavy to carry.' People really said things like that."
The bag would not prove too heavy for Philips, who in 1979 was offered an account services position from Jim Barnum at his own agency, Barnum Communications. By 1983 she would run the shop as president, helping introduce new techniques and pioneering the use of PR to drive adoption while working on products as revolutionary as the first test to measure blood glucose.In 1990, Philips started her own agency, Philips Healthcare Communications, which still exists and is known for its novel work in vaccines. In 2012 Philips announced her retirement from formal agency work. She now focuses on work for philanthropic organizations like the National Executive Service Corps, which provides consulting services for non-profits. She is also an active board member for Lighthouse International, an organization serving the needs of people who are blind or have low vision. —KM


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Watch The ::God Is Imaginary Videos On YouTube ::
Your being duped. There is none. People are duping you into such thinking by talking about "water" here or there. Its a scam to get more funding.
We can't even create life here. How could it happen by natural causes elsewhere?
In May 2010, Craig Venter's group announced they had been able to assemble a complete genome of millions of base pairs, insert it into a cell, and cause that cell to start replicating.[26] For the creation of this "synthetic" cell, first the complete DNA sequence of the genome of a bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides was determined. A new genome was then designed based on this genome with watermarks and elements necessary for growth in yeast and genome transplantation added, as well as part of its sequence deliberately deleted. This new genome was synthesized in small fragments—over a thousand overlapping cassettes of synthetic oligonucleotides were created—which were then assembled in steps in yeast and other cells, and the complete genome finally transplanted into cell from another species Mycoplasma capricolum from which all genetic material had been removed.[27][28] The cell divided and was "entirely controlled by (the) new genome".[28] This cell has been referred to by Venter as the "first synthetic cell", and was created at a cost of over $40 million dollars.[28]There is some debate within the scientific community over whether this cell can be considered completely synthetic on the grounds that:[28] the chemically synthesized genome was an almost 1:1 copy of a naturally occurring genome and, the recipient cell was a naturally occurring bacterium. The Craig Venter Institute maintains the term "synthetic bacterial cell" but they also clarify "...we do not consider this to be "creating life from scratch" but rather we are creating new life out of already existing life using synthetic DNA."


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Capricornis sumatraensis
|Scope: Global
Language: English
|Scientific Name:
|Capricornis sumatraensis (Bechstein, 1799)
Common Name(s):
Capricornis sumatraensis (Bechstein, 1799) ssp. sumatraensis
|Taxonomic Notes:
|Taxonomy of serows is not completely resolved; descriptions, range maps, and assessments of conservation status in the literature vary because sources differ on nomenclature and specific/subspecific status of the various taxa. Here, we follow the taxonomy of Wilson and Reeder, 3rd edition (2005). Thus, we recognize six species of Capricornis:
• C. crispus (Japanese Serow, restricted to Japan)
• C. milneedwardsii (Chinese Serow, but also occurring in southeast Asian countries)
• C. rubidus (Red Serow, restricted to Myanmar)
• C. sumatraensis (Sumatran Serow, in Indonesia, Malaysia and southern Thailand)
• C. swinhoei (Formosan Serow, restricted to Taiwan, Province of China)
• C. thar (Himalayan Serow, along the Himalayan range)
The genus Naemorhedus is recognized as referring to gorals. Note that this taxonomy differs from that of Wilson and Reeder, 2nd edition (1993), that of the 2007 IUCN Red List (IUCN 2007), as well as that adopted by the IUCN Caprinae Specialist Group (Shackleton 1997). Additionally, most Chinese sources consider serows in China as being N. sumatraensis (e.g., Wang 1998, Wang 2002).
|Red List Category & Criteria:
|Vulnerable A2cd ver 3.1
|Year Published:
|Date Assessed:
|Duckworth, J.W., Steinmetz, R. & MacKinnon, J.
|Harris, R. & Festa-Bianchet, M. (Caprinae Red List Authority)
This species is listed as Vulnerable because this species is believed to be in significant decline (probably at a rate of mores than 30% over three generations, taken at 21 years) because of both over-hunting and serious habitat loss taking place within its range.
|Previously published Red List assessments:
|Range Description:
|This species is found in Indonesia (Sumatra), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaya), Thailand (south of about 9°S latitude) (Grubb, 2005). In Indonesia (Sumatra), limited almost entirely to the volcanic mountain chain of the Barisan mountains which runs along the western spine of Sumatra from Aceh in the north to Lampung in the south. Although suitable habitat is more extensive within these mountains (Santiapillai and Widodo, 1989), there are only three known major concentrations: the Aceh highlands in the north, the Kerinci highlands in the centre and the Barisan Seletan highlands in the south. It is also found scattered through Peninsular (West) Malaysia, but concentrated in the northern states, especially Kelantan, Perlis and Perak. The species has been recorded in 50 areas in Peninsular Malaysia, but in each area, the number of animals is estimated to be only between 10 to 15 individuals.
|Countries occurrence:
Native:Indonesia; Malaysia; Thailand
|Additional data:
|Range Map:
|Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
|No population estimates have been made in Indonesia. Although vulnerable to poaching and habitat destruction, serow appears to thrive well in some of the better protected areas such as Gunung Leuser National Park. Here the serow population may be healthy and increasing (M. Griffiths pers. comm., 1992). The species is considered 'rare' in Taratak Forest Reserve, Sumatra, Indonesia, based on a camera trapping survey undertaken in 2005.
In Malaysia, Mustafa et al. (1990) conducted a reconnaissance survey in the Pelangai Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan (3,107 ha), in an effort to determine the number of serow present before a capture operation started. Thirteen animals were recorded in this area, giving a density of 0.4 serow/km². The total number of serow estimated for Peninsular Malaysia is between 500 and 750 animals, scattered through many, very small, isolated populations, though the basis for these numbers is very unclear. It is said not to be common in the Malay peninsula (Kwai HinHan pers. comm.).
|Current Population Trend:
|Additional data:
|Habitat and Ecology:
|It inhabits steep mountain slopes between 200 and 3,000 m (van der Zon, 1979), covered by both primary and secondary forests. The serow is predominantly a browser (Santiapillai and Widodo, 1989). It is usually solitary in nature, but small groups of up to seven have been observed (Nowak, 1991). It may occupy seasonal ranges and use well marked trails that often run along ridges of steep hills. Sumatran serow feed in the early hours of the morning and in late evenings, sheltering under overhanging cliffs and rocks during the rest of the day. No information on Sumatran serow reproduction is available.
|Major Threat(s):
Within Indonesia, habitat destruction threatens the long-term survival of serow. The principal causes of habitat destruction are slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by highlanders and shifting cultivators, and the indiscriminate extraction of timber for export to the West. Poaching is not uncommon, and serows are caught in snares set for other game species, as well as shot, for local consumption of the meat, and for use of body parts in traditional medicines. Hunting occurs inside and outside of protected areas. Sources living around protected areas in Sumatra, such as the Gunung Leuser National Park, Aceh, claim that hunting continues to increase as illegal logging roads have opened up parts of the park, allowing access to previously inaccessible areas. Locals claim that populations of this species are in decline. Trade of parts, especially the horns, is carried out openly in some places, such as in the town of Pancur Batu, North Sumatra. No enforcement action against individuals trading in Serow parts has taken place in these locations.
Threats in Malaysia come mainly from disturbance and from habitat destruction caused by mining activities in the limestone and quartz ridge quarries within their habitat, and by deforestation of the hill dipterocarp forests for logging and agriculture. Serows also suffer from substantial poaching for its meat and body parts that are used for medicinal purposes. In Malaysia, a number of small populations exist, but are threatened by illegal hunting, with this species sometimes being a target, not just an opportunistic kill. In Malaysia, this species does appear to be tolerant of some human disturbance, and in some areas, occurs very near human habitation. Over the past two years, enforcement authorities have taken action against individuals involved in illegal hunting of this species, and as a result, trade in this species is not carried out openly, as it is in other Southeast Asian range States. Very little information on current populations of this species exists. However, local people living near serow habitat state that populations may be declining, due to hunting and due to quarrying of limestone and quartz areas. Some wildlife restaurants in Malaysia offer the meat of this species.
|Conservation Actions:
This species is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
In Indonesia (Sumatra), has been protected by law since 1932. A total of 3,083,308 ha of serow habitat are under some form of protection in a system of protected areas that includes three national parks, three game reserves, three nature reserves and two protected forests. However, many of these areas await gazetting and staffing, and in the absence of these actions they are little more than "paper" parks. Conservation measures proposed for Indonesia: 1) Conduct surveys along the Barisan mountain chain to determine current status, and to identify if there are any other viable populations of serow outside the currently known, main concentrations areas. 2) Maintain natural forest cover along the volcanic spine of Sumatra, free from roads, agriculture, timber extraction and other human encroachment. This offers the best hope for the serow's long-term survival in Indonesia (Santiapillai and Widodo 1989). 3) maintain the strict protection of reserves where viable serow populations still exist; this must remain the prime concern. Protected areas where serow now occur must be properly zoned and managed. 4) Strictly protect the core areas which incorporate the feeding and breeding areas, to avoid interactions with humans. 5) Design land-use activities in the vicinity of serow reserves so that they are compatible with serow conservation. 6) Adopt measures to improve the living conditions of people existing along the periphery of serow reserves. 7) Publicize the plight of the serow to the people through sensible conservation education programs.
The Sumatran serow is totally protected under the Wildlife Act (76/72) of Peninsular Malaysia. Enforcement is carried out by the Department of Wildlife and National Park's Enforcement Division. Serow occur in seven protected areas, but unfortunately these neither represent typical serow habitat, nor are they adequate to ensure its survival. Serow is also found in six proposed protected areas. Small captive breeding groups of serow are held at Zoo Negara (Vellayan, 1989) and Zoo Melaka. Conservation measures proposed for Malaysia: Implement the serow conservation strategy developed by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Peninsular Malaysia. This strategy includes: 1) Develop management plans and the application of appropriate wildlife management techniques to conserve and enhance serow populations. The management goals are to: 2) establish and conserve genetically viable populations in protected wildlife reserves, national parks, permanent forest reserves, and other forested areas and limestone hills; 3) protect areas which contain serow and manage them for an optimum sustainable population; and 4) establish a captive breeding population for future re-introduction of serow into protected areas. Specific management objectives and recommendations identified to meet these goals include: 5) co-ordinate actions of conservation agencies with those of agencies involved in quarrying and logging operations, to promote wildlife conservation; 6) develop a public education program; 7) increase effectiveness of law enforcement; 8) train personnel; 9) improve habitat management and conservation by increasing thenumber of protected areas; and 10) carry out ecological and biological research.
The taxonomic validity of this species, and its relationship to other species in the genus Capricornis needs to be assessed.
|Duckworth, J.W., Steinmetz, R. & MacKinnon, J. 2008. Capricornis sumatraensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T3812A10099434. . Downloaded on 18 August 2018.
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