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Friday, May 17, 2013
Why Is Everyone Hating on Jerron McMillian?
I love draft season. It's fantastic stuff for a football nerd, and it's the only time during the NFL season where who "wins" and "loses" is actually 100% debatable conjecture (just ask Viking fans–they wrap up the division title in late April every year). Armchair GMs hoot and holler and pundits toss out grades in 48 hours for an event that will take at least 3 seasons to truly evaluate.
The #1 pre-draft Packers-related story that kept bothering me was the insistence that safety was a top "need" for the Packers. Excuse me, Flo? Look, I understand if the Packers would have been able to come to an agreement with a Michael-Huff-type-guy on a short-term deal to allow the young safeties to get an extra year of development, but to take one high in the draft was about as good of an idea as another Spider-Man reboot starring that kid from Two and a Half Men.
See, the way that our friend Theodore runs this team is a strategy that he calls "draft and develop". And one of the things that is fantastic about the way he scouts that bothers the hell out of the casual draftnik/Packers fan is that Ted doesn't give a velvet painting of a whale and a dolphin gettin' it on where you went to school, he just cares if you can play football. People assume because the SEC is the dominant conference in college football, it's where all the good prospects come from. I like to call that "The Tale of the Mighty Chad Jackson and the Meager Greg Jennings".
Top Players at Their Positions:
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Cal (Pac 12)
RB: Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma (Big 12)
WR: Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech (ACC)
TE: Jimmy Graham, The U Basketball Player (ACC)
OT: Joe Thomas, Wisconsin (Big 10)
Pass Rusher: Wisconsin, JJ Watt (Big 10)
DB: Darelle Revis, Pitt (Big East)
Top Players on Super Bowl XLV Championship Team:
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Cal (Pac 12)
WR: Greg Jennings, Western Michigan (MAC)
WR: Donald Driver, Alcorn State (SWAC)
OLB: Clay Matthews, USC (Pac 12)
DL: Cullen Jenkins, Central Michigan (MAC)
DB: Charles Woodson, Michigan (Big 10)
DB: Nick Collins, Bethune-Cookman (MEAC)
(What? No SEC? Good lord don't let any Alabama fans see this!)
So I don't know if it's because Matt Elam went to Florida, or because Jerron McMillian went to Maine or both, but there is a lack of respect for him that I just don't understand. McMillian has decent size as well as possessing outstanding measurables. Jerron ran a 4.56 40 and possesses a 36.5" vertical leap, while finishing second among all safeties in the 3-cone drill in the 2012 NFL Combine. He possesses a physical presence that does not exist with any of the other DBs on the roster, with the possible exception of Davon House.
You, nor Mel Kiper, nor Leon Sandcastle himself can explain to me why replacing a 24-year old prospect with a 22-year old prospect after watching him flash considerable potential as a ROOKIE (first-year player) would have made any sense at all. Not only did Jerron record 27 tackles and an interception in limited action, but he also would have made a game-clinching INT in the game-that-shall-not-be-named which was nullified by a phantom PI called on the 16 Million Dollar Man himself (Erik Walden).
Let me be very clear: Jerron McMillian was drafted by Teddy with the intention of being Morgan Burnett's running mate for the foreseeable future. Ted doesn't trade up for guys that he doesn't feel are tremendous values and guys he wants to make significant impacts on this team. Moreover, Ted is a prideful man, and he's not going to admit he made a mistake on McMillian by drafting his replacement in the subsequent player selection meeting.
I'm not saying that Jerron is going to end up being Nick Collins. Collins was a multiple time Pro Bowl participant who was a sure-fire Packers Hall of Famer before the catastrophic neck injury that ended his career. Besides, Collins had elite speed that allowed him to cover incredible amounts of ground as the "center fielder" whereas McMillian loves to mix it up down in the box (that's what she said?). I will however, draw comparisons to their development.
Nick Collins was a widely questioned second-round pick in one of Teddy's earlier drafts with the Packers. There was certainly a question as to why a kid projected anywhere from round 4 to round 6 out of Bethune-Cookman was being taken with the 51st overall pick. Collins had elite physical tools, but the level of competition he played against and the value of the pick was concerning (why not trade down if no one else has ever heard of Nick Collins or something called Bethune-Cookman?). McMillian is another small-school prospect with great physical tools that Ted made a "questionable" decision (trading up) on.
Did you know that Nick Collins only forced 8 turnovers over his first 3 seasons, including just 4 INTs? Did you know that in the subsequent 3 seasons he created 21 turnovers including 17 INTs? Did you know that Nick Collins made the most memorable defensive play of Super Bowl XLV? I'm going to guess you only knew one of those things.
The point is that if we want the Packers to win championship(s), the best-case scenario is that McMillian is an above-average starter at one of the safety positions. That way resources (draft picks) can be allocated where they haven't already been used. Instead of taking a young safety to immediately replace him, we (I'm an owner of the team, damnit, I can say "we") took Datone Jones and Eddie Lacy, body/skill types we didn't have. It also allowed us to move down and select players who will provide depth at positions (RB, OL) where depth has been a sore spot.
Everyone quit hatin' on Jerron and enjoy the ride. (drops mic)
You can follow Ross Uglem, aka "D3 Hack" on Twitter as @Rug_pHd12
4 comments:
Nice work, Ross.ReplyDelete
Side note: are you selling that velvet painting of a whale and dolphin getting it on? Because I'll make you an offer.
I got Jarrett Bush as the most physical DB, but aside from that, this is my first time coming to your blog but definitely not my last. I like your work, McMillan IS going to be a beast.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you, Perrin.Delete
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Join the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and receive a subscription to JCSM with your membership
To quantify sources of night-to-night variability.
This project was conducted in 285 middle-aged African American, Caucasian, and Chinese women from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Sleep Study living in Chicago, the Detroit area, Oakland, and Pittsburgh. The study used 3 repeated nights of in-home polysomnography (PSG) measures. Night 1 data included assessment of sleep staging, sleep apnea, and periodic limb movements, while Nights 2 and 3 focused on sleep staging.
Mean total sleep time (TST) increased substantially from 365 minutes on Night 1 to 391 minutes and 380 minutes, respectively, on Nights 2 and 3. Mean percent sleep efficiency (SE%) for the 3 nights were 83%, 85%, and 85%, respectively. Night 1 sleep values were significantly different than Nights 2 and 3 measures except for S2 (%), S1 (min), and Delta (S3+4)%. Nights 2 and 3 differences in variability were negligible. Obesity, past smoking, and financial strain measures were associated with greater Night 1 vs. Night 2 or Night 3 differences. We concluded that there was significant Night 1 vs. Nights 2 and 3 variability and, though relatively modest, it was sufficient to bias estimates of association. Additionally, personal characteristics including smoking, obesity, and financial strain increased night-to-night variability.
This reports adds new information about between and within person sources of variation with in-home PSG and identifies elements that are essential in the design and planning of future sleep studies of multi-ethnic groups in social and physiological transition states such as the menopause.
Zheng H; Sowers MF; Buysse DJ; Consens F; Kravitz HM; Matthews KA; Owens JF; Gold EB; Hall M. Sources of variability in epidemiological studies of sleep using repeated nights of in-home polysomnography: SWAN Sleep Study. J Clin Sleep Med 2012;8(1):87-96.
Polysomnography (PSG) is widely used in clinical and epidemiological research settings to provide objective sleep measures.1–6 PSG can be conducted using in-home settings or sleep laboratories considering the advantages afforded by variability in the closeness of monitoring, the ability to correct technical problems in a timely manner, and control temperature, noise and other environmental factors to minimize systematic bias. Use of PSG in the home or laboratory setting has substantial costs for data acquisition and the time required for data processing while potentially imposing physical and psychological burdens on the participant.7 Given these considerations, it is important to ascertain how much and what kind of data must be collected, determine if more than a single night's data collection is required to describe sleep behaviors; and, identify personal characteristics associated with substantially increased within-person variation in sleep behaviors.
Considering the number of data collection nights that are needed to provide unbiased estimates of sleep characteristics is often made more complex because of the impact of the "first night" effect (FNE), generated from changes in the sleep environment, the presence of sleep monitoring instrumentation, and any potential psychological uneasiness of being observed.8–12 The FNE has been associated with less total sleep time (TST), lower sleep efficiency (SE), more intermittent waking time, and longer REM latency (RL)9 in clinical or in-home studies.13,14
Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: Use of repeated polysomnography (PSG) in the home or laboratory to describe sleep behavior has substantial costs in money and time for data acquisition and data processing while potentially imposing physical and psychological burdens on the participant. In order to reduce the costs and relieve the burdens for designing and planning of future sleep studies, this report uses 3 nights' in-home PSG data from SWAN Sleep Study to evaluate night-to-night variation, information redundancy, and identify personal characteristics associated with substantially increased within-person variation in sleep behaviors.
Study Impact: Through the evaluation of sources of night-to-night variation with in-home PSG, this reported identifies elements that are essential in the design and planning of future sleep studies of multi-ethnic groups in social and physiological transition states such as the menopause. Two nights of in-home PSG assessment with an appropriate sample size can provide robust parameter estimates of sleep duration, continuity, and architecture in community samples; the identified personal characteristics associated with greater variability between first and second night measures includes smoking, obesity, and financial strain.
The SWAN Sleep Study evaluated sleep characteristics in 368 African American, Caucasian, and Chinese women across the menopause transition using 3 nights of in-home PSG. Sleep stage scoring and electrocardiograms were used on all study nights while sleep disordered breathing and leg movements (Night 1) as well as skin temperature and snoring sensors (Night 2 only) were used on selected nights. We evaluated: (1) the magnitude of night-to-night variability on PSG-processed sleep measures; (2) the loss of information if PSG studies of women were restricted to 1, 2, or 3 nights; and (3) sources of within-person variation in the 3 nights of study.
The SWAN Sleep Study is a comprehensive study of sleep nested within the ongoing, larger parent longitudinal cohort SWAN study and conducted at 4 of the 7 clinical sites. This 2003 to 2005 time frame overlapped the 5th – 7th annual core SWAN protocol examinations.
SWAN, a community-based, multisite cohort study of the menopausal transition, enrolled 3,302 women, aged 42-52 years, at its 1996 baseline.15 Each clinical site recruited Caucasian women. Also recruited were African American women in Boston, Chicago, Detroit area, and Pittsburgh, Chinese women in Oakland, Japanese women in Los Angeles, and Hispanic women in Newark. Women were excluded from cohort enrollment if they were pregnant, using exogenous hormones in the 3 months prior to the baseline interview, had not had menstrual bleeding in the 3 months prior to the baseline interview, or had a hysterectomy. Institutional review boards approved the study, and women gave signed, written informed consent to participate.
The SWAN Sleep Study was a nested cross-sectional study of sleep patterns at mid-life.16,17 A cohort of 370 was enrolled, including 328 pre- and peri-menopausal and 42 postmenopausal African American, Caucasian, and Chinese women, aged 48 to 59 years, from the Chicago, Detroit area, Oakland CA, and Pittsburgh SWAN sites. Women with surgical menopause (< 1%) or using hormone therapy (approximately 23% of the cohort by SWAN follow-up visit 5) were excluded. Exclusion criteria also included factors that could affect sleep including ongoing treatment for cancer or rotating or night shift employment (exclusion rates for these measures were between 1% and 3%). Two of the 370 women had no PSG study and were excluded from this analysis.
The sleep protocol was initiated within 7 days of the beginning of the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle in women who were still menstruating. Three consecutive nights of in-home PSG studies used the Vitaport 3 (VP3) PSG monitor (Temec, Netherlands). Night 1 included a sleep disorders screening PSG montage with 2 channels of electroencephalography (EEG) (C4/A1, C3/A2), bilateral electro-oculograms (EOG), bipolar submental electromyograms (EMG), and one channel of electrocardiogram (EKG). Sleep disordered breathing was assessed using nasal pressure and oral-nasal thermistors to measure airflow; impedance plethysmography characterized chest and abdominal wall movements; and fingertip oximetry (Nonin X-pod model 3012) to measure oxyhemoglobin saturation. Bilateral anterior tibialis EMG was used to assess periodic leg movements (PLM), and characteristics of restless legs were quantified by self-reported questionnaire.18 On Nights 2 and 3, a sleep staging montage was deployed, which included the EEG, EOG, submental EMG, and EKG channels but not nasal pressure, airflow, oximetry, respiratory effort, or anterior tibialis measurements. Because studies were conducted overnight in participants' homes, technicians were not present to replace sensors and electrodes during the studies. PSG study failure was defined as follows: for the sleep screening night the PSG had to include ≥ 4 h of scorable data for sleep staging and oximetry, concurrent with scorable data for ≥ 1 of the following: nasal pressure cannula, thermistor, or inductance plethysmography belt. For sleep staging PSGs, scorable data were required for 100% of the recording time for at least one EEG channel, one EOG channel, and the EMG channel. In the SWAN Sleep Study, the overall PSG failure rate was 6.25% (i.e.,
1−1035368×3, the denominator 368 × 3 = 1104 is the total number of expected PSG studies for 368 women who participated in PSG studies and the numerator 1035 is the total number of scorable nights including repeat studies conducted when initial studies were inadequate), which compares favorably with that of other in-home PSG studies, such as the 5% to 9% failure rate reported in the Sleep Heart Health Study.19
Sleep was visually scored in 20-sec epochs on each night using standardized scoring criteria.16,20 This study was initiated prior to the recent publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's scoring criteria. Rechtschaffen and Kales criteria recommend either 20- or 30-sec scoring epochs. The University of Pittsburgh laboratory used 20-sec epochs for 2 reasons. First, 20-sec epochs provide slightly finer-grained measures of sleep and wakefulness with less potential misclassification (since each epoch can receive only one stage score, up to 50% of an epoch may be another stage). Second, algorithms for quantitative EEG measurement with power spectral analysis used 4-sec epochs, and alignment with visually scored sleep data was more precise if scoring epochs were multiples of 4 seconds. Measures of sleep duration included time in bed and time spent asleep (TST). Time in bed was calculated as time from reported lights out (with confirmation of PSG signals consistent with reduced activity) to time of reported awakening from sleep (again with confirmation of PSG signals consistent with increased activity). TST was calculated as total minutes scored as stages 1 to 4 of NREM sleep and REM sleep. Sleep continuity was quantified by measures of sleep latency (SL [time in minutes from beginning of the recording period to the first consecutive 10 min of stage 2 or stage 3-4 sleep interrupted by ≤ 2 min of stage 1 or wakefulness]); wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO [total minutes of wakefulness between sleep onset and verified awakening in the morning]), and sleep efficiency (SE [time spent asleep/time in bed × 100]). Measures of sleep architecture included minutes and percent of time spent asleep spent in NREM stages 1, 2, and 3 + 4, and REM sleep.
Race/ethnicity was determined by self-designation as African American, Caucasian, or Chinese. Other sociodemographic variables included age (continuous variable), marital status (single/never married, married or living as married, separated/widowed/divorced), and educational attainment (high school graduate or less, some college, college graduate, graduate studies). A 3-level response to a question about difficulty in paying for basics (very, somewhat, or not very difficult) including food, shelter, and health care was used as an indicator of financial strain. Study site designation was included in statistical models.
Self-perceived overall health was coded as excellent, very good/good, fair/poor. Body mass index (BMI) was computed as measured weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D, depressed vs. not depressed) Scale administered at the closest annual core SWAN visit preceding the Sleep Study.
Menopause transition status was designated as using annual Core SWAN data into one of the following 4 categories: premenopausal (no change in menstrual bleeding regularity); early perimenopausal (menses in the preceding 3 months with an increase in bleeding irregularity); late perimenopausal (menses in the previous 12 months, but not the previous 3 months; and postmenopausal (≥ 12 months of amenorrhea).21
Daily medication use (prescription and over-the-counter), recorded at Sleep Study protocol inception and from daily diaries was coded according to the World Health Organization Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification.22 Physical activity was measured at the annual core SWAN visits assessing 3 domains (sports, leisure, and household activities) and was treated as a continuous variable. Responses about smoking frequency, alcohol consumption, and caffeine consumption were determined from the daily sleep diaries. Smoking behavior was classified as current, past, and never. Current smokers were those who reported smoking ≥ 7 cigarettes in the 2-week period initiated by the sleep protocol.
Of the 370 participants enrolled in the SWAN Sleep Study, 368 had PSG data: 364 completed Night 1 (sleep screening PSG), 342 completed Night 2 (sleep staging PSG), and 329 completed Night 3 (sleep staging PSG). These numbers include individuals who repeated PSGs when the initial study failed, yielding an overall PSG success rate of 93.8% (364 + 342 + 329 = 1035 successful studies, versus 368 × 3 = 1104 expected PSG studies; 1035 / 1104 = 0.938). Aggregating these data, 365 women had at least one sleep-staging PSG (i.e., Night 2 or Night 3); 361 had the sleep-screening PSG (Night 1) plus at least one sleep-staging PSG; 306 had both sleep-staging PSGs; and 303 had all 3 nights (including repeat studies for initial study failures). All 3 nights were completed in the protocol-planned order by 285 women (sleep screening PSG, sleep staging PSG 1, sleep staging PSG 2), which formed the dataset for these analyses. Data from 83 women who had at least one PSG were excluded due to non-scorable (n = 65) night(s) or failing to follow the temporal sequence (n = 18). The latter case pertained, for instance, to women whose initial screening study failed, and was repeated on another night.
Univariate statistics were computed for continuous variables and frequencies were determined for categorical variables. Variables with highly skewed distributions were transformed or categorized. Statistical significance was based on p-values from 2-sided tests at a value of p < 0.05.
A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance was used to evaluate the temporal effect of study nights on PSG measures. Orthogonal contrasts were used to compare measures across these 3 nights. The difference between the average of Nights 2 and 3 versus Night 1 was also compared. To evaluate whether having 2 subsequent nights added more information than a single night, a multivariate regression model with random design matrix was used.23
Within-person variation for individual sleep measures was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) with 95% confidence bands. The Bland and Altman approach was used to identify the relationship between the means of 2 nights of sleep measurements and the difference between them.24,25 A sign rank test was used to evaluate the hypothesis that the mean difference between nights was not equal to zero. Intra-individual (within person) and inter-individual (between persons) variation was calculated and placed in a ratio to describe the relative magnitude of each source of variation.
Stepwise regression analyses were use to relate personal characteristics of study participants with sleep characteristics, with a p-value of 0.05 as the inclusion criterion. Goodness of fit of models was assessed graphically and with the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC).
SAS 9.1 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC) and SAS macro facility were used in performing the statistical analyses and plot the findings.
Characteristics of the total sample with PSG were similar to characteristics of the analytical sample of 285 women (Table 1). Women in the analytical sample had a median age of 52 years (IQR = 3) and a median BMI of 27.5 kg/m2, similar to the overall Sleep Study sample.
Comparing characteristics of women having the night 1 visit and at least one additional sleep staging night (n = 361) in relation to having 3 consecutive nights in the temporal order specified by the protocol, SWAN Sleep Study, 2003 to 2005
* IQR, interquartile range.
(more ...)
Information obtained only during Night 1 included the median apnea-hypopnea index (AHI, Night 1), which was 4.9 (IQR = 10.1) episodes/h of sleep, and the median number of periodic leg movements with arousal (PLMAI), which was 2.4 (IQR = 4.4)/h of sleep, respectively.26,27 Sixty-six (23.2%) women self-identified as having restless leg syndrome (RLS).18
Mean TST increased from Night 1 (365 min) to Night 2 (391 min) and Night 3 (380 min) (Table 2). Mean SE% for each of the 3 nights were 83%, 85%, and 85%, respectively (Table 2). As seen in Table 2, when comparing Night 1 to Nights 2 and 3, all but 4 measures (S2 %, S1 [min], S2 [min] and Delta %) were different from each other. Three measures (Delta minutes, NUMA, and NREM) were statistically different between PSG Nights 1 and 3, but not PSG Nights 1 and 2. No statistically significant differences in the sleep measures were observed between Nights 2 and 3. Delta (%) was the only variable without significant mean differences across the 3 nights.
Comparisons of selected sleep measurements during 3 consecutive nights with PSG measures, SWAN Sleep Study, 2003 to 2005
* 1st order difference: Δ2−1 = Night 2−Night 1; Δ3−1 = Night 3−Night 1; Δ3−2 = Night 3−Night 2.
** 2nd order difference = (Night 3−Night 2) − (Night 2−Night 1) = Night 1 − 2 Night 2 + Night 3.
The daily difference in values and variation in data according to the different PSG nights was evaluated using the Bland and Altman approach to estimate the bias that can be discerned with repeated assessments (in Table 3 and Figure 1). For best agreement between 2 nights, the mean percent difference (or mean difference, night 2 – night 1) between 2 measures should be close to zero, with no significant correlations between the mean values and differences, i.e., the dispersion of the difference scores should be limited. While the signed rank test indicated that most differences between nights were greater than zero (Table 3), significant Bland Altman (BA) correlations were observed only in S1 (%), Delta (min), REM (%), RL (min), and RLMA (min) in comparing Night 2 to Night 1, indicating systematic differences between those 2 nights. No significant BA correlations were observed when comparing Nights 2 and 3, indicating no systematic differences between these nights.
Percent differences (Δ%) in selected sleep measures between nights with p-value of tests showing the difference is not equal to zero, and the Bland-Altman p-value for detecting possible bias, SWAN Sleep Study, 2003 to 2005
* Δ%, percent change of night b vs. night a,
100%×(b−a) / ½(a+b)
Bland Altman plots* for total sleep time (TST-Top Figure) and sleep efficiency (SE-Bottom Figure) identifying the mean differences and bias between sleep night 1 with instrumentation for assessing respiration and restless legs versus sleep night 2 without that instrumentation, SWAN Sleep Study, 2003 to 2005
*Mean: (night 1 + night 2)/2; Difference: night 2 – night 1; Bias: mean of the Difference. The short dashed lines are +2SD, bias and −2SD, respectively; long dashed lines are slopes.
Though the BA correlations for some sleep measures (e.g., TST and SE) were not statistically significant, the mean differences shown in Table 2 and percent change shown in Table 3 and the BA plots (Figure 1) indicated potentially systematic differences between Night 1 and Night 2, especially for SE. TST and SE mean differences between Night 1 and Night 2 were non-zero, indicating a systematic difference between Nights 1 and 2. In contrast, individual PSG measures showed a high degree of agreement of between Nights 2 and 3.
To describe the variation between nights, Table 4 shows the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and their 95% confidence intervals. The highest ICCs were in Delta (%) and Delta (min) and were 0.68 and 0.66, respectively, for Night 1 to Night 3. The ICCs for Delta (%) and Delta (min) were 0.78 and 0.77, respectively, for Night 2 to Night 3. Likewise, the ICCs for Delta (%) and Delta (min) were 0.80 and 0.80, respectively, for Night 1 to Night 2 (data not shown). As seen in Table 4, measures of sleep continuity and duration were more likely to have the lower ICCs than selected measures of sleep architecture.
Intraclass correlation coefficients (with upper and lower 95% confidence intervals), intra- and inter-individual variability and the ratio of inter- to intra-individual variability for selected sleep measures, SWAN Sleep Study, 2003 to 2005
* ICC (95% CI), Intraclass correlation coefficient and 95% CI, ICC = σ2inter/(σ2inter + σ2intra) = σ2between /(σ2between + σ2within).
** σ2intra, intra-individual variability, within subject; σ2inter,inter-individual variability, between subject.
We disaggregated the within- and between-woman variation when comparing data from 2 different nights (Table 4). A low within-person variation relative to the between-person variation is generally considered optimal to characterize group differences. Delta % and Delta minutes measures included greater between-person variation relative to the amount of within-person variation. This was associated with markedly greater ratios of inter-individual variation to intra-individual variation (i.e., σ2inter/σ2intra); the ratios comparing Night 1 to Night 3 were 2.11 and 1.98, respectively (Table 4). Other sleep measures had substantially more within-person variation than between-person variation and lower ratios (i.e., 0.38 [TST] and 0.33% [SE]).
When it was identified that there was high correlation between these measures according to night, it was logical to consider how much less variation is explained should the number of study nights be reduced. The amount of information lost (less variation explained) was about 23.6% or 23.5% of the total variation if only "Night 1 + Night 2" or "Night 1 + Night 3" were used. In contrast, removing any 2 of 3 nights could result in the loss of more than half the information.
Characteristics associated with having greater differences in the measures of Night 1 vs. Night 2 (i.e., Night 2 – Night 1) included obesity, financial strain, race/ethnicity, marital status, smoking, and PLMAI (see Table 5). While education, menopause status, and physical activity were evaluated, these were not significantly related to differences in measures between Nights 1 and 2 (data not shown). Participant characteristics were not associated with differences in night-to-night variability for Delta (min), NREM (min), NUMA, REM (min), S2 (min), and TST (min).
Beta estimates (with standard errors [SE] and p-values for the beta estimate) and standardized beta coefficients for participant characteristics in relation to selected sleep measures between night 2 and night 1, SWAN Sleep Study, 2003 to 2005
[i] nsp > 0.05; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.001; ***p < 0.0001. Intercepts were not reported in the table. Beta(s), standardized Beta.
[ii] Only significant factors (p < 0.05) were retained in parsimonious models using stepwise selection.
In evaluating the temporal night effect and patterns of variation arising from in-home PSG-derived measures with repeated nights of assessment, small but statistically significant differences in measures of sleep were observed when comparing Night 1 of data collection with Nights 2 and 3. Little or no difference was observed when comparing data from Nights 2 vs. 3. Mean total sleep time (TST) was increased 4% to 7% from 365 minutes in Night 1 to 391 minutes and 380 minutes, respectively, in Nights 2 and 3. All sleep measures on Night 1 were significantly different from nights 2 and 3, except for S2 (%), S1 (minutes), and Delta %.
We used multiple nights of evaluation to address whether the degree of intra-individual variation exceeded the between-person comparisons. To that end, we reported the between- and within-person variation and the ratio of these two measures. The within-person variation for most sleep measures was greater than the between-person variation, when comparing nights with different amounts of monitoring instrumentation. The exception included measures of Delta % and Delta minutes, indices of sleep architecture, for which substantial within- and between-woman variation were observed while comparing nights with differing levels of instrumentation. This may help to explain why there is less discernible night-to-night variation was detected in these measures when nights have different levels of monitoring instrumentation.
These data do not suggest a major advantage of having more than two repeated measures to characterize habitual sleep with a sample size of approximately 280 women unless the focus of the assessment is on sleep architecture. These data also suggest that clinical studies focused on sleep architecture, and specifically Delta measures, might consider that only a single night is needed to describe specific patient groups. This would then reflect that this group of sleep measures had greater between-person variability (as compared to within-person variation) in comparison to measures of sleep duration and continuity.
While PSG is widely regarded as the gold standard in assessing sleep, its administration, even as an in-home study, also generates an environment that may curtail "usual" sleep. The SWAN Sleep study implemented an in-home protocol to be able to characterize the participants' usual sleep and mitigate the "first night" effects (FNE) that include sleeping in an unfamiliar environment and anxiety about being observed.28–32 FNEs have been reported to result in less total sleep time (TST), greater rapid eye movement (REM), lower sleep efficiency (SE), more intermittent wake time, and longer REM latency.9 Le Bon9 studied two consecutive PSG nights in 83 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and observed significant differences in SPT, TST, SE, SE minus sleep onset latency, REM sleep, sleep onset latency, and RL, and concluded that no single sleep variable could summarize the FNE. In a study of 36 healthy adults,30 Sforza indicated that the FNE on arousal response was affected by individual susceptibility and circadian and homeostatic influences.
While participants were evaluated in-home, instrumentation to monitor respiration, sleep disordered breathing and leg movements were included in the Night 1 protocol, elements that were not present in Nights 2 and 3. Though we identified statistically significant night-to-night variation, particularly of Night 1 vs Nights 2 and 3, the magnitude of the differences was smaller than expected. Depending upon the sleep measure of interest, the differences were as little as 2% but not more than 20%. Study night or the presence of FNE was confounded with the PSG assessment protocol (i.e., the Night 1 assessment included additional electrodes and monitors to assess sleep disordered breathing and limb movements, whereas fewer signals were collected during Nights 2 and 3). Different PSG montages were used on the screening night and subsequent study nights. It is possible that the montage itself contributed to the difference in sleep from the first to the second and third nights, thereby confounding the potential effects due to montage and those due to study order. For instance, the greater amount of instrumentation on the first night may have led to greater sleep disruption, above and beyond any night order effect. However, many other studies that have used identical montages across multiple nights have reported similar findings to our own, making this explanation somewhat less compelling. A different study design would be required to disaggregate the effect of wearing additional monitoring devices as compared to night effect.
It should be noted that sleep stage scoring in our study differed from that currently recommended by the AASM scoring rules. In particular, we used 20-second scoring epochs, and all stages were scored using a central EEG derivation. These methods may limit generalizability for current research and clinical practice. On the one hand, shorter scoring epochs may lead to less misclassification of sleep and wakefulness: since individual epochs may contain up to 50% of another sleep-wake stage, 20-second epochs contain a maximum or 10 seconds of misclassified data, whereas 30-second epochs contain a maximum of 15 seconds of misclassified data. On the other hand, use of a single EEG derivation may provide less precise staging, since some EEG characteristics are better defined in occipital (alpha rhythm) or frontal (delta activity) derivations.
Characteristics associated with having greater differences in the measures of Night 1 vs. Nights 2 or 3 included financial strain, being obese, and past smoking. These are consistent with a newly reported cross-sectional evaluation of a sample representative of the US population and based on interview rather than instrumented monitoring.33
As aforementioned, 83 women who had at least one polysomnogram recording were excluded in this particular analysis. In order to evaluate the possible bias of missing these women (22.4% of the cohort, 22.6% of those with at least one night PSG data), a simulation study was conducted using TST as the outcome, night as the independent variable, and BMI, difficulty in paying for basics, and smoking as covariates. The simulation process was performed on the combination of sample size and strategies using three nights' PSG data following temporal sequence (night 1 and night 2; night 1, night 2 and night 3; night 1, mean of night 2 and night 3). The simulation results showed that about 125 women gave 95% coverage probability to detect "night" effect for all 3 strategies. The coverage probability curve as a function of sample size and strategies increased monotonically leading to the coverage probabilities approaching to 100% after about n = 200. This hints that the bias was minimized by using 285 women, even though 83 women were lost due to non-scorable night(s) or improper temporal sequence.
This study has strengths and limitations. It was an in-home-based PSG study with a substantial sample size and multiple nights of assessment. The ability to disaggregate the sources and magnitude of the night-to-night variability in this study allowed us to reduce the number of study nights in a follow-up study, implemented three years after the baseline. This study was conducted in a sample of healthy middle-aged women to characterize the normal physiological and psychological events of the menopause in relation to sleep, but care must be exercised in extrapolating these findings to studies directed toward samples or study designs that are highly enriched for sleep pathology (i.e., a case-control study of insomnia). Study night was confounded with the PSG assessment protocol, so the effect of this additional monitoring could not be quantitatively differentiated from the anxiety of the FNE of participating in a sleep study.
As noted above, sleep disordered breathing and leg movements were not monitored on Nights 2 and 3. Intra-individual night-to-night variability in sleep disordered breathing as well as periodic leg movements in sleep is an unresolved concern in clinically assessing these sleep disorders, even when accurately measured, recorded, and analyzed.6 Because both are associated with sleep fragmentation and loss, to presume night-to-night consistency without monitoring for respiratory events and leg movements can result in residual confounding of measurements of PSG sleep macrostructure.34 Thus, individual night-to-night differences can be a substantial source of confounding and a limitation in our analysis of variability, and should be considered in determining how many nights of PSG are needed to assess sleep and sleep disorders.34 Other sources of variation also could not be disaggregated. While African American women were recruited by three sites participating in the Sleep Study, only one site recruited Chinese women, a condition imposed by the design of the parent study. However, this precluded us from disaggregating sources of variation associated specifically with the site and race/ethnicity. This study focused on middle-aged healthy women, so while the study group did not include men, information about sources of variation from a large community-based sample should be helpful in anticipating the sources of variation that might be considered in designing studies of men or the elderly.
In summary, when we evaluated the night-to-night variation, the temporal night effect and patterns of variation arising from in-home PSG data with three repeated nights of study, modest differences in information were obtained on 3 nights of in-home sleep measures, even when Night 1 included a sleep staging and sleep disorder montage with additional instrumentation, whereas Nights 2 and 3 included a sleep staging montage with less instrumentation. This led us to conclude that two nights of in-home sleep assessment with an appropriate sample size can provide robust parameter estimates of sleep duration, continuity, and architecture in community samples. A study that focuses on measures of sleep architecture in which higher between-woman variability was demonstrated relative to the amount of within-woman variation may require a smaller sample size. Personal characteristics associated with greater variability between first and second night measures included smoking, obesity, and financial strain. Understanding the sources of variation can help in planning and developing laboratory and community-based studies of sleep and allow investigators to select appropriate statistical analyses to optimize the identification of important sleep relationships while minimizing bias.
This was not an industry supported study. Dr. Buysse has served as a paid consultant for the following companies: Actelion, Cephalon, Eisai, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Neurocrine, Neurogen, Pfizer, Philips, Sanofi-Aventis, Sepracor, Servier, Somnus Therapeutics, Takeda, and Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He has helped produce CME materials and has given paid CME lectures indirectly supported by industry sponsors. The other authors have indicated no financial conflicts of interest.
apnea/hypopnea events per hour of sleep
anatomical therapeutic chemical
body mass index
[(S3 + S4)/TST]*100%, or equivalently SWS% = slow wave sleep%: S3% + S4%
DELTA (min)
# minutes in stages 3 and 4 sleep from sleep onset to GMT, or equivalently SWS(min) = slow wave sleep: S3 + S4
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale
first night effect
good morning time, wake up
good night time, turn light off and ready to sleep
intraclass correlation coefficients
interquartile range
mean squared error
NREM (min)
# minutes of NREM (non-REM): S1 + S2 + S3 + S4
# awakenings after sleep onset lasting ≥ 11 seconds (> 50% of a 20-sec epoch)
periodic leg movement
periodic leg movement index per hour of sleep with arousals
rapid eye movement
REM (min)
# minutes in REM sleep
RL (min)
REM latency in minutes
RLmA (min)
REM latency minus Awake in minutes
restless legs syndrome
# minutes in stage i sleep, i = 1, 2, 3, 4
percent in stage i sleep, (Si/TST)*100%, i = 1, 2, 3, 4
sleep efficiency, (TST/TRP)*100%
SL (min)
sleep latency, time in minutes elapsed from GNT to sleep onset
sleep maintenance, (TST/SPT)*100%
SPT (min)
sleep period time; the total time in minutes from sleep onset to GMT
Study of Women's Health Across the Nation
TRP (min)
total recording period; total amount of time in minutes from GNT to GMT
TST (min)
total sleep time; the total time asleep in minutes
WASO (min)
total time awake in minutes after sleep onset
This work was supported by the SWAN Sleep Study from the National Institute on Aging (AG019360, AG019361, AG019362, AG019363). The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) has grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); DHHS, through the National Institute on Aging (NIA); the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR); and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) (NR004061, AG17104, AG017719, AG012505, AG012535, AG012531, AG012539, AG012546, AG012553, AG012554, AG012495). Sleep data were processed with the support of RR024153. The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIA, NINR, ORWH or the NIH. Institutions where work was performed: Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; University of California-Davis, Davis, CA; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
In Memoriam: The authors thank Dr. MaryFran Sowers for her significant contributions to the NIH-funded Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) and SWAN Sleep Study, as well as leading the work as the principal investigator at the University of Michigan. She significantly expanded the scientific community's understanding of menopause, aging, osteoporosis and bone health in women as principal investigator for the NIH-funded SWAN Study and the Tecumseh-based Michigan Bone Health and Metabolism Study (MBHMS). Dr. Sowers was the John G. Searle Professor of Public Health and the founder of the Center for Integrated Approaches to Complex Diseases (CIACD) at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She was a pioneer of women's health issues in epidemiology and public health with groundbreaking works in characterizing reproductive aging and the multifaceted diminishing ovarian reserve and then relating this characterization to the changes in musculoskeletal, cardiovascular systems and the constellation of diseases surrounding obesity. Dr. Sowers passed away July 17, 2011 in Ann Arbor, MI.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
Top Items:
Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:
Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell Reach Filibuster Reform Deal — FOLLOW: — Video, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Filibuster Reform 2013, Harry Reid Filibuster, Harry Reid Mitch Mcconnell, Harry Reid Mitch Mcconnell Filibuster, Harry Reid Mitch Mcconnell Filibuster Reform, Jeff Merkley Filibuster Reform …
David Weigel / Slate: Final Filibuster Reform Deal Largely Based on John McCain and Carl Levin's Proposals
Michael Warren / Weekly Standard: Senate Dems, GOP Cut Deal on Filibuster
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: McConnell, Reid agree on rules reform package
Jon Walker / Firedoglake: Reid Considering Incredibly Watered Down Bipartisan Rules Reform. Update: Deal Reached
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: McConnell And Reid Reach Filibuster Deal
Jason Sattler / The National Memo: Senate Leaders Agree To Weak Filibuster Reforms
Steve Benen / The Maddow Blog: Reid, McConnell strike a deal on Senate reform
GottaLaff / The Political Carnival: Harry Reid never really wanted to change the filibuster. He and Mitch McConnell reach a deal.
Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com: Harry Reid Forced to Back Down on Killing Senate Filibuster
Digby / Hullabaloo: Baby steps on the filibuster
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Bipartisan Filibuster Deal Is Taking Shape in the Senate — WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic and Republican leaders are nearing an agreement on new limits to the filibuster, an effort to speed action in the often-clogged chamber by prohibiting senators from using a common tactic to slow the legislative process.
Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Hullabaloo
Joan McCarter / Daily Kos: The missed filibuster reform opportunity
Dave-Dr-Gonzo / Alan Colmes' Liberaland: Filibuster Deal Not Looking Like Actual Reform
Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Harry Reid: "I'm not personally, at this stage, ready to get rid of the 60-vote threshold" — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have come to a deal on filibuster reform. The deal is this: The filibuster will not be reformed.
Discussion: Slate, Post Politics, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Hot Air
David Weigel / Slate: Harkin: Filibuster Deal Ensures That Obama's Priorities "Will Not Get Very Far"
Rachel Weiner / Post Politics: Senate filibuster deal disappoints reformers
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: Open thread: Feinstein assault-weapons ban stage show
Manu Raju / Politico:
Reid, McConnell reach Senate filibuster deal
Reid, McConnell reach Senate filibuster deal
Discussion: CNN
Ted Barrett / CNN: Reid and McConnell agree on filibuster reform measures
Washington Post:
Bobby Jindal speaking truth to GOP power — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will deliver a forceful denunciation of his party's Washington-centric focus in a speech to the Republican National Committee on Thursday evening, arguing that the GOP is fighting the wrong fight as it seeks to rebuild from losses at the ballot box last November.
Discussion: NationalJournal.com, American Prospect, Washington Monthly, First Read, The Caucus and New Orleans Times-Picayune
Beth Reinhard / NationalJournal.com: GOP Plots Path Back to Power
Paul Waldman / American Prospect: The Glory of Earned Media
Jennifer Steinhauer / The Caucus: Leahy Introduces Modest Gun Safety Measure in the Senate
Jeff Adelson / New Orleans Times-Picayune: Gov. Bobby Jindal backs down on Medicaid hospice elimination
Wall Street Journal:
Hillary Pitches a Benghazi Shutout — 'What difference, at this point, does it make?' — In five hours of Congressional testimony Wednesday, Hillary Clinton took "responsibility" for the mishandling of the terrorist attacks on U.S. diplomats in Benghazi without ever saying she was responsible for much of anything.
Discussion: Right Turn
Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn: And what about North Africa? — In her opening remarks Wednesday …
Hayes Brown / ThinkProgress:
GOP Senator Pushes Gun-Running Conspiracy Theory During Benghazi Hearing
GOP Senator Pushes Gun-Running Conspiracy Theory During Benghazi Hearing
Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler: In Other News, Think Progress Fails to Think, Behaves Like Childish Brats
Ann Althouse / Althouse: "GOP Senator Pushes Gun-Running Conspiracy Theory During Benghazi Hearing."
Paul Szoldra / Business Insider: One Thing Is Clear From Hillary Clinton's Benghazi Testimony: Al Qaeda Is Still Thriving
Henry Decker / The National Memo: WATCH: Hillary Clinton Testifies Before Congress On Benghazi Attack
Michael R. Gordon / New York Times: Facing Congress, Clinton Defends Her Actions Before and After Libya Attack
Stable Hand / The Jawa Report: Livestream: #Clinton Testifies Before Senate Committee On #Benghazi Terror Attack
Matthew Walther / American Spectator: Dodging Rand Mines
McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:
Ron Johnson: Hillary Clinton Planned To Get Emotional To Evade Questions
Ron Johnson: Hillary Clinton Planned To Get Emotional To Evade Questions
Discussion: American Prospect, Politico, Slate, Pundits Blog, The Moderate Voice, The Maddow Blog, Outside the Beltway, JSOnline, The Week, Commentary Magazine, The Hill, Washington Wire, The Mahablog, Talking Points Memo, Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite, The National Memo, The Hill, Sky Dancing, National Review, Hot Air, Joe. My. God., CANNONFIRE, CNN, Daily Kos, Fox News Insider, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Huffington Post, Washington Free Beacon, msnbc.com, Truthdig, Little Green Footballs, Crooks and Liars and NationalJournal.com
Paul Waldman / American Prospect: Republicans Puzzled as to Why They Didn't Slay Hillary Clinton Yesterday
Katie Glueck / Politico: Ron Johnson: Wrong to hit Clinton 'emotion'
David Weigel / Slate: Republicans wanted to grill Hillary Clinton on the death of four Americans in Libya. They blew it.
Brent Budowsky / Pundits Blog: Hillary Clinton 69, Rand Paul 10
Robert Stein / The Moderate Voice: Hillary Roast Scorches Tea Party Pygmies
Steve Benen / The Maddow Blog: Ron Johnson, still struggling
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: GOP Swings And Misses At Clinton Benghazi Hearings
Craig Gilbert / JSOnline: Ron Johnson steps back from comment on Hillary Clinton's emotional testimony
Jonathan S. Tobin / Commentary Magazine: "What Difference Does it Make?" Plenty
Jonathan Easley / The Hill: Sen. Johnson: Shouldn't have 'speculated' on Clinton's emotions
Pema Levy / Talking Points Memo: The Latest Conspiracy Theory: Clinton Plotted To Avoid Tough Questions On Benghazi
Meenal Vamburkar / Mediaite: Soledad O'Brien Takes On Sen. Johnson Over Hillary Clinton Criticism: 'You're Playing Politics Too'
Joe Conason / The National Memo: Benghazi Hearings: Capitol Hill's Angry Little Men Keep Making Hillary Bigger
Justin Sink / The Hill: Carney denounces GOP 'obsession' with Benghazi response
Elliott Abrams / National Review: Hillary Clinton's Management Failure
Meteor Blades / Daily Kos: Secretary Clinton maintains diplomatic composure in face of posturing by McCain, Johnson and Paul
Fox News Insider: Rohrabacher Challenges Clinton on Anti-Islamic Video: 'Isn't It Disconcerting That the Only Person …
Dave-Dr-Gonzo / Alan Colmes' Liberaland: Hillary Clinton Cites Improvements, Defends State Department In Wake Of Benghazi Attack
Luke Johnson / The Huffington Post: Rand Paul To Hillary Clinton: 'I Would Have Relieved You Of Your Post'
Washington Free Beacon: Johnson on Benghazi: 'There is a failure of leadership before this and after this'
Morgan Whitaker / msnbc.com: Rush and the right rip Hillary for emotional 'theatrics'
Patricia Kayden / Little Green Footballs: Sen. Ron Johnson: Hillary Planned to Get "Emotional"
Jackie Kucinich / Associated Press:
Feinstein revives assault-weapons ban — Bill faces tough going in the Republican-controlled House. … WASHINGTON — California Democrat Dianne Feinstein will begin her fourth full term as a U.S. senator much as she started her Senate career: fighting for a ban on assault weapons.
Discussion: National Review, msnbc.com, Taylor Marsh, The Hill, The Hinterland Gazette, The Raw Story and Right Wing News
Abby Borovitz / msnbc.com: Sen. Feinstein introduces new military-style weapons bill
Taylor Marsh: Sen. Diane Feinstein's Assault Weapons Ban, Girls and Proof Conservative Women Aren't Ready to Lead
Jonathan Easley / The Hill: Sen. Feinstein ready to introduce new ban on assault weapons
Janet Shan / The Hinterland Gazette: Sen. Dianne Feinstein to Introduce Bill Banning Assault Weapons.
David Edwards / The Raw Story: Feinstein bringing a Bushmaster assault rifle to Senate to unveil gun bill
William Teach / Right Wing News: Feinstein To Introduce Evil Looking Gun Bill Today
Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
Feinstein calls for banning more than 150 types of firearms during dramatic press conference — WASHINGTON — California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein staged a dramatic press conference Thursday on Capitol Hill with 10 weapons at her side and unveiled legislation instituting a government ban …
Discussion: protein wisdom, Wonkblog, Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler
Nickarama / Weasel Zippers: Feinstein: "Weak Gun Laws Allow Massacres Like Sandy Hook", List Of Guns She Proposes To Ban
Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler: Feinstein's Ban Would Outlaw Dozens of Firearms By Name
Washington Free Beacon:
Feinstein: 'The Purpose Is to Dry Up the Supply of These Weapons Over Time'
Feinstein: 'The Purpose Is to Dry Up the Supply of These Weapons Over Time'
Discussion: Washington Post, Post Politics, The Daily Caller and Weekly Standard
Ed O'Keefe / Post Politics: Lawmakers unveil new assault weapons ban
Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller: Feinstein says display of assault weapons at press conference was legal
Emily Miller / Washington Times:
National 'assault weapon' ban coming Thursday
National 'assault weapon' ban coming Thursday
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit: Sick. Shameless Libs Open Their Assault Weapons Ban Presser With a Prayer (Video)
Howard Nemerov / The PJ Tatler: The More Things Stay the Same
Laura Bassett / The Huffington Post:
New Mexico Bill Would Criminalize Abortions After Rape As 'Tampering With Evidence' — FOLLOW: — Video, Abortion Tampering With Evidence, Cathrynn Brown Abortion Bill, New Mexico Abortion Bill, New Mexico Abortion Evidence, New Mexico Abortion Law, New Mexico Rape Abortion, Politics News
Little Green Footballs: Insane New Republican Bill Would Send Women to Jail for Having Abortions After Rape
GottaLaff / The Political Carnival: New Mexico bill would criminalize abortions after rape as "tampering with evidence"
Rebecca Schoenkopf / Wonkette: New Mexico Will Prosecute You for Borting Your Rape Baby, Because You Are Borting 'The Evidence'
Neetzan Zimmerman / Gawker: GOP Lawmaker Wants to Charge Rape Victims Who Have Abortions with 'Evidence Tampering'
Melissa McEwan / Shakesville: Today in the War on Agency
Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:
UPDATED: Virginia Republican State Senator Declines To Back GOP Electoral College Rigging Scheme … In a subcommittee vote Wednesday, Virginia State Sen. and former Republican National Committee Chief Counsel Jill Holtzman Vogel (R) abstained on a key vote on a bill to rig the state's electoral college vote.
Discussion: American Prospect, Wonkblog, The Maddow Blog, Washington Post and No More Mister Nice Blog
Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect: Will the Virginia GOP's Electoral Vote Rigging Pass?
Laura Conaway / The Maddow Blog: Virginia GOP 'freaking out' over gerrymander bill
Alan I. Abramowitz / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Republican Electoral College Plan Would Undermine Democracy
Republican Electoral College Plan Would Undermine Democracy
Discussion: Washington Monthly, Business Insider, Main Street, The Maddow Blog and msnbc.com
Walter Hickey / Business Insider: Republicans Are Getting Slammed For Their Plan To Rig The Electoral College
Seth D. Michaels / Main Street: Virginia Republicans Replace "One Man, One Vote" With "Heads I Win, Tails You Lose"
Steve Benen / The Maddow Blog: If you can't win elections, rig them
Jim Nolan / Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Bill to change allocation of Virginia's electoral votes advances
Bill to change allocation of Virginia's electoral votes advances
Discussion: Ballot Box, Daily Kos, Slate, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Maddow Blog
Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box: Virginia Republicans move forward on plan to give GOP more electoral votes
David Nir / Daily Kos: Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest: Virginia Republicans commence electoral college power grab
Dave-Dr-Gonzo / Alan Colmes' Liberaland: Virginia GOP State Senator Won't Back Electoral College Rig Plan
Laura Conaway / The Maddow Blog: Virginia GOP takes pity on seniors trying to vote
McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:
Mark Zuckerberg Will Hold Fundraiser For Chris Christie — The tech mogul and his wife "admire [Christie's] leadership on education reform and other issues and look forward to continuing their important work together on behalf of Newark's schoolchildren," a spokesperson tells BuzzFeed.
Discussion: Politico, TechCrunch and Mashable!
Dan Berman / Politico: Mark Zuckerberg to host Chris Christie fundraiser
Gregory Ferenstein / TechCrunch: Zuckerberg To Fundraise For Gov. Christie, Republican Who Criticized His Own Party
Alex Fitzpatrick / Mashable!: Zuckerberg Likes Chris Christie Enough to Throw Him a Fundraiser
Heather Haddon / Metropolis:
Facebook CEO to Host Christie Fundraiser
Facebook CEO to Host Christie Fundraiser
Discussion: Business Insider, Mediaite, Post Politics, The Fix and Wall Street Journal
Megan Rose Dickey / Business Insider: Mark Zuckerberg's Holding A Fundraiser For Chris Christie
Meenal Vamburkar / Mediaite: Mark Zuckerberg To Host Fundraiser For Gov. Chris Christie
Rachel Weiner / Post Politics: Mark Zuckerberg to hold fundraiser for Chris Christie
Sean Sullivan / The Fix: Chris Christie is really, really popular, and other takeaways from the latest New Jersey poll
Heather Haddon / Wall Street Journal: Big Donors Boost Christie
Matthew Arco / Politicker NJ:
Obama speech too polarizing, Christie says
Obama speech too polarizing, Christie says
Justin Sink / The Hill: Chris Christie knocks President Obama's inaugural speech
Kevin Robillard / Politico: Chris Christie hits Obama inaugural speech
Alexander Burns / Reuters:
Democrats launch plan to turn Texas blue — National Democrats are taking steps to create a large-scale independent group aimed at turning traditionally conservative Texas into a prime electoral battleground, crafting a new initiative to identify and mobilize progressive voters in the rapidly-changing state …
Discussion: The PJ Tatler, TheBlaze.com, WJLA-TV, msnbc.com and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Meredith Jessup / TheBlaze.com: Oh my: Democrats launch plan to turn Texas blue
The Hardball / msnbc.com: Let Me Start: Battleground Texas?
John Tomasic / The Colorado Independent:
In malpractice case, Catholic hospital argues fetuses aren't people — Lori Stodghill was 31-years old, seven-months pregnant with twin boys and feeling sick when she arrived at St. Thomas More hospital in Cañon City on New Year's Day 2006. She was vomiting and short of breath …
Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Raw Story, Addicting Info, Gawker, Wonkette, Balloon Juice and Joe. My. God.
David Ferguson / The Raw Story: Catholic hospital chain beats malpractice suit by saying fetuses aren't people
T. Steelman / Addicting Info: Catholic Church: Fetuses Are People! Unless It's Going To Cost Us Money
Neetzan Zimmerman / Gawker: Catholic Hospital Chain Kills Wrongful Death Lawsuit by Arguing that a Fetus is Not a Person
Blair Burke / Wonkette: Nation Celebrates Roe v. Wade Birthday With Scary Videos, Hypocrisy, Balloons
Twitter Blog:
Vine: A new way to share video — Today, we're introducing Vine: a mobile service that lets you capture and share short looping videos. Like Tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine (6 seconds or less) inspires creativity. Now that you can easily capture motion and sound, we look forward to seeing what you create.
Discussion: The Week, Poynter, BBC, The Verge, TechCrunch and AllThingsD, more at Mediagazer »
Jeff Sonderman / Poynter: The journalistic pros & cons of Twitter's new real-time video tool
Nathan Ingraham / The Verge: Twitter officially announces Vine, a 'new way to share video' on the iPhone
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD: Vine, Twitter's Instagram for Video, Launching Soon — At Apple's App Store
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Democratic Senators Face Gun Owners Roused by Talk of New Laws — BECKLEY, W.Va. — Talk of stricter gun control has stirred up a lot of unease here, a place where hunters vie for top prize (a 26-inch LED television) in the Big Buck Photo Contest, and ads for a gun-simulator game ask, "Feel like shooting something today?"
Discussion: The Plum Line, Althouse, JustOneMinute, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, The Caucus and Chicago Boyz
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line: Real movement: Joe Manchin, NRA darling, comes out for universal background checks
Ann Althouse / Althouse: "How many of you all believe that there is a movement to take away the Second Amendment?"
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute: Pravda On The Hudson Comes Home To Reality
Ashley Southall / The Caucus: The Early Word: On the Front
John Eligon / New York Times:
Gov. Sam Brownback Seeks to End Kansas' Income Tax — TOPEKA, Kan. — President Obama stood on the steps of the Capitol in Washington on Monday afternoon and laid out an expansive liberal agenda for the nation. Inside the Kansas State Capitol here this week, Gov. Sam Brownback …
Discussion: Washington Monthly, American Prospect, NewsBusters blogs, The Caucus and PointOfLaw Forum
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly: The Kansas "Experiment" — Soon after then-Senator Sam Brownback saw …
Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect: Sam Brownback's Kansas is a Resort Town for "Makers"
Richard W. Stevenson / The Caucus: Republican Governors Open New Front in Tax Debate
Ted Frank / PointOfLaw Forum: State tax changes
Dustin Weaver / The Hill:
Boehner, Ryan gamble on pledge to balance the budget in 10 years — Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) pledge to back a Republican budget that balances within 10 years raises the political stakes for his party and sets up another major test of his leadership. — Democrats eyeing a takeover …
Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Booman Tribune and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Matthew Day / Telegraph:
Lego accused of racism with Star Wars set — Lego has been accused of racism by the Turkish community over a Star Wars model that supposedly resembles one of Istanbul's most revered mosques. — Austria's Turkish community said the model was based on Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul …
Discussion: The Jawa Report, Jihad Watch, Pirate's Cove and Atlas Shrugs
William Teach / Pirate's Cove: Turkish Muslim Group Accuses Lego Of Raaaaacism
Ryan Smith / Wall Street Journal:
The Reality That Awaits Women in Combat — A Pentagon push to mix the sexes ignores how awful cheek-by-jowl life is on the battlefield. — America has been creeping closer and closer to allowing women in combat, so Wednesday's news that the decision has now been made is not a surprise.
Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Israel Matzav, Ricochet Conversations Feed, New York Times and Fox News
Michael Warren / Weekly Standard: Will Women in Combat Make Military More or Less Effective?
Erika Johnsen / Hot Air: Allen West: "Now is not the time to play a social experiment with our ground combat forces"
Crow's Nest / Ricochet Conversations Feed: Phalluses, Phalanxes, and Fallacies
David Brown / Washington Post:
Learning to love grains, potatoes was key to the evolution of dogs — You know that dog biscuit shaped like a bone but made mostly of wheat? Your dog's willingness to eat that treat, instead of going for a bone in your thigh, helps explain how its ancestors evolved from wolves into house pets.
Discussion: The Week, The Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Phenomena and BBC
Stephen C. Webster / The Raw Story: Genetic analysis reveals how wolves evolved into dogs
Virginia Hughes / Phenomena: People and Dogs: A Genetic Love Story
Jonathan Amos / BBC: Dog evolved 'on the waste dump'
Wall Street Journal:
Donald Boudreaux and Mark Perry: The Myth of a Stagnant Middle Class — Household spending on food, housing, utilities, etc. has fallen from 53% of disposable income in 1950 to 32% today. — A favorite "progressive" trope is that America's middle class has stagnated economically since the 1970s.
Discussion: Wonkblog, AEIdeas and Cafe Hayek
Neil Irwin / Wonkblog: Yes, the middle class really is falling behind
Mark J. Perry / AEIdeas: The myth of America's stagnating middle class
Don Boudreaux / Cafe Hayek: America's Middle-Class: Doing Better than Ever
Adam Serwer / Mother Jones:
The Silly Conservative Freak-Out Over Women in Combat — Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced Wednesday that the Pentagon plans to lift a 1994 prohibition on women serving in combat roles. The announcement prompted an ill-informed outcry from conservatives, who were perhaps unaware …
Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, National Review, FishbowlDC and Mother Jones
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly: Already In the Line of Fire
Megan Carpentier / The Raw Story: Man who coined 'Axis of Evil' worries that non-Americans will rape female soldiers if women …
Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review: The Poor Debate over Women in Combat Roles
Piranhamous / FishbowlDC: Twitter Wars: Someone You've Heard of is Attacked by Someone You Probably Haven't
Kate Sheppard / Mother Jones: Defense Secretary Lifts Ban on Women in Combat
John Althouse Cohen / Jaltcoh:
The "acting alone" fallacy — President Obama said this in his 2nd inaugural address: … I object to this move, which seems to have become popular with Democrats in the past couple years, of equating "doing things together" with government. To suggest that anyone who'd like to see less …
Discussion: JustOneMinute and ProfessorBainbridge.com
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute: Thinking Of Bumper Stickers...


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BELLFLOWER - From the moment doctors told Jeff Jones he had cancer, he was determined to be the poster boy for cancer survival - not just of his own survival, but that of thousands of others. For the fifth year in a row, the owner and vice president of Admiral Pest Control, a family-owned business in Bellflower, has brought together Team Admiral to participate in the American Cancer Society's Bellflower Relay for Life. This year's event took place last month. So far this year, the city has raised $118,000 to fight cancer. Team Admiral has raised close to a quarter of that money, $26,000, and Jones has individually raised $13,000 - more than any other team or individual for the Bellflower event.
Six years ago, after waking to find a lump the size of a lime under his arm pit, Jones and his wife, Sheli, rushed to urgent care.
"We left that day kind of like, `Oh crap! I've got cancer,' but it wasn't like you're going to die. ... It's just, you have cancer," he said. "In my mind it was like, I'm going to have surgery. They're going to cut that thing out and I'm going to go back to work and be fine."
Instead, Jones lost most of the muscles in his right arm and was told not only would he not be able to use his arm again, but he had a 50-50 chance of surviving longer than five years.
"The initial thing for me was total shock because I think, like a lot of people, I'm in charge of this, I'm in charge of that and they can't live without me," Jones said of his business. "All of a sudden you realize you have to figure that out because you're not going to be there to do it, so you've got to fight for your life."
With his own gruesome diagnosis, soft tissue sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, Jones had a greater appreciation for what cancer patients endure, and the family got involved in Relay for Life.
They raised $11,000 their first year.
"I love doing it for everyone else," said his wife. "I love all the effort and all the work and money that's going to help others. I love to see it all come together. I love to know I'm doing something, whatever small part. I think I will always be a part of it regardless."
Life was good for the Joneses after his initial treatment. That is, until the cancer returned three years later, Jones said.
This time he had to endure longer chemotherapy treatments with side effects so bad he had to be hospitalized one week a month for six months.
"I was very, very low at times from the chemo," he recalled. "I remember many times I didn't care if I lived or died, I was so sick."
The next surgery removed his armpit and the rest of the muscles in his right arm. And although he still has full use of his arm, it is often in pain, he said.
"Two years ago (my doctor) told me if it came back, he was going to remove my arm and half my shoulder," Jones said.
An inch-size tumor was found in his armpit two months ago.
"(The doctor) told me to take the next three months to learn how to write left handed because `if it grows, your arm's off."'
Jones is eagerly awaiting his Aug. 14 doctor visit where he finds out if he loses his arm.
"I'll be the one-handed man and I'll really have to learn how to live left-handed," he said. "We've been reading a book together about living one-handed, and I've already learned how to write left-handed - not great, but I can do it."
The 52-year old father of four finds strength through the support of his family, he said.
"If I set my mind to something, I can do it. I've got to want it, and I wanted to survive," Jones said. "I keep telling my doctors, everybody can't die from cancer. Somebody's got to survive it. And I'm going to be the poster boy for that."
firstname.lastname@example.com, 562-714-2141, twitter.com/PamelaHaleBurns
Source: http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_21133398/bellflower-mans-cancer-battle-extends-from-himself-thousands


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Home Cleaning 4U teams provide:
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For our fully trained professional cleaners there is nothing impossible tasks. They are totally baked in all types oven cleaning. They will do their best when it comes to oven, microwave, hob and stove cleaning. We will be glad to leave you fully happy and satisfied, when the whole work is done.
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This is my first ever attempt of making casserole and I kind of enjoyed it. If you are out of ideas for a weekend dinner then this can be one easy dish to add on your dinner table. Read more…
All posts tagged food blog
Chicken and Potato Casserole
July 25, 2017
Comments: 1 Posted by: Fariha Baloch Categories: Food Tags: australian blogger, baking recipes, cheesy dinner, Chicken and Potato Casserole, chicken recipes, cooking blog, cooking for dummies, dinner recipes, easy cooking, easy recipes, easy tips, fariha baloch, food blog, food love, healthy cooking, high protein dinner, home cooking, Italian food, pakistani blogger


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1003.0 - ABS News for Libraries (Issue No. 59), Feb 2007
Previous ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 26/03/2007
|Page tools: Print Page Print All RSS Search this Product
How do I find the population of a region?
The ABS uses 3 main measures to count population in Australia.
It's important to understand the differences between them in order to find the right population figures for your purpose.
Population counts are produced by:
1. The Census of Population and Housing
2. Estimated Resident Populations (ERPs)
3. Population projections
Estimated Resident Populations (ERPs) are where you find official population estimates.
What are ERPs?
Where do I find ERP data?
Which regions have ERPs available?
How are ERPs used?
Census data
Collected every 5 years, the Census of Population and Housing is a snapshot of everyone in Australia on census night, including overseas visitors. Census data is useful for finding:
Population projections
Population projections are published every two to three years to enable forward planning by Commonwealth and State government agencies.
More information:
Demographic Estimates and Projections: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 1999 (cat. no. 3228.0) Chapter 1. Population estimates - an overview
ABS web site Demography Theme page
Document Selection
These documents will be presented in a new window.


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The service has apparently just gone live, free, for what is probably a limited time. Blizzard had also said that this cross-realm grouping would be part of the premium package of WoW services that players can pay for monthly, and only the group leader doing the invites would have to have the service in order to invite people cross-realm. Much as the mobile guild chat feature was rolled out free to let people check it out, it appears cross-realm Real ID grouping is getting the same trial period.
Check out cross-realm Real ID grouping in game, and start grouping with your friends beyond server boundaries, and hit the jump for the full announcement.


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You have arrived at the Mighty Ape Marvel store, the #1 place for all your Marvel needs!
Marvel is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel counts among its characters such well-known properties as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Wolverine, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and the Avengers and antagonists such as the Green Goblin, Magneto, Doctor Doom, Loki, Galactus, Thanos, and the Red Skull.
From high end figures to household goods, from films and games to graphic novels, we have you covered. Explore the Marvel Universe today!


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Alcoa Names New Chief Legal Officer
Alcoa Inc. said Wednesday it named Audrey Strauss as chief legal officer.
Strauss, a senior litigation partner at Fried Frank, will also hold the title of chief compliance officer and corporate secretary. Her appointment begins May 1, and she'll be replacing Kurt Waldo, who retires Aug. 1 after 32 years at the Pittsburgh-based aluminum company.
Prior to her work at Fried Frank, Strauss served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York as chief appellate attorney, and as chief of the fraud unit. She earned her law degree from Columbia Law School, and her bachelor's from Barnard College.
A call to her office at Fried Frank was not immediately returned. Upon her start at Alcoa, though, Strauss will face a bevy of compliance challenges.
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Yummy Plants: a vegan lifestyle website and community. We can help you start a vegan diet!
t. colin campbell the china study
Forks Over Knives is a stunning documentary linking our diets to our increasing levels of disease. It has received great reviews from Kevin Thomas of the LA Times, Mark Bittman from the NY Times and Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun Times. A must-watch film; it will change the way you think about food forever!


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From SculpSure vs. CoolSculpting
Getting rid of unwanted fat has never been easier, and today, it can be done through non-invasive techniques. There have been many comparisons between the different options, especially between SculpSure vs CoolSculpting. Both SculpSure and CoolSculpting are FDA-approved non-invasive fat reduction techniques and have seen success as an alternative to lipo. So which non-invasive procedure is better?
Time in the Market
CoolSculpting has been available in the commercial market since 2010 and has established itself as a proven alternative to invasive lipo. On the contrast, SculpSure has only been on the market for less than 6 months. With CoolSculpting, doctors understand all of the possible outcomes and long-term effects. SculpSure just hasn't been out long enough to know the long-term effects of lasers to your fat! When looking at these facts, it's easy to say that CoolSculpting wins on this front.
Winner: CoolSculpting
CoolSculpting uses the process of freezing and killing your fat cells. After the procedure is done, those fat cells die and are flushed out of the system, never to return. SculpSure uses a direct laser that heats the fat cells in a concentrated area and causes them to release into the body, dissipating fat in that treated area. Both CoolSculpting and SculpSure have had success, however, CoolSculpting has been scientifically supported through dozens of FDA research articles, while SculpSure still has many concerns about its procedure, specifically related to efficacy being lost when the heat is turned down due to pain during the procedure. Many organizations consider SculpSure as "Experimental" (including a Cynosure Training facility!) and strongly believe that freezing fat is more effective and safer long term. If a Cynosure training facility isn't comfortable offering SculpSure, that says something!
Winner: CoolSculpting
In most states, anyone holding a medical Ph.D is cleared to operate non-surgical procedures, including CoolSculpting and SculpSure, but is this enough? So many doctors are "qualified" to operate CoolSculpting and SculpSure equipment with little to no training! However, CoolSculpting requires a certification program that trains and educates any CoolSculpting operators to ensure maximum results and minimize the chance of injury. To this date, there is no documentation nor any proof that SculpSure has any such training programs. Because of the lack of evidence of training from SculpSure, CoolSculpting wins the training section.
Winner: CoolSculpting
Both CoolSculpting and SculpSure are considerably less time than invasive lipo procedure, which makes non-invasive procedures extremely desirable for those that want to lose stubborn fat! That being said, SculpSure does have a slight advantage over CoolSculpting in the length of the procedure. SculpSure has an average of 30 minute procedure compared to 45–60 minute for CoolSculpting. Both procedures have no downtime, which is a million times better than the average 1 week downtime after traditional liposuction. Time wise, SculpSure wins this round.
Winner: SculpSure
FDA Approval
CoolSculpting received their first FDA approval in 2010 and is currently FDA approved for the abdomen, flanks, thighs, and chin. SculpSure received their first FDA approval in late 2015 and is only approved for abdomen and flanks. Don't be fooled when doctors offer treatment for arms, back, calves, etc — these areas are NOT FDA approved! Both CoolSculpting and SculpSure CAN treat most areas, but only the above areas are FDA approved. CoolSculpting is currently the only non-invasive fat reduction procedure that is FDA approved for the chin area. Having been cleared to for more treatment areas and for longer, CoolSculpting is the winner of this round.
Winner: CoolSculpting
Track Record & Reviews
Currently on top review sites such as RealSelf, SculpSure has only 23 reviews on RealSelf compared to CoolSculpting's almost 800 reviews. The main issue with sites like RealSelf is that anyone can post a review, but I don't want to get on a soapbox… I'll save that issue for another blog. RealPatientRatings is a great website for reviews since the request for a review comes straight from the doctor, ensuring all reviews are real. Coolsculpting has almost 400 reviews on realpatientratings.com, while SculpSure has no reviews. While the verdict is still out on SculpSure, CoolSculpting has a proven track record and has consistently shown results.
Winner: CoolSculpting
And the Winner Is…
CoolSculpting has been showing consistent results with no long term side effects for years, while even Cynosure's training facilities won't offer their own product, SculpSure, since it's experimental. In SculpSure vs CoolSculpting, CoolSculpting comes out on top 5 to 1.


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Pasquale Buzzelli's survival story debuts on the Discovery channel with the documentary "The 9/11 Surfer" tonight.
The documentary was named for Buzzelli "surfing" during a 15-floor fall when the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11 the examiner reported.
Buzzelli gave media interviews including as he an appearance with his wife and two daughters on "Today."
Buzzelli told NBC about the ordeal. He described how he lost consciousness during the fall. When he came to he could see just the sky where the building once stood. After the events, Buzzelli suffered from post-traumatic stress and had survivor's guilt.
"The 9/11 Surfer" debuts at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery.


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The New York Times published eight essays as part of its "Week of Misconceptions" series in early April.
I have so much to do, readers, with work up to my eyeballs. I need to stay on task and to keep focused! And I was attempting to do just that when an e-mail popped into my inbox with the subject "Worst example of evolution misconception." It was sent by Ralph Bouquet, with whom I worked on the NOVA evolution lab and blogs about evolution misconceptions, so I figured I shouldn't ignore it. I opened it. And in it was a link—a link to a virtual nightmare.
In part 1 of this post, I recounted how in the middle of a moment of domestic bliss (doing dishes) I was brought up short by an exchange on Science Friday.
Do you see it, readers? The steam pouring out of my ears? Picture this. It's last Sunday night. I'm doing dishes and listening to some podcasts, scrubbing away not exactly merrily, but efficiently and contentedly, when I heard this: "I happen to believe that we should teach 'intelligent design' in classrooms. I think it's a perfectly reasonable thing to teach."
If you're reading this blog, there is a reasonably good chance that you've heard of the YouTube channel MinutePhysics and its sister-channel MinuteEarth. I haven't done an exhaustive survey, but I have certainly heard from many educators that they enjoy these videos consisting of short, time-lapsed drawings. With well over three million subscribers, these videos have no-doubt made their way into many classrooms.
As you no doubt know by now, I don't shy away from offering up personal information for the sake of science, or at least blogging about science.
Will Saletan has an amazing, thoughtful, and compelling essay on Slate, exploring the hypocrisy and science denial of certain GMO opponents.
Miss Misconception Mondays? You're in luck. Science writers and communicators don't seem to be reading this blog. Or, at least, they are offering me ample opportunity to revisit some old favorites.
A friend asked me recently why I kept calling out scientists on their public comments. They're scientists, my friend said, they're on your side, so stop being so nitpicky and mean!
Am I being mean?
I certainly don't intend to be mean, so perhaps it is worth a few lines to reiterate the point of these "Say What?" posts.
Let me start this post with this declaration: the Natural History Museum in Knightbridge, London, is awesome. Where else does a marble statue of Darwin sit serenely atop a grand staircase overlooking "Dippy," a magnificent Diplodocus? Nowhere.
National Center for Science Education, Inc.
1904 Franklin Street, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94612
fax: 510-788-7971
For Reporters | Store | Events


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Group by: Date | Item Type | No Grouping
Number of items: 16.
Baumgartner, Elisabeth, Hamber, Brandon, Jones, Briony, Kelly, Grainne and Oliveira, Ingrid (2016) Documentation, Human Rights and Transitional Justice. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 8 (1). pp. 1-5. [Journal article]
Hamber, Brandon and Kelly, Grainne (2016) Practice, Power and Inertia: Personal Narrative, Archives and Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 8 (1). pp. 25-44. [Journal article]
Kelly, Grainne and Braniff, Maire (2016) A dearth of evidence: tackling division and building relationships in Northern Ireland. International Peacekeeping, 1 . [Journal article]
Kelly, Grainne and Stanton, Emily (2015) Exploring Barriers to Constructing Locally Based Peacebuilding Theory: The Case of Northern Ireland. International Journal of Conflict Engagement and Resolution, 1 (3). pp. 33-52. [Journal article]
Kelly, Grainne (2014) Flying the Flag? An Update on attitudes to markers of identity in public space. 4 pp [Internet publication]
Kelly, Grainne (2012) Prioritising Change: Five-Year Reconciliation Imperatives for Northern Ireland. Shared Space: A research journal on peace, conflict and community relations in Northern Ireland, 2012 (12). pp. 55-1. [Journal article]
Kelly, Grainne (2012) Progressing Good Relations and Reconciliation in Post-Agreement Northern Ireland. Equality Research Division, Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, Northern Ireland Assembly. INCORE, University of Ulster. 1 pp. [Research report (external)]
Devine, Paula, Kelly, Grainne and Robinson, Gillian (2011) An age of change? Community relations in Northern Ireland. ARK, 1 pp [Internet publication]
Kelly, Grainne (2011) Locating the Agreement in evolving conflict theory. In: The Anglo-Irish Agreement: Re-thinking its legacy. Manchester University Press, Manchester, pp. 143-157. ISBN 978-0-7190-8498-0 [Book section]
Hamber, Brandon and Kelly, Grainne (2009) Too deep, too threatening: Understandings of reconciliation in Northern Ireland. In: Assessing the Impact of Transitional Justice: Challenges for Empirical Research. (Eds: Chapman, A. and van der Merwe, H.), Washington: AAAS., pp. 265-293. ISBN 1601270364 [Book section]
Hamber, Brandon and Kelly, Grainne (2009) Beyond Coexistence: Towards a working definition of reconciliation. In: Reconciliation(s): Transitional Justice in Postconflict Societies. (Eds: Quinn, Joanna R.), McGill University Press, pp. 286-310. ISBN 0773534636 [Book section]
Hamber, Brandon and Kelly, Grainne (2008) The Challenge of Reconciliation: Translating Theory into Practice. In: A Sustainable Peace?: Research as a Contribution to Peacebuilding in Northern Ireland. Community Relations Council, pp. 3-26. ISBN 1 898276 37 1 [Book section]
Kelly, Grainne (2006) Community Engagement, Good Relations and Good Practice. Belfast City Council's Good Relations Steering Panel. Belfast City Council. 47 pp. [Research report (external)]
Kelly, Grainne (2005) Storytelling Audit: An audit of personal story, narrative and testimony initiatives related to the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. Healing through Remembering. Healing through Remembering. 111 pp. [Research report (external)]
Kelly, Grainne and Hamber, Brandon (2005) A Place for Reconciliation? Conflict and Locality in Northern Ireland. Democratic Dialogue. Democratic Dialogue. 80 pp. [Research report (external)]
Kelly, Grainne (2004) Shared Space, Shared Problem: local civic fora and inter-communal relations. Democratic Dialogue. Democratic Dialogue. 47 pp. [Research report (external)]
This list was generated on Fri Sep 20 01:41:50 2019 BST.


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Supporting Justice Through
Judicial Branch Education
The state's responsibility for training court personnel is executed by the Administrative Office of the Courts through the Judicial Branch Education Division.
The Judicial Branch Education Division strives to enhance the judiciary's legal knowledge, refine administrative skills of court personnel, build professional networks, and promote the highest ethical standards in order to improve the administration of justice for the people of Arkansas.
The Judiciary
The Division is tasked with providing continuing legal education to all appellate, circuit, and district judges. The division also administers the funding provided for tuition at out-of-state centers of excellence, such as the National Judicial College and the National Center for State Courts.
Court Staff
Certification and training programs are made available to trial court assistants, court reporters, district court clerks, and district court probation officers. Educational conferences for these individual groups are held throughout the state annually.
Continuing legal education and certification standards are monitored and strictly adhered to.


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Politics Newsletter Templates
We have a collection of 2 designs in this area!
If you're in charge of your candidate's website, we know you have plenty to worry about to begin with, creating a website design shouldn't be something else to fret over. Start with one of these politics newsletter templates. Not on the staff? Setup a website supporting your favorite candidate anyways, every bit helps! No matter what office your candidate is running for, President, City Council, Mayor, or even a local Home Owners Association chair. Show your colors and support your candidates and yourself, starting here!
These are templates that will give you a starting point with creating the perfect newsletter format.