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Source: Biographical & Historical Record of Kosciusko Co., IN.; Lewis Publishing Co., 1887
Dated: August 28, 2000
JOSHUA C. LILLY, at present serving as clerk of the village of Pierceton, was born near West Jefferson, Ohio, October 15, 1845, a son of Benjamin H. and Rosanna (Clover) Lilly, both of whom are deceased, his mother having died when he was an infant. He was adopted by his uncle, Joshua Cole, who brought him up to the avocation of a farmer, and gave him the benefit of a good common-school education. He came with his uncle's family to Kosciusko County, Indiana, in 1851, and at the age of nineteen years he enlisted in the Union army as a private, the date of his enlistment being May 6, 1864. He was assigned to Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, and although enlisting only for 100 days he served over four months, his regiment being engaged most of the time on guard duty in Tennessee. On account of sickness he was sent to the hospital at Indianapolis for treatment, and while there met with an accident, falling from a third-story window, which caused curvature of the spine, crippling him for life. In 1867 he began teaching in the schools of Kosciusko County, following that vocation during the winter terms, and occasionally in the summer months, for sixteen years, and during this period, while not engaged in teaching, followed farming. April 1, 1874, he was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Bennett, at Pierceton, she being a daughter of Lee and Elizabeth (Kisler) Bennett. Of the two children born to this union only one survives - a daughter named Lizzie May. Maud died in Whitley County, Indiana, August 3, 1880, aged over five years. In politics Mr. Lilly affiliates with the Republican party. In 1876 he was elected assessor of Washington Township, holding that office three years by re-election. From 1878 till 1883 he resided in Whitley County, and in 1880 was the census enumerator for Troy and Aetna townships in that county. In 1883 he returned to Kosciusko County, and engaged in teaching school. In the spring of 1885 he was elected village clerk, and re-elected in the spring of 1886, which office he is filling to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. Mr. Lilly is a member of the Odd Fellows' order, belonging to Pierceton Lodge, No. 257, of which he is vice-grand. He is a comrade of John Murray Post, No. 124, G. A. R., and has served as adjutant of his post for two years.
Source: "History of Kosciusko County"
Date Posted: January 29, 2001
CHARLES ROBERT LONG, M.D., of Pierceton, was born in Mount Gilead, Morrow County, Ohio, October 13,1851, a son of Dr. James Porter and Editha (Hunt) Long, the father born in the State of Pennsylvania, of Scotch and Irish parentage, and the mother a native of Ohio. They were married in the year 1849, and to them were born three children - Charles Robert, our subject, Minnie who died aged four years, and Mrs. Addie Nichols, of Pierceton. The father was a physician of long practice, having followed his profession in Mount Gilead, Ohio, and Genesee, Illinois, from 1848 until 1868, when he came to Kosciusko County, Indiana, and practiced medicine at Pierceton until his death, which occurred in 1880. His widow still survives. She is a member of the Baptist church of Warsaw. Charles R. Long, the subject of this sketch, was educated principally in the schools of Fredericktown, Ohio, to which place his parents had removed when he was ten years old, and during his youth he was employed as a clerk. In 1874 he came to Pierceton and began studying medicine with his father, and March 3, 1880, he graduated from the Detroit Medical College at Detroit, Michigan, after having attended two courses of lectures. He began the practice of medicine with his father at Pierceton, his father dying soon after. He has a thorough knowledge of his profession, and during his residence at Pierceton he has gained the confidence and respect the people, and has acquired a good practice. Dr. Long was united in marriage March 16, 1881, to Miss Emma J. Hoover, daughter of Daniel and Henrietta (Heagy) Hoover, who live near Pierceton, they being one of the oldest families of Kosciusko County. Dr. and Mrs. Long are the parents of two children, Elnora and Addie. The doctor is a member of Pierceton Lodge, No.877, A. F. & A. M., and also of Pierceton Lodge, No. 257, I.O.O. F., of which he has passed the chair of noble grand, and is a member of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows of the State of Indiana. Mrs. Long is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Date Posted: February 27, 2000


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Im currently studying Media Production and looking to further my studies in the near future in anthropology.
I'll be going madrid very soon for a year for my studies and look forward to using my time there to contribute to or produce my own short film, hopefully a documentary and just explore the land with a camera in hand. It rhymed!

subset: commoncrawl


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visit there web sitie for lamp repair.
We have the capability of repairing bent panel lamps.
Bent panel??
Lamps or shades that have curved glass. We make a pattern off a complete panel and slump or bend the new glass in a kiln to make the repair.
This lamp is 36" in diameter.
In this lamp the glass is bent and sandblasted.
Here is the finished panel and ready to be installed.
Between 19th & 20th Ave.
Studio (415) 752-1365
Cell (415) 260-9155


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Stop anyone in Tamil Nadu and ask them 'Neenga nallavara? Kettavara?' (Are you a good person or a bad one?) or exclaim 'Naan oru dhadava sonna...nooru dhadava sonna maari' (If I've said it once, I've said it a 100 times), they will get the popular culture references immediately. Such is the immense recall value of the lines penned by the prominent writer, novelist and scriptwriter V Balakumaran. On May 15, the literary stalwart breathed his last in Chennai.
According to reports, the writer was admitted in Kauvery Hospital for severe breathing trouble earlier on Tuesday. He was 71 years old.
The writer had penned scripts for over 20 Tamil films including blockbusters like Nayakan, Gentleman, Guna, and Baasha. His dialogue writing skills have been a great asset to the industry, catapulting actors who mouthed them to greater fame. This includes Kollywood giants Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.
While his brilliance has been appreciated by many, in an interview to The Hindu, the writer said that he only did it for the money. His work in Kollywood also includes Dhanush's Pudupettai.
Balakumaran had also written over 150 novels and 100 short stories, contributing to important Tamil periodicals such as Kalki, Ananda Vikatan and Kumudam.
Some of his famous, award-winning works include Irumbhu Kudhiraigal, Mercury Pookal, Kadarpalam, Sugajeevanam among others. Irumbu Kudirai won the Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar Award and Mercury Pookkal won the Ilakkiya Chinthanai award. His historical fiction Udayar is very famous for telling the tale of Raja Raja Chola from a different perspective.
He had also won the Cinema Express Award for his contribution to Kamal Haasan's Guna and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer for Shankar's Kaadhalan. He had also received the Kalaimaamani Award from Government of Tamil Nadu.
In January this year, on Thiruvalluvar Day, he was honoured with Thamizhthendran Thiru.Vi.Ka Award by the Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswamy.
Balakumaran directed the 1988 comedy film Idhu Namba Aalu starring Bhagyaraj. The writer has had two coronary bypass operations and was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2012.
Condolences poured in for the writer on Twitter:
Legendary writer #Balakumaran passed away. Film works : #Nayakan #Baasha #Gentleman #Kaadhalan #Jeans #Citizen #Mugavaree, he also worked with @vishnu_dir for a script but the project is yet to materialize. Huge loss to Tamil literature and film industry. pic.twitter.com/ObhUW0YZUV— Rajasekar (@sekartweets) May 15, 2018
Senior Tamil Writer #Balakumaran passes away due to ill-health..— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) May 15, 2018
Apart from his vast contribution to Tamil literature, he also penned dialogues for big Tamil movies such as #Gentleman, #Baasshha etc
May his soul RIP! pic.twitter.com/Y5H8pgbMjO
இரவு தொடங்கி அதிகாலை வரை தூங்காமல் கதைகள் படித்த பதின் பருவ காலங்களில் பாலகுமாரன் எழுத்துகளோடு பயணித்தது அதிகம்... பாலகுமாரன் பாதிப்பு இல்லாமல் பதின் பருவம் கடந்த என் தலைமுறை வாசகர்கள் குறைவு... மறைந்தும் இருப்பார் தன் எழுத்துகளால்... pic.twitter.com/GEmePAwHCZ— Karthigaichelvan S (@karthickselvaa) May 15, 2018
It was Balakumaran who penned the famous dialogue Oru Thadava Sonna Nooru Thadava Sonna Mathiri in #Baasha for @rajinikanth #RIP pic.twitter.com/dArS5G6EUb— bharathnt (@bharath1) May 15, 2018
Senior Tamil Writer #Balakumaran passes away due to ill-health..— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) May 15, 2018
Apart from his vast contribution to Tamil literature, he also penned dialogues for big Tamil movies such as #Gentleman, #Baasshha etc
May his soul RIP! pic.twitter.com/Y5H8pgbMjO
RIP writer #Balakumaran ayya— PRO Kumaresan (@urkumaresanpro) May 15, 2018
The man behind the dialogues of many famous movies such as #Gentleman, #Baassha, penning the unforgettable dialogue for the #Superstar - Naa oru dhadava sonna, nooru dhadava sonna madhri. #RIP #RIPBalakumaran pic.twitter.com/7IFrHxXupK


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Stunning Kitchen Hardware: Looks Like A New Kitchen
One of the most valuable things that should be considered in the kitchen is the hardware. Whether you will own a new or remodel your kitchen. Kitchen hardware formulates a gigantic bang in the kitchen. The sizes, structure, or shapes of the cabinets, knobs, pulls, or handles can set the beauty of your kitchen design. You can provide personalized creative glass knobs, jewelry-like or metal handling that you can customize. So it is up to you if you want a style that is modern, contemporary, or traditional.
A faucet together with pulls goes well with bronze light fixtures. If you explore kitchen hardware ideas, the first thing that you should consider is to decide on how to align the hardware in the kitchen. For example, if your cabinet is traditional, select hardware with a simple look.
Many kitchen styles exhibit qualities throughout assorted and creative advances about kitchen hardware trends. Current kitchen hardware trends consist of beautifully themed knobs, amazing door handles, stunning drawer pulls, colorful painted designs. This stunning drawer pulls and amazing door handles are often classic and antique buttons, colorful glass, and crystals. That will provide a distinctive impression. It attracts the eyes of the homeowner and the viewers, friends, and visitors.
Brightens your imagination with kitchen hardware ideas
An artistic solution similar to rubber, rope, crystal, or even glass can include elegance to staid space. So do not be terrified to try different fashions. One of the enormous stuff about cabinet displays is that they can simply switch in and out depending on their function or your mood.
But even if you will select a traditional style or make your mind up to put some art to your kitchen with eclectic hardware, make sure to select the best kitchen hardware that produces gorgeous designs.
Cabinet, dishwasher, appliances, utensils, knobs, pulls, handles, hinges and other accessories similar to spices are things that show big impact. This will also offer you a fresh look at your kitchen. There are many possible alternatives counterpart and improve the model of the kitchen. It is simple to alter hardware to offer your kitchen with swift, and easy-on-the-pocket facelift at whatever time you would like.
If you will buy new kitchen cabinetry, the cabinets on the odd occasion come with cabinet handles or cabinet knobs. However, you must think about buying cabinet handles or pulls that are high-quality because you always touch or pull it many times when you are in the kitchen. Also be aware that there are knobs that are rough to touch, uncomfortable to touch, weak, and not of good quality.
Importance of selecting the best kitchen pulls
If your had chosen cabinet hardware that does not match the style in your kitchen, all the essential elements are not good to the eyesight of the homeowner even the friends and visitors who will visit your home. The overall design of your kitchen must not be ignored. It occupies a large space of the house so you should know how to select what is appropriate and needed in the kitchen. You should make the best choice to interrelate the finish and style that works together. The reflection of the design uplifts the beauty of each item in the kitchen.
What is the importance of selecting what is best kitchen hardware? Kitchen hardware ideas play a very important role in your life. If you selected kitchen hardware that is not suited to the demands of your kitchen, you will forever regret it. You might regret it every day because every day you visit your kitchen. You must think about a budget when you go to buy kitchen hardware. Proper budgeting and proper selection of kitchen hardware can aid you in narrowing down the many choices that surround you. It is significant to think about the other factors in the kitchen.
If you come up with the decision to finalize your kitchen hardware trends, always consider the space. Select the correct shape of any hardware that you will purchase. Align all the kitchen hardware decorations to what is seen beautifully. It is flawlessly all right to combine hardware style. But be sure not to go wrong if you are about to finish the overall style and designs of your kitchen. Act now! Follow the dazzling kitchen hardware trends to beautify your kitchen.


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Robert Parker was a problem for high-end wine manufacturers. His 100-point universal scale represented a leveling of the field, and suddenly, brands with a pedigreed history centuries deep were competing with the hoi poloi — and losing.
Robert Parker had a "thing". A formula that he sought out — and rewarded. Vintners, not being morons, quickly learned what it would take to win the highest marks from this, wine's most influential critic. And then, they began to build toward those scores.
I've recently learned, somewhat to my chagrin, that I don't really have a formula that says "Scot is going to love this." Not in audio.
I want to say that I'm a "horn guy". In fact, I think I have said precisely that, and done so many times. But … that's not exactly true. Yes, I've been lusting after a set of Volti Audio Vittoras for ages. But I'm also a big fan of GamuT. Of Magnepan. Of Joseph Audio. Of DeVore Fidelity. Of Tidal Audio (and Tidal HiFi, too, but that's another thing entirely). I'm also coo-coo-for-Cocoa-Puffs over vintage Quads, a uniquely unhelpful barometer for a reviewer.
But after this show, particularly, I'm now hot for Harbeth. I'm pretty sure this means I have commitment issues. Maybe I should just drink more wine?
Vinnie Rossi, here launching his brand new VR120 stereo amplifier ($4,995, available in November/December), was also showing off an Acoustic Signature Challenger Mk. III ($6,490, including the TA 1000 tonearm) mounted with a Dynavector XX-2 cartridge ($1,950), and a full loom of Tellurium Q Silver Diamond cables.
And he was also showing off the new Harbeth 40.2 Pro monitor ($14,990). My, oh, my, but these speakers were incredible.
They're bigger than I expected — I figured they'd be marginally larger than the Super HL5+ that I heard at CAF, but they're not. They're much bigger. The photo up above is a bit of an exaggeration (Vinnie is sitting several feet behind the speakers), but you get the point — they're not tiny. Big speakers = big sounds? Well, great expectations for great big sounds, anyway.
Which is probably one reason why they were pulled way into the room, and set up in the almost-near field (I think I was sitting about 6′ back, tops). So much for room reflections. But set wide apart, and that close, I completely lost track of them.
This was the third time this happened here at RMAF. The third time that I heard "no speaker" — that is, there was a vanishing act done to that seat I claimed, and with my eyes closed, I wasn't in Denver anymore. I was somewhere else … and it was completely surreal. Where the heck did the speakers go?
Thank the Maker that I was there without John Darko and his broken-washing-machine music (as John himself describes it). Dodged a bullet, there.
I will, of course, lay all praise for the sonic miracle that Tardis'd me away at Vinnie's feet. That VR120, with it's 225 watts per channel was way more than enough to lead the 86dB Harbeths into that uncanny (and dynamic) fireworks show. I'm getting sweaty, just recalling it.
As you probably recall, Vinnie's new brand is centered squarely on a new power-delivery mechanism leveraging ultracapacitors instead of batteries. The matching, modular LIO (starting at $2,495) can be fully kitted out as a preamplifier, with both an XMOS-based USB DAC and a full-function phono pre. Strapped to the VR120, or run with some (more modest) internal amp modules, the LIO "system" looks to be a fully next-gen approach. Shown here with Harbeth, any lingering doubts any listener might have had would have been completely swept away with the last remnants of the Old Republic. Long live the Empire!
Heh. Sorry. That's next month. Just in time for the VR120!
Anyway, this was an extremely compelling demo, and a leading contender for Best-In-Show.


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Celebrity News August 31, 2015
Xenia Deli Licks Justin Bieber's Abs in 'What Do You Mean?' Music Video
Immediately after breaking down in tears at the MTV VMAs, Justin Bieber premiered his sexy new music video "What Do You Mean?"
In the Brad Furman-directed video, Justin, flashing his signature Calvin Klein undies, gets hot and heavy with model Xenia Deli, who even licks his abs in one scene!
Taking to Instagram, Justin compared his relatively tame 2012 music video for "As Long As You Love Me" with his racy "What Do You Mean?" video, writing "FRESHMAN YEAR VS. SENIOR YEAR."


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Local celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio was charged with driving/attempting to drive a vehicle under the influence of alcohol in Baltimore earlier this summer, according to court records. The incident was originally reported by The Frederick News-Post.
The chef behind Volt, Family Meal, Lunchbox and Range did not contribute to an accident and did not experience personal injury, according to the records. The alleged incident took place at 12:20 a.m. on June 6.
A court date has been scheduled in Baltimore City on Sept. 19, according to the records. Eater has reached out to Voltaggio's publicist for any comment or statement, but has not received a response.
Voltaggio just opened a location of Lunchbox in Chevy Chase, as well as an Aggio in Baltimore, and is planning to expand his Family Meal concept over the next year.
· Bryan Voltaggio charged with DUI in Baltimore [FNP]
· All Previous Bryan Voltaggio Coverage [-EDC-]


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Jason Annabel - Economic Research Hub
Enhancing measures of non-market output in economic statistics: Progress paper
This paper discusses recent progress made by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in enhancing measurement of non-market economic activity
Introduction and scope
This paper discusses recent progress made by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in enhancing measurement of non-market economic activity, following on from the 'roadmap' paper published in September 2019 that articulated the ABS' broad strategy.
As indicated in the 'roadmap' paper¹, the ABS defines the industries of Health Care and Social Assistance, Education and Training, and Public Administration and Safety, as being predominantly non-market in nature. Non-market economic activity occurs when goods and services are provided to consumers free of charge, or at highly subsidised prices.
Non-market measurement is important given the sizeable contribution it makes to the Australian economy. These three industries contribute 17% of Australia's gross value added² and provide 3,875,200 jobs³. This research is also a step along the road to being able to measure productivity for non-market industries, which will help governments assess the 'value for money' received through the provision of public services.
ABS is currently enhancing estimates of six non-market service areas:
- Hospital services;
- Ambulance services;
- Disability services;
- Aged care services;
- School education (pre-school, primary, secondary and special needs education); and
- University education.
The initial focus is on hospital services and school education.
The measurement problem
Measuring non-market activity is difficult because of a lack of meaningful prices. Here is the measurement problem, explained with an illustration:
Market prices allow the output of different products to be weighted appropriately in aggregation. For instance, imagine that comparing the market prices of cars and bicycles tells us that a car is worth 100 times more than a bicycle. When we aggregate across all products to estimate GDP, each car produced will carry 100 times the weight of each bicycle made. The prices of individual products are needed to derive indicators of relative value – or, weights – which are essential in aggregating the spectrum of all goods and services into a single measure of total output.
When there are no prices, it is difficult to weight the output of products. For instance, we might intuitively assume that a brain surgery procedure provided by public hospitals is more valuable to society than a hernia repair and should 'count' for more in aggregation, but we can't tell by how much, because both services are provided to the consumer free of charge. It is difficult to aggregate brain surgeries with hernia repairs, because no price information exists to weight them.
There are a range of measurement options outlined in the System of National Accounts that are available in the absence of market prices⁴. One option is to assume that the quantity of output produced is equal to the quantity of inputs consumed in producing them. For example, the inputs to a public school include salaries paid to teachers, administrators and ancillary staff, as well as materials and supplies that are used up in production. Under this scenario, if public school teachers earn a real pay rise, meaning input costs increase, it would imply that there has been an increase in output, even if the service being provided is unchanged (for instance, if there is no change to the number of teachers employed or the number of students enrolled). Since outputs and inputs are highly correlated under this approach, productivity growth cannot meaningfully be estimated.
A second measurement option is to model a set of 'pseudo' price indexes for various types of non-market output. These 'pseudo' price indexes would then serve as the aggregation weights, similar to the cars and bicycles example outlined earlier. The indexes would theoretically reflect the prices that would be paid for non-market output, if prices existed. An example might be to model the market value of a tonsillectomy provided in a public hospital, and then estimate how this value changes over time.
A third measurement option, which is conceptually equivalent to the second option described above, is to estimate the growth in the quantity of different types of non-market output, and then explicitly adjust them for perceived changes in quality over time. Examples of explicit quality adjustment might include accounting for improvements in school test scores over time, or adjusting for changes in hospital waiting periods over time.
A final fourth possibility is to use the costs of production to drive the aggregation weights. It might be difficult to determine by how much more society values public hospital brain surgeries compared to hernia repairs in terms of the prices paid by consumers, but expenditure data permits an objective way to determine how much more expensive one procedure is to perform compared to the other.
When data is appropriately stratified, this approach allows quality change over time to be implicitly reflected as the cost weights change over time. For example, if tonsillectomies previously required an overnight hospital stay, but technological progress now means they can be performed as 'day' surgery, the procedure now costs less to perform than it did before. Implicitly, this is an improvement in quality. Differentiating the overall service into homogenous pieces via stratification allows the concept of utility to be reflected in the statistics, the only drawback being that it is observed from the perspective of the producer and not the consumer. It also means that observed data can be used to compile the aggregation weights as opposed to estimating or modelling them.
ABS will be pursuing the fourth option. This is considered to be international best practice in terms of compiling national accounts statistics.
Outputs and outcomes
The ABS' non-market economic activity work is focused on enhancing measures of the output of the Health and Education industries. The distinction between outputs and outcomes is important. Some examples of this distinction include:
- The output of a hospital is the value of the service performed by surgeons, nursing staff and other health professionals in detecting and treating disease. Outcomes can be measured in terms of a patient changed life expectancy or their 'satisfaction' with their treatment.
- The output of ambulance services is the value of the paramedic and transportation services provided to patients. Outcomes can be thought of as the effect of the service on the health and wellbeing of an individual, and can be measured in terms of response times and clinically meaningful pain reduction.
- The output of schools encompasses the value of the teaching and administrative services provided by education professionals which impart knowledge to students as reflected in the number of students being educated. Outcomes are the impact on student intelligence and welfare, which could conceivably be measured through an analysis of standardised test scores, or expected lifetime future earnings.
The distinction between outputs and outcomes with respect to health and education activity is further explained in Schreyer (2010)⁵.
Methodological approach
The objectives are to construct annual chain-linked Laspeyres-based index series that show growth in the volume⁶ of non-market output over time. Similar to the chain volume measures that underpin the Australian national accounts, these indexes will be reweighted annually. The key difference is that the aggregation weights will be constructed from relative costs of production instead of relative prices.
By way of example, the ABS aims to construct a volume index of the output of school education by aggregating lower-level index series. These lower-level series will be compiled from source data stratified as follows:
- Jurisdiction (state, territory);
- School type (pre-school / primary / secondary / special needs); and
- Affiliation (government / non-government).
The variables and stratification choices for each of the topics will differ according to the nature of the topic and the types of available data sources, but the approaches for each will be conceptually aligned to the example below.
If the symbols, i, j, and k represent Jurisdiction, School type and Affiliation respectively, we compile:
Output volume indexes for each school type, and affiliation:
\(\Large L_{jk}^t = \sum\nolimits_{i = 1}^8 {\left[ {\left( {\frac{{f_{ijk}^t}}{{f_{ijk}^{t = 1}}}} \right)*\left( {e_{ijk}^{t - 1}/\sum\nolimits_i {e_{ijk}^{t - 1}} } \right)} \right]} \)---------- (1)
Output volume indexes aggregated to the level of affiliations:
\(\Large L_k^t = \sum\nolimits_{j = 1}^4 {\left[ {\left( {L_{jk}^t} \right)*\left( {e_{jk}^{t - 1}/\sum\nolimits_j {e_{jk}^{t - 1}} } \right)} \right]} \)---------- (2)
Where \(\Large e_{jk}^{t - 1} = \sum\nolimits_i {e_{ijk}^{t - 1}} \)
Total output volume index:
\(\Large {L^t} = \sum\nolimits_{k = 1}^2 {\left[ {\left( {L_k^t} \right)*\left( {E_k^{t - 1}/\sum\nolimits_{k = 1}^2 {E_k^{t - 1}} } \right)} \right]} \)---------- (3)
\(\Large f_{ijk}^t\)=quantity in stratum (i, j, k) at time \(\Large t\)
\(\Large f_{ijk}^{t - 1}\)=quantity in stratum (i, j, k) at time \(\Large t-1\)
\(\Large e_{ijk}^{t - 1}\)=cost of weight in stratum (i, j, k) at time \(\Large t-1\)
In other words, the first set of equations takes quantity data and cost weights for each school type in each State/Territory, and aggregates them to create a volume index for each school type.
The second set of equations takes quantity data and cost weights by affiliation (government and non-government), and aggregates to create a volume index for each of the affiliations.
The final equation takes the two aggregate equations for each of the affiliations, and combines them to create an overall education volume index for Australia.
The indexes will be chain linked at each stage of the compilation, i.e., at equations 1, 2 and 3.
Update on progress
The section below describes progress in measuring each of the six non-market service areas listed earlier. It outlines the data landscape, stakeholder engagement, opportunities and challenges presented by the available data, and next steps.
Hospital services
A majority of hospital expenditure is on admitted patient care, where patients undergo a formal admission process. The ABS recently published some research on admitted patient care⁷, where admissions were stratified by principal diagnosis (using the International Classification of Diseases) and patient age. Research is now focused on investigating ways to compile a more holistic view of hospital activity by incorporating the two other major streams of hospital activity - emergency department activity, and non-admitted patient care.
Inclusion of emergency department and non-admitted patient care in the output measure is important in the context of capturing shifts across different types of care over time. For example, a shift from admitted care to non-admitted care can be considered an efficiency gain if the latter costs less but can achieve the same or a better outcome. These shifts can be partially captured through annual updating relative cost weights across different types of care.
Emergency department care and non-admitted patient care are provided mainly in public hospitals. Private hospital activity in these areas is not being pursued as it is estimated to represent less than 4% of non-admitted events in 2016-17⁸.
ABS is working closely with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) who collect data for emergency department activity and non-admitted care. AIHW publishes the number of emergency department presentations and non-admitted care occasions or events back to 1994-95. The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) publishes cost weights for emergency department and non-admitted care by relevant classifications back to 2009-10. These cost weights can be used for constructing indexes.
There are challenges in relation to tracking patients through the hospital system. For instance, if a patient is treated as an admitted patient and is then subsequently treated for the same condition as a non-admitted patient, this conceptually represents one treatment but it would be 'counted' twice in the source data. Constructing an integrated dataset that links all three types of care from patient level records is not statistically practical at this time.
It is therefore more realistic to construct separate quantity indexes for emergency department care and non-admitted patient care, with these indexes aggregated with the admitted care index to produce a quantity index for total hospital activity.
Additional challenges arise from variations in the scope and coverage of the available cost data for emergency department and non-admitted care over time, as well as from changes in classifications and coding standards in reporting of emergency department and non-admitted care activity.
Two options exist for measuring growth in emergency department activity. One involves stratification using the Urgency Related Group (URG) classification, whereas an alternative is to regroup the data by triage and ICD chapter. These options are currently being worked through. One benefit of mapping from URG to ICD is that it is stratified similarly to admitted care, but a drawback is that the mapping is approximate, and refinements will be required.
Data for non-admitted care provided by hospitals is classified by the IHPA's Tier 2 classification, which reflects the nature of the service provided and the type of clinician providing the service. Again, there are two stratification alternatives - to use the Tier 2 classification as is, or to map to ICD. The pros, cons and limitations of each option are similar to those applying to emergency care.
There is a lack of expenditure data to match the level of details of activity prior to 2009-10, which means that historical quantity indexes for emergency department activity and non-admitted care will likely have to be constructed from aggregates prior to this year. This will make it difficult to capture shifts across different types of emergency and non-admitted treatment in earlier years.
In addition, ABS aspires to extend the time series on admitted care back to 1994-95, though there are challenges in doing so, not least of which is sourcing relevant datasets.
The benefit of using a finer disaggregation of diagnosis-based data for admitted patient care has been considered. In theory, lower level detail is better for controlling for compositional changes. However, in practice, the benefit is limited by variability in source data quality over time. It is considered that the significant investment in data acquisition, mapping and repair needed for a lower level of disaggregation would not justify the analytical benefit.
The ABS is in the process of compiling a set of experimental indexes covering emergency department activity and non-admitted patient care. Variation in source data scope and coverage are challenges currently being dealt with.
By June 2020, ABS intends to have refined and published the indexes covering emergency department and non-admitted patient services, and aggregated them with indexes for admitted patient care. This aggregated index will reflect a holistic view of hospital services, and is intended to support improvements to the annual national accounts in 2021.
Ambulance services
The vast majority of ambulance services in Australia are publicly funded. Privately funded ambulatory services will be excluded from this study for reasons of immateriality.
The ABS already compiles a directly observed quantity indicator of ambulance services. This is primarily compiled from data sourced from the ROGS, where the quantity metric is the number of patients treated (whether subsequently transported to hospital or not).
The primary data source is likely to be the Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services (ROGS)⁹. The ROGS data covers public ambulance services and is available on a State/Territory basis. It covers both urban and rural services, as well as services provided by salaried staff as well as volunteers. Amongst a range of other metrics, it captures the expenditures incurred at the State level to provide ambulance services, as well as the number of incidents, which are further categorised into emergency, urgent and non-emergency.
Measurement alternatives include the number of patients treated, the number of incidents requiring ambulatory services (an incident is defined as an event that results in a demand for ambulance services to respond), or the number of responses (defined as the number of vehicles sent to incidents). Using the number of responses would include output produced when a vehicle is dispatched to an incident, irrespective of whether patients are subsequently treated or not.
The ROGS notes that "The role of paramedics is expanding to include the assessment and management of patients with minor illnesses and injuries to avoid transport to hospital." While this objective tends to increase the expenditure per person on ambulances, it has the tendency to deliver downstream savings by reducing hospital admissions as well as reducing the burden on hospitals.
The percentage of patients not transported to hospital has increased over the past decade, reflecting an increase in paramedics treating patients at the scene. This reflects increased capability of paramedics (underpinned by improvements in training and equipment) as well as actions to reduce hospital emergency congestion. Therefore, the volume index needs to be interpreted in the context that the role of the paramedic has changed over time in pursuit of a broader goal, rather than becoming less efficient over time.
There is currently 10 years of data available and analysis is indicating that aggregate indicators were not sensitive to cost weighted aggregation across states instead of total unweighted numbers, so the totals will be used directly. Further analysis is expected to be published in June 2020, with implementation into national accounts and productivity statistics to follow in 2021.
While compositional change at the State level of activity can be captured, the ABS will investigate whether cost weights are available by severity of incident (i.e. costs incurred on emergency incidents versus urgent incidents and non-emergency incidents) within each State. We will explore whether further disaggregation can improve the quality of the aggregate output volume index for ambulances.
The ROGS data on ambulances also includes statistics on performance metrics, including service response times (both in terms of time taken to respond to triple-zero calls for assistance and in time taken to physically respond to emergency incidents). It also includes data on the extent to which patients reported a clinically meaningful reduction in pain from paramedic services, as well as survey-based patient experience metrics. These data could potentially be used to underpin a first experimental foray into explicit quality adjustment in the future.
Disability services
ABS has sourced data from AIHW that covers the activities of the NDA. It contains the number of service users and hours of services received, alongside key variables such as service type, age, and jurisdiction. The dataset also contains staff hours worked. This dataset can be used in combination with ROGS data on expenditure by jurisdiction by service group to estimate output volume growth. Some initial experimental analysis has been undertaken using NDA data, using service type as the key stratification variable.
ABS has also obtained detailed data from the NDIS, but exploration of this data in terms of measuring output volumes is still in its infancy.
The analysis will focus on the specialist disability services provided under the National Disability Agreement (NDA) and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). These services encompass disability supported accommodation, respite and community support services such as therapy, early childhood interventions, life skills and case management.
The NDA, formerly the Commonwealth State and Territory Disability Agreement (CSTDA), is a high-level agreement between the Commonwealth and State governments around the provision of disability services to people with disability. It is a framework that sets out the roles and responsibilities of each level of government in supporting people with disability. NDA data extends back to 2003-04.
The NDIS began rolling out in 2013-14, with clients of the NDA being progressively transitioned across to the NDIS. This transitioning process is expected to be complete by the end of 2019-20.
Clearly, disability care is an important measurement objective, especially given the expected ongoing increase in demand for assistance following the rollout of the NDIS. However, there are a number of significant measurement challenges.
Disability care is not identified as an industry in the Australian industry classification, nor are disability products identified in the product classifications that underpin Australia's national accounts. It follows that to implement any improvements in measuring disability care in the national accounts and productivity statistics, output will need to be mapped to existing product and industry classifications. This will make it difficult to 'see' disability care in the accounts. However, policymakers, businesses and employees that provide disability services view it as if it was an industry. For research purposes, the ABS will estimate disability care output as if it was an industry in its own right.
As pointed out in the ROGS, there are difficulties in drawing the boundaries between disability care and aged care, especially given they often overlap. Both disability care and aged care have similar goals, but with different programs. The ABS is assuming that the datasets used to measure disability care and aged care accurately reflect the scopes of the two activities, with no additional adjustment required.
Further, there are difficulties in constructing a seamless time series as the rollout of the NDIS is taking place before the NDA closes. Preliminary analysis shows a marked increase in the aggregate provision of disability services early in the life of the NDIS, but care is required to make sure the NDA and NDIS datasets are combined correctly.
The ABS will continue working through the issues raised above with a view to publishing a comprehensive volume index time series representing growth in output of disability services. Owing to the complexity involved, this work is not expected to be completed by June 2020.
Aged care services
Research into enhancing measurement of government-funded aged care services output is still in early stages of development, with the first phase of the work involving understanding the data landscape. The ABS' investigation into improving this area of measurement will focus on the two most significant streams of aged care services: residential care and home-based care services.
While aged care services are supported by government funding, they are generally delivered by non-government service providers such as religious organisations, charitable organisations, and private-for-profit organisations. In terms of calculating cost weights, it is likely that the weights will reflect government funding only, and not necessarily the full economic cost of service provision.
The National Aged Care Data Clearinghouse (NACDC) holds data on the number of clients, classified by variables such as State, age bracket and type of care, and expenditure data is likely to be sourced from ROGS. Conversations are underway with AIHW and the Department of Health with a view to bringing together an integrated, holistic dataset matching the specifications required.
The ABS aims to construct a volume index of total output provided by the aged care services industry. However, given research for this topic is still in its infancy, the extent to which this index will implicitly capture quality change is still to be determined.
School education
The ABS' investigation into improving its measures of school output volumes covers all streams of school-based education: pre-school, primary, secondary, and special needs education. Government schools, which deliver the majority of these services, are non-market.
The two main building blocks are student enrolment data (on a full-time equivalent basis) and school expenditure data. The enrolment data represents the quantity variable whereas the expenditure data underpins the cost weights.
As outlined earlier in the paper, the output indexes for schools will be built up by school type (pre-school, primary, secondary, and special needs), by jurisdiction (i.e. State/ Territory), and by affiliation (i.e. government / non-government). As the main focus of this work is to enhance measures of non-market activity, no attempt will be made to disaggregate non-government school activity into sub-categorisations such as religious affiliation.
Most of the student enrolments data at the above level of granularity is collected by the ABS¹⁰, except for special needs school education. In terms of compiling comparable indexes for primary and secondary schools, expenditure data presents a challenge, especially for non-government schools. There are a range of data possibilities for expenditure data, including ABS' Government Finance Statistics data¹¹, statistics from the ROGS, and Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. The ABS is also examining whether it can repurpose some of its own survey data for this exercise for non-government schools, with a prime candidate being the dataset underpinning the annual Australian Industry publication¹².
Enrolments data by individual school year of enrolment is available for primary and secondary schools, but the ABS is currently unable to stratify by year of enrolment. The lowest level of expenditure data currently available is total primary (which, for most jurisdictions, groups kindergarten to year 6) and total secondary (years 7 to 12). No published information has been found which shows how much each individual year of school education costs relative to other years, and in some cases (especially for schools which provide continuous education from kindergarten to year 12), obtaining a primary/secondary split is not possible.
Without an appropriate data source, the ABS intends to explore possibilities around modelling expenditure by individual school year, as well as enhancing the accuracy of the enrolments data by adjusting it for student absentee rates.
Additional challenges currently being worked through involve accessing expenditure and enrolments data for special needs schools, as well as historical enrolments data for pre-schools.
The ABS plans to extend this analysis to cover all school types by constructing a volume index of total school output. It is expected that indexes for pre-school, primary and secondary education will be completed by June 2020, though refinements around stratification by individual school year and accounting for absenteeism will not be incorporated by this time. Designing an output volume index for special needs schools is likely to extend beyond June 2020.
Tertiary education
Research into enhancing ABS' measures of output for the tertiary education industry is in early stages, with the first phase of work involving a sweep of the data landscape. Analysis is focused on the public universities, which the ABS considers to be, on balance, non-market activity. Adult, vocational and community education providers are excluded from this exercise, as are private sector universities.
The volume indicator currently used by ABS is a headcount of the number of students enrolled at university. Opportunities exist for us to refine this metric by:
- stratifying by academic discipline;
- stratifying post-graduate students separately from undergraduates; and
- valuing the non-tuition output of universities, such as research papers and books.
Universities also engage in R&D partnerships with the private sector. This aspect of university output is difficult to observe and measure, so the ABS will implicitly assume that this strand of R&D activity grows at the same rate as the combined growth of tuition and research output.
At this stage, the most promising option for measuring tuition output is by utilising student load statistics (Equivalent Full-Time Student Load (EFTSL)) from the Department of Education, disaggregated by university.
The most likely path for measuring research output would be the count of published research output, disaggregated by university, also available from the Department of Education.
Both of these outputs will be cost adjusted using university-level expenditure data from the Department of Education. By utilising data on staff hired for teaching versus research purposes, the total costs for each university can be decomposed into a teaching and research component, and these costs will serve as the cost weights for the output index for tuition and research respectively. This will be premised on the assumption that the ratio of teaching to research staff reflects the university's ratio of teaching to research costs.
This disaggregation of costs will also allow the two volume indexes to be weighted together to derive a volume index covering total university output.
In addition to the above, the ABS is investigating possibilities to obtain expenditure differences across postgraduate and undergraduate programs, which can then serve as an additional dimension for disaggregation and would capture the notion that postgraduate qualifications reflect a higher quality in education output relative to an undergraduate qualification.
The Department of Education has recently commenced publishing expenditure and activity statistics disaggregated by broad academic discipline, but it is limited by the lack of a lengthy time series, and a lack of full coverage. Stratification by discipline could become possible in the future as this dataset matures.
Over the period to June 2020, the ABS will explore stratification options with a view to designing the most appropriate indicator possible. As mentioned in the 'roadmap' paper, the challenges of measuring output volume growth in the university sector are complex, and it is not anticipated that this work will be completed by June 2020.
A further paper will be published by June 2020 which will present some preliminary results, as well as outlining a plan for implementing the new measures in the Australian national accounts and productivity statistics.
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Selected references
Show all
Atkinson, T., 2005, "Atkinson Review: Final Report – Measurement of Government Output and Productivity for the National Accounts", United Kingdom
Clemmensen, A. J., 2017, "Quality Adjustment of Hospital Services", Statistics Denmark
Diewert, W. E., 2011, "Measuring productivity in the public sector: Some conceptual problems", Journal of Productivity Analysis, vol 36 no 2 pp 177-191
Gemmell, G., Nolan, P. and Scobie, G., 2017, "Estimating Quality-Adjusted Productivity in Tertiary Education: Methods and Evidence for New Zealand", Victoria University
Gibbs, T., 2017, "Sources and Methods: Public service productivity estimates: Education", Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom
Gu, W. and Morin, S., 2014, "Experimental Measures of Output and Productivity in the Canadian Hospital Sector, 2002 to 2010", University of Chicago
Gu, W. and Wong, A., 2012, "Measuring the Economic Output of the Education Sector in the National Accounts", Statistics Canada
Harris, L. and Martin, J., 2019, "A guide to quality adjustment in public service productivity measures", Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom
Lewis, J., 2019, "Public service productivity: adult social care, sources and methods, 2019 update", Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom
Lewis, J. 2019, "Public service productivity estimates: Healthcare QMI", Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom
Luo, Q., 2018, "Disease Based Output Measures for Hospitals", ABS Chief Economist series
New Zealand Productivity Commission, 2018, "Improving State Sector Productivity"
New Zealand Productivity Commission, 2018, "Measuring State Sector Productivity"
Productivity Commission, 2019, "Report on Government Services"
Schreyer, P., 2010, "Towards Measuring the Volume Output of Education and Health Services: A Handbook", OECD Statistics Working Papers 2010/02, OECD
Trewin, D., 2004, "Measurement of Services: Recent ABS experience", Statistical Journal of the United National Economic Commission for Europe, vol 21, pp 277-290
United Nations, 2008, System of National Accounts
York, J. 2010, "The Devil Is In The Detail: Demonstrating the Impact of Measurement Choices on Inputs to Government Sector Productivity", Statistics New Zealand
Show all
1 https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf//home/ABS+Chief+Economist+-+Enhancing+measures+of+non-market+output+in+economic+statistics:+A+roadmap
2 https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/5204.0
3 https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6150.0.55.003
4 System of National Accounts 2008, paragraph 15.116 to 15.125.
5 https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/towards-measuring-the-volume-output-of-education-and-health-services_5kmd34g1zk9x-en
6 A 'volume' index series can be thought of as a quantity index series, adjusted for quality change.
7 https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/ABS+Chief+Economist+-+Disease+Based+Output+Measures+for+Hospitals
8 In-house estimate based on https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4390.0Main+Features12016-17?OpenDocument
9 https://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2019
10 https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/PrimaryMainFeatures/4221.0
11 https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/5512.0
Criteria used to select the different topics for investigation
This paper provides an update on ABS research into enhancing measures of non-market output volumes produced by the Health and Education industries. Criteria have been used to select which specific services have been selected for investigation thus far, including:
- the size of a particular health or education service;
- prevalence of market versus non-market activity within a particular health or education service;
- availability of data used to generate volume indices; and
- public policy interest.
Figure 1 shows the majority of Education output (in current prices) comes from Tertiary education (27% of total Education output). Primary education (24%) and then Secondary education (23%) comprise the second and third largest shares. The 'Remaining education services' category includes adult education, vocational education, sports and physical recreation instruction.
For Health services, Hospitals (25%) and Aged care (21%) comprise the largest shares of total output (in current prices). Ambulance services have a relatively small share of total health output at 2%. However this component of the research has been very beneficial in terms of data availability. The 'Remaining health services' category covers activity that is predominantly market in nature, including dental, physiotherapy, general practice and specialist medical and pathology services.


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Misty mornings with Trevor Tennant
Ducks Unlimited Canada's 2016 MBNA-sponsored Artist of the Year selected for his painting, Shoreline Retreat.
It's early autumn in Algonquin Park, Ont., as nature awakens from a frosty slumber. Mist suspends in the stiff air over wetlands. Sunlight peeks through the trees and dances off the water. It's a brief moment of pure tranquility.
These are natural moments that are most cherished by Canadian wildlife artist Trevor Tennant. This is also the setting depicted in his painting, Shoreline Retreat.
"I love to paint early morning scenes such as the one in Shoreline Retreat," says Tennant. "The light mist in the air and dawn light provide a calm, quiet feel to the setting. Though the subtle value changes needed to show depth, colour and mood in this type of light can be very difficult to achieve, I gravitate toward this challenge often with my art."
Tennant says that artists must challenge themselves to improve; he does so by experimenting with new artistic formats. He believes conservation is another challenge worth supporting. In 2011, Tennant received Ducks Unlimited Canada's (DUC) national Duck Stamp and Print Artist title for his painting of a Barrow's goldeneye pair titled Riding the Wave. In 2013, the Royal Canadian Mint selected his artwork to grace DUC's 75th anniversary commemorative coins. Tennant is also one of 15 artists selected for DUC's 2016 National Art Portfolio.
"I support DUC because they conserve landscapes and wildlife that inspire me to paint," says Tennant. "Their National Art Portfolio is great exposure for artists and provides fundraising for conservation. It's a perfect pairing."
Tennant likes to paint near water in areas where DUC works – and also where he's most likely to run into moose. For Tennant, moose have become a symbol of Canadian wildlife and nature. The scene in Shoreline Retreat is set in moose mating season, a time when typically solitary bulls and cows take more interest in one another. In Shoreline Retreat, the cow isn't ready for romance and retreats to the water in attempt to dissuade the bull.
"When you actually come across a moose, the first thing you notice is how huge they are. That is awe-inspiring," says Tennant. He believes more Canadians would support conservation if they experienced nature firsthand.
"People really need to slow down, relax and enjoy nature," says Tennant, who himself lives in a lakeside forest in Bobcaygeon, Ont. "Once you experience nature, you grow to respect it more and then you'll have a natural urge to preserve it. I encourage people to get some fresh air and see what's out there. It's a beautiful country. Everywhere you go, the nature is gorgeous."
Visit our sealed bid auction to view and bid on works from DUC's 2016 National Art Portfolio.
MBNA Canada is the proud sponsor of DUC's Artist of the Year. If you're bidding on prints from our National Art Portfolio.
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Fruit Market: Florence Italy- Limited Edition Print.
Ahh...the romance of Italy comes alive in "Fruit Market- Florence"; from the beautifully detailed original watercolor painting by Lotus MacDowell. The vibrant colors of the fruits, the awnings shading the windows, and the tremendous contrasts of light and shadow all pull together to make this Italian street scene a complete story in one image. Capturing the early morning light, Lotus adds one lone figure to create the human element, and lets the patterns of the fruits and vegetables create a symphony of color that invites the viewer to become visually and emotionally involved .
Now you can have your own Fruit Stand (no maintenance required), because this is available as a Limited Edition Print. These cheerful colors will enhance any room, and give your space that European flair. Great gift idea, too.
Framing Ideas-
The sky is the limit in framing options for this Limited Edition Print! It can have a neutral color mat like the building walls or stonework and the liner mat can bring out a small splash of an accent color to add visual appeal. The frame moulding can be very ornate, like an Italian antique gold, or a more traditional or contemporary frame in browns.
Artworks can create the perfect combination for you as well. We can help you choose some options, then send you pictures of the possibilities. So easy, and the artist is there to make sure the combination is cohesive with the image. Perfect! Just call us at 304-842-7626 and let's get started!
- Print Type: Offset Press Print
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Alexandra Panayi (b.1992) studied Multimedia and Arts Technology at Queen Mary University of London and attained an MA in Filmmaking (Sound Recording and Design) at Goldsmiths University of London and an MA in Post-Production at MET Film School. Currently she is based in Nicosia, Cyprus and her work is immensely influenced by her need to create visual stories. Alexandra aims to create work which compels the viewer to feel a sense of ease and a feeling of longing.
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Students around the country will be starting their school year virtually. There's a lot of uncertainty about how distance learning is going to look this fall. One thing is for sure: reading instruction and independent reading will be a focus for all learners.
It may seem daunting to get your child to read on their own, especially after a day of battling through online learning. But there are a lot of ways families can encourage kids to read. Try some of these strategies to make reading fun for your child:
Let them read whatever they want
The best way to encourage reading is to let your child read whatever books they like. If they want to read an old favorite that's "too easy" for them, let them. When they reread the same few books over and over, don't say a word. And don't forget: graphic novels count as reading!
By allowing free choice when it comes to independent reading, you're giving your child a chance to explore genres, formats, and authors on their own. It's also a way for them to build their confidence. A reluctant reader needs to be comfortable before they try something new. So if they want to read the same Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, again and again, that's ok.
Expose them to new books
Families can guide their children toward new books they might otherwise not know about. Sometimes the hardest part about trying a new book is finding the right one! It's much easier to stick with your favorites if you know they won't let you down. A new book is a risk. What if it's boring? What if it's too difficult?
Mitigate that risk with some research. Start with your local librarian. Librarians are experts at finding books their patrons will love. Gather up the titles of your child's most beloved books and ask your librarian for recommendations based on them. Another great way to mix new books into your child's reading routine is a book subscription. My Bookworm Box offers personalized book recommendations and then ships the selections right to your door.
Try utilizing video to get your child excited about reading new books. Many publishers, like Scholastic, create book trailers for new releases. They're a great way to learn if a new book sounds interesting. There are also amazing kids on YouTube reviewing books, like the Book Brothers. Here are some other great book review playlists, all featuring kids:
Read together
Reading together shouldn't stop once children are reading independently. Research shows kids obtain information best through listening until around middle school. Continue to read with your child up to high school.
Reading together is a great way to expose your child to books that are a bit more challenging than their independent reading level. A kindergartner might enjoy listening to a chapter book long before they can read one on their own. Classics are a great option for reading aloud because you can help your child understand the context and any old vocabulary.
Another idea is to read books that tackle tough or confusing subjects, such as racism, poverty, grief, bullying, gender identity, mental health, and disabilities. Having an adult guide them through these subjects through reading and discussion can help children process. It also allows adults an opportunity to answer questions and clear up any misunderstandings.
Try audiobooks
Audiobooks are an amazing tool to encourage reading. They allow reading to happen anywhere, like the car or a waiting room. Some books are better in audio, like books written in verse. Audiobooks may also be a good tool for struggling or reluctant readers. They can listen to the book before reading it with their eyes, or follow along with a physical copy.
Many public libraries offer digital audiobooks available for download. Some have devices called Playaway, which are small audio players with the book prerecorded. Just plug in some headphones and go!
Readalongs are a great option as well. You can find books with audio players embedded in them, so the child can listen and follow along. There are also many apps that allow children to follow along with the story.
How do you encourage your child to read?


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In a YouTube video of a group of spring breakers, the 'Love and Hip Hop: New York' star can be seen strolling the streets of Miami along with model Jazzma Kendrick.
AceShowbiz -Is this the reason why Joe Budden and Cyn Santana allegedly called it quits? Before rumors of their breakup surfaced on the internet, the former was spotted out and about with Instagram model Jazzma Kendrick in Miami. This prompted fans to think that him cheating on his "Love & Hip Hop: New York" co-star and baby mama might be the reason for their split.
Their outing was caught in a YouTube video of a group of spring breakers. They were asking where his fiancee was as Budden and Kendrick strolled the streets of South Beach while chatting. Budden, who donned a white T-shirt underneath his black blazer, could be seen waving his hands to the group while Kendrick lowered her head.
Budden and Santana first sparked split rumors after fans noticed that they had unfollowed each other on social media while the former wiped her entire Instagram page of any photos related to the rapper. The 38-year-old addressed the report during an episode of his "Joe Budden Poscast", insisting that they didn't break up. However, he admitted that there was a trouble in paradise.
"We haven't spoken in a little while. I think her phone's been dead for a few weeks. Overtime at work. Plenty of reasons I can think of. Can you have a break up without saying it?" he said. "I'm asking a very serious question. I'm asking for enlightenment from Tampa. Can you break up without actually breaking up? I didn't take it no way when she actually moved all her [stuff] out of the house."
Despite Budden's denial, Santana appeared to be confirming rumors of their breakup while responding to a fan who asked, "Can you break up without saying it?" This was a clear reference to Budden's question during his podcast. Answering the said fan, Santana wrote, "Actions speak louder than words. People have months broken up and don't even know it. But God reveals all truths."
Budden and Santana started dating in 2016 before getting engaged in December of last year. They share a son named Lexington together.
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text: LoginWhen to transition puppy from 3 meals a day to 2? Search for: Dog Food Advisor › Forums › Canine Nutrition › When to transition puppy from 3 meals a day to 2? Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total) Author Posts January 21, 2016 at 9:28 am #82192 Report Abuse Sarah HMember My 11 week old Shih Tzu puppy is currently getting 3 meals a day. When should I transition to 2? I read somewhere 4 months, but that seems very young. Thanks in advance. This topic was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Sarah H. January 21, 2016 at 10:14 am #82195 Report Abuse anonymouslyMember I have found that around 6 or 7 months old they are ready to go from 3 small meals to 2 regular meals per day…maybe a small snack midday after a walk as a reward for making sure I get my exercise 🙂 Author Posts Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total) You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Log In Username: Password: Keep me signed in Log In


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Stakeholders in the political and electoral processes of the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Osun State have been enjoined to improve the participation of persons with disabilities.
A civic non-governmental organization, Inclusive Friends Association (IFA) during its 'Participate Today' Roundtable discussion made the plea on Monday in Osogbo, Osun State capital.
This is as the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun, Prof. Abdulganiy Raji hinted that about 35 to 40 Corp members with disabilities have been penned to be engaged as adhoc staff in the state election.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of IFA, Grace Jerry stated that the civic and political participation of persons with disabilities goes beyond the routine electoral process of registering for elections and voting.
Jerry, who was represented by the Programmes Manager of IFA Participate Today Campaign, Stephen Idoko urged political party leaders to include persons with disabilities in their party structures.
"The comprehensive National Law covers issues of discrimination; awareness-raising; political participation, employment, etc across all boards. Sadly, the attitude towards the implementation of the National Disability Law seems to be dwindling to bliss as efforts invested are not enough, especially at the state level."
On the steps to be taken in ensuring the PWDs inclusion, Idoko said Political parties, Civil society organisations, media houses and others should make available information accessible to the Persons with disabilities and advocate for their rights.
"Political parties must be deliberate about the production of their campaign materials to ensure they are in accessible formats to reach different clusters of PWDs. E.g– Braille forms, audio, sign language/subtitled videos, etc.
"Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) must also advocate for the rights of all persons in the political and electoral spaces irrespective of gender, disability and age.
"Media houses and political parties can support and ensure that there is adequate electoral information that is accessible to PWDs before, during and after the elections," he said.
Prof. Raji, in his speech, noted that reasonable accommodation must be accorded the PWDs for attractive participation in political and social life on equal basis with others.
He affirmed the commission's commitment to promote the participation of PWDs in the electoral process which was demonstrated by developing a policy working document– INEC framework on access and participation of Persons with Disabilities in the electoral process launched in October 2018 before the Disability act was signed into law in January 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
"Between 1997 and 2000, one of the ministers in the United Kingdom was a person with visual impairment and he has a guide dog. We've not had such here before. That's the level we want to reach in this country.
"With view to ensuring that conduct of elections and electoral processes in Nigeria are inclusive. One of the steps we have taken in Osun State is that our adhoc staff especially Corp members, we have taken note of all the PWDs among them and as at now, we have a list of 35 to 40 of them which would be automatically included as Adhoc staff.
"The Inclusive Friends Association campaign in Nigeria is in the fore front of policy advocacy for advancing the course of PWDs and other underrepresented groups in the electoral process. The struggle must continue until much accommodations are provided for PWDs to exercise their civic rights in the electoral process," he concluded.