text:
1. Introduction
This paper is based on a plenary address at the "Theatre in University Language Teaching" international seminar, hosted by the Dipartimento di Lingue e Letterature Anglo-Germaniche e Slave at the Università degli Studi di Padova. It discusses the role of drama in university language learning within a task-based framework, and draws from an example of a collaborative drama task designed for postgraduate students in an English for Academic Purposes programme. The first part of my paper explores how the ideas of agency, autonomy and identity can help conceptualise this type of curricular activity, and describes how dramatic tasks can fit into the language classroom. The second part presents the design and implementation of a dramatic task, and reviews learner evaluation of the task's perceived impact as an alternative learning approach which lowers affective barriers, the benefits and challenges of a collaborative task, and perceived growth in language proficiency.1
2. Agency, autonomy and identity
Drama is a genre which provides regular and intriguing paths connecting the public and private, the rehearsed and the spontaneous, self and the other. The relationships between, on one hand, introspection, subjectivity and the focus on the individual, and, on the other, performance, intersubjectivity and the collective, may perhaps be illuminated by examining the concepts of agency, autonomy and identity as studied in the field of applied linguistics. Various taxonomies place these three terms at different levels within theoretical models, and the three concepts are themselves boundary-crossing notions in the humanities and social sciences – defined and investigated in different ways by philosophers, social psychologists, sociologists, and so on. I briefly describe and define each concept individually (although acknowledging how they interconnect), as a preface to my discussion of how dramatic genres and techniques afford opportunities for enhanced language learning processes and products. In doing so, I follow van Lier's (2010) tripartite delineation of agency, autonomy and identity as essential aspects of the human condition. I will draw on van Lier's explorations of these concepts in more detail below.
2.1. Agency
Turning firstly to agency, it may be understood as an individual (or collective) capacity for self-awareness and self-determination: decision-making, ability to enact or resist change, and take responsibility for actions. This anthropological or psychological understanding of agency (rather than grammatical or semiotic, another area of enquiry) forms a body of study within applied linguistics and its preoccupation with the task of how second (and foreign) languages are learned. Van Lier (2010) deftly captures the nature of us-as-agents in a world of other agents by describing how agency refers both to "the ways in which, and the extents to which, a person is compelled to, motivated to, allowed to, and coerced to, act", and equally, "the person deciding to, wanting to, insisting to, agreeing to, and negotiating to, act" (van Lier 2010: x, emphasis in the original). This tension between object and subject echoes Freire's (1996) fundamental assumption that our ultimate human condition is to become a responsible Subject, to act upon and transform the world around us; subjects know and act, whilst objects are only known and acted upon and lack the power to transform and enact. Van Lier (2008) proposes three core features of agency relevant to the study of classroom language learning. The first feature is initiative, or "self-regulation by the learner or group"; the second feature is interdependency – "it mediates and is mediated by the sociocultural context"; the final feature is "an awareness of the responsibility for one's own actions vis-à-vis the environment, including affected others". He uses agency as the umbrella term for these subject-rather-than-object discussions and analysis, but points readers towards another way of approaching the same concepts – this time, under the umbrella term of autonomy.
2.2. Autonomy
The study of autonomy within this paradigm of action and responsibility is best encapsulated by the work of David Little, who stresses, like Freire, the ontological impetus to take control and to do things for ourselves and conceptualises autonomy as a "capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action" (Little, 1991: 4). One of the most important contributions of the work of both Little and van Lier in illuminating this very fundamental aspect of the human psyche, the compulsion to act, to take initiative and control, is their articulation of what Conte and Castelfranchi (1995) term bounded autonomy, the relations of dependence that link agents. Van Lier describes (2010: x) the "Janus-faced nature of autonomy", which looks in two directions at the same time, to the personal and to the social, to "myself" and to "the other". Little emphasises that the freedom that learner autonomy implies is always conditional and constrained: "because we are social beings, our independence is always balanced by dependence, our essential condition is therefore one of interdependence" (Little 1991: 5). There may be a certain amount of definitional overlap for some between agency and autonomy. Whilst these terms are closely related, they tend not to be used interchangeably. It can be helpful to understand agency in terms of an individual's actions (determined by self or others), and to recall Little's definition of autonomy as a psychological capacity that is ultimately or successfully expressed in self-determined actions. In the related literature on motivation and self-regulation, and the specific role of agency (and how it is delineated from autonomy), I refer readers to Deci and Ryan's theory of motivation, self-determination theory (2002). Within this school of motivational studies, the nuanced interplay between what may be understood as agency and autonomy is illuminated in the two of the essential elements of the theory of self-determination, that (1) humans have inherent tendency toward growth development and integrated functioning, and (2) optimal development and actions are inherent in humans but they don't happen automatically (Deci and Vansteenkiste 2004).
2.3. Identity
Studies of human identity (see e.g. Elliott, 2011, for an overview; Kaufman, 2004; Giddens, 1991; Bakhtin, 1981) help articulate how various facets of selfhood contribute towards achieving personal goals, relating to other agents and other agents' goals, and how the tightrope of interdependence is negotiated, successfully or otherwise, in different domains of life including the language classroom. Riley distinguishes between identity in the sense of "personal identity", an enduring sense of the self articulated in and through a repertoire of discursive positions ("social identity"), defining and delimiting the individual and what is common to all individuals. In this conceptualisation, the Self is private and subjective, the source of individual agency, and the Person is public and intersubjective, the site of social identity (Riley 2010: 376-79). Other instances of this type of conceptualisation can be traced to Bakhtin's (1981) discussion of identity and the dialogic, how individual identity fluctuates depending on and within contexts, or within sociocultural perspectives on language learning, which engage with how an 'L2 identity' may be constructed and mediated by language and language learners (see, e.g. Kramsch, 2000). Agency, autonomy and identity are powerful, multi-faceted constructs. But, surely the pressing and practical implications of our discussion so far only point us to the perennial obstacles of the formal language classroom? Lack of communication, lack of engagement, lack of participation. Do we have to leave our identities, agency and autonomy at the classroom door, or can learners develop L2 identities, and individual/social agency and autonomy within the language classroom? The next section examines how the use of drama in the language classroom can foster authentic involvement, communication and engagement.
3. Task-based learning and drama
Task-based language pedagogy is an increasingly well-explored area in applied linguistics (Legutke and Thomas, 1991; Prabhu, 1991; Willis and Willis, 2007), with some robust attempts to define and delineate the nature, scope and purpose of a task in the language classroom. One of the common denominators that links the many weak and strong definitions of task-based learning (ranging, for instance, from once-off exercises to more structured and extensive activities) is the emphasis on authenticity – that tasks should help learners become language users, in a situationally authentic way, and/or with interactional authenticity (Ellis 2003). Skehan (1998) provides a helpful schema to determine what may be considered a task in the area of formal language learning:
- Does it engage learners' interest?
- Is there a primary focus on meaning?
- Is there an outcome?
- Is success judged in terms of outcome?
- Is completion a priority?
- Is the activity something that occurs in 'real life'?
Using drama in the language classroom (Stern 1980; Healy, 2004; Ryan-Scheutz and Colangelo 2004; Dalziel et al. 2011) seems therefore to be a credible way of fostering both situational and interactional authenticity in language use. The benefits of improvised dramatic activities and rehearsal are particularly relevant to what Dougill (1987: 6 – 8) refers to as "unpredictability in language use": language is by its very nature unplanned, and every statement is open to any one of a number of responses. Dougill cites the example of a role-play in which neither student is aware of the other's role as a means of replicating this situation, where, "[d]rama activities help to bridge the gap between the cosy and controlled world of the classroom and seemingly chaotic composition of language in the world outside". Healy (2004) also touches on the balance between "collaboration and risk-taking". Scripted drama also provides the opportunity to create imagined roles and situations with authentic contexts for meaning-focussed L2 interaction; Maley and Duff (2005: 1) highlight the ability of drama to recreate a communicative event: "[b]y fully contextualising the language, it brings the classroom interaction to life through an intense focus on meaning". With these points in mind, when we apply Skehan's schema (1998) to drama, we can affirm that:
- Drama engages learners' interest, both as participants and as audience members
- There is a primary focus on meaning\There is a concrete outcome (individually, from short utterances to extended monologues, and from sketches/one act plays through to full productions)
- Assessment is based on the outcome (whether in rehearsal or performance)
- Completion is therefore vital, at least to the extent that utterances are delivered
- It is a real-life activity. Everyone is familiar with drama although they may never have been involved in acting or production.
Having set out a brief rationale for tasks which involve drama in the language classroom, we now turn to a closer examination of their design and organisation.
4. Design and implementation of dramatic tasks in the language classroom
The English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme at Trinity College Dublin has two interconnected strands: intensive pre-sessional modules before the start of the academic year, and weekly in-sessional modules during term-time. Both programmes are offered to students who are not native-speakers of English, and have grown to cater for up to two hundred language learners. The EAP curriculum is delivered through group tasks with spoken and written components, and students are expected to maintain their own individual portfolio of work. The chief aim of the EAP programme is to equip postgraduate students with English language support sufficient for their needs in the academic domain. The proficiency levels required for successful functioning at fourth-level are aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) common proficiency level C1. At C1 level, a non-native speaker of English is expected to be able to understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning; to express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without too much obvious searching for expressions; to use the English language flexibly and effectively for academic, professional and social purposes; and to produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects.
The challenges of such a programme, and the rationale for using drama in the curriculum, is the agreed need (both 'perceived' by teachers and the university, and 'expressed' by students and supervisors) to provide multiple opportunities for different types of output and different types of discourse, given the variety of roles that a postgraduate student necessarily assumes as researcher, student, conference presenter, lab partner, and so on. Students engage with many different interlocutors, for a variety of purposes, and most lack confidence, to give one example, in distinguishing between different types of discourse, and in speaking in public settings.
The curriculum designed for this programme is intended to foster lifelong, autonomous language learning. The task-based learning approach makes use of authentic academic resources to engage learners in real-life academic tasks with both oral and written components, organised in sets of group tasks which provide the curriculum's overall thematic content and structure. Currently four main tasks are used in the EAP programme (one task per week, pre-sessional modules; up to two tasks per term, in-sessional modules):
- Conducting an academic seminar
- Discussing and debating current affairs
- Compiling and publishing publicity brochures
- Producing a short drama to be performed in class.
The drama task outlines the production of a short dramatic sketch to be performed in English at the end of a group of sessions in front of an audience comprising class-members and other classes where possible. Students are asked to write, in groups, either an adaptation of an existing piece of work or to create an original piece for production. Suggestions of genre are provided. Group members must also contribute to a programme/flyer which can function as a location for advertising, biographies, and critical reviews. A task overview and general guidelines are provided for students, and reproduced here:
In your group, create a short drama to be performed in class. This can be either an adaptation or original work, e.g. murder mystery, segment of an existing film or novel, modern version of a traditional folk story or fairy tale. Each member of your group should take one or more parts, and also help create a programme/flyer, which may include advertising, biographies and critical reviews.
- The drama should take about 15-20 minutes to perform
- The presentation must be interactive: students must interact and communicate with one another during the presentation
- Make sure that each member of your group has an adequate speaking role
- Students must not read from the script during the presentation (you are of course welcome to use prompts/notes). Don't worry if you get stuck and cannot remember what you intended to say: try to improvise, or ask the others in the group to help you out
- At the end of the presentation, the assessors will spend a few minutes asking questions to each member of the group.
The schematic categories provided within the Common European Framework of Reference help specify the activities and competences involved in such tasks, and the types of strategies that learners may deploy, acknowledging the importance of ludic, imaginative, artistic and aesthetic uses of language (Council of Europe 2001: 55), which simultaneously involve productive, receptive, interactive and mediating activities. The task specification provided for students contains the following statement of learning goals, derived from the illustrative scales of the Common European Framework of Reference:
Drama Project C1 proficiency level: learning goals
- In this task you will learn to deliver a short piece of drama in fluent English using stress and intonation to convey finer shades of meaning precisely.
- In selecting your theme and writing your script you will learn to summarise information from different sources in a coherent and succinct manner scanning quickly through texts to locate relevant details.
- As you write your script you will learn to draft well-structured and developed descriptions and imaginative text in a style appropriate to the audience in mind.
This text in the task specification was derived from scaled descriptions of the activities and strategies involved in delivering public announcements (C1/C2 level descriptor), processing text (C2 level descriptor), coherence and cohesion (C2 level descriptor), reading for orientation (B2/C1/C2 level descriptor), and creative writing (C1 level descriptor).
Students can be expected to deploy a range of strategies as they plan, execute, evaluate and monitor completion of the steps involved in this task, (ibid: 63), including, for instance:
- Locating and creating resources
- Considering their audience
- Rehearsing (individually and as a group)
- Adjusting the task to suit individuals/group
- Adjusting the product to suit the audience/time-frame
- Compensating (for lack of time/resources/knowledge)
- Building on previous knowledge
- Piloting their final product
- Self-correcting/improving.
The drama task described here was carried out in a pre-sessional EAP module in 2010, in a class of eleven postgraduate students (eight different nationalities; eight female and three male students, aged 22-50, from a variety of academic disciplines). As for previous group tasks, the drama project was prepared almost entirely in class, in approximately one hour of class time for five days, before the task's performance. Group One performed a parody of the fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, renamed Snow Ball, Group Two did an abridged version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Over the course of the following four days, the groups prepared and rehearsed the content of their dramas. This involved a variety of sub-tasks:
- Group discussions to determine the topic of the drama, establish the plot outline and allocate characters to each participant;
- For those group members unfamiliar with the chosen story, online research to find the original story;
- Reading extracts from the original novel and watching selected scenes from the film adaptation, to understand the story and to practise pronunciation (Group Two only);
- Script-writing 1: Composing individual scripts (by each group member for his/her own dialogue, or by designated group members);
- Script-writing 2: Combining all individual scripts into a single script (by the whole group or by one designated group member);
- Reading through scripts together to rehearse dialogue, and to check and practise pronunciation;
- Reading through individual script while watching film in order to practise pronunciation (Group Two only);
- Creating an advertising poster
- Making costumes and props.
After five hours of preparation, the groups performed in front of the class, with costumes, sets and props. After both performances, students reviewed the successes and difficulties of the drama task in a class discussion, and details of their evaluation shared below. In their written evaluation of the drama project, students were encouraged to describe positive and negative aspects of their experience, in the preparation and performance of their task. We focus on three themes that emerged from their evaluations: experiencing an alternative learning approach/lowering affective barriers; benefits and challenges of group work; enhanced language proficiency.
5. Discussion
This section discusses student feedback regarding drama as an alternative learning approach, the benefits and challenges of group projects, and the perceived linguistic outcomes of the drama task. Students provided positive feedback about the way the drama project brought them together with other learners, given the isolating nature of postgraduate study in general, and the focus elsewhere in the EAP course on individual work. One student remarked that he had never been involved in any drama before, and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play a character: "When you are … asked to act someone, to act someone is not you; it's very interesting because … I didn't do this before." Another student found it enhanced her memory: "I'm more dynamic. I think it stays more in my memory when there is some performing, people actually doing things rather than writing or filling gaps, you know". Performance seemed to lower students' inhibitions in the classroom. One student with previous experience of drama described how in the drama project the students were "learning through emotion…your mind is freer – you are not stressed". She believed that the task of performing the drama project was so absorbing that she forgot about the element of English instruction and focussed only on the performance: "I was thinking [about] the production only….I was unaware we were in an English course".
Krashen's (1981) hypotheses regarding second language acquisition propose that a learner's 'affective filter' is impacted by a number of psychological variables, such as self-esteem and levels of stress and anxiety. Learners who feel stressed and anxious in the classroom are unlikely to take risks or participate in activities. Drama seems to be a powerful way of drawing learners into a task unlike other traditional language learning tasks. From learners' comments above, the balance of rehearsal and performance seems to create a space within which learners can be more fully themselves both as individuals and corporately. We now turn to examine their experiences of group-tasks in more detail.
The drama project provided an opportunity for students to share individual strengths, talents and identities within the context of an English language learning project. For instance, students in each group who had a keen interest in art took on responsibility for the production of the poster and costumes. One student mentioned this ability to play to each student's strengths as one of the highlights of group work: "I prefer working in groups. I think you get more when you put people together … we use what each of us know the best". Another student from Group Two spoke of his enjoyment of the intercultural interaction that went along with group work. He claimed that it gave students the opportunity to share information about their own countries and to learn more about the other students: "The most interesting thing is that people [come] from different backgrounds so … we talked not only [about] the project, we talked [about] other things, very interesting things."
The two groups did not seem to progress with the same ease through the tasks involved. Group Two showed close collaboration and teamwork at every stage of the project preparation, and the students seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves throughout. One of this group's members attributed the positive atmosphere to the example set by a small number of the group: "If there's two or three people very active, the rest … will follow them." Another student emphasised the importance of a positive group dynamics to the successful outcome of the project, and praised her own group for its camaraderie: "Everyone was really enthusiastic so it was really easy". This contrasted with that of Group One, struggling with the task's preparation. There was initial difficulty in establishing the exact storyline of the performance that persisted throughout the week, with a rather tense start to their performance. Students described a lack of "cooperation" between two group members as the most difficult aspect of executing the project, and how the group dynamic suffered when the same two members failed to follow the decisions that had been made by the group in the previous day's meeting. These group members also stressed that these challenges ultimately proved to be relatively minor, and failed to deter their overall enjoyment of the project. Much of what is described above regarding students' experiences of group work aligns with the 'real-world' reality of collaborative activities: at times frustrating, unfair, with difficulties in assigning roles and activities, but also enjoyable, productive and enabling ("you get more when you put people together … we use what each of us know the best").
Understanding the constructs of agency, autonomy and identity here can provide an insight into what goes on within the catch-all label of 'group-work': Group Two suffers for instance when two individuals work at cross purposes. There remains much to learn about the nature of the group dynamic, particularly the concept of 'bounded autonomy' (Conte and Castelfranchi, 1995) in the language classroom, and the use of drama seems to mirror the complexities of real-life and our essential interdependency (Little, 1991), learners as agents in a world of other agents (van Lier, 2010). In the next section, we examine the third theme that emerged from students' in-class and written evaluations of the drama task.
In their spoken and written evaluations, students were asked to describe the aspect of their English language learning that they felt had benefited most from participation in the drama task. Their responses covered a wide range of language skills, including perceived improvements in the areas of speaking (confidence), listening, reading, vocabulary range and control, confidence/automaticity of language use and phonological control. Reading and vocabulary related to reading the original story and working together as a group to produce the play's script from this source document. In this section on perceived impact on language learning outcomes, we concentrate on two specific areas of improvement mentioned by students: confidence/automaticity of language use and phonological control.
One student described how her confidence in her ability to speak English in front of others had grown substantially since taking part in the drama project: "For me it's really good because when you pretend to be someone else it's easier to talk in front of people". Another student highlighted the role of drama in helping the learner to improvise: "I really think it [drama] improves your speaking qualities in front of a public … [The aspect of my English that most improved was] the retrieving of information when you have to improvise or to change something." A member of Group One attributed her improved pronunciation during the performance to a lowered 'affective filter', "When your mind is busy thinking [about] the performance, you don't think too much 'My pronunciation's very bad!' You are more – spontaneous I suppose … I'm not aware". A member of Group Two described how the pressure of performing in front of an audience helped her focus on accuracy: "When I'm speaking the dialogues I know that somebody will watch me, therefore [I try to be] more precise than before!"
Students' perceptions of enhanced language learning outcomes are vital, especially when these may be accompanied by a misconception of the purposes of a language programme (where students, on arrival, may expect a grammar-focussed course, or a conversation class, for example). These types of perceived enhanced outcomes of course could be investigated in a more systematic way, and matched, for example, with the traditional assessed outcomes of a course. Nevertheless, the drama task engendered positive perceptions of enhanced learning in students, and the development of L2 identities as spontaneous language users, comfortable with their growing social identity as an L2 English speaker.
6. Conclusion
The evaluative feedback received from university language learners involved in the drama task indicates how a real-life communicative framework can be constructed within the walls of a classroom. Within such a framework, we see that authentic or 'real-life' (simultaneously enabling, frustrating, uncomfortable, productive) communication takes place. Of course, it helps that learners are keen to use the target language for their own academic and personal goals, and that the target language is the lingua franca of the classroom. Nevertheless, it can be argued that there is something very special about the nature of drama which allows students to engage powerfully with each other, to draw on their own personal stories, and to generate both 'off-line' and 'on-line' communication. It is in the very interaction, the to and fro, between the rehearsed and performed, the private and the public, the exploratory and then planned, that learners grow in awareness both of the language learning process, and of the nature of their language learning products or utterances. In this task-based framework, learners plan, prepare and cooperate in unpredictable communicative situations and with challenges of the group dynamic, yet with the support of scripted communication and in the perspective of a final performance. One key question we are currently addressing in this programme is how students' own backgrounds, cultural sensibilities and learning preferences have an impact on their level of involvement and satisfaction with group learning, drama and task completion. An empirical investigation of collaboration learning is underway, examining the student experience of task-based learning from a longitudinal perspective.
The interaction described above by students, which echoes my earlier conceptualisations of agency, identity and autonomy, is a powerful indicator of where learners are stretched and pulled, and where they push and grow. This recalls van Lier's (2010) distinction between ways in which learners are "compelled to, allowed to act", versus "how learners decide to, want to, agree to, and negotiate to, act". Learners become co-agents, visibly interdependent both in the dramatic process and product. This creates a vital living bridge between the individual and the social. This bridge (which can be understood as real-life or authentic communication) is mostly artificial in a language classroom context: accepted by all to be a necessary ill, and lessened somewhat by the group's decision to pretend to engage in the 'social' and to present an acceptable 'individual' face for the sake of the classroom dynamic; authentic interaction only takes place outside the classroom door and after class, rarely in the target language.
This present paper has presented a conceptualisation of task-based learning that is located within a discussion of agency, autonomy and identity. It has argued that the use of drama in such a framework fulfils the schema for an authentic task, apt to meet the learning needs of language students, and to foster progress in second and foreign language learning. Drama tasks such as those outlined here allow for communication between "personal identity" and "social identity" (Riley 2010). Until learners act as themselves in the language they are learning, and learn to express their personal identity, they remain artificially trapped in social representation and unable to express individual needs and wants; in the words of Giddens (1991: 70), "What to do? How to act? Who to be?"
Bakhtin, Mikhail; Holquist, Michael; Emerson, Caryl (1981): The Dialogic Imagination. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press
Borge, Sheree (2007): The Use of Drama Activities in Teaching German in a Third-level Classroom. In: Scenario, I/1, 1-27
Conte, Rosario; Castelfranchi, Cristiano (1995): Cognitive and Social Action. London: UCL Press
Dalziel, Fiona; Santucci, Anna; Spedo, Giampaolo (2011): Rewriting the 'Duchess of Malfi': Adapting Webster's Tragedy for an ESL Drama Production. In: Scenario, V/1, 5-20
Deci, Edward; Ryan, Richard (2002): Handbook of Self-Determination Research. Rochester, (NY): University of Rochester Press
Deci, Edward; Vansteenkiste, Maarten (2004): Self-Determination Theory and Basic Need Satisfaction: Understanding Human Development in Positive Psychology. In: Ricerche di Psichologia, 27, 17–34
Dougill, John (1987): Drama Activities for Language Learning. London: Macmillan
Elliott, Anthony (2011): Routledge Handbook of Identity Studies. London: Routledge
Ellis, Rod (2003): Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Freire, Paolo (1996): Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin
Giddens, Anthony (1991): Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Cambridge: Polity Press
Healy, Celine (2004): Drama in Education for Language Learning. In: Humanising Language Teaching 6/3. Retrieved from http://www.hltmag.co.uk/sept04/mart7.htm (last accessed 12/04/2012).
Kaufman, Jean-Christophe (2004): L'Invention de Soi: Une Théorie de l'Identité. Paris: Armand Colin
Kramsch, Claire (2000): Social Discursive Constructions of Self in L2 learning. In: Lantolf, James (2000, ed.): Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning. New York: Oxford University Press
Krashen, Stephen (1981): Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. London: Prentice-Hall International
Legutke, Michael; Thomas, Howard (1991): Process and Experience in the Language Classroom. London: Longman
Little, David (1991): Learner Autonomy 1: Definitions, Issues, Problems. Dublin: Authentik
Maley, Alan; Duff, Alan (2005): Drama Techniques in Language Learning: A Resource Book of Communication Activities for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
O'Rourke, Breffni; Carson, Lorna (eds.) (2010): Language Learner Autonomy: Policy, Curriculum, Classroom. Oxford: Peter Lang
Prabhu, N.S. (1991): Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Riley, Philip (2010): Reflections on Identity, Modernity and the European Language Portfolio. In: O'Rourke, Breffni; Carson, Lorna (eds.) (2010), Language Learner Autonomy: Policy, Curriculum, Classroom. Oxford: Peter Lang
Ryan-Scheutz, Colleen; Marini-Maio, Nicoletta (2004): Dramatic Interactions: Teaching Languages, Literatures, and Cultures through Theater, Theoretical Approaches and Classroom Practices. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars
Skehan, Peter (1998): A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Stern, Susan (1980): Drama in Second Language Learning from a Psycholinguistic Perspective. In: Language Learning 30/1, 77-100
van Lier, Leo (2008): Agency in the Classroom. In: Lantolf, James; Poehner, M. (eds.): Sociocultural Theory and the Teaching of Second Languages. London: Equinox
van Lier, Leo (2010): Agency, Self and Identity in Language Learning. In: O'Rourke, Breffni; Carson, Lorna (eds.) (2010), Language Learner Autonomy: Policy, Curriculum, Classroom. Oxford: Peter Lang
Willis, Dave; Willis, Jane (2007): Doing Task-Based Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press


text:
RUGGLES Angels for muted brass (1940 version)
STRAVINSKY Suite from Pulcinella
SÉJOURNÉ Concerto for Marimba and Strings
HINDEMITH Concert Music for Brass and Strings
Marcelo Lehninger, Conductor | Ji Su Jung, Marimba – Winner of the 2018 Ima Hogg Competition
Igor Stravinsky could be called the most revolutionary musical voice of the last century. Yet his "Pulcinella" glances backward, refracting the Baroque elegance of Pergolesi into Stravinskian sounds. Hindemith's Concert Music for Brass and Strings is a shimmering showpiece, as are the floating "Angels" of maverick American Carl Ruggles. And recent prizewinner Ji Su Jung will dazzle in the Marimba Concerto of contemporary French master Emmanuel Séjourné.
Individual tickets start at $26 | Students $5
Marcelo Lehninger occupies the
George H. and Barbara A. Gordon Chair
Series Sponsor: Holland Home

subset: commoncrawl


text:
How can I tell if my data is up to date?
There are a few ways to check how "fresh" the data is within our dashboard.
- You can check by using the date range to see when the data stops populating
- This can be a time-consuming method
- You can go into Preferences and under the Application tab and enable the Data freshness date
- This data freshness date will allow you to see when the dashboard last successfully completed a fetch for data


text:
When British personality Piers Morgan succeeds the Larry King Live interview spot on CNN early next year, he swears to shake things up and then some.
Speaking exclusively with Deadline, the America's Got Talent judge and Celebrity Apprentice winner says he refuses to "be another man sitting in the CNN studio wearing red braces" and vehemently maintains that his TV competitors at FOX and MSNBC should really watch out.
"For years, Larry King has shown the power of the extended interview, which is something I've specialised [sic] in with my British talk shows," Morgan explains. "When it comes to my rivals, however long it takes, I'm going to be there to win. The main message I want to communicate is that I intend this show to be a game-changer in terms of how interview shows are conducted on American TV. And I haven't joined CNN to come 2nd, 3rd, or 4th."
President Barack Obama tops Morgan's interview wish list, while his fellow reality TV buddies Simon Cowell and Donald Trump are already lined up. One person that won't be on the show: Madonna. Morgan has criticized Madge's efforts in charity, especially her recent work in Malawi, as a publicity stunt. Yikes. Don't mess with Madge, dude.
Who would you like to see on Piers Morgan's CNN show next year?Read More


text:
Our mission:
Positive global impact by design.
Our products: Post-Surgical & Active Recovery Wear to help your body feel better & get better.
The Team:
Our core Prairie Wear team is headed up by Holli Markwald, a career entrepreneur who can balance a hundred things at once and still smile at everyone she meets! Backing Holli is a group of people from all over the world with different areas of expertise, a whole lot of personality, and a huge passion for life with the goal of generating positive global impact one person, and one design at a time.
To create the best of everything that we can dream up, our Support Team is comprised of some super amazing people from five different technical fields:
Surgery, oncology and recovery protocols
Strategically chosen surgeons who are recocognized for their innovative surgery techniques and their office/operating room team members have worked with us to ensure that our garments work optimally for surgeons and their patients.
Bra & breast movement science and research
An adjunct professor and leading expert on breast motion with an academic background in textiles and a PhD in exercise science who, after 30 years in the industry, still loves to educate us about boobs and put our garments to the test.
Foundation garment design & manufacture
Technical and aesthetic lingerie and underwear technical designers with extensive experience developing functional innovation for intimates collections.
Technical fabrics & performance construction
Designing, developing and producing garments that encompass fashion and function. Our 007 Design Team is always on the lookout for innovation from techniques (seamless) to materials (antibacterial) and beyond.
Comfort and recovery support
We have tapped into the expertise of people who know what it takes to get better, and feel better during recovery.
Why "prairie"?
At Prairie Wear, we are here to support journeys of change through recovery to new horizons.
One of the awe-inspiring horizons that we hold dear in our hearts is the expansive blue sky and endless green fields of the Prairie.
Our Prairie logo symbolizes the blue sky, green fields and the horns & wings of Prairie beings on the horizon within the global circle of life. Pretty wordy, we know, so take a minute to just visualize :)
We appreciate the Prairie's message of strength and prosperity in diversity – spring brings renewal, even after a harsh winter.
We know that on the Prairie and in life that it is not always blue sky and green fields but we carry with us the knowledge that blue sky and green fields exist, are attainable and can be welcomed into our world.


text:
|Rainer Maria Rilke at his desk in his Study
Some young prospective poet chanced to send his poems to Rilke and had asked for the poet's appraisal and criticism of same. Unusually, and kindly, Rilke replied with complete understanding and compassion. He sees the young man's request as being a very important one - one of conviction, one of dedication, one not of choosing a mere career or profession, but one of engaging in a vocation, answering a calling, following a path, a soul path, a path to sefhood, a path to truth; a real journey to authenticity in more existential terms.
In the first letter he addresses the following words to the would-be poet:
You are looking outside, and that is what you should most avoid right now. No one can advise or help you - no one. There is only one thing you should do. Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple "I must," then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. (See the above link)
A little later in the same letter he says:
And if out of this turning-within, out of this immersion in your own world, poems come, then you will not think of asking anyone whether they are good or not. Nor will you try to inte4rest magazines in these works: for you will see them as your dear natural possession, a piece of your life, a voice from it. A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity. That is the only way one can judge it. So, dear Sir, I can't give you any advice but this: to go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows; at its source you will find the answer to the question whether you must create. Accept that answer, just as it is given to you, without trying to interpret it. Perhaps you will discover that you are called to be an artist. Then take the destiny upon yourself, and bear it, its burden and its greatness, without ever asking what reward might come from outside. For the creator must be a world for himself and must find everything in himself and in Nature, to whom his whole life is devoted. (See the above link)
Interestingly, in Letter 3 to this young man, Rilke speaks of how near the creative act of any of the arts is to the sexual act - speaking about the books of an author named Richard Dehmel, he opines:
Then, Rilke speaks of his own books as if they were his own children. Indeed he had a daughter named Ruth (1901–1972) who was born in December 1901 to him and a sculptor friend Clara Westhoff. However, Rilke was not one for a middle-class family life, and in the summer of 1902 he left home and traveled to Paris to write a monograph on the sculptor Auguste Rodin who became a great friend. Still, even though they were separated, the relationship between Rilke and Clara Westhoff continued for the rest of his life. Anyway, it is interesting how tenderly he writes of his own books in this short letter:
You have characterized him quite well with the phrase: "living and writing in heat." - And in fact the artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different forms of one and the same longing and bliss. And if instead of "heat" one could say "sex" - sex in the great, pure sense of the word, free of any sin attached to it by the Church - then his art would be very great and infinitely important. His poetic power is great and as strong as a primal instinct; it has its own relentless rhythms in itself explodes from him like a volcano. (once again, see the above link)
Life is as transient as my footprints in the snow: 02/12/2010
Finally, as to my own books, I wish I could send you any of them that might give you pleasure. But I am very poor, and my books, as soon as they are published, no longer belong to me. I can't even afford them myself - and, as I would so often like to, give them to those who would be kind to them. So I am writing for you, on another slip of paper, the titles (and publishers) of my most recent books (the newest ones - all together I have published perhaps 12 or 13), and must leave it to you, dear Sir, to order one or two of them when you can. I am glad that my books will be in your good hands. (once again, see the above link)


text:
Singapore Communities in China
Connect with fellow Singaporeans based in China through these clubs, associations and communities. This is a selection of Singapore communities in China available from the Internet and is not meant to be an exhaustive list.
- International Enterprise Singapore Overseas Centres in China (Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Shandong [Qingdao], Shanghai, Wuhan, Xi'an)
- Overseas Singaporean Liaison – Greater China
- OSG – Globalising Young Singaporeans
- Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China (SingCham)
- Singapore Missions in China
International Enterprise Singapore Overseas Centres in China (Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Shandong [Qingdao], Shanghai, Wuhan, Xi'an)
The International Enterprise Singapore's Overseas Centre in several cities in China provides assistance to Singaporean companies that wish to venture into China or are already operating from there.
Overseas Singaporean Liaison – Greater China
Get together, meet and connect with fellow Singaporeans in Greater China as well as keep up to speed with the latest Singapore news and developments by connecting with the Overseas Singaporean Liaison Officer.
- Facebook page
- WeChat – OSLChina
OSG – Globalising Young Singaporeans
OSG is a non-profit social initiative dedicated to connecting Singapore youths to Singaporeans overseas by facilitating sharing between Singaporeans both abroad and at home.
Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China (SingCham)
SingCham aims to facilitate business, economic exchanges, understanding and friendly relations between its members and relevant Chinese authorities, enterprises and institutions, as well as Singapore firms with business interests in China.
Singapore Missions in China
We have listed the contact details of the Singapore Missions in China in the table below.
|Singapore Missions in China
|Singapore Embassy in Beijing
|Singapore Consulate-General in Chengdu
|Singapore Consulate-General in Guangzhou
|Singapore Consulate-General in Hong Kong
|Singapore Consulate-General in Shanghai
|Singapore Consulate-General in Xiamen


text:
An overview of how to use an IBAN or Manual Search to connect your international bank account
What is an IBAN?
An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is used as a standard format across the UK, Europe, and many other countries to streamline and standardize international payments. If you have an IBAN, entering it is the quickest way to link your account to Qwil. If you do not have an IBAN, you can always manually link your account by searching for your bank branch.
How do I find my IBAN?
You should be able to find your IBAN by logging on to your Online or Mobile Banking platform, selecting an account, and viewing the account details. It can also be found on your paper account statement. An IBAN is always at least 15 characters in length.
Linking your account using an IBAN
Once you've entered your IBAN the blue Continue button will illuminate and you can advance to review your account details. Please review these details carefully to ensure they are correct - this will help avoid any potential payment delays.
Manually linking your account to Qwil
If you don't have your IBAN, or you'd prefer to input your account information manually, select the Add Manually button and you'll be prompted to provide necessary account information. Qwil will help you locate and verify your account, but please be sure to include as much current information as possible. You'll need to have the full name of your bank as well as the city in which it's located. A branch or transit code, or a routing or SWIFT number are optional, but helpful to make locating and verifying your account faster and easier. Next, we'll help you locate your branch.
Will there be an issue if the name on my Qwil account is different than the name linked to my bank account?
When you are linking your bank account to Qwil, you will see an "Account Holder Name" field. Please ensure that the name listed in this field exactly matches the name on your bank account to avoid any potential payment delays. You will need to re-link your account or link a new account to Qwil from your Accounts tab to update this information if needed.
How do I select the currency for my international payments?
Select your account currency from the drop down menu. Please ensure your currency setting matches the currency associated to your account to avoid potential payment delays. (Example: If you're based in Canada with a Canadian bank account, but its account currency is set up as USD, then you would select Canada as your country and USD as your currency).
What if I do not see my bank branch listed in the search results?
Please make sure you have entered the correct city and bank name. You can filter the branch results by searching by branch code (also known as sort code or routing number in many countries) or branch address. As long as the branch code is correct, you can update the address fields for your branch on the next page if needed. If your branch is not showing in the search results, please contact email@example.com and we'll help you get setup!
Why am I being asked for additional account information?
Depending on the country of your account, we may be required to collect additional information for regulatory and compliance purposes. You may need to contact your bank directly for help with specific information. Please be sure that all of the information you submit is correct and current. If we attempt to send payments to an incorrect account it may result in delayed payment as well as additional service fees. If you have any questions, or need any assistance at all please reach out to firstname.lastname@example.com.
What if I need to change any of my banking details in Qwil at the final confirmation screen?
Please make sure you review and approve your account details before linking your account to Qwil. You will be able to click Continue to finish the process once you have scrolled down the page to review all information. If you need to make any changes, you can select the Back button and reenter the information.


text:
This content has been marked as final. Show 1 reply
Re: Is there a way to bulk deactivate users?jesse.fuller Jul 5, 2016 8:48 AM (in response to jcampbell)
Hi Jonathan,
There are a couple of options available which would bulk deactivate users in your instance.
If you are wanting users deactivated after a specific period of time you might find the user decay task helpful. For more information on this task check out - Users mysteriously being disabled? It may be the User Decay Task
Or if you are syncing your users via an external management system the "Disable federated user accounts not found in the directory" option might work for you - Synchronizing LDAP Users
Lastly, if you are interested in developing a task utilizing the API endpoints I would recommend checking out the Re: Ban and deactivate user by API discussion found in the Jive Developers space for more information.


text:
The Inspiration: "Mr. America." Photo by David Sims, W Magazine October 2007.
Gianvito Rossi boots, $1,170, netaporter.com.
6397 jeans, $325, lagarconne.com.
Jane Carr scarf, $240, jane-carr.com.
Chloe bag, $795, netaporter.com.
Givenchy necklace, $1,180, barneys.com.
T by Alexander Wang sweater, $275, lagarconne.com.
Pamela Love rings, $160 each, neimanmarcus.com.
Janessa Leone hat, $187, janessaleone.com.
Isabel Marant skirt, $585, netaporter.com.
Michael Kors bag, $895, michaelkors.com.


text:
Making a "Good" Cup of Coffee: Brewing and Sustainability Workshop
When it comes to coffee, the word "good" has two meanings.
The first is the one we're most familiar with - taste. The second is about doing good when buying and drinking coffee. This exclusive two-part class will cover both aspects of a "good" coffee.
Did you know that the water you use to brew your coffee can affect how it tastes? In the first half of the class, we'll have a brewing and tasting workshop where you'll pick up tips on making and enjoying a better cup of coffee, and as special guests of MIZUcafe produced by Cleansui, we'll explore in detail the impact that our water can make on how our coffee tastes.
In the second half, we'll discuss sustainability in the coffee industry, conscious consumerism, and the impact that your choices as a coffee drinker can make.
You'll leave the class empowered to be a more conscious coffee drinker, ready to enjoy the best coffee while doing good for the environment and coffee producers at the same time!
***Please note: Class will be taught in English***
Location: MIZUcafe produced by Cleansui (5 minute walk from Harajuku Stations)
Class duration: 2 hours
Maximum number of attendees: 10
Lorena Rodríguez - barista, currently a first-year Master's student at ICU. Her last position was coordinating inbound logistics for Royal Coffee, one of the world's leading specialty coffee importers, based in Emeryville, California, USA.
Michael McCarron - coffee extraction nerd-in-residence.
This workshop is presented by Coffee Positivo, in cooperation with MIZUcafe and Glocal Mitaka.
Coffee Positivo teaches coffee workshops everywhere to help people develop a deeper relationship with coffee and become more conscious coffee consumers.
MIZUcafe produced by Cleansui is a cafe concept focused on the health and flavor benefits of using the best possible water to brew your coffee or tea.
Glocal Mitaka is a NGO and volunteer group which supports community participation in and around Mitaka, Japan by foreign exchange students, mainly from International Christian University in Mitaka, Tokyo.
- Venue
- Tickets
Workshop Participant SOLD OUT ¥3,000
- Venue Address
- 6 Chome-34-14 Jingumae, Shibuya Japan
- Organizer
Coffee Positivo29 Followers


text:
1Pancreaticobiliary Medicine Unit, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
2University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
Received May 02nd, 2017 - Accepted June 13th, 2017
Background Rectal non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug at endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is now the standard of care to reduce the risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis. Pancreatic duct stenting also reduces the risk of post- ERCP pancreatitis in high-risk patients, but failed pancreatic duct stenting carries an increased PEP rate (up to 35%). Study Aim To assess the impact on post-ERCP pancreatitis of successful and unsuccessful pancreatic duct stent placement in the setting of universal rectal non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use. Methods Between 2013-2015, all patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographys in our tertiary referral centre (where rectal nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used routinely) were included. The electronic patient's records were reviewed and the following parameters were analysed: indication for pancreatic duct stenting; deployment success; and adverse events. Results A total of 1633 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographys were performed, and pancreatic duct stenting was attempted in 324 cases (20%), with successful placement in 307 patients (95%). Contra-indications to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were found in 106 (6.5%) patients. Prophylactic stenting failed in 12 of 213 patients; of whom one patient developed post-ERCP pancreatitis (8%). Eighteen (9%) patients with prophylactic pancreatic duct stents developed post-ERCP pancreatitis compared to 1.4% without prophylactic stents (RR 8.4, p=0.04). Conclusion A lack of difference in post-ERCP pancreatitis in those who underwent successful, and unsuccessful, pancreatic duct stent placement may reflect the protective effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. This data adds to evidence suggesting that pancreatic duct stenting may be less important, even in high-risk patients, with the widespread use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Pancreatic Ducts; Pancreatitis
ERCP endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography; NSAIDs non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; PD pancreatic duct
Post endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis (PEP) is the most frequent complication following ERCP, occurring in approximately 3.5% of unselected cases, with a 1-10% rate in average risk patients, but 25-30% in high-risk patients, such as those with suspected sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD) [1]. PEP is classified as severe in 11% of cases, which has a recognised morbidity and mortality [2].
Rectal non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been shown to reduce the incidence, as well as the severity, of PEP, even in high-risk patients [3, 4, 5]. The most recent European Guidelines advise that rectal NSAIDs are used before or immediately after ERCP in all patients without contraindications [6].
Prior to the rectal NSAIDs era, pancreatic duct (PD) stenting was a well-established method of reducing PEP, especially in high-risk patients. Randomised controlled trials showed that prophylactic PD stenting reduced the incidence of PEP by up to 70% [7, 8]. This trend has also been confirmed in a recent meta-analysis that showed that patients who had prophylactic PD stenting had a significantly lower incidence of PEP than groups without PD stents (OR=0.35, 95% CI 0.25-0.49) [9]. However, if PD stenting is attempted, but fails, the rate of PEP increases significantly to 35-66% in high-risk patients [9, 10]. Therefore, the 2016 ESGE guideline on papillary cannulation and sphincterotomy state that prophylactic PD stenting should only be performed by experienced endoscopists [11]. Interestingly, patients with failed PD stent insertion who received rectal NSAIDs may have lower rates of PEP, reported as only 5.3% in one study [5]. Larger studies including patients who had failed pancreatic ducts stenting but had received rectal NSAIDs are required to confirm these findings. Therefore, we retrospectively assessed a large dataset including the failed PD stent group in a period where all patients without a contraindication received rectal NSAIDs.
This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at University College London Hospital (UCLH), in London, a tertiary referral centre for ERCP.
Inclusion Criteria
Patients were >18 years old, who underwent an ERCP between January 1st 2013 and June 30th 2015.
Data Recorded
Cases were identified from our prospectively collected ERCP database. In addition, endoscopy (GI reporting tool, Unisoft medical systems, UK), imaging (PACS: picture archiving and communication system, GE Healthcare, USA), and electronic patient record databases were searched for procedure and patient outcome information. Patients referred from other hospitals were contacted by telephone maximally twice and if we were unable to contact them, they were assumed as lost to follow-up.
Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) Procedure
Informed written consent for each procedure was obtained, and included consent for rectal NSAIDs (Indomethacin or Diclofenac 100 mg rectally directly at end of the procedure) in all patients without contraindications. All ERCPs were performed by one of four experienced endoscopists using a standard duodenoscope (JFV or TJFV; Olympus KeyMed, Southend-on-Sea, UK) or Pentax scope ED34-i10T video duodenal scope. All patients were observed for 4 hours in the recovery area prior to discharge. Those with significant co-morbidity or who became symptomatic following the procedure were admitted to hospital for further observation and management as needed. Patients were discharged with written instruction concerning contacting the unit in the event of new symptoms suggestive of postprocedure complications.
Prophylactic PD stenting was attempted in those patients with predicted high risk of PEP (e.g. suspected sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, multiple pancreatic duct cannulation). Therapeutic PD stents were inserted in patients undergoing pancreatic endotherapy. Failed PD stenting was defined as attempt to stent but failure to actually deploy, which is a recorded field in our prospective ERCP data sheet. Single pigtail unflanged 5Fr 5-7 cm stents were used for prophylaxis (Cook Medical Inc, Bloomington, IN, USA). The type of therapeutic pancreatic stent used was chosen at the discretion of the endoscopist, but were 5-7Fr, 3-9 cm (Cook Medical Inc).
Pancreatitis Definition
Post ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) was defined as new or worsened abdominal pain, in association with a serum concentration of pancreatic enzymes (amylase or lipase) that was at least three times the upper limit of normal at more than 24 hours after the procedure, requiring hospital admission or a prolongation of planned admission [12].
Statistical Analyses
Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows, version 18.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used to perform all statistical analyses. Relative risks were calculated according to Altman, 1991.
Patient Demographics and Indications for ERCP
A total of 1633 ERCP procedures were performed during the 30 month study period (Figure 1). The mean (SD) age was 60 years (±18). Indications for ERCP included the management of biliary stones (46%), assessment and treatment of a biliary stricture (25%), and SOD (manometry +/- sphincterotomy) (6%). The remaining 25% consisted of a heterogeneous group (e.g. stent removal/change, biliary leak) (Table 1).
Indications for PD Stent Insertion and Rate of Post ERCP Pancreatitis
Prophylactic PD stenting was attempted in 213 patients (13% of total ERCPs), and was successful in 94% of cases. Indications for stenting included SOD (24%), prior to needle knife/pre-cut sphincterotomy (10%), and pancreatic sphincterotomy (2.5%). Prophylactic PD stenting failed in 12 patients, with PEP in one patient (8.3%). Successful prophylactic PD was associated with PEP in 9%, with no difference in relative risk of developing PEP in the failed prophylactic versus the successful PD stent placement (p=0.8).
Patients with successful prophylactic PD stents had a 9% risk of PEP vs. 1.4% in those without PD stent placement (Table 2). There was no difference in relative risk to develop PEP in the prophylactic PD stent group compared to the therapeutic PD stent group, 5.5 (p=0.09). Patients receiving prophylactic PD stents were at higher risk to develop PEP compared to the unstented group, 6.6 (p<0.001).
Rectal NSAIDs
Rectal NSAIDS were administered to 87% of patients. Of the 214 patients who did not receive rectal NSAIDs, 106 patients had contra-indications to NSAIDs (group A) and no specific reason was found/given for 108 patients (group B). Group A had 1 episode of PEP without prophylactic PD stent and had PD stents inserted in 18 patients (12 prophylactic, 2 assist cannulation, 4 therapeutic). Group B had no PEP episodes and had 12 patients with PD stents (8 prophylactic, 3 assist cannulation, 1 failed prophylactic).
In a sub-group of patients, 8 patients (3.8%), who had contra-indications to NSAIDs and had successful prophylactic PD stent no PEP was reported.
Other Adverse Events
Nine patients (0.6%) developed perforation, of whom 3 had PD stents and 6 had sphincterotomy (n=4 needle knife). A total of 17 (1%) developed minor post-sphincterotomy bleeding (none requiring transfusion).
In patients at high risk of PEP, historical studies estimate the risk of PEP to be as high as 30-40% [12, 13, 14]. In a seminal study of ERCP in patients with suspected SOD, Tanarsky et al. showed that PD stent placement reduced the risk of PEP from 26% to 7% [10]. An important observation of studies of PD stenting is that whilst high rates of successful stent placement have been reported from specialist centres (>96%), attempted, but failed, stenting is associated with markedly increased rates of PEP (>60%), with an increased risk of a severe course [15, 16]. In the present study of a large single-centre cohort of patients, the rate of PEP in patients receiving PD stenting (with a predicted high risk of PEP) was 9%, a level expected on the basis of previous studies. The interesting observation was that the rate of PEP in those in whom PD stenting failed was only 8%. In addition, the only patient in this group who developed PEP following failed PD stent insertion had a contra-indication to NSAIDs. Our study supports the findings of Choksi et al. who reported that in those patients in whom PD stenting was unsuccessful, 35% developed PEP, but when rectal NSAIDs were given the rate of PEP was only 5% [5]. It therefore seems likely that routine rectal NSAIDs use attenuates the risk of PEP, perhaps to the extent that this negates the need for prophylactic PD stenting (as suggested by an apparent lack of increase in PEP in the setting of failed PD stenting).
The question remains as to whether the routine use of rectal NSAIDs alone renders PD stenting an unnecessary additional intervention in reducing the incidence of PEP. Recently, the combination of rectal NSAIDs and stents has not been shown to be superior to either approach alone [1]. Although in our study 9% of patients receiving prophylactic PD stenting and NSAIDs developed PEP, compared to 1.4% who received only NSAIDS, this is likely to be explained by the endoscopists' pre- or peri-procedure assessment of the patients as being at high risk of PEP, leading to a decision to attempt PD stenting. However, it is not possible to categorically conclude from our study whether the increased relative risk of PEP in those patients undergoing attempted PD stenting (RR 6.6 (p≤0.001)), compared to the unstented group, was due to inherent risk of PEP in those selected for stenting, or as a result of attempted stenting per se. In a recent retrospective study from China (623 patients in the period 2008- 2014), the authors concluded that prophylactic PD stents may be a superior method in preventing PEP when compared to NSAIDs [17]. Interestingly though, rectal NSAIDs were only given in high-risk cases at the discretion of the surgeon/ endoscopist and when given, they were not immediately given after ERCP. The latter is relevant as a recent analysis of randomised controlled trials showed that PEP was reduced especially in the group where rectal NSAIDs were given before ERCP [18]. Surprisingly, a recently published randomized controlled trial did not show reduced PEP risks in patients receiving rectal indomethacin [19]. An explanation could be that most of these patients (70%) were of average risk for PEP. Another explanation for the results could be the use of indomethacin as a metaanalysis of 11 randomised controlled trials showed no significant effect of Indomethacin on preventing PEP compared to other NSAIDs [18]. An awaited prospective randomised study of rectal NSAIDs versus rectal NSAIDs and PD stenting in patients at high risk of PEP may help to resolve this important clinical question [20] .
Limitations of this study include the fact that the data was collected retrospectively; 7% of patients did not receive NSAIDS, despite the absence of recorded contraindication; and 7.6% patients were lost to followup in the unstented group compared to 3% in the stented group. Also, as PD stent insertion was left to the discretion of the endoscopist, eg. to assist biliary cannulation, this was likely a source of bias as to which patients were stented by the 4 experienced endoscopists doing the procedures. Lastly, we showed that unfortunately 108/214 patients who didn't receive rectal NSAIDs didn't seem to have had an apparent reason for this, which we have used in an audit to optimise rectal NSAIDs implementation.
In this large single centre cohort study of patients undergoing ERCP, in whom prophylactic NSAIDs were given as standard, no difference in rates of PEP were seen in those high risk patients who underwent successful PD stenting, compared to those in whom PD stenting was attempted, but failed. Despite the retrospective character of this study with limitations as outlined above, our findings do support emerging data that the benefit of NSAIDS may negate or reduce the necessity of PD stenting to reduce the risk of PEP.
Funding: This work was supported by NIH Grant PO1 CA084203.
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest


text:
Forrest and our granddaughter Lily arrived on Wednesday the 10th for a weeklong visit. Well, to be honest it is a visit/work vacation as Forrest is going to wire all the electrical in our house!
|Forrest and Lily arriving at the airport!
Our hearts go out to Paula's family but are happy with the thought that she is now at peace with Barb's dad.
|Paula with Barb's dad
|Lots of boxes in the kitchen alone!
|Forrest working in the bathroom
|Lily even got in on the action!
|That is a mess of wires!
|All cleaned up and ready for inspection!
Lily meanwhile was decorating the floor in our bedroom. We will now forever have part of Lily under our flooring when the house is done.
|This is a picture of Dakota
|Front door is also in!
With the house work all done it was time for some play! Barb had taken Lily to Evans Plunge, a combination hot springs/waterslide in Hot Springs. We had never been there before and although Barb said it was a little crowded she said she would go back there again. She had also taken Lily to Wind Cave National Park to complete the Jr. Ranger program where she got another badge for her vest!
|Lily with the Purple Pig
|Did you know Smokey turned 75 this year!?!?
|Dance Party!
The next day Forrest and I snuck out for a quick fishing trip to Ditch Creek. Forrest started out the action by landing this beautiful rainbow.
So although I am headed to one of my "Happy Places" it is bittersweet with the death of Paula and going without Barb. Just another reminder of how fragile life is and how it can change in a minute.


text:
Savannah Plastic Surgery
Business Name: Savannah Plastic Surgery
Business Genre: Health
Short Business Description: Our surgeons have nearly 200 years of combined experience. Four of our doctors are Board Certified in Plastic Surgery. In addition to receiving their undergraduate medical degrees, these 4 doctors have completed a residency in general surgery and an approved residency in plastic surgery, passed a rigorous written and oral board examination, and practiced plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery for a minimum of four years.
Long Business Description:
We want to be your first choice when it comes to cosmetic surgery, skin care, and life enhancing services provided by a team committed to compassion, education, and excellence. Using a delicate balance of science and art, our physicians can customized every surgery to meet your personal needs and goals.


text:
Vinasun has voiced its opposition to the conclusion of the Vietnam Competition Council (VCC) that the merger between ride-hailing firms Grab and Uber in the country showed no signs of economic concentration.
VCC had earlier concluded that the merger did not violate the Competition Law, which is contrary to both Singapore's and the Philippines' rulings for the same case.
Singapore's competition watchdog in September last year fined Grab and Uber a combined 13 million Singapore dollars (US$9.6 million) for their merger. Meanwhile, they faced a fine of 16 million pesos (US$0.3 million) in the Philippines.
These two countries' competition watchdogs also took steps to supervise and control Grab's operations, to prevent it from ruling the market.
Vinasun Deputy General Director Truong Dinh Quy said that VCC's conclusion had bucked the trend. The conclusion that the merger did not affect the Vietnamese under-nine-seat automobile passenger market as Uber Vietnam has not registered to provide ride-hailing services or directly manage the Uber app is unreasonable, he said.
According to Vinasun, the Grab-Uber deal has affected the competition in the local market as Grab is now serving a quarter of Vietnam's population. Grab's holding of data of a quarter of the population and the right to transfer that data to a third party poses a high risk to the local economy, national defense and social order.
In addition, in the first-instance hearing of Vinasun's lawsuit against Grab, demanding noncontractual compensation, on December 28 last year, the HCMC People's Court concluded that Grab had operated as a taxi company but had violated regulations on providing taxi services.
The Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority had earlier launched an investigation into the merger of Grab and Uber and found that the deal had violated the economic concentration rules of the Competition Law.
The combined market share of Grab and Uber in Vietnam at the time was over 50%, instead of less than 30% as claimed by Grab. Meanwhile, the law prohibits economic concentration where the combined market share of the participating enterprises in the relevant market is more than 50%.
Besides this, the Grab-Uber merger deal violated the rule on prohibited mergers, and authorities were not informed of the merger as required by law.
Therefore, Vinasun proposed the VCC chairman revoke the ruling on the Grab-Uber merger and open another public hearing with the participation of the relevant parties.
According to a report on SGT


text:
Intrepid - First known use: - 1680
Resolute, Fearlessness, Courageous, Determined, Resolute, Undeterred, Spirited, Adventuresome, Wild, and Unafraid.
Experience Makes The Difference
Wedding's - Private Parties
Trivia & Karaoke
Saint Louis Disc Jockey, Wedding / Receptions, Events, Company Parties, Entertainment, Trivia & Karaoke DJ
Over 15 years experience - We help you in your planning
7 Decades of music - Including new music
We truly obsess about your event running the way you want.
Great parties happen when people that really know what they're doing are on-hand to help it unfold.
We treat your guests like royalty and deliver the perfect event !
Best price for the Best Entertainment in Saint Louis


text:
Event Information
|Event Date:
|12th August 2019
|Event Location:
|Anglesey, North Wales - [ View Map ]
|Noise Limits:
|105 db
|Sign On Time:
|07:30 am
|Briefing Time:
|08:30 am
|Track Start Time:
|09:00 am
|Track End Time:
|05:00 pm
Additional Information
Building on the very enjoyable days at Anglesey over the last three years, we have again purchased one full session at the Lotus 7 Club day there. We will have one dedicated MG session of 20 mins each hour running 20 cars so it will be be mixed ability. We expect each car to have over 2 hours of track time during the day assuming no serious stoppages. The morning session will run on the Coastal Circuit whilst the afternoon session will be on the International circuit.
Whilst we are confident that the day will run along similar lines to normal MGoT days, we are not the prime organiser and so cannot guarantee everything will be the same as usual. However, there will be several MGoT committee members participating and Dave Pearce will be the MGoT representative on the day. Please address any questions to Dave Pearce at firstname.lastname@example.com
We encourage all drivers to take the opportunity of instruction with Association of Racing Drivers Schools (ARDS) Grade A qualified instructors. We strongly advise all levels of experience to take advantage of these, but it is especially beneficial for first time and novice drivers. Book and pay at the same time you book your place. Please note we are unable to provide more than two instruction sessions per car and it is not available in cars not fitted with seatbelts. Any additional booked will be cancelled. We regret that there is no 3 session afternoon coaching available at this event.
Feel free to book either or both morning (Coastal) instruction and afternoon (International) instruction.
Helmet Hire
We have helmets available to hire on a first come, first served basis and these can be booked online at the same time as you book your place.
Second Drivers
You can book to bring along a second driver but we can only allow one additional driver per car. The second driver must sit as passenger during the sighting laps and then perform his own sighting laps at a lower speed during his first session on track. If your second driver's experience is significantly different to your own, please discuss this with Dave Pearce at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Passengers are free, bring as many as you like but only one in a car at a time. Please either enter their names when you book or email the event manager to let him know.
Details about the day
We will email an event guide with final instructions about a week before the event. Please read it carefully when it arrives. The event guide will also be posted in the Pit Lane forum. This day is open to MGs and compatible marques. Please contact Dave Pearce to ensure your non MG is considered compatible. We reserve the right to cancel non compatibles. Because it is a single session all cars must be registered and road legal. You must also bring your full driving license to the sign-on or you may not be allowed on track.
Booking is only through this website.
You need to be logged in in to the website to see the 'Book and Pay' button. Use this to make a secure, online payment to guarantee your place and extras. Debit and Credit Cards are the only form of payment methods we are able to accept.
The MGCC member price will only be given if you have entered your membership number in your website profile HERE BEFORE booking your place. We cannot give retrospective refunds for this.
Who's going
|Log in to see driver names
|2003 MG TF 160 (160 bhp) - Blue
|1963 MG B (110 bhp) - BRG
|2002 MG TF 160 Sprint (176 bhp) - Silver
|1998 MG F VVC (180 bhp) - Flame Red
|2003 MG TF 160 Sprint (170 bhp) - Trophy Blue
|1966 MG B GT (112 bhp) - Black
|1973 MG B Roadster (125 bhp) - red
|1972 MG Midget (95 bhp) - Harvest Gold
|2003 MG TF 160 (160 bhp) - Le Mans Green
|1964 MG B Roadster (115 bhp) - RED
|2002 MG ZR (120 bhp) - blue
|2001 MG F Trophy 160 (160 bhp) - Trophy Yellow
|1980 MG V8 B Roadster (240 bhp) - Blue
|1972 MG B GT (120 bhp) - Teal BLUE
|1973 MG Midget (109 bhp) - Damask
|1974 MG B GT (95 bhp) - Black
|1975 MG B Roadster V8 (220 bhp) - Atlantic Blue
|1972 MG B GT (200 bhp) - RED
|1995 MG RV8 (190 bhp) - Nightfire Red
|2002 MG TF (150 bhp) - Trophy Blue
Event Manager
David Pearce
07976 796213
Upcoming Events
25th August 2020
Status: Open
7th September 2020
Status: Open
5th October 2020
Status: Open
26th October 2020
Status: Open
7th December 2020
Status: Open
Spaces: 26/36
Recent Events.
10th August 2020
[ Event Info ]
17th July 2020
[ Event Info ]
6th July 2020
[ Event Info ]


text:
Michael Bolton
Search News Posts
Happy birthday to michael hope you have a fantastic day full of everything you like best. love always Chris J
Added by Christine (chris ) Jones on February 26, 2014 at 6:30am —
No Comments
Welcome toMichael Bolton
Sign Upor Sign In
© 2020 Created by Michael Bolton Admin.
Powered by
Badges |
Report an Issue |
Terms of Service
Please check your browser settings or contact your system administrator.


text:
I was gonna try out the PTR for the new patch and then realize I was invited to the ROS Beta. I got a CPU warning and was gonna go ahead with the download but decided against it. The reason why is because they gave the warning but they didn't state what may happen if I followed through with the download. Would a blue or green mind letting me know the problems that could result from downloading when you have a CPU warning? Thank You.
CPU Warning
# 1 Jan 7, 2014
# 5 Jan 7, 201401/07/2014 03:24 PMPosted by SkunkleafI got a CPU warning
What does the warning say, Skunkleaf?
Can you post some computer information from the Direct X Diagnostic Tool (dxdiag)?
After you've created the dxdiag report file, open it up, and copy and paste everything, except after this section:
DirectShow Filters
After you paste everything into a post, highlight everything, and hit the "pre" button (It says "Code Blocks" when you hover your mouse over it). That'll make the information much more readable.
Rate me! https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Velnrak


text:
Reviews and ramblings about children's and young adult literature by an absentminded middle school librarian. I keep my blog to remember what I've read and to celebrate the wonderful world of children's and young adult literature.
Monday, July 9, 2018
Middle Grade Monday and Arc Review: No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen
No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen. 276 p. Wendy Lamb Books/ Random House Children's Books, September 11, 2018. 9781524768348. (Review from arc courtesy of the publisher.)
We know immediately that something huge has happened to twelve-year-old Felix Knuttson because he's asking a police officer if he's going to be interrogated. He's seen the procedure on t.v. and wonders if his mother, Astrid is being interrogated in another room. He's assured they are not. He's also outraged because they didn't commit any crimes, the criminals got away and Felix and his mom are at the police station.
Once Felix realizes this sympathetic police officer knows the secret he was sworn to keep, Felix explains how their temporary housing crisis came to be. Felix and Astrid were not always between addresses. For the first part of Felix's fatherless life, the two lived with Mormor, his Swedish grandmother, in Astrid's childhood home. Readers learn, through Felix's matter-of-fact, earnest and endearing narrative about how he developed his love for a trivia game show, Who, What, Where, When, thanks to Mormor, who also made his tomte, a gnome-like creature from Swedish folklore (p.8) that Felix carries everywhere.
After Felix's mormor died, Astrid sold the home and purchased a condo. Astrid lost both her jobs and the building began to sink because it was built on a riverbank. Astrid could not afford the cost of repair and so the condo was sold at a loss. And so, the family downsized again and again, each place a bit danker than the last, until they found themselves evicted and an abusive ex-boyfriend's van was the only option.
It was temporary, Astrid said. It was even fun, until the Vancouver summer turned to fall. Astrid managed to get Felix enrolled in a French immersion school. There, he reunited with an old friend and made a new one. He was happy there but their secret was getting harder and harder to keep what with the availability of showers and clean laundry limited. But Astrid's warning that he would be taken away from her and put in a foster home compelled Felix to stay silent. It was easier to lose friends than to lose Astrid.
Though there is plenty of heartbreak here, Felix is resilient and loves his mom fiercely. He buys into her lies and supports her unconditionally. Until he can't and makes a life-changing decision. Felix is a winning narrator and the reader's heart will break for him again and again; but there's humor and hope to balance things out.
Give No Fixed Address to readers who enjoy humor in their sad books or to fans of How to Steal a Dog or Crenshaw or fans of Nielsen's We are All Made of Molecules and The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen. Readers will laugh, cry and perhaps examine their assumptions about the homeless. No Fixed Address is a first-purchase. I can't wait to hand this to my students come fall.
ETA: I forgot to mention that I adore this cover!
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
PhD is one of the toughest intellectual quests for anyone. Here are 5 things that I have learned from my experience that I hope will benefit you:
1. People around us are crucial for our PhD success
While I still believe we are an extremely important determinant of our own success, I would never have got my PhD without the support of everyone I have met.
They have gone above and beyond what was expected, often at the expense of their own time that they needed themselves.
So everything good that I will do with my life from now on will be because of the impacts they have on me.
Remember, the kindness of people around you is a blessing, no matter how small it is. Appreciate them with all your heart.
2. I am not as smart as I thought I was…
I always see myself as an average student. But before PhD, whenever I put my best effort into something — an exam, for example — I usually did well.
That did not happen during the PhD.
There were so many times I tried my best to grasp certain scientific concepts or techniques, and I still couldn't get them.
It is psychologically unnerving when it happens to you. You wake up in the middle of the night feeling anxious. You worry, almost constantly, about how your inadequacy is going to create problems for others.
And yet, realising your limits is also humbling. The same fire that appears to melt your self-confidence actually purifies it; it burns your arrogance away.
PhD experience teaches you to be independent, not to be a loner. You always need others no matter how good you think you are.
It also nurtures a sense of compassion in you. When you see someone struggles on things that are easy for you, you will feel driven to help them, because you know truly well how they feel.
3. …but being smart matters less than I used to believe
Not being a genius won't stop you from getting a PhD. Resilience matters more than intelligence. Three things can help:
- Be at peace with your limitations
Don't be in denial. Acknowledge that you're not good at it, yet. Notice how it feels like: how uncomfortable it feels in your stomach, how your heart beats when you're afraid. Once you are at peace with your imperfections, you can courageously confront your frustrations, and then transmute them into fuel that propels you forward.
- Push yourself beyond those limitations
It's not just about working hard; that is just the starting point. You need to open your senses to resources and helpful people around you. Focus on improving, not just specific PhD techniques, but also your general life skills (how to read more efficiently, how to manage your energy throughout the day, etc). Relentlessly find new approaches to achieve personal breakthroughs.
- Acknowledge your progress to yourself
Even if nobody sees that you're getting better, you have to see it. Otherwise, your motivation will wane and you will give up. Don't compare yourself to others (more about this later). Appreciation and gratitude are the keys. Appreciate your own progress, and be grateful to those who help you get there.
4. The path towards success is unique for everyone
One of the worst things you can do is keep comparing yourself to others. Every PhD journey is unique. Everyone progresses differently, faces different personal life challenges, and have a different set of strengths and weaknesses.
This principle applies to life in general as well.
People who have PhDs are not necessarily more successful than people who don't. Women who own companies are not better than ones who raise children at home. Science students are not smarter than those who study art or humanities.
Stop comparing yourself to others, or judging others based on what you have achieved. It depletes your life energy. Let others define what their own success is to them.
You have to define yours.
5. You should face your own angels and demons
Doing something that challenges you to the core, even if you "fail", is worth it.
And it doesn't have to be a PhD study. For you, it could be starting a business, changing a career path, learning martial arts, or entering a competitive sport.
In that struggle, you will face the best and the worst of your inner world. It tests your character. Being patient is easy when things go well, but would you react the same way when your two-month experiments fail?
You also will ask yourself questions that you wouldn't have asked otherwise:
"Is this what I really want to do for the rest of my life?"
"What decisions I made that got me here?"
"What's the point of this, and for that matter, of everything?"
And those questions will become real to you. They won't be just some abstract stuff that people talk about on YouTube or write in books. They are about your life now, and you need real answers to stop things from falling apart.
Finding those answers, and what you discover in that search, will change everything.
Is a PhD worth doing?
If you're on the fence, if you say to yourself, "Yeah, it might be good to do a PhD, but I'm not sure whether it's worth the emotional pain", then I'll share with you one last secret:
PhD actually made me feel dumber.
Because the experience forces me to become aware of my ignorance: how much I don't understand the infinite complexity of everything, once you go beyond the surface.
When you go beyond the surface — when you study something profoundly — it changes the way you look at that thing, at everything else, and, most importantly, at who you are in the totality of it all.
Your universe will shift, and you will become stronger and wiser because of it. You will never be the same person again.
And that, I promise you, makes a PhD worth doing.


text:
We are pleased to announce that our third Protecting the Past conference entitled 'Documentation as a Tool for Heritage Protection' will take place between Saturday 2 December and Monday 4 December 2017 in Tunis (Tunisia), at the headquarters of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO). A preliminary programme is now online here.
This conference is co-organised by EAMENA, ALECSO, Global Heritage Fund (GHF) and ICCROM-ATHAR Regional Conservation Centre in Sharjah. Click here to find out more about the organisers.
Attendance is free and open, but online registration is necessary as seating is limited. Please click here to be redirected to the registration form.


text:
Functional Outcomes for Older Adults Injured in a Crash
This report explores health and quality-of-life impacts of crashes among older (65+) and middle-aged (40-55) occupants. Analyses indicated the injured people had long-term health decrements following the crashes, and that older and middle-aged injured occupants showed continuing health decrements approximately 15 months following the crashes. Although both groups showed similar physical effects, middle-aged people showed greater quality-of-life decrements. These findings demonstrate the long-term implications of injury crashes and therefore highlight the need for crash avoidance and mitigation countermeasures.


text:
Price: $4.00
Quantity: 1 available
Book Condition: Good
X-lib with usual markings. Slightly cocked, end papers stuck to flyleaves.
Title: The Education of Edward Kennedy, a Family Biography
Categories: JFK & the Kennedys,
Publisher: New York, William Morrow & Co.: 1972
Binding: Hard Cover (x-library)
Book Condition: Good
Jacket Condition: DJ Good
Item: 1.00 Item
Seller ID: 3712


text:
Leah recommends you:
A Pint of the Black Stuff
#Guinnessbrewery in #Ireland is like booze and brunch. They just fit together and its an unwritten law that you have to visit one. Im a massive #foodanddrink fan so this was heaven for me, added bonus was having a 360 view over the beautiful #Dublin.
I'd been in Dublin for a full five hours and still not visited the Guinness Brewery. It was time to change that.
I'd been in Dublin for a full five hours and still not visited the Guinness Brewery
I left Trinity College in search of a green hop on-hop off tour bus, and I didn't look too far to find one. Thanks to Dublin Bus Tours, my transportation was taken care of. Their informative guides taught me about the city as I rode in comfort to the Guinness Storehouse. After such a long day traveling, it was nice just to sit back, relax, and take in Dublin's most famous sites.
Their informative guides taught me about the city as I rode in comfort to the Guinness Storehouse
A short fifteen-minute ride and I arrived to my destination. Even though it was a Sunday and shortly after noon, there was a bit of a crowd. Billed as Ireland's number one tourist attraction, I wasn't surprised. Fortunately, I bought my ticket online. I skipped the line and marched over to the automated ticket machine, punched in my confirmation number, and headed for the entrance with tickets in hand.
I entered into the giant, seven-story atrium and saw the world's largest pint glass stretching up through the middle. The 9,000 year lease signed in 1759 by the brewer's founder, Arthur Guinness, was on display there, too. The merchandise store grabbed my attention, and I walked in for a peek around. Anything you could imagine was branded with the fabled Irish beer's name. After a quick browse around, I began my self-guided tour.
saw the world's largest pint glass
Up the escalator I went. The look of the place was quite industrial with its exposed bricks and concrete floors. It was dark, but displays were lit up with spotlights. Television screens were scattered about showcasing the brewing process. Relics from the Guinness brewing past were featured throughout this floor as well. Interactive presentations of water, barley, hops, and yeast, caught my eye.
On the next floor I learned about storage and transportation of Guinness throughout its history. Coopers are the men who made the barrels that held the beer, were highly-skilled craftsmen. After all, it was imperative that the beer retain it's flavor during shipping.
Coopers are the men who made the barrels that held the beer
Old Jameson Distillery Tour
Viking Splash Tour in Dublin
It was ten years after the lease was signed that Guinness first exported its beer. Six and a half barrels were sent by boat to England. The black stuff, one of Guinness' nicknames, has been dispatched by horses, trains, barges, boats, and trucks.
I went another floor higher, reaching the third. This level was dedicated to various sponsorships and advertisements. From sports to cultural events, Guinness is known the world over for lending its name to rugby, hurling, and a host of other sporting events. Memorabilia lined the walls and offered a glimpse of another side of the Guinness empire.
I finally reached the top floor, the one that holds the world-famous Gravity Bar. With a 360 degree view of Dublin, this is said to be the best view of the city. It certainly didn't disappoint. Tables full of people lined the floor to ceiling windows. With the circular bar in the middle, bartenders worked furiously to keep patrons' glasses full.
With a 360 degree view of Dublin
Not normally a beer drinker, I bellied up to the bar and ordered a pint. It was good, really good, as a matter of fact. I'd been told that Guinness tastes better in Ireland. I didn't believe it until that moment. Laughter and smiles filled the bar. I wasn't surprised. The skies were clear and the beer was dark. It was a perfect Irish day.