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An ornithologist noted that starlings, or the Indian myna here, move "at the same time, in the same direction, and all at once".
You could say exactly the same thing about much of the noise in South Africa that passes for analysis of our political economy. Originality and, heaven forbid, dissenting from the conventional wisdom, often more common than wise, is not encouraged.
But this is even truer of those charged with the destiny and national fortunes of South Africa. This is even more true in an election year, where the ANC faces stiff challenges in its previously impregnable fortresses in Gauteng and in the Eastern Cape.
I once compared much of the dialogue here to a form of political fundamentalism, to wit: "I'm right, you're wrong, go to hell."
In this dialogue of the deaf, real – perhaps even obvious – solutions are not heard or never even tabled, for fear of being roasted on the spit of political correctness.
But then most politicians are quite astute at changing the topic of conversation, or the terrain of battle, to one they feel less threatened by.
Much of this has to do with distracting attention from the real, objective and calamitous failures of governance.
And the best weapon of mass distraction in South Africa is to weaponise race and send it into battle heedless of either cause or consequence.
In the super-sized cabinet Jacob Zuma has constructed, "race" has become a sort of one-note orchestral theme struck by everyone, from the minister of sport to his colleague in minerals, as a convenient cure-all or blame-shifter for the array of problems confronting the country.
Fikile Mbalula, in full combat mode, recently announced that his contribution to promoting global competitiveness for sports bodies here was to ban four of them – rugby, netball, cricket and athletics – from hosting international tournaments. Their sin is lack of "transformation", a euphemism we have made our own. So instead of the patient and less politically sexy work- outside of the headlines – of building up the supply side at school level, he bans or distorts the demand side at the top.
Then with a slight variation of this theme, the ethically challenged and objectively under-qualified SABC supremo, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, ducking an array of disciplinary and legal challenges, changed the subject. He decided to double down and more on the demand side by ruling that all SABC stations will be forced to play 90% local music content.
Since he either does not care or bother with the hundreds of millions of rands in taxpayer losses incurred by the organisation under his control, you can just picture where this saga will end.
Since there are more SIM cards than people in South Africa and many of them are smartphones capable of downloading any content, expect a big switch-off from the channels Motsoeneng controls.
There is nothing wrong with a "local is lekker" approach, provided it is undertaken with regard to listeners' interests, and crucially, the choices they now command.
Command-style Stalinism might have worked once. But, alas for the control freaks in charge these days, it no longer really applies.
Last year Jacob Weisburg reported that between 1999 and 2009, annual revenues in the music industry declined from $14.6-billion to $6.3-billion, according to market analysis by Forrester Research. As he pinpointed, the music business was first attacked from below by illegal file sharing (on Napster) and then from above by Apple's iTunes. With the latter, in the US and across the world, CDs were unbundled into 99c songs. The pattern of technological disruption continues apace with Spotify and Pandora.
Motseoeneng doubtless read this report before commanding back the waves of the music industry and his soon-to-be ex-listeners.
Attendance two weekends back at the Franschhoek Literary Festival provided little respite from all this background noise. A patina of political correctness pervaded the political discussions there, and the same notes were struck and the culture of complaint intensified.
But there were some truth-tellers as well. One of them – who carries his famous surname very lightly – was economist Moeletsi Mbeki.
He described the claim that "whites control the economy of South Africa" as untrue; but he also reminded his audience that it was a "distraction" from the pressing problems which 22 years of one-party rule have left unaddressed.
Just how much of a distraction this remains was borne out by the recent national poll conducted, appropriately, by the SA Institute of Race Relations. You won't find its results in the background clamour on Twitter, for example.
But, asking its 2245 representative respondents to identify the most serious problem in the country, 46.5% cited unemployment, against 4.4% who identified racism.
Little wonder, then, that two weeks ago when Stats SA released the record-breaking unemployment figures, the highest since the ANC swept to power in 1994, the government had little to say or offer, but changed the subject to matters more congenial.
Another truth-teller at Franschhoek was that academic outlier Professor Jonathan Jansen, whose thoughtful contributions grace these pages.
He told Redi Tlhabi and a packed audience that in 10 years, if present circumstances do not change dramatically, there will not be one internationally rated university left in this country.
He said, in their stead, we will have a collection of "teacher-training colleges". The reasons for this, he told us, were similar to the same forces which had felled once fine universities elsewhere in Africa: state control, ongoing unrest, funding deficiencies and "middle-class flight".
He ominously warned that the "opportunity cost" of running a university was so high for those like him at the helm, that many vice-chancellors were deeply stressed.
The following Monday he announced his resignation from Free State University.
Those who are determined to double down, like the Indian myna, on doing the same thing in the same failed way will ignore these warning voices. Others, though, should listen and demand that those in charge of the fate of the nation do so as well.


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The Good Will Social Club & UMFM are proud to present:
Zrada Cultural Academy
w/ Somebody Language & Merin
Friday, July 20, 2018
Doors 9pm
Show 10pm
$10 at the door
18+ w/ valid ID
About Zrada:
An ethno-cultural maelstrom of Balkan and Slavic folk melodies fused with raw old-school punk-rock and reggae. ZRADA plugs into an energy that unleashes unbridled fury and liberates Ukrainian folk music from clichés and stereotypes.
About Somebody Language:
Somebody Language is the creative expression through the art and songwriting of Benjiman Figler. Born in Winnipeg, Somebody Language later moved to the coasts of Lake Winnipeg and has been writing genre defying songs for any and every human emotion since 2006. Somebody Language's live shows feature high energy, eclectic and engaging doo wop/pop post rock originals fronted by a recklessly vulnerable front person.
About Merin:
Old flowered couches and wood panelled basements; fuzz pedals and your older brother's tape collection; modern nostalgia for a grown-up generation, Merin is who you want to hang out with on a Saturday night and remind yourself that life can be pretty alright.

subset: commoncrawl


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Scott Cairns is the author of eight books of poetry, including The Theology of Doubt (1985), The Translation of Babel (1990), Philokalia (2002), Idiot Psalms (2014), and Slow Pilgrim: The Collected Poems (2015). His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Paris Review, The New Republic, Poetry, and elsewhere, and has been anthologized in Best Spiritual Writing and Best American Spiritual Writing. Besides writing poetry, Cairns has also written a spiritual memoir, Short Trip to the Edge (2007), and the libretto for the oratorios "The Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp" and "A Melancholy Beauty." Spirituality plays an integral role in Cairns' writing; in an interview, he said, "I've come to think of beauty as how God woos us to himself. One doesn't so much create it or illuminate it as partake of it. Thereafter, one participates, collaborates, in its endless development."
Cairns has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and was awarded the Denise Levertov Award in 2014. He has taught at numerous universities including University of North Texas, Old Dominion University, Seattle Pacific University, and the University of Missouri. Cairns is the founding director of Writing Workshops in Greece, a program that brings writers to study and engage with literary life in modern Greece.
Copyright © The Work of the People 2019. All rights reserved. Site by State.


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CHITRAL: The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday said the allegations by MNA Ayesha Gulalai against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan are very serious and this case should be resolved under the sexual harassment law.
Talking to reporters in Chitral, Bilawal said Imran Khan introduced indecent language in Pakistani politics. "The political leaders should show decency and set aside personal differences," he added.
The PPP chairman said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had lost public confidence due to its corruption and poor governance. He alleged that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was using the state machinery for running his public campaign.
"The PML-N will realise its unpopularity when it hands over the government to the interim set-up in 2018," he claimed, adding that people would notice a remarkable decrease in the crowd at the PML-N rallies ahead of the general elections. However, he said it was Nawaz Sharif's right to contact the masses and seek their sympathy by portraying himself as innocent.
Responding to a question about the intolerance in Pakistani politics, Bilawal said the trend of mudslinging in Pakistan was dangerous. He said that this trend would damage the country's politics. He pledged that his party would not become a part of such politics."Allegations and counter allegations would discourage women from participating in politics," he said.
Answering a question regarding whether he was considering contesting election from Chitral, he pointed out that the Bhutto family had a natural affinity with Chitral. However, he said the decision of fielding candidates rests with the party high command. He said that inclusion of Chitral in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), creation of Mastuj district and establishment of a trade route to Central Asia would be made part of the PPP election manifesto.
Earlier, Bilawal met delegations from all walks of life, including women from the Kalash valley.It was his first visit to Chitral, the erstwhile stronghold of the PPP. A large number of people, including women, attended the gathering at the polo ground in Chitral town to welcome the PPP chairman.
Meanwhile, in a comment on Ayesha Gulalai's sexual harassment allegations on the PTI chief, PPP leader Sherry Rehman said the allegations should be probed in a fair manner. "Women do not level such allegations if there is no substance in them," she said while talking to the media in Chitral, Geo News reported.
The PPP leader said women are exploited in Pakistani society, adding that "the scale of justice should not be tipped against one gender". Tehseenullah Khan adds from Haripur: Reham Khan, former wife of Imran Khan, on Sunday denied having any contact with the PML-N provincial chief Amir Muqam and Ayesha Gulalai.
Talking to reporters in Haripur, she said she is silent at will and Imran Khan should not test her. She said she never met Amir Muqam or had any contact with Gulalai as it was against her nature to defame or stab someone in the back. "I am not part of any conspiracy or plan as is being claimed by some of the PTI people," she asserted.
She complained that she was being defamed by a lobby. "I am being dragged unnecessarily into this matter," she complained.Reham Khan said she remained silent for two years after her divorce, but the way she was being defamed had forced her to break her silence.
Holding the Holy Quran in her hand, Reham Khan said that she believed in the Holy book and was answerable to Allah Almighty. "I am a journalist and a Pathan, who always speaks the truth," she said.
She added that being a journalist she was able to express her feelings instead of paying others as she didn't have ill-gotten money.To a question, she said neither former prime minister Nawaz Sharif nor his family had asked her to write a book on her life.
Commenting on the role of the media, Reham Khan said the media must not be used for mudslinging and this practice should be discouraged. "Don't defame this sacred profession," she said, adding that people didn't have access to clean drinking water and were faced with a host of issues, but the media was busy with mudslinging.
Related Stories


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Posted on March 14, 2016
The GPU's Professor Maggie Kirk was delighted to present a keynote paper on Realising Genomics in 21st Century Healthcare at the Nethersole School of Nursing's 6th Pan-Pacific Nursing Conference and First Colloquium on Chronic Illness Care earlier this month. The conference formed one of the key celebrations to mark the Silver Jubilee Anniversary of the School, which is part of the Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
More than 500 health and social care delegates from over 20 countries attended the conference, which this year had the theme of "Achieving Transformational and Sustainable Development in Health and Social Care".
Tagged: Maggie Kirk
Posted on March 8, 2016
Members of the Genomics Policy Unit and other university staff attended a memorial service last week for their former colleague, Visiting Fellow and friend Ann Yeomans, who died last month after a short illness.
Tagged: news
Posted on January 27, 2016
GPU Visiting Professor Dhavendra Kumar, Consultant Geneticist at the All Wales Medical Genetics Service, has recently published a new book, along with co-editor Ruth Chadwick. Genomics and Society: Ethical, Legal, Cultural and Socioeconomic Implications, is published by Academic Press.
Tagged: news
Posted on November 20, 2014
150 delegates speak Welsh at ISONG Congress in Arizona!
The 26th Annual Congress of the International Society of Nurses in Genetics was held this year from November 7th- 9th at Scottsdale, Arizona. With a packed 3-day programme of keynote, plenary and parallel sessions and 150 delegates from ten countries, it was important that the opening remarks from ISONG President, Professor Maggie Kirk, set the right tone.
Tagged: Maggie Kirk
Posted on September 27, 2014
Members of the GPU were pleased to welcome Helen Malherbe last Thursday, September 25th, for a short visit. Helen is over from Johannesburg for a two-week visit to gather background data for her PhD on medical education related to inherited disorders. She wanted to come and speak to GPU members about our work on nursing competencies and the Telling Stories resource. In particular, Helen was interested in learning about the approaches we have used to develop and revise the nursing competency framework and the importance of engaging stakeholders in this. She was also very appreciative of the close links between the framework and Telling Stories.
Tagged: news
Posted on May 19, 2014
Congratulations to Centenary Scholarship student Sophie John for winning 1st prize in the poster completion at the annual USW Postgraduate Research Student Conference on Friday May 16th. Sophie's poster, Development of a communication framework to investigate women's understanding of Down syndrome information presented in antenatal screening consultations with midwives outlines the approach she is planning for her programme of study.
Tagged: http://crics.research.southwal
Posted on November 22, 2013
GPU members Maggie Kirk and Emma Tonkin have been awarded the Best of Journal of Nursing Scholarship—Clinical Scholarship prize for one of their papers at the 42nd Biennial Convention of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International in Indianapolis, 15th- 20th November 2013. Genetics-Genomics Competencies and Nursing Regulation was written with co-authors Kathleen Calzone (National Cancer Institute, US) and Naoko Arimori (St Luke's College of Nursing, Japan). In the paper, they reported a survey and used three case studies to develop a model for nursing professions in other countries to locate their progress in engaging with genetics and genomics in nursing education, practice and policy, identifying critical success factors in doing so.
Tagged: research
Posted on September 26, 2013
Professor Maggie Kirk, leader of the Genomics Policy Unit, will travel to in Bethesda, Maryland USA on October 4-6, 2013 to attend the 25th Anniversary Conference of the International Society of Nurses in Genetics.
Tagged: Maggie Kirk news
Posted on September 13, 2013
Genetics, and the ethics behind it, will always be hotly debated.
Posted on August 19, 2013
Verity Andrews, 27, from Cheltenham, was awarded her PhD 'Genetics and genomics within nursing: What are the characteristics of genetic nurse adopters and nurse opinion leaders in genetics and genomics?' in July 2013. She is currently working as a Research Assistant at the School of Social and Community Medicine at the University of Bristol, where she is continuing her research into social medicine.
Posted on May 30, 2013
This year's conference at the All Nations Centre, Cardiff, on May 20th adopted the theme of 'Together for Health: Pushing the Boundaries' with the purpose of the conference being to share best practice, learning and innovation.
Tagged: news
Posted on May 30, 2013
Professor Maggie Kirk of the University of South Wales was awarded with a Fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) at a ceremony in Liverpool on April 21st, 2013. The RCN Fellowship is held by only six people in Wales, including Professor Ruth Northway and now Professor Donna Mead, also of the University of South Wales.
Tagged: news
Posted on April 30, 2010
A Cascade Testing Programme for Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH), supported by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the Welsh Assembly Government, is being initiated across Wales.
Tagged: news
Posted on October 19, 2009
At its Annual Conference in Brighton last Friday, October 16th, UKONS launched a new Genetics Forum for cancer nurses.
Tagged: news
Posted on June 4, 2008
The answer is well over 100,000 people world-wide according to statistics for the first 12 months of the website Telling Stories, understanding real life genetics going live.


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Kidney condition requires close attention, as they often nephrological disease or asymptomatic, or after the acute onset can turn into a chronic form.
The gradual deterioration of kidney function may cause the patient to need to live on dialysis, or to go on the transplant organ. Early diagnosis and timely initiation of treatment in most cases allows you to fully cure the urinary system or bring the patient to long-term remission.
In the process of diagnosis Israeli doctors can use:
During the examination the doctor should be required to check the condition of other organs and systems, to carry out differential diagnosis of symptoms such as anemia, hypertension, and others to establish the cause (renal or vnepochechny) and assign adequate therapy.
Various nephrological diseases require different approaches to treatment. Also necessarily take into account the presence of comorbidity and age of the patient.
For treatment can be applied:
In that case, if you need kidney transplantation in Israeli patients can pass the necessary examination, the operation itself and a sufficiently long period of rehabilitation. The recovery period is important not least because the normal functioning of the transplanted kidney begins only after 2-3 weeks. All this time the patient needs medical supervision and the provision of adequate adjustment of status.


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|Shovelhead Rocker
|Rocker Shaft End Cap Kit for Shovelhead as replica type with hex caps for left side.
|Rocker Box Covers are cast aluminum with polished or
chrome finish. Order studs separately, per head.
|Chrome Allen Rocker Shaft
Plugs. Set of 4. Fit 1971-84
FL-FX models. Includes sockets
and cups.
|Chrome Rocker Shaft End Plugs add classic Knucklehead
look to any Shovelhead engine. Installation or removal is much
easier than original slotted part. Packaged 4 per set.
|Rocker Shaft End Nut Kit includes 4 chrome Acorn or Cap
style nuts and washers for replacing "Red Dots" nuts on
Shovel Big Twin 1966-84, 7/16 x 20 thread nut.
|Rocker Shaft End Caps provide ease of installation, ample clearance between gas tank and a custom touch for Shovelhead 1971-85.
|Rocker Box Nut Kit is for 1966-84 Shovelhead in acorn or
cap which includes shaft nuts and washers. Factory type nut sets include washers.
|Metal Backed
Rocker Box Gasket Set feature beaded sealing.


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Jump to navigation
Last night I facilitated, "Starting a Nonprofit" group at the Craigslist Foundation nonprofit night. As we were discussing fiscal sponsorship options for start-up organizations, I said, "there are very few organizations who provide fiscal sponsorship."
Please prove me wrong!
Aspiration and Blue Oxen Associates co-hosted the fourth FLOSS Usability Sprint March 9-11, 2007. Once again, Google graciously hosted the event at their headquarters in Mountain View. Project participants included Firefox, Drupal, WiserEarth, and Aspiration's own Social Source Commons.
Event proceedings were tracked on the FLOSS Usability Wiki.
Aspiration is planning a plethora of events right now so I am in the process of securing event venues right and left.
Here are the steps we take to research and secure a venue for an Aspiration run event.
1. Create a budget for the event with venue costs per-day included as a line item.
2. Estimate number of event attendees and how many plenary and breakout rooms are needed for the event.
3. Determine estimated date and time of the event and event location--city.
Thursday, April 5, 2007: We'll be meeting at the Nonprofit Technology Conference in DC to discuss nonprofit operations in all things related to technology: This includes but not limited to:
Wednesday, March 7, 2007: Join us for an interactive Nonprofit Operations Brown Bag Lunch discussion about best practices for Nonprofit Compensation Plans.
Check out the Nonprofit Operations wiki where notes from the brown bag lunch discussion will be posted immediately following the event.
After the wind down of the conference, and sleeping off my red-eye flight back to Maine, now I'm a little nostalgic. Ah, the people, the knowledge, the horrible geek trivia…
But to keep the momentum going, I thought I'd document the commitments I've made to move things forward – so at a minimum I'll feel really guilty if I don't follow through.
We crystallized a number of initiatives that I'm excited about:
I'm here at the Nonprofit Software Development Summit and have been doing mostly logistics, however today I was able to attend a session facilitated by Laura Quinn of Idealware called "Gaps in Nonprofit Software" the notes from the session can be found here.
This afternoon's session on integrating nonprofit software tools started off this continuing theme with some real life stories of the types of integration organizations are doing ( read the notes on the event wiki
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Allen firstname.lastname@example.com
You can find it on blip.tv in MP4 format.
Video excerpts are on the way, but take more time to compress and/or select and upload.
Today's haul: More than 30 gigs of DV format!
The community-building activities at the start of the Summit revealed a surprising diversity of opinions within the npdev community. What most surprised me is that there's mixed opinions about whether nonprofits are ideologically obligated to support open-source software. My own thought is that social entrepreneurship will take off in the tech sector, and there will be successful nonprofit businesses that promote and develop open-source software that is just as reliable and usable as any proprietary software: ethical dilemma solved.
The final preparations of the summit are underway at Aspiration - nametags, folders, lunch orders; Gunner sent out an updates and reminder email earlier this afternoon; check out the final agenda at http://devsummit.aspirationtech.org/index.php/Event_Schedule
I am interested in quite a few sessions, some of which are in simultaneous tracks; choosing is going to be difficult. Not too bad though, irrespective, it is going to be interesting and a learning experience - moreover, I can always share/swap session notes with the other attendees. Looking forward to it!
We use a Content Management System (CMS) for our website. A CMS is an online database that holds all the content of our website and allows us to easily edit our website online.
There are many great CMS's out there, however Aspiration uses Drupal. We recently decided to upgrade the version of Drupal we were using because of all the new features available in the new version.
The 2007 Nonprofit Software Development Summit was a first-of-its-kind convening to bring together the range of developers, technologists, managers, eRiders, integrators, users and other practitioners who self-identify under the umbrella of roles around "developing nonprofit software". The event provided an opportunity both to gather as a community and to take stock of the field, while building connections and capacity.
The Summit was hosted in Oakland, California, from February 21st to 23rd, 2007. Additional code sprints and collaborations were scheduled on the day following the event.
The 2007 Nonprofit Software Development Summit was supported in part by the generosity of TechSoup and Google, as well as anonymous donors.
See the Event Schedule and Agenda, the Agenda Overview, event background, and press release.
Please have a look at the Event Wiki.
And feel free to join the Event Mailing List to participate in discussions about the Summit!
The Summit will had as its primary goals the following:
The agenda will take a concrete and hands-on approach to topics and challenges, focusing on transferring skills and process knowledge in interactive and fun ways. Panels and slideware will be in short supply, supplanted by participant-driven collaborations and small-group formats.
Event partners working with Aspiration to design the agenda and sessions included Blue Oxen Associates, Brattleboro Technology Collective, Caltha.pl (Warsaw, Poland), Chicago Technology Cooperative, CivicSpace, CiviCRM, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, DemocracyInAction, DotOrganize, Drupal, Floatleft, Fund for the City of New York, Grameen Foundation, Grassroots.org, Humaninet, Idealware, Leland Design, Nonprofit Open Source Initiative (NOSI), ONE/Northwest, Openflows Community Technology Lab, The Open Planning Project, OpenID, PICnet, Project Zero, protest.net, Radical Designs, Salesforce.com Foundation, Sulá Batsú (San Jose, Costa Rica), and Ujima Consultants.
Software tools and technology that empower nonprofit and non-governmental organizations to carry out their mission have come a long way in the past 5 years. The advent of hosted solutions for donation, membership and project management have reduced IT costs while increasing capacity and reach. Powerful open source content management systems have put dynamic, affordable web publishing in the hands of a broad range of grassroots organizations. Platforms to support online campaigning and advocacy are plentiful, feature-rich, and accessible to a majority of budgets. Office productivity suites have continued to gain utility, and email tools continue to revolutionize the way organizations communicate and collaborate.
Note: The latest Agenda and Event Schedule are on the Event Wiki
The agenda for the Nonprofit Software Development Summit will be shaped by input from participants in the time leading up to and during the event, and many sessions will be self-organized in real time. We encourage you to have a look at the editable version of the agenda on the Event Wiki and offer your input on how to build out the sessions!
As with all Aspiration events, fast-paced "SpeedGeeking" will allow participants to share and compare projects, ideas, and cool tools. Interactive group activities will poll attendees on a range of development-related topics to tease out alliances and surface points of debate. Wikis and other collaborative tools will document and transmit the proceedings in real time, and festive evening activities will demonstrate that the most important sessions require neither laptops or note taking to provide full value.
Here are three Nonprofit eNewsletters I read.
1. tm Consulting Services HR eNewsletter:
I have no idea how I got subscribed to this eNewsletter, however Ted Medeiros, an nonprofit HR expert in California provides helpful HR tips and resources that I can apply and use in my nonprofit. His HR tips are helpful for nonprofits outside of California too.
During my career I've had the opportunity to work in the career services department at my undergraduate institution and work with a nonprofit recruiter. These experiences taught me how to improve my resume, and market myself better during the interview process as a result get the jobs I want—like this one.
If you are trying to change jobs or just getting into the nonprofit sector, here's what I've learned.
1. Resumes are more effective when they show specific examples of completed tasks AND organizational improvement results based on the completed tasks, for example:
Aspiration traveled to Indonesia to oversee the agenda and facilitation at Asia Source II: Free and Open Source Technologies for NGOs (Non Government Organisations) and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises). The event took place in Sukabumi, near Jakarta. The Asia Source II blog provided detailed accounts of camp life.
Aspiration partnered with fellow event organizers International Open Source Network, Tactical Technology Collective, InWEnt, ICT Watch, and Yayasan AirPutih. The event was targeted at those practitioners actively working with the NGO or SME sectors in South Asia and South East Asia, with focus on service and advocacy NGOs, educational organisations, NGO resource centres, community centres, health information organisations, SMEs and SME support agencies. Over 100 sessions were scheduled, including learning tracks on:
As with all Aspiration-facilitated events, Asia Source II was built around a participant-driven agenda, peer-to-peer knowledge and skill sharing, and capacity building through strengthened social networks.
Session proceedings were chronicled on a local wiki. Asia Source II is the latest in Source Events series, which has included Summer Source, Africa Source I and II, and Asia Source I.
Here's the story about my experience setting up the network here at the San Francisco Nonprofit Technology Center. Even though there are a lot of tech folks working at the center, we still have challenges now and then trying to deal with computers and equipment.
Aspiration helps nonprofits and foundations use software tools more effectively and sustainably. We serve as ally, coach, strategist, mentor and facilitator to those trying to make more impactful use of information technology in their social change efforts.
Aspiration is a values-driven nonprofit organization.
Read Our Manifesto and let us know what you think
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Stockholders at Triad Guaranty Inc., file class action lawsuit against company execs.
West Palm Beach, FL (JusticeNewsFlash.com)–Stockholders for Triad Guaranty Inc., a private mortgage insurance company located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, sued former and current company executives in a class action lawsuit last week. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, alleges the company issued false, overinflated financials in quarterly earnings and other financial statements to its stockholders. The lawyers for the insurance company's shareholders were led to believe in a false corporate worth leading stockholders to buy Triad's common stock at artificially inflated prices reported the Winston-Salem Journal on Friday.
The documents filed in court claim Triad executives failed to disclose Triad's lost reserves which is a violation of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These intentional financial omissions, by the insurance company's executives, led shareholders to believe in the overinflated company's stock prices and buy shares at the artificial price.
Triad was slammed in the aftermath of the overinflated real-estate market by mass delinquencies and foreclosures in key states like California, Florida, Nevada and Georgia. The plaintiffs' legal teams are also accusing Triad of using improper underwriting practices for private mortgage insurance (PMI) policies written in 2006 and 2007. This includes PMI policies written on Alt-A, pay-option and adjustable rate mortgage policies.
Triad has eliminated 40% of its work force and discontinued writing new mortgage insurance policies on July 15, 2008. The company is running off its business which means it will exist until profits from existing policies until they expire.
JusticeNewsFlash.com news for West Palm Beach business litigation lawyers.
Heather L. Ryan, R.N., C.L.N.C- Heather Ryan is a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant with 15 years of experience in the health care industry. Her expertise in reviewing medical records and assisting lawyers with the determination as to whether legal action should be taken provides an invaluable asset to the newsroom. Medical-malpractice, products liability, personal injury and workers' compensation are some of the recent areas of litigation Ms. Ryan has focused her efforts on. A member of the Florida Justice Association, Heather maintains a long list of certifications and credentials to support her areas of expertise and stays up-to-date with her clinical knowledge working as an emergency room/trauma nurse, at a Level 1, Adult/Pediatric trauma and teaching institution in South Florida.


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The DLC will contain:
- New multiplayer maps.
- New multiplater game modes (this is something new that we haven't seen in previous Call of Duty DLC).
- New Spec Op missions.
According to Robert Bowling at Infinity Ward, the team are looking to deliver more value with their DLCs by adding new multiplayer game modes and Spec Op missions, instead of just the regular addition of new maps.
Below is a screenshot of one of the new multiplayer maps that will feature in the new MW3 DLC. The map below has been simply referred to as "Park".
In case you didn't know, "Park" was included as the name of a new map in a supposed leak of the new DLC. Other map names included in that leak were Cement, Italy, Morningwood and Overwatch. Overwatch was the name of a Spec Ops mission in Modern Warfare 2.
I don't know about you, but I personally want to see Terminal be included in some MW3 DLC!


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Hey guys ^^
Today the Hotbuy Multi Bangles was released ^^ It only costs 9sd ^^ I think it's kind of cheap and expensive O.o well I don't really know xD Have a look ^^
Will you buy it? Did you liked it? I love it *O*
We have had loads of votes this round,so it is very, very fair.
Unfortunatly, my good friend CJRUSHY is out. So sorry! But remember to enter further competitions on the blog to win prizes!
Here are CJRUSHY'S entries from all rounds
Make a banner for the fashion BANG
Make an outfit with the black dress.
Water Me-doll
Round 4 coming shortly!


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1. Can tab
2. Wire Cutters
3. File
Step 1: Starting the Process
Take your can tab and on the bottom part use the wire cutters and take out all of the aluminum.
Step 2: Cutting the Hook
Now cut diagonally down to make a point.
Step 3: Filing
File the point until it is sharp.
4 Discussions
This is a nice idea, however if I have a soda can, I'm probably within walking distance of civilization. Maybe if I went fishing and forgot my tackle but remembered the soda.
I got a nice bream
This is a great idea! Have you tried using it yet?


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Seniors and their families often have a number of questions as they evaluate the best retirement communities. So we've answered some of our most common inquires about active retirement living at Grace Ridge to help with your decision.
What entity operates Grace Ridge?
Grace Ridge is owned and operated by Grace Life Care Inc., an affiliate of Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge. A retirement community offers a wide array of residences and amenities, and a complete health care continuum—from independent and assisted living to skilled nursing and memory care. Residents, prospective residents and industry experts agree that a retirement community provides the greatest financial security, value, flexibility and peace of mind for residents and their families.
Are all retirement communities the same?
Absolutely not. Retirement communities differ in many ways, including amenities, contracts, agreements, refunds and the overall ambiance of the community. North Carolina offers basic types of agreements: Life Care, Modified, Fee-for-Service and Equity-Based. When comparing communities, make sure you compare similar types of agreements. Also, each senior living community has its own special personality based on location, residents and programs offered. We suggest you spend one or more nights at a community to see if it feels right for you.
What is a Life Care contract?
With its mountain backdrop and active senior lifestyle, residences at Grace Ridge represent a sound investment. However, the real benefit of your real estate contract is insurance. In fact, all North Carolina retirement communities are overseen by the North Carolina Department of Insurance. As part of your Life Care contract, you would receive lifetime rights to live at Grace Ridge, even if you can no longer live independently, have health issues or need financial assistance. This reassurance is invaluable when planning for life's unforeseen circumstances and ensuring the health of yourself or a loved one.
What are the benefits of a Life Care contract?
Benefits of the Life Care concept are best illustrated when a resident requires assistance. Should your health and wellness needs alter, your entrance fee assures that you'll receive high-quality supportive services and care in a professionally staffed environment. More importantly, you'll receive this level of care for essentially the same cost as living in your residence. This means you can protect your assets from the potentially catastrophic costs of assisted living, nursing care /or memory care. You'll also be better able to predict monthly living expenses due to only a minimal increase in your Life Care monthly service fees – even when you require extensive health care. In addition to assured residency, your entrance fee allows use of all common facilities, services, programs and amenities at Grace Ridge.
Is Grace Ridge associated with any national or state professional associations?
Grace Ridge is a member of LeadingAge of NC, a state chapter of the national LeadingAge Association. A union of 5,400 non-profit organizations, LeadingAge dedicates its efforts to expanding opportunities and possibilities for an aging population. Through its affiliation with LeadingAge, Grace Ridge is committed to inspiring, serving and advocating for seniors. You can learn more about LeadingAge here.
Is Grace Ridge accredited?
Recently, Grace Ridge Retirement Community earned another full five-year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC), the only accrediting organizations for retirement communities. Only 18 senior communities in North Carolina have been accredited by CARF-CCAC.
Is Grace Ridge affiliated with a health care system?
Yes. Grace Ridge, affiliated with Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge, is one of two retirement communities in NC that is affiliated with a health care system.
Is Grace Ridge affiliated with a religious organization?
No. Grace Ridge is not affiliated with a specific religion and welcomes people of all faiths and beliefs. We invite you to attend one of our non-denominational worship services in an idyllic setting that inspires spiritual connections.
Who qualifies to live at Grace Ridge?
As with many retirement communities, there are a few requirements for residency at Grace Ridge, including qualification by age, assets, income and health. All prospective residents must be at least 60 years old and be able to live safely in an independent setting. Financial requirements vary according to age, health at the time of entry and residence selection.
What services are offered beyond independent retirement living?
While residents of Grace Ridge initially enter as independent living, we offer a full continuum of health and wellness in case your care needs change. Assisted living, skilled nursing and memory support care services are provided in the same building as apartments, ensuring the care you need is always nearby.
How would you describe residences at Grace Ridge?
Grace Ridge cottages and apartments are large, airy and designed to complement today's active senior lifestyles. Each two-bedroom cottage includes a compact yard and patio or deck. Each apartment building houses one- and two-bedroom residences with one or two baths. All residences have nine-foot ceilings, fully equipped kitchens and bright, spacious bathroom(s). Some residences include a den, depending on the floor plan selected.
Each residence has been designed for comfortable, distinctive living with careful consideration given to specifications that ensure maximum security, safety and accessibility. These features are not always noticeable in day-to-day living, but they will give you additional peace of mind.
What features do your residences include?
While our residences differ slightly in layout and design, most include the following features.
- Plush carpeting
- Vinyl flooring in kitchens and baths
- Spacious walk-in closets
- Fully equipped kitchens with a frost-free refrigerator/freezer with ice-maker, garbage disposal, range/oven and generous cabinet space
- Large bathroom(s) with a shower, tub or combination and vanities
- Television cable, telephone and data port outlets
- Emergency call system in bathrooms and bedrooms, connected to our central system for 24-hour security and nursing
- Fire and smoke detectors and a sprinkler system in our Health Care Center and expanded areas
- Individual heating and air conditioning system controls
How is Grace Ridge expanding to meet future residential needs?
With so many people discovering that Grace Ridge offers the ideal retirement destination, we're renovating and/or expanding our facilities each year. (Fortunately, our crews make every effort to minimize disruptions so residents can live without interruptions to their services.) Our most recent renovations include an elegant and modern dining room, and a state-of-the-art movie theater.
May I furnish and decorate my apartment?
Certainly! We expect residents to furnish and decorate their apartments and cottages to reflect their own personal tastes. Grace Ridge also offers comprehensive finish options so you can customize your residence, and we would be delighted to work with you as you plan your décor. Structural changes or additions beyond standard features are also possible; however, these must be approved by Grace Ridge management and are the financial responsibility of the resident.
May I bring my pet(s)?
Please do. Grace Ridge is a pet-friendly retirement community. However, there are certain areas where pets are not permitted so residents who have allergies or who are not animal enthusiasts can have their personal space as well.
What kinds of amenities and common areas are available for residents?
Grace Ridge offers numerous areas and amenities, most of which are housed on the main floor of our community to allow easy access for everyone. Here are some of the features that foster Good Moods each day:
- Gracious lobby and gathering area with 24/7 coffee bar
- Spacious formal dining room
- Private dining room for special occasions
- State-of-the-art theater
- In-house exercise spaces with fitness equipment and classes
- Beauty salon and barber shop
- Game and billiards room
- Chapel
- Card rooms
- Meeting and activity spaces
- Library and reading rooms
- Auditorium with 200-person capacity
- Sewing room
- Television/media lounge
- Rooftop solarium and lounge with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains
- Outdoor garden with raised flower/vegetable beds
How much are the entrance fees to become a resident at Grace Ridge?
Because our contracts and residences vary, entrance fees vary as do our monthly fees. However, most entrance fees are easily covered by the revenue received from selling your home before moving to a retirement community. Likewise, monthly fees are generally less than typical fees for food, utilities, health care and activities.
What is included in the monthly service fee?
Your monthly service fee covers a minimum of the following programs, services and amenities: (*Also available under fee-for-service agreement at additional cost)
- One meal per day in your choice of dining venue with flexible meal programs available*
- Access to onsite registered dietitian and nutritional counseling
- All utilities except for your telephone and cable TV
- 24-hour security, emergency call and response systems
- Smoke detectors and sprinkler systems in common areas
- Regular housekeeping, including dusting, vacuuming and cleaning of kitchen and bath areas*
- Weekly laundering and changing of bed and bath linens (bi-monthly for cottage residents)*
- Washers and dryers in all new apartments and cottages
- Laundry facilities in the main building for washing and drying personal laundry
- Landscaping and maintenance of lawns, trees, shrubbery and garden areas
- Maintenance of all facilities, buildings and parking areas
- Scheduled transportation
- Complimentary subscription to The Morganton News Herald delivered daily to your door.
- Good Moods activities, including social, recreational, spiritual, educational, cultural, activity and special interest programs
- Planned events and trips to exciting destinations
- Campus Health Care Center providing home care, emergency response from the health center, assisted living, skilled nursing care, memory care for dementia-related disorders (with a minimal increase in monthly service fee through Life Care benefit)
- Use of campus amenities such as lobby, 24/7 coffee bar, formal dining room, private dining room, 24/7 library, Table Rock Lounge and rooftop terrace, fitness area and exercise equipment, beauty and barber shop, arts and crafts areas, meeting and activity rooms, card and game rooms, TV and media lounge and billiards room.
- Complimentary memberships to Phifer Wellness Center and Mimosa Hills Golf & Country Club
Do you have a health and wellness program?
Indeed, and it's included in your monthly service fee. Called Good Moods, this program caters to all components for healthy senior living: mind, body and mood. To stimulate the mind, we offer onsite classes and lectures through Grace Ridge University and classes (at little or no cost to you) at Western Piedmont Community College, less than five miles away. For the body, we provide onsite fitness and membership to Phifer Wellness Center with an indoor pool, membership to Mimosa Hills Golf Club, and a wealth of opportunities for indoor and outdoor recreation. Finally, we promote Good Moods through emotional, social and spiritual well-being. Whatever puts you in a Good Mood, from gardening and volunteering to fitness and games, you'll find it at Grace Ridge.
Is the monthly service fee fixed or subject to change?
Monthly service fees are subject to change and reviewed annually by Grace Ridge's Board of Directors and management. In most cases, fees are adjusted to cover actual operating costs. However, Grace Ridge strives to maintain low fees consistent with sound financial practices. Historically, annual increases approximate the annual cost of living and medical expenses, which affect the population of the area. If monthly fees increase, residents receive a 60-day written notice in advance.
Are other services available at additional cost?
Yes, additional services and programs are available to residents, including but not limited to: additional meals, guest meals, special transportation, home care, barber and beauty shop services, catering for resident parties, massages and other concierge-type services as are deemed appropriate by the community.
Are entrance and monthly fees tax-deductible?
Since the IRS considers that you are "prepaying" part of your future health care cost by acquiring a Life Care or Modified Agreement, you can deduct portions of your entrance fee and monthly fee as medical expenses. Please see IRS form 502 and your tax professional for details.
Does Grace Ridge offer entrance fee refunds should I leave the community?
Yes. Grace Ridge offers 90% refundable entrance fees for both Life Care and Modified contracts. However, persons over age 80 are ineligible for refundable fees.
Do you have an emergency response system and onsite security?
We wouldn't expect residents to live without it! Every Grace Ridge resident has access to our emergency response system at any time. By request, we can also offer a manual daily check-in for apartment residents and phone check-in service for cottage residents.
What if I need some assistance, but don't want to leave my apartment or cottage at Grace Ridge?
In addition to assisted living, Grace Ridge offers Enhanced Care, which provides in-home assistance within apartments and cottage. In-home services may include delivered meals, bathing and dressing assistance, medication and medical treatment, and routine monitoring of temperature, blood pressure, pulse and blood sugar levels. Typically provided by a certified caregiver, these services incur an additional charge depending on the amount of assistance needed.
How does Grace Ridge determine when a resident should move to assisted living or skilled nursing care?
The decision to ask a resident to move to another, more safe level of care follows a long, thoughtful process. Grace Ridge encourages residents to age in place, but sometimes, resident safety requires us to consider other levels of care. These decisions and discussions are based on mental and physical health and made in consultation with our Medical Director, Director of Health Services and our Executive Director using professional assessment criteria. In addition, we consult with the resident, his or her family and personal physician to make sure everyone takes part in the decision.
In the event of a health care status change, would a resident be asked to give up his/her residence?
Often, when residents need care at Grace Ridge Health Care Center, the stay is only temporary so there is no need to give up a residence. In fact, we design our move and transfer policies to enable residents to remain in their apartments and cottages as long as possible, while still assuring the safety and well-being of the resident and community. In the event of a need for hospitalization, most residents utilize nearby Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge Morganton Hospital for these services.
Is there a Residents' Association?
Yes, the Grace Ridge Retirement Community Residents' Association plays an active, integral role in community planning and interacts with management on many facets of campus life. Resident committees include decorating, planning and events, spiritual life, scholarship, library, landscaping, safety, fund development and welcoming committees. The Association meets monthly and officers are elected annually.
How would I benefit from living at Grace Ridge Retirement Community?
Grace Ridge offers carefree, active retirement living without the stress and maintenance of home ownership, so residents can find their Good Mood every day. Our Good Moods wellness and events program makes each day rewarding. And if your health needs change, you'll have the assurance that you can live at Grace Ridge as long as you like.
How do I become a resident?
It takes just four easy steps to become a resident at Grace Ridge so you can start living the active retirement life you always imagined.
- Choose your preferred residence; complete your residency application; and make a refundable $1,000 reservation deposit
- Wait approximately 30 days for your application to be reviewed and approved
- Following approval, submit the Residences and Services Agreement with a 10% deposit (less your $1,000 deposit)
- Plan your move so when your residence is ready (typically within 60 days from the time your 10% deposit is received), you'll be ready to move in and pay the remaining 90% of your entrance fee
How can I take the first step?
People today recognize the importance of planning ahead for retirement. Your next step is to schedule an appointment with our Marketing Director Jeff Bright. Jeff will help you learn more about Grace Ridge Retirement Community so you can determine if our active senior lifestyle meets your expectations. To schedule an appointment, call 828-580-8330 or send your request to email@example.com and our marketing staff will coordinate a visit for you.


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Popular comedy serial 'Harke Haldar' was shown in Kantipur TV. Highlights of this episode:
- Harle looks very happy when he meets his wife Putali.
- Khimte came to Lahure's house and warned him of police searching for Deuki and Lahure.
- Pyata didn't let her daughter Putali to go with Harke.
- Harke and Pyatya fight for Putali.
Watch the full episode


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DIS how about a review.......
Of the new Lack Of Afro Album "My Groove, Your Move" on Freestyle records???
I'm biased and would like to see someone elses thoughts on it?
One man medicine is another mans poision I guess.
Theres lots of bands, found via the good people of here, whose names I cant stand but will always give it a listen and an honest opinion.
cos on the shelf is where your LP cold stood
because it was no good
that shit aint even sell wood
Appreciate your honesty douchebag..
It wont be everyones cup of tea but hey thats whats good about the world, everybody has different tastes/opinions.
Cheers St.Cronin, again for the honest opinion.
I wish I was in Budapest next month! I'm not connected in any way, I just discovered this a few years back. I'm quite varied on my music tastes but really liked this, puts me in a good mood when listened to.


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Meat Balls$12.90
Homemade Meatballs with peas in a tomato sauce
Toasted ciabbatta bread topped with fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic.
Burrata e Posciutto$21.90
Imported Parma Prosciutto with Creamy Burrata and Roasted Bell Peppers.
Crab Cakes$17.90
Homemade Crab Cakes in a Light Spicy Orange Sauce
Fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, and basil.
Calamari Fritti$18.90
Deep Fried Calamari Served with Marinara Sauce.
Souffle' Di Melanzana$14.90
Eggplant Souffle, Stuffed with fresh Mozzarella
Insalata Mistafull $11.90half $8.90
Mixed Greens, Roasted Peppers, Goat Cheese, Toasted Pine Nuts with Balsamic Vinaigrette.
Insalata Cesarefull $11.90half $8.90
Traditional Caesar Salad with Croutons and Shaved Parmesan Cheese.
Insalata Arugulafull $11.90half $8.90
Wild Arugula, Shaved Parmesan Cheese with Balsamic Vinaigrette.
Insalata di Kalefull $11.90half $8.90
Kale, Apples, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Almonds and Orange Vinaigrette.
Steak Salad$24.90
Sliced Skirt Steak Topped with Wild Arugula and Shaved Parmesan Cheese.
Nicoise Salad$20.90
Fresh Cold Poached Salmon, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Onions, Potatoes, and kalamata Olives.
Cesare Con Pollo$18.90
Caesar Salad with Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast and Shaved Parmesan Cheese.
Fresh Vegetables Soup
Zuppa del Giorno$9.90
Soup of the day
Penne Pomodoro$17.90
With Italian San Marzano Tomato Saouce
Linguini Fradiavolo$23.90
Shrimp with our Spicy Marinara Sauce
Farfalle Alla Veneziana$20.90
Bow Tie Pasta with Chicken Breast, Sun-Dried Tomatoes in a Pink Sauce.
Homemade Gnocchi$20.90
Potato Dumplings with your choice of Pesto, Gorgonzola, Alfredo or Pomodoro Sauce.
Spaghetti Bolognese$20.90
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.
Orecchiette Boscaiola$20.90
Ear shaped Pasta with Italian Sausage and Porcini Mushrooms in a White Wine Sauce.
Pappardelle Al Cinghiale$22.90
Wide Noodles in a 48-Hours Braised Wild Boar Ragu
Lasagna Bolognese$20.90
Homemade Meat Lasagna.
Spaghetti Neri$26.90
Squid Ink Spaghetti, Jumbo Crab Meat, Shrimp, Broccoli in a light Cherry Tomatoes Sauce.
24-Hours Braised Pork Shank. Served with Mushroom Risotto.
Breaded Chicken Breast, Melted Mozzarella Cheese and Marinara Sauce. Served with Rosemary Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach.
Salmone Alla Griglia$29.90
Grilled Salmon with Lemon Caper Sauce. Served with Steamed Broccoli.
Fresh Fish Stew with Shrimp, Calamari, Clams, Mussels, in a Light Tomato Broth.
Sauteed Chicken Breast, Artichokes in a Lemon Capers Sauce. Served with Sauteed Spinach.
Mozzarella and Fontina cheese with Shaved Truffles.
Mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil.
Prosciutto Di Parma$21.90
Tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parma prosciutto.
Pomodoro & Mozzarella$14.90
Tomato sauce and mozzarella.
Pizza Pomodoro & Mozzarella$14.90
Tomato and cheese
ADD-ONS #1 mushrooms, onions, jalapenos, broccoli, zucchini, bell peppers, pineapple, anchovies, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts. $1.50
ADD-ONS #2 chicken, sausage, ham, pepperoni, goat cheese. $2.75
Chocolate Soufflé$7
Crème Brule$7
Choice of Lemon and Coconut.
Choice of Vanilla Bean and Chocolate.


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Mercedes Chambers
Graduate Intern
BA (Hons) Criminology and Psychology
The University's Student Academic Partnerships scheme has been a standard-bearer for the University since it was introduced in 2009, winning a Time Higher Education award in the 'Outstanding Support for Students' category and earning plaudits for promoting strong partnership work between students and staff. In this interview, we speak to Mercedes Chambers, a former Student Academic Partner and now Graduate Intern supporting the scheme about how it's helping staff and students across the University.
Introduce yourself?
"Hi, my name is Mercedes Chambers. I'm a graduate of the University, having previously studied BA (Hons) Criminology and Psychology from 2008 to 2011.
During my third year I decided take part in the Student Academic Partner (SAP) scheme. Working as a SAP was interesting as the management of the project was handed over entirely to students.
Our project focused on ways to improve course design, assessment and feedback, and ways to help improve learning for disabled students. Our work developed animated footage identifying pertinent issues that affect disabled students. The project was a great success as the animated footage has been embedded within staff development courses, to influence new course designers.
It was amazing to see the value student participation made. Being proactive and engaged at university proved positive and I wanted to continuing being a part of the engagement work. SAPs are good fun, I gained professional work experience, confidence, I got paid well and realised I had the duality of being able to study and work at the same time.
My positive SAP experience inspired me to apply for the graduate internship offered by the Centre for Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) the following year, I was successful in my application and continued to work whilst completing the Graduate Diploma in Psychology course (2011-12)."
What are you doing at the University at the moment?
"I work as a graduate intern to support the student engagement team in CELT. I have been involved with various student engagement initiatives over the past year but I now work directly on the SAP scheme to offer support and guidance to SAPs. I also do administrative work, research based projects and been given the opportunity to write case studies for external bodies to showcase the student engagement work I have been involved in."
What's your favourite part of working for the University?
"Working for the University is inspirational. I work with people who are passionate about what they do, enthusiastic to enhance existing practices and develop new initiatives to improve students learning experience. It is fantastic to see a department care about the progression of its students by offering various student engagement opportunities. To know that I am part of this makes me proud!
The team's work ethic is contagious; it encourages me to be my best at everything I do from writing an email through to interviewing Directorates of Birmingham City University to gain their perspectives on different subject matters.
The graduate internship is versatile, quick paced, challenging and pushes me beyond all expectations but that is what I respect about working for Birmingham City University."
Tell us about the Student Academic Partners scheme.
"The Scheme creates unique student-staff partnerships across the University. Students are encouraged to be student collaborators, to share their ideas with staff to enhance the learning experience and make positive changes on their course.
The Scheme provides a useful framework for both student and staffs ideas to be transformed into real projects. The Scheme guarantees favourable outcomes for those involved such as having fun, seeing their idea come to life, sharing knowledge and experience with their partner, personal development, getting paid but more importantly enhancing learning and teaching university-wide.
Over the past four years SAPs has facilitated a range of innovative projects such as creating a student advisory board for faculty and student societies, development of course guides and tools and much more."
How does it work?
"Students are employed as equal decision makers alongside staff to instil a sense of ownership. As many of the projects are initiated and led by students they are seen as the driving force, demonstrating the Universities trust in employing its own students. It is good because it is part of wider culture change; students actively seek change rather than be told what to do by staff.
The hours are flexible as students manage their own projects and decide when to work during the academic year. Once students have completed the projects SAPs are encouraged to disseminate their work across the University to share the good practice."
Why should staff make a submission for the scheme?
"The Scheme benefits staff personally, professionally and academically. Like students, staff will feel a great sense of satisfaction accomplishing research projects alongside their work commitments; see their idea adopted by the University, impacting on the learning experience and being able to inspire others to support students in better, more innovative ways.
The Scheme enables staff to work with students on a personal level beyond teaching. It is an enjoyable experience staff should get involved in. It is a mutually beneficial scheme, staff are able to share their expertise and support students but they too can learn from student's enthusiasm, knowledge and perspective on how things could be done to improve existing practices."
Why do you think this sort of partnership work with students is important?
"Partnerships between students and staff can lead to beneficial consequences across the whole University. It can have a positive effect on students accessing greater learning opportunities, improve communication between staff and students, encourages students to be engaged on and off campus and offers staff access to a great resource, the student voice. Partnership work will help to create student friendly services from the initial development stages, making students more responsible for their learning experience."
The Student Academic Partners scheme has already won a Times Higher Education award, why do you think the scheme has been so successful?
"SAPs support students in the best way!
The University takes pride in ensuring that people work collaboratively with each other, students and external bodies to create successful working relationships. SAPs support its students 100% and offer the capacity for students and staff to learn and grow together - this in turn encourages students and staff to feel a sense of belonging within the University. The Scheme is great because both students and staff are able to value their contribution and celebrate the success of their work when they see the end product.
SAPs are a nationally recognised scheme. It is positive for Birmingham City University to see other Universities around the country using SAPs as a positive case study and adopt similar methods to integrate students into their learning communities."
What do you think is the best thing to come out of the project?
"I believe SAPs is one of the main vehicles to improve student-staff relationships. Engaged students at Birmingham City University see their lecturers as more than just being lecturers but real people, and staff appreciate what students can offer."


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Before our interview started, I had to gush to Alicia Lutes that I was a fangirl of Fangirling. If I could have, I would have spent our whole conversation just bringing up moments of the show that I loved so far and her ability as a host to bring various topics to the table and not be afraid of the emotions that it elicits. But it would have been selfish of me to hog her to myself and not let others discover the girl power of Fangirling.
Are you aiming to have every episode be a panel that celebrates intersectional feminists?
"It's definitely important to have panelists that have strong interests," Alicia Lutes adamantly states. There's a wide range of women of different cultures that love everything nerdy and that was a major driving force behind the show. Which is why she challenged herself to have many interesting voices and different angles to look at the stories and events that take up our conversations. "A personal rule that I have for the show is that the panel can be no more than half white."
Lutes tells me that she hopes that if the show gets more successful she can find different formats for discussing the topics and have the show evolve from being just a panel show. The show has definitely evolved since its first season and it is clear from the second season so far that Lutes and the rest of the crew truly want to make the show the best it can be to tell as many stories as it can.
Do you have a hard time ending every show? I could listen to a group of women fangirl about different topics forever!
Lutes laughs sweetly at this stating her and the guests could go on and on but the show needs to end at some point. And maybe keeping people wanting more will cause the public to want to hear more people from varied backgrounds give their thoughts?
I guess I should backtrack a bit here and ask how did Fangirling start?
Fangirling was an idea back in 2015. When Project Alpha was just beginning she pitched the idea of having a show full of women. "It would be nice if women could have the same table as most white men that have their own shows." Despite the importance of the topic, she still wanted the show to be a mixture of fun and deep.
"I wanted to show the dimensionality of women on screen," Lutes says earnestly.
Working on the first season pushed her to keep going with her original vision. The response of everyone involved and those that watched helped her to realize what she was making was vital and she worked on refining the show for season two. "It was terrifying to figure out how to push for what I wanted, including making the show as diverse as possible." She internally fought with the show because she really wanted women to be able to see themselves represented. This was hard because Lutes admits that she is insecure. A fact that she doesn't hide about herself and which I believe allows her to be a host that can elicit real responses from her guests.
"I wasn't anticipating people crying in every episode but our show allows that to be powerful and transformative."
Speaking of crying, I'm obsessed with Jen Bartel's work. How did you react the first time you saw the set art that she created?
"I lost my f*cking mind when I saw Bartel's art!"
Today's the day! The Fangirling season premiere is officially up at @JoinTeamAlpha https://t.co/8YM764Tht8 (free 2 month trial with code 'fangirling') 😘 with all new set art by me! Such a fun project—and there's even a little segment on me 🙏🏼💖 pic.twitter.com/ed6GFNhlRd
— Jen Bartel – ECCC V8 (@heyjenbartel) January 24, 2018
Lutes met Bartel when they were on the same panel at San Diego Comic-Con. But it was her executive producer Ben that actually recommended Bartel when they were looking for a set artist. She takes this time to give a moment of recognition to Ben. He didn't want to take the position of EP because he felt the spot belonged to a woman. But she convinced him to stay on because he's a great ally to telling women's stories. "It's important that I stress that our crew is 80% women, which I'm extremely proud of."
Ben knew Bartel would be the perfect artist for the job and it clicked once he suggested it. "She's incredibly talented. Her art conveys strength and femininity at the same time."
Lutes and Bartel had a conversation about what she wanted for Fangirling and Bartel was on the same page since day one. "The three panels represent a past, present, and future of women in pop culture. The past is fantasy, the present is superheroes, and the future is space." The characters are widely varied as possible to show all types of women. To learn more about Bartel's process of creating the set art, Fangirling interviewed Bartel, which you can watch over on Nerdist.
She was so emotional after viewing the first sketch that she was running around the office excitedly showing it off to everyone that she could. "I get chills every time I see someone react to it." All types of beauty are represented in the set art and more stories come out of it when people can see themselves in the artwork. "If you're a fan of something you need to point out the disservices it does to our culture. We need to demand more from our creators to progress as a society." Bartel's work does that by showing the beauty of diversity.
Since more women are taking their rightful place in pretty much everything, is it easy for you to gather topics for Fangirling?
Lutes happily admits that she's never worried about having things to talk about. A panel of women can talk about anything because they give different points of view than what's being circulated! "It's only going to get better!"
Has this show allowed you to brush off the mansplainers and their toxic masculinity culture?
Instead of focusing on the mansplainers and toxic culture (except when it comes to a segment on Fangirling that pokes fun at it), she'd rather focus on this show helping other women to be heard. The more she does the show, the more strength she finds in her voice. But it also allows her to amplify the voices of others that don't have her platform. The show allows women to be seen. And a lot of men actually appreciate the show. Which she admits was cool to see but she wasn't really banking on it.
Can you share any future guests or topics that you're excited about?
Lutes couldn't share much without giving away some of the hype for future episodes but did drop the hint that someone from Jessica Jones may be stopping by in the nearby future.
Overall, the responses she's gotten from guests who could and couldn't do the show have been "f*cking rad." She's even had someone approach to be a guest that absolutely floored her that they even knew her show existed. I can't wait to see who that will be!
You can catch Fangirling on Project Alpha! New episodes hit every Wednesday. Embrace your inner fangirl and spice up your life!


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Imagine how profitably you could function if there was no miscommunication between you and your suppliers!
But this is rarely true.
With outsourced production, ensuring availability of the right quantity and kind of material from multiple suppliers can be a nightmare.
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Contact Specialist Today
We have Worldmark memberships for sale and timeshares for sale. Are you ready?
We have Worldmark memberships for sale and timeshares for sale. Owning a timeshare is a concept that has been around for decades and for good reason. When it comes to vacationing, there is typically no better way to go than to own timeshare.
The concept of owning and vacationing via timeshare is one that has proven to be successful for a long time now. It has turned simple vacationing into a lifelong investment enjoyed by families and individuals alike. It has also created opportunities for the average person that would normally seem impossible.
Owning A Worldmark Membership
WorldMark has taken owning timeshares from a great idea and turned it into a fantastic one. Typically, owning timeshare means owning 1/52 of a condo or hotel at the resort you purchased it from. This put simply means you own 1 week of vacation time each year at that same resort for life. WorldMark has created timeshare memberships using a similar but improved concept and the best part is that there are WorldMark memberships for sale now.
When you purchase timeshare from WorldMark, you are guaranteed a timeshare experience unlike any other around. First off, you will not be purchasing 1 week of vacation time out of the year at the same resort for life. Instead, you will be purchasing credits which will be placed into your account each year. These credits are in turn used to book vacations at resorts around the world.
For Sale Now
While this may not seem so exciting at first, the ways that it differs from typical timeshare ownership is. Owning and utilizing this credit system creates a variety of different vacation options not found in a normal timeshare ownership. From weekend getaways to week long escapes, the possibilities are endless and the best part is that there are WorldMark memberships for sale now.
Let's not forget about the fact that you aren't purchasing into a particular resort timeshare but into WorldMark which has resort locations around the world. Yes, this means exactly what it sounds like it means. Now you can own timeshare that allows you to book vacations to go where you want and for however long you want. That's about as good as it gets.
So the next time you find yourself wondering just where to go for your next vacation, remember just one life changing word…WorldMark. A word that will open the door to a lifetime of memorable vacations.


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the guardian)
Madrid poised to restrict cars in city centre amid air pollution fears
Sam Jones
Madrid's city council is on the verge of temporarily slashing the number of cars allowed into the city centre by half as the Spanish capital struggles with high levels of air pollution.
With levels of nitrogen dioxide rising above permitted levels, the city authorities have activated a series of anti-pollution measures, reducing the speed limit on the M30 orbital motorway around the centre and banning parking in the area for non-residents. Authorities are also urging people to use public transport wherever possible.
Outdoor air pollution causes more than 3m deaths a year – more than malaria and HIV/Aids – and is now the biggest single killer in the world.


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click on image for larger view
Fused Glass Mirror frame (yellow background with blue, green and teal glass dots), the mirror is soldered permanently into the frame. A picture hanging wire is welded in to the back out of view. This is a unique handmade piece.
Size : 33cm x 43cm
In Stock: Yes
Price: £240


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If Barbara Boxer didn't like being called "ma'am," I can only imagine how she'll react to being called "Hun."
And I don't mean short for "honey":
"Today, Barbara Boxer treats business much like the Huns treated the cities of Europe as targets of plunder and pillage," said Jack Stewart, president of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association. "We need a leader in Washington, D.C., who's going to stand up for the businesses of Californians. And it's not just the businesses you're standing up for; it's the employees you're standing up for."
The Huns, thought to be a confederation of tribes from Europe and central Asia, invaded Europe during the fourth and fifth centuries. Their most feared ruler was Attila the Hun, who ruled during the fifth century and has been nicknamed the "Scourge of God."
Fiorina took on the Demonsheep, but defeating the Scourge of God is a much bigger task.


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Topaz Long Spear Ring
- 5x7 mm imperial topaz
- two 2 mm diamonds
- milgrain detail
Available in 14K yellow, rose and white gold.
Please note that all of our pieces are handmade to order. Please allow for a two week lead time plus shipping. If you need your pieces to be rushed, please contact us.


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Devra Ann Jacobs had been a barber and a mental health counselor, not a writer or editor, when she started Mystic Pop Magazine four years ago. Since then she has learned all about the publication business and is willing to share her knowledge and success with other writers.
With a current circulation of over 10,000 copies in 28 cities and Canada, the magazine has grown rather quickly due to the "power of positive intention" that Devra puts into each issue.
You will be interested to know that Mystic Pop Magazine accepts well-written articles on a variety of topics having to do with enlightenment and empowerment. There is even a section for poetry submission.
Distributed throughout the
Printed on the highest quality paper in full color, subscriptions are also available at Amazon.com and all major bookstores and online booksellers.
Pick up something a little different to wrap your mind around. Beautifully written articles by exceptional writers are just the start of what this innovative magazine has to offer.
To subscribe or find out how your article or poem could be published in this magazine, see www.mysticpopmagazine.com


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I purchased a bench-top morticing machine, which is powerful enough for me and portable within my garage/workshop. However, I thought that I could improve the design a little, as registering the chisels square with the back post was hit and miss, as was aligning the fence.
The problem stems from the fact that most small morticers locate their chisels in a circular throat, using a pinch-screw arrangement. Mine has a handle on the front that connects to the screw thread and the machine came with various internal bushes to account for a range of chisels. It still needed something to register the chisel squarely with the back post of the machine, as without that you are likely to get a series of unsquare cuts which can produce a "sawtooth" pattern as the mortice is cut.
|The problem is made worse by the fact that the fence is controlled by two hold-down screws, one each side of the back post, so it is possible to rack the fence as it is moved, as shown in this picture.
|I decided to solve the problems. First, I put in my smallest chisel and with it I gently marked the center point of the base. Taking that measurement from the front of the base with a marking gauge (once I had removed the base from the machine), I scribed two lines, one each side of the base. These gave me a front register point. I then routed two very shallow channels into which I glued small engineers' metal rules (with a zero edge and marked in both inches and millimeters), as seen in this picture.
The rules were cut off to match the base dimension at the rear. They perform two functions, using easy math.
Firstly, if using a 10mm chisel, then the fence side of the chisel will be 5mm back from the center point. Move the fence until both rulers read a hair over 5mm, gently secure the fence. Now insert the chisel and gently pinch. Pull the chisel down (making sure it doesn't foul the fence the first time you try it!) until you can test it for squareness against the perfectly perpendicular fence. Lock the chisel after returning the machine to its rest position. The chisel is now square with the backpost.
Using, say, a 10mm mortice in a 20mm wide workpiece, this means that the fence needs to be 10mm back from the center point in order to center the mortice in the workpiece (10mm mortice leaves 5mm each side when centered. The far side of the 10mm chisel is 5mm back from the center - add the 5mm thickness of remaining stock = 10mm). Therefore, move the fence until both rules read exactly 10mm and all you then need to do is to mark the length of the mortice on the work and away you go.
If you don't want the mortices centered - change the math. It works really well.
|This concept can be applied to drill press tables as well:


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DALLAS – For the Dallas Mavericks, it doesn't get any better defensively than what they exhibited in the third quarter of Saturday's 92-81 win over the Denver Nuggets at American Airlines Center.
In that dominant quarter the Mavs held the Nuggets to just five points on 2-of-19 shooting, and also forced Denver into committing nine turnovers. It was the fewest points the Mavs have ever allowed an opponent to score in any quarter in franchise history, eclipsing the seven points the Los Angeles Lakers scored against the Mavs in the third quarter on a Jan. 16, 2112 contest.
"Again, five points in the third quarter, and when you turn the ball over nine times in that quarter you wind up beating yourself,'' Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "But I thought they came out very aggressive in the third quarter and we did not match their physicality and it is unfortunate.''
The Mavs (10-7) broke their three-game losing streak with the victory, and needed this shot in the arm before taking off on a two-game road trip that starts Monday against Rajon Rondo and the Sacramento Kings. And their ability to roll up their sleeves and get downright dirty after the Nuggets held a 52-48 lead at intermission enabled the Mavs to enjoy their fifth straight victory on their home court.
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"We've had a spike of improvement in our defensive numbers,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "Wesley (Matthews) has been a significant part of that.
"When he walked out there on opening night and guarded (Markieff) Morris (of the Phoenix Suns), that sent a message to our team that he meant business, we were beginning a new ear for our team in terms of our attitude.''
And that new beginning took full flight Saturday as the Nuggets started the third quarter 0-of-16 from the field and didn't score until the 3:05 mark of that period. Overall, Dallas outscored Denver in the third quarter 25-5.
"It's been great because (Matthews has) really mixed with DFirk (Nowitzki) and (Chandler) parsons,'' Carlisle said. "He's a great compliment to Deron Williams.
"Tonight, we had no one that could guard (Danilo) Gallinari except him. Wes was the guy who made it really hard on him.''
Gallinari had 12 points on 4-of-5 shots in the first half, but went scoreless in the second half while missing all seven of his field goal attempts.
"Gallinari was close to really getting going in the first half,'' Carlisle said. "Matthews had done a lot and in the process we've had to watch his minutes.
"It's a unique situation.''
While all of that uniqueness was transpiring defensively with Matthews, Carlisle was busy collecting his 629 career win to pass Nuggets legendary coach Doug Moe for 22nd place on the NBA's all-time list for coaching victories.
The Mavs played without J. J. Barea, who will miss at least three games with a sprained right ankle. But Raymond Felton stepped up and scored 12 points off the bench and helped provide the defensive spark the Mavs needed.
"Losing J. J. is losing one of our aggressive guys on the ball and on screen-and-rolls and getting into the paint and scoring and making things happen,'' Felton said. "That's one of the things that I do as well.
"So me and Devin (Harris) just have to be a little bit more aggressive out there.''
All in all, most of the Mavs were more aggressive Saturday night. Especially in the third quarter.
Dwain Price: 817-390-7760, @dwainprice
Dwain Price can be heard every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m. on dfwiradio.com