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There are no pre-requisites for this module to be added
The module examines the definitions and development of the HRM function and provides and overview of the range of areas in which it can make a contribution to the management of an organisation. It highlights the way in which these have been adapted or developed to meet the changing needs of organisations in recent years. The module has three main areas of focus; the first surrounds exploring the HRM function in organisations whilst looking at the different stakeholder perceptions and how the function affects them. Secondly it examines how a HR department can manage employee resourcing and all that is involved within this with the focus being on employee recruitment and selection processes and the practical application of these practices; finally the module evaluates employee training and development strategies by considering the many different options that are available to organisations and exploring the process through which they make these decisions in practice.
LO1: Evaluate the concept of human resource management (HRM), exploring the impacts within organisations and identify major trends affecting the HR profession.LO2: Analyse the role played by HR specialists and line managers within organisations exploring and evaluating strategies for effectively managing people (individually and in teams) in organisations.LO3: Critically explore the main models and methods adopted in employee resourcing with particular focus on recruitment and selection and assess the impact of these processes on organisational success.LO4: Evaluate systematic strategies and processes of training and development, identifying how this influences the performance of individuals and the overall organisation as a result of such strategies and processes. | https://www.modules.napier.ac.uk/Module.aspx?ID=HRM08101 |
The purpose of this assessment task is for students to individually:
1. Demonstrate research capabilities by locating useful information through an exploration of a range of corporate, institutional, and academic sources including specialised databases.
2. Demonstrate analytical capabilities using key unit frameworks to reveal significant issues that could inform strategy options.
3. Demonstrate synthesis capabilities by identifying and prioritising the company’s strategic opportunities and weaknesses that must be addressed.
The unit learning outcomes assessed are:
LO1. Identify and evaluate the impact of key environmental factors, including economic, social, technological, political, and environmental, on the strategic management context;
LO2. Critically review and apply the major models used in strategic analysis via a range of case studies;
LO4. Evaluate designated strategic management tools in order to recommend appropriate strategic responses to business problems;
Assessment Structure
This individual student assessment requires the preparation of an internal and external environmental analysis report for an assigned company which would be the same as what the student’s group has been assigned for the final assessment (Assessment 3).
Each student will be part of a Group which has been assigned to work on a particular company. Students must work on Assessment 2 by themselves and only after the submission deadline, share the results of this assessment task with the Group. This assessment would therefore allow each student to provide substantial information that would be useful in putting together a comprehensive strategic plan for the Group project (Assessment 3). The Group could then decide what parts among the shared Assessment 2 work of its members could be useful for their Assessment 3 report.
Instructions with sub-instructions
To get started on your assessment task, please follow the below instructions.
-
- Identify and outline analytical frameworks that could be used to systematically consider information on the company’s internal and external environment
- Locate useful information through a comprehensive research of a range of publications and databases accessible from the Library.
- Fill in analytical frameworks using the provided templates and rate the importance of identified factors.
- Determine and discuss the strategic implications emerging from the analysis of the company’s opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses.
- Submit your report via the dropbox in VUC by the submission date.
N.B. You need to cite at least 4 academic journal sources from the unit or from your own journal.
Assessment Criteria
The following levels of criteria will be used to grade this assessment task: | https://essaywritingteam.com/blog/identify-and-outline-analytical-frameworks-that-could-be-used-to-systematically-consider-information-on-the-companys-internal-and-external-environment-2/ |
The 2019 Pediatric Webinar Series is presented in collaboration with the Pennsylvania’s Pediatric Palliative Care Coalition (PPCC) and Greater Illinois Pediatric Palliative Care Coalition (GIPPCC).
Join us as we discuss seizures, one of the most common symptoms seen in pediatric patients receiving hospice or palliative care. Managing seizures is often complex and can be overwhelming for healthcare providers. While collaboration with a pediatric neurologist is ideal for treating these patients, it isn’t always possible. Therefore, hospice and palliative care practitioners must develop some familiarity with the various treatment options.
Through case examples, this session will review possible causes of seizures, discuss non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatment options based on seizure type, and evaluate potential therapy adjustments that may be necessary as patients approach end-of-life.
$40 Individual Registration / $150 Organization Registration
1 CEU included for nurses and social workers.
Webinar participants will:
1. Identify potential causes of pediatric seizures and common seizure types
2. Discuss targeted pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options
3. Evaluate treatment options as patients approach end-of-life.
FACULTY:
Melissa Hunt, PharmD
Pediatric Clinical Pharmacist
Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services
St. Louis, MO
Dr. Melissa Hunt graduated from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy with her Bachelor of Science and Doctorate of Pharmacy degrees and then completed an American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP) accredited pediatric pharmacy practice residency at Norton (Kosair) Children’s Hospital in Louisville, KY.
Dr. Hunt worked as a clinical pharmacy specialist in a pediatric intensive care unit prior to joining Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services, where she now serves as the Pediatric Clinical Pharmacist. In her role with Optum, Dr. Hunt serves on pediatric interdisciplinary teams, provides clinical consults on pediatric patients, and presents educational programs for staff and clients. Dr. Hunt co-authored the Pediatric Palliative Care Consultant. She is a member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and serves on the Children’s Project on Palliative/Hospice Services (ChiPPS) pediatric advisory council. In addition, she is a member of numerous pharmacy organizations including Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (PPAG).
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Full attendance at the live webinar (you must attend a minimum of 50 minutes) is a prerequisite for receiving professional continuing education credit. Attendees requesting CEU credit must each call into the webinar individually using the call-in number and computer link from the instruction email for attendance to be documented. If this is not done, there is no official documentation of attendance, and CEU credit cannot be granted for this webinar. Organizations who wish to show the live webinar to a group of staff can purchase the organization registration and work with CCCC staff to get sign-in sheets in order for attendance to be documented for CE purposes.
Everyone who wishes to receive CEs is also required to complete an online survey within 30 days following the webinar. A link to the evaluation will be provided in an email sent within 24 hours following the webinar. The email will also include links to the presentation recording and slides. Certificates will be sent via email.
Nursing: Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #CEP 15403, for one (1) contact hour.
Social Work: Course meets the qualifications for one (1) hour of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. CCCC is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LCSWs and LMFTs, Provider #91987.
Chaplains – This program may be used for continuing education credit for chaplains certified with the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellations must be made in writing no later than three (3) business days prior to the webinar, and faxed to (888) 789-9475 or e-mailed to [email protected], to receive a full refund. No refunds will be made after this date. Substitutions are encouraged and can be made by calling (916) 489-2222.
ANY QUESTIONS?
CCCC maintains responsibility for this course and its content. Please contact us at (916) 489-2222 or email [email protected] with any questions, to address a grievance, or to request special ADA accommodation needs.
Note: When registering, please use the email address of the person attending the webinar. | https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pediatric-webinar-series-managing-pediatric-seizures-at-end-of-life-tickets-53351801675 |
The Individualized Major is offered by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. The Individualized Major (IMJR) Program was first established in 1974 and since then more than 2300 students have graduated with a self-designed major. Currently, about 60 students graduate with an IMJR each year. About 35 percent of IMJRs pursue a double major or additional degree. About 20 percent are in the Honors Program. More than 35 percent study abroad and approximately 50 percent complete an internship for credit. IMJRs in the area of health studies are the most common. We also have strong clusters of students designing majors in international studies (including Global Studies), neuroscience, data science, crime and justice studies, and sport. Other recurring themes include film studies and public policy .
Admissions
The Individualized Major Advisory and Admissions Committee reviews admissions applications at meetings held several times per semester. There are two application deadlines each semester.
Admissions criteria
The Committee makes admissions decisions based on:
- Academic standing. A student must be in “good standing” and have a GPA of 2.0 (for a major in CLAS) or 2.5 (for a major in CAHNR) in order to apply to the Individualized Major Program. To graduate with an individualized major (in both CLAS and CAHNR), a student must achieve a major GPA of 2.5. Therefore the Committee will consider whether the student is likely to meet the GPA requirement for graduation.
- Coherence, rigor, and feasibility of the proposed major. The committee will evaluate whether the major theme (as presented in the student’s statement of purpose) and plan of study form a cohesive and conceptually-sound degree. It will also evaluate the academic rigor of the major, to make sure that it is on par with other majors at the university, and evaluate whether it can be completed as planned.
Application materials
An application consists of:
- A plan of study
- A statement of purpose
- An unofficial transcript
- If applicable, a double major/additional degree worksheet and double major declaration form or additional degree petition.
- Endorsement by three faculty advisors
The plan of study needs to contain the following elements:
- A minimum of 36 credits of courses at the 2000-level or above, of which at least 18 must be from the college granting the degree (CLAS or CAHNR).
- Courses from at least two different departments.
- A research methods course in a discipline represented in the plan of study. Additional training in information literacy and research practice is provided through the capstone requirement.
- A capstone. The capstone requirement can be fulfilled by taking UNIV 4600W Capstone Course (offered by the Individualized Major Program) or UNIV 4697W Senior Thesis (or a departmental thesis course like POLS 4997W). An IMJR thesis is typically a year-long, six-credit research and writing sequence. More information is available on the Capstone page.
- A writing-intensive course in addition to the capstone.
We also strongly encourage experiential learning such as study abroad, internship, research or other field experience.
See the website section on the application for more information on the plan of study and statement of purpose.
Advising
IMJR students are advised by both faculty and Individualized Major Program staff. This collaboration can take many forms but typically follows the pattern below.
Faculty Advisors
All applicants to the Individualized Major Program must identify three faculty advisors with expertise in the fields represented in their plan of study. Faculty are expert guides to the fields that individualized majors include in their plans of study. Faculty can help students choose the most appropriate courses and serve as mentors as students explore options for graduate school and their future professional lives. More than 230 faculty currently advise individualized major students.
- Primary advisors must be from the college (CLAS or CAHNR) from which the student plans to graduate and must be tenured, tenure-track, or in-residence faculty.
- Second and third advisors may be from other schools and colleges; they may be adjunct faculty if they will be at UConn as long as the student and if their department permits.
We expect students to request feedback from their advisors on their plan of study and statement of purpose with sufficient time to incorporate suggestions for change into the final version of their application.
Endorsing a student’s application through Quest:
If you agree to advise an individualized major, you will receive a request to complete a “recommendation” from the Quest Portal, our online application system.
- If you follow the link from the automated email, the system will sometimes ask you to log in using Google or another non-UConn id. We have found that this form of log in does not work. Please use the “Single Sign On,” which is your UConn NetID and password, and, if given multiple options, choose the role of “recommender” where the student’s application should be available for approval.
- You will be asked to provide answers to two questions:
- What are the strengths of this proposal?
- How could the applicant further improve this proposal?
After a student’s admission:
We encourage students admitted to the Individualized Major Program to stay in touch with as many of their advisors as possible. As with any advising relationship, some IMJR students will build stronger ties with their advisors than others. Most students will rely largely on their primary advisor.
- We expect students to seek their primary advisor’s approval when they wish to make changes in their plan of study. Secondary advisors may be asked for their approval if the proposed changes in the plan of study are in their field.
- A final plan of study must be approved by the student’s primary advisor. This is done through the Student Admin system. Students attach a required form listing the courses that they completed for their major. Once the primary advisor approves, the final plan of study is reviewed by IMJR Program staff and Degree Audit.
Every April, faculty advisors receive a list of their current IMJR advisees. We maintain detailed records of students’ progress in their majors. Please contact us if you have any questions about one of your advisees.
Staff Advisors
Individualized Major Program staff guide students through all stages of the application process. We explain program expectations, ensure that plans of study include all the required elements, help students identify faculty advisors, and make specific suggestions for revisions to their statement of purpose. We also guide students as they select courses for their plans of studies.
Every semester we offer a one-credit course, UNIV 2600 Individualized Study Across Academic Disciplines, that is designed to introduce students to how knowledge is organized in the university while providing them a structured opportunity to prepare their individualized major applications.
Once admitted to the program, IMJR students will turn to program staff for advice on many practical matters such as course registration, internships, and study abroad. They will also consult staff about any changes they wish to make in their plan of study. | https://iisp.uconn.edu/faculty-guide-to-the-individualized-major/ |
This course provides you with an understanding of the basic concepts and steps involved in certifying maintenance organisations and air operators from airworthiness perspective. You will be taught the five-phase certification process based on ICAO Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and Model Civil Aviation Regulations (MCARs). This course is delivered via eLearning.
Dates
Duration
3 weeks
Fees^
S$5,100 / US$3,800
^Fees are being reviewed and subject to change. Participants will be notified of the actual course fees when they are issued the Letter of Acceptance.
What You Will Learn
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Evaluate an operator's pre-assessment statement form and review formal application
- Evaluate an applicant's maintenance procedures manual and identify unacceptable errors
- Evaluate an applicant's training curriculum, results of main base inspection and determine inspector actions
- Complete an approved maintenance organisation's certificate and operations specifications (OpsSpecs) and identify items that must be included in the certification report
- Evaluate an air operator's compliance statement, maintenance control manual and proposed minimum equipment list
- Evaluate a conformity inspection report and identify recommendations involving inspector observations/reports of demonstration flights
- Complete an air operator's certificate and OpsSpecs and identify items to include in the certification report
Who Should Attend
This course is beneficial to licensed maintenance engineers, technicians or mechanics from aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul organisations as well as airworthiness inspectors from civil aviation administrations.
Prerequisites
- Have a minimum of five years' experience in airworthiness
- Possess knowledge in air law and airworthiness requirements, natural science and aircraft general knowledge, aircraft engineering and maintenance as well as human performance, as specified in ICAO Annex 1 (Personnel Licensing), Para 4.2.1.2
Language
English
What Is Covered
Part 1: Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO)
- Pre-application Phase
- Evaluating an operator's pre-assessment statement form
- Identifying the pre-application meeting objectives
- Conducting pre-application meeting
- Formal Application Package
- Reviewing the formal application package
- Identifying the objectives for the formal application meeting
- Approval Phase
- Reviewing and evaluating the maintenance procedures manual
- Identifying unacceptable errors
- Evaluating quality assurance system
- Inspecting an AMO's training programme
- Conducting facilities and equipment inspections
- Issuing the AMO certificate
Part 2: Air Operator Certification (AOC)
- Conducting the Pre-application Meeting
- Conducting the Formal Application Meeting
- Evaluating a Statement of Compliance
- Evaluating the Maintenance Control Manual
- Evaluating the Minimum Equipment List
- Reviewing a Continuous Maintenance Programme
- Conducting Aircraft and Equipment Conformity Inspections
- Inspecting an Operator's Maintenance Facilities
- Evaluating Demonstration Flights
- Issuing the AOC
Mode Of Delivery
Live virtual classroom via Zoom [Monday to Fridays] and self-paced offline learning activities.
Details on how to access the online course and dedicated access link will be provided to participants who have been accepted for the course. | https://saa.caas.gov.sg/web/saa/course-details?courseTitle=icao-training-package:-icao-government-safety-inspectors-airworthiness---air-operator-and-approved-maintenance-organisation-certification&courseId=1001061 |
'BeWater' is a three and a half-year EU-funded project, which investigates the opportunities of preparing adaptive management plans for river basins in four case studies based in the Mediterranean region: Pedieos (Cyprus), Rmel (Tunisia), Tordera (Spain) and Vipava (Slovenia). The aim of the project is to promote dialogue and collaboration between science and society for sustainable water management in order to facilitate adaptation to the impacts of global change in the Mediterranean. From May until July 2015, four participatory workshops were held in the aforementioned cities. Some of the outcomes of the workshops are summarized in the table at the end of the text.
BeWater involves society by actively engaging local communities in discussions on current water use and related problems. Through these discussions, the project raises public awareness on the importance of sustainable water management, with a particular focus on the expected climate change impacts at River Basin scale.
Over the course of two rounds of participatory workshops, Water Management Options (WMOs) have been compiled for four cardinal points of the Mediterranean. In May and June 2015, each of the four river basins used newly developed methodologies to evaluate these options given the preferences and river basin specific challenges and issues identified by stakeholders from each basin. Some outcomes of the workshops are summarized in the graphic.
As a next step in the project, Ecologic Institute will lead the development of the River Basin Adaptation Plans (RBAPs), building on the outcomes of the previous workshops. The objective is to identify practical options to implement the identified WMOs in each basin by exploring such aspects as: their policy and stakeholder basis, synergies and co-benefits between the options, potential adaptation pathways, and the plans’ draft objectives for implementing an adaptive management approach.
The description of the RBAP development and where and how stakeholders have provided input will be mapped with these steps in mind. The next series of workshops is scheduled for Spring 2016 in collaboration with institutions from the four CSRBs (CyI, INRGREF, CREAF and IzVRS). | https://www.ecologic.eu/12402 |
NJ Rev Stat § 39:6A-23 (2016) What's This?
Written notice - buyer's guide and coverage selection form.
a. No new automobile insurance policy shall be issued on or after the 180th day following the effective date of P.L.1985, c.520, unless the application for the policy is accompanied by a written notice identifying and containing a buyer's guide and coverage selection form. The buyer's guide shall contain a brief description of all available policy coverages and benefit limits, and shall identify which coverages are mandatory and which are optional under State law, as well as all options offered by the insurer.
The buyer's guide shall also contain a statement on the possible coordination of other health benefits coverages with the personal injury protection coverage options, the form and contents of which shall be prescribed by the Commissioner of Insurance.
The coverage selection form shall identify the range of premium rate credit or dollar savings, or both, and shall provide any other information required by the commissioner by regulation.
The applicant shall indicate the options elected on the coverage selection form which shall be signed and returned to the insurer.
c. Any notice of renewal of an automobile insurance policy with an effective date subsequent to July 1, 1984, shall be accompanied by a written notice of all policy coverage information required to be provided under subsection a. of this section.
The Commissioner of Insurance shall, within 45 days following the effective date of this act, promulgate standards for the written notice and buyer's guide required to be provided under this section.
d. Written notices provided by any insurer writing at least 2% of the New Jersey private passenger automobile market, including the New Jersey Automobile Full Insurance Underwriting Association established pursuant to section 16 of P.L.1983, c.65 (C.17:30E-4), shall also contain a statement advising that if the insured or applicant has any questions concerning his automobile insurance policy, including questions as to coverage or premiums, he may contact his producer, or the company directly, by using a toll free number which shall be set forth in the notice. Written notice shall be given to all insureds of any change in the toll free number.
e. A properly completed and executed coverage selection form shall be prima facie evidence of the named insured's knowing election or rejection of any option.
f. Each named insured of an automobile insurance policy shall, at least annually or as otherwise ordered by the commissioner, receive a buyer's guide and coverage selection form.
g. On and after January 1, 1991, each buyer's guide and coverage selection form shall be written in plain language.
L.1983,c.362,s.17; amended 1985, c.520,s.5; 1988,c.119,s.35; 1990,c.8,s.13. | https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/2016/title-39/section-39-6a-23/ |
Report Builder – Brillium, Inc.
Report Builder is the dynamic starting point for all reports available throughout Brillium; therefore, the screen presented and the reporting options it displays depend on the report you have chosen to build. Because of that, there are far too many options to provide onscreen help for each one individually, however, the options that are consistent throughout the various reports are explained below. If, beyond that, you need additional help preparing and/or running reports, please consult the Authoring Guide that was provided with your Brillium account as it contains much more detailed information.
Select the format in which you wish to run your report. Most reports offer a variety of formats to choose from, although some only offer two, and the Question Answer Analysis Report only offers one.
Sort Order determines how the information on your report will be organized and grouped together. The options presented, if any, are clearly labeled so as to be self-explanatory.
By default, the starting and ending dates for the Report Date Range are set to include results for the current month only, but you can change these dates to include as few or as many results as suit your purposes.
The default setting for this option is “Only Most Recent Attempts;” however, you can use the dropdown to select the option most appropriate for your needs. Keep in mind that if you choose to build a reporting filter using “Attempts” as a filter field, the selection you make her should be congruous with that filter.
Group - for simple queries, leave this set to group "1." For advanced queries, you may group individual filters together by indicating the same Group numbers. If you specify more than one group for your filters, the separate groups will be "Or"ed together using Boolean logic.
And/Or - only has meaning when you have more than 1 filter statement; choose between viewing results that meet both statement criteria ("And") or results that meet either criterion ("Or").
Field - select the field to which the filter will be applied.
Oper - (Operator) define the specific mathematical relationship you seek with regard to the Value field; for a broader search select "Like" to include all results containing that value, either exactly or in a larger context.
Value - select or enter the Value you wish to match to the Operator.
You can create as many filter statements as desired, but you must click the Add button for each one to make the statement valid. To remove a filter statement, simply click the Remove (Rem) button.
Once you have specified all the criteria for your report and are ready to view it, click the Run Report button. It is important to note that the report will open in a separate browser window, so if your web browser is set to "Block Pop-up Windows," it may prevent the report from running. You can overcome this by holding down the Control key on your keyboard when you click the Run Report button, thereby temporarily disabling the pop-up blocker and allowing the report to properly display onscreen. Once the report renders, you should be able to save and print it, but that is completely dependent on your specific browser options. | https://support.brillium.com/hc/en-us/articles/203285165-Report-Builder |
The Final Project is an opportunity for you to explore a course-related topic or theme in greater depth. You are welcome to pursue any topic that is of interest to you (and for which you can find sources), provided that it relates directly to the overarching themes of the course.
You may work individually or in small groups. If you opt to work in small groups, everyone in the group is still required to submit all parts of the assignment individually to D2L (except the brief presentation, which can be given as a group).
The assignment requires submitting:
The Final Project must incorporate evidence from at least 5 sources—at least 2 must be from the syllabus and at least 2 must be “outside” sources (remaining sources can either be from the syllabus or from sources that you identify independently). You may opt to include more sources but these are the minimum requirements for a passing grade on the assignment.
There are 3 options for the Final Project:
All Final Projects must be very closely PROOFREAD.
Your proposal must include:
The assignment for the annotated bibliography is to provide a citation and brief annotation for each of the sources that you intend to incorporate into your analysis. The annotation should very briefly introduce the scope of each source and briefly explain why it is important to your project (not more than 250 words).
The rough draft should be a working draft of your final project and thus depends on which option you are choosing for the project. Feedback generated from instructor and peer review of your drafts should allow you to refine and improve upon your final project.
Everyone will be required to give a 4-5 minute presentation of their final project during Week 10. If you opt to work in groups, your group presentation will be longer. These presentations should include:
Delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price is not enough anymore.
That’s why we have developed 5 beneficial guarantees that will make your experience with our service enjoyable, easy, and safe. | https://stoicacademia.com/2021/03/16/final-project-assignment/ |
Here is an excerpt:
But, as an ethical ideal – as a standard of what it is good to be, both in the way that we relate to ourselves and others – authenticity means more than self-consistency or a lack of pretentiousness. It also concerns features of the inner life that define us. While there is no one ‘essence’ of authenticity, as Marino observes, the ideal has often been expressed as a commitment to being true to yourself, and ordering your soul and living your life so as to give faithful expression to your individuality, cherished projects and deepest convictions.
Authenticity in this ethical sense also had a critical edge, standing against and challenging the utilitarian practices and conformist tendencies of the conventional social and economic order. Society erects barriers that the authentic person must break through. Finding your true self means self-reflection, engaging in candid self-appraisal and seeking ‘genuine self-knowledge’, in the words of the American philosopher Charles Guignon. It means making your own those truths that matter crucially to you, as the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor stresses, the truths that it’s right and necessary to be true to. In this understanding, the inward turn is not an end in itself. It’s a means to personal wholeness and access to shared horizons of meaning that transcend the self and contribute to a richer, more human world.
The meanings of authenticity that concern the inner life are now fading away. They are not, as Marino suggests, and as I too have argued, consistent with how life is generally lived today. But there is an alternative meaning – an authenticity that is harmonious with our times. Here is a mode of authenticity that we might say ‘everyone wants to be’, because here is the mode that everyone is expected to be. | https://www.ethicalpsychology.com/2021/04/when-your-authenticity-is-act.html |
How many of you would like to become the next Richard Bronson, Angela Merkel, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey or Nelson Mandela. I believe today’s world is full of candidates with the potential to become one of these icons. A realistic view would say that some of us will give up, some others will follow someone else’s path, and only a few will stick on the leadership journey. I did not write off this post to predict the future but to share my vision about three golden leadership values.
Leadership has changed dramatically over the years from authority to inspiration, from intimidation to persuasion and from “me” to “we” mentality. Nowadays, we live in an era of satiety, flexibility, liberty, possibility and opportunity that our parents and grand parents did not have and could not wish for. We not only look up to leaders that are successful in their professional lives but also in their personal lives. Leadership essence has shifted to an equilibrium in all aspects of life: from private self to enlarged entourage: home, work and community. Leadership is a skill to develop. Leadership is an adventure to explore. Leadership is an art to master.
To be part of this journey, there are three golden values to stand for:
Be real
Let’s act with authenticity with our life partner, fellow family members, colleagues and peers. Let’s consistently embody the values we advocate for regardless of the context. I personally went through unpleasant situations at work; bamboozling colleagues: while working on a myriad of projects. I had to send out subsequent emails and chase some of them down to get a follow-up response. Let’s hold our selves accountable and communicate in timely manner to maintain a genuine relationship with each other.
Be whole
Let’s act with integrity by clarifying expectations, aligning interests and building a supportive environment. Whenever I receive a request for a mentorship at the Toastmaster club, I send out a form asking my mentees to clarify their expectations for the next 3 to 6 and 9 to 12 months. I also share with them my availabilities and the type of support I am willing to provide them with. I am grateful to my mentees for this unique opportunity to brush up my leadership skills. We are all here to help each other burgeon. My growth is their growth and vice versa when we act with integrity.
Be creative
Let’s challenge the status quo and find new ways of doing things to stand out of the crowd. The world we live in is full of ambiguity and individuals who embrace change courageously and fearlessly are the leaders of tomorrow. Any task performed joyfully and lovingly lead to creative outcomes. So, let’s shift our perceptions and create a culture of innovation wherever we go.
Leadership is an art that can be cultivated by embodying these three attributes: authenticity, integrity and creativity. When we incorporate these values on a consistent basis, people would baptize us ship captains by acclamation. Polishing up these values create a sense of connection & coherence among all areas of our lives. One change can have ripple effects on all area of life. We attract like-minded people and inspire fellow family members, colleagues and peers to achieve a common purpose. I would like to leave you with this quote from a Persian poet and Sufi mystic, Rumi, who lived in the 13th century: “Yesterday, I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today, I am wise, so I am changing myself”. | http://www.senseyukti.com/en/2014/08 |
Wanted: Authentic Women Leaders to Lead in a VUCA World
We live in VUCA times, Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity, with the Pandemic, racial inequality, political divisions, and climate change. The present situation calls for leaders at all levels of our society to help address these complex problems. Traditional ways of leading do not prepare leaders to work with the challenges VUCA brings. I advocate for authentic leaders, especially women leaders, guided by a sense of purpose and values to show up to have positive impacts on all these fronts.
The word "authentic" is used quite often and may mean something different to each of us. Authentic leadership has some definite descriptions of how leaders present themselves to lead and influence others. You can find lots of literature describing authentic leadership (Avolio & Gardner, 2005) and how we can use the theories in our everyday lives (Covelli & Mason, 2017). In essence, authentic leaders know who they are, their strengths, and stay true to themselves. Their values guide their actions and connections with others.
Often, we as women give up our authenticity to blend into a more masculine environment, and our voices are not heard as readily as our male counterparts. Women are criticized for being too pushy or ambitious, yet those qualities are admired in men. As women, we must show up as our true selves to shift our organizations' cultures to celebrate diversity and equity. We need to own our voices, speak with confidence, and stand in our feminine power.
I expanded on authentic leadership theories and developed seven attributes to identify who are Authentic Women Leaders:
- Self-awareness- a deep awareness of who we are as women
- Inner Compass- true to our values, purpose, and beliefs
- Feminine Power- the unique qualities we bring to the forefront as women to have our voices heard
- Openness –transparent about who we are with others and open to others' opinions and ideas
- Trustworthy Relationships- build trust with each other, our teams, and our organizations to create a sense of collaboration and community
- Inclusive- create environments of inclusion by welcoming the diversity of thought, race, ethnicity, and genders
- Emotional Intelligence – committed to develop emotional intelligence to support all the attributes
Stay tuned! For the next seven weeks, I will post more information about each of these seven attributes to help you find your Power of Authenticity.
Avolio, B. J. & Gardner, William L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315–338. | https://www.successreachltd.com/article/17631-wanted-authentic-women-leaders-to-lead-in-a-vuca-world |
Marissa Kargas is part of the Corporate Communications team at Walmart. She helps create content for associates by associates shared on @WalmartWorld social channels. Marissa partners with multiple areas of the business including Marketing, International Communications, Recruitment and People Experience to share a holistic perspective of what’s happening across the business in a way that’s relatable for associates and helps build brand reputation. She also works with company leaders to curate content for their social media accounts to connect with associates. Compelling storytelling is key! Before joining the Walmart team, Marissa worked in Internal Communications at Sam’s Club and in television news as a Reporter, Anchor, and Executive Producer.
Marissa Kargas’s Session(s):
9:50 am–10:30 am — Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Walmart constantly strives to be transparent with associates, customers, and stakeholders. Social media is how many consume information, and people can sense authenticity a mile away. Whether the goal is to share news, support a business objective, or celebrate an associate, stories shared need to be representative of our company culture and guiding principles. The most genuine way we can elevate those stories is by using the voices of our more than two million associates.
Key takeaways include how to: | https://socialmediastrategiessummit.com/first-responders-2020/speakers/speaker.html?speakerid=8569 |
I began our discussion on the topic “Leadership” last week by defining the term ‘leadership’. Many of you would have noticed that I use the word ‘authentic’ leadership.
In case you may not know what I mean by authentic leadership, I will also define the word ‘authentic’ in relation to leadership.
The concept of authenticity has been extensively discussed from a psychological and psycho- analytic perspective. Much of this literature focuses on the complex, maybe endless, process of self-discovery. From that rich seam of research we take three critical elements.
First, authentic leaders display a consistency between words and deeds. Leaders who do what they say, who practice what they preach, are more likely seen as “genuine” and therefor authentic.
Nothing betrays the aspiring leader quite so much as the attempt to persuade others to do things that they would never do themselves. But an ability to do what you say is not enough on its own.
The second element of authentic leadership is the capacity to display coherence in role of performance.
In other words, despite the unavoidable need to play different roles at different times for different audiences, authentic leaders communicate a consistent underlying thread. They display a ‘real self’ that holds these separate performances together.
Closely linked to this is the third and final element. Authentic leadership involves a kind of comfort with self, which is perhaps the hardest aspect of all to attain. This is the internal source from which consistency of role performance is drawn.
The concise Oxford Dictionary defines that which is authentic as having ‘undisputed origins.” And in a leadership context, this is what followers are looking for: a set of performances that have a common origin.
The first two of these three elements have received considerable attention. The distinction between espoused and enacted values was first drawn many years ago by Harvard Business School’s Chris Argyris.
It has been most recently revisited with a new twist in Jeffrey Pfeffer’s discussion of the ‘knowing-doing’ gap. Coherence in role performances through the ‘invention of self” is a recurring theme subtly explored in the extensive work of warren Bennis.
Comfort with self, the third theme, relates to the interplay between personal origins and destinations. It is less widely discussed in the leadership literature but connects with a rich tradition in sociology.
Yet, despite the intense work of many scholars, these insights have remained largely unexplored in understanding the significance of authenticity as it defines the relationship between leaders and followers. In the last five years, there has been a real interest in authenticity as a property of the leader.
However, there has been little discussion of authenticity as enacted in social relationships. So what does all this mean for those who aspire to leadership? The simple answer is that to be a more effective leader, you must be yourself-more-with skill.
Real leaders are true to their principals, willing to admit mistakes and accept responsibility and capable of emerging whole and sound when tested. Authenticity is a particular signature of real leaders – a connecting thread that makes every step in their life journey into a unified whole.
It brings all the other qualities of leaders together in a satisfying combination, just as a special spice or a distinct herb can create harmony among the various ingredients that give a meal a memorable flavour. Authentic leaders are able to connect with others so the other are eager to embrace the message and vision.
When we think of leaders who have inspired millions to join great causes, we usually think of men and women of deep authenticity – leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, with his profound personal commitment to Indian independence and non-violent resistance; Nelson Mandela, who sacrificed 27 years in prison before seeing his vision of a free, multiracial South Africa realised; William Wilberforce who led the twenty-year fight to end the British slave trade and Mother Teresa who gave her life to help the poor women of India.
When I interview job candidates, I like to ask, “Tell me your life story. Explain how one experience led you to the next and what it all means.’ I am often surprised by the number of candidates who are unable to explain how the various things they have done fit together; sometimes they are unwillingly to acknowledge mistakes or to take responsibility for their choices.
By contrast, true leaders welcome having their decisions scrutinised and tested. They understand that a failure of decision is not necessarily a failure of character, and that every mistake is an opportunity to learn and grow. This understanding, too, is an aspect of the authenticity that is a hallmark of the leader.
Authenticity is closely intertwined with integrity and ethics. People who are authentic are unafraid to reveal their true selves – and this can be the case only when they feel sure that they have done what is right according to their best lights, rather than fudging the truth, cutting moral corners or taking advantage of ambiguity to benefit themselves at the expense of others. We often describe people of integrity by saying ‘They have nothing to hide’.
And the expression highlights the transparency that goes with integrity and depends upon it. | https://www.solomonstarnews.com/real-leaders-are-true-to-their-principles/ |
A global household name is looking for an outstanding Events Coordinator to join its team on a 6-month fixed-term contract. As a truly inclusive organisation, applications are welcome from candidates based internationally who can relocate to London.
The Events Coordinator will work closely with the Senior Events Manager and wider team to assist in delivering high profile global events that will make the news worldwide.
To be suitable for this role you must be a highly capable Events Coordinator with proven experience of delivering high-quality events and media moments. You will have outstanding communication and organisational skills with the ability to manage projects with numerous dependencies. You will be recognised for your sound judgement and professionalism and be a logical, calm, discrete, proactive problem solver with the ability to work at pace whilst balancing competing priorities.
The Events Coordinator will be responsible for managing guestlists and guest communications for all events, the design and creation of resources such as save the dates, invitations, event packs and branded resources. They will assist in the development and maintenance of detailed operational plans, helping to keep projects on track. They will assist in making logistical arrangements for the team and VIP guests when travelling to international events and will also assist in writing briefing notes for the internal team and VIPs. They will also liaise with venues and other suppliers, ensuring they meet the highest levels of sustainability.
The organisation is committed to building a diverse team that is representative of all sections of society and to sustaining a culture that celebrates difference, encourages authenticity, and creates a deep sense of belonging. They recognise that by encouraging innovative and creative ways of thinking and fostering an inclusive culture they will collaborate more effectively and achieve better outcomes.
- Salary:
- £40,000
- Type:
- Permanent
- Location:
- London - Central
- Sector:
- Marketing
- Ref:
- 20868
- Contact Name: | https://www.ashdowngroup.com/jobs-cpt/events-coordinator-3 |
Hi, am Steffen Wagner. Interested in Typography, Art, strong contrasts and expressive Design. I am an independent graphic and typography designer from Berlin. Professionally, I design logos, visual identities as well as digital and print products. But my passion is typography. Now I am designing typographic posters and trying to combine typographic elements with artistic elements in harmonious compositions. Many of my works have a certain message and reflect attitudes in life. Partly hidden stylistic elements are thought-provoking and contain a meaning.
WHAT I DO
Designing content.
Corporate Identity, Branding Design, Logo Design, Books & Ebooks, Photo Editing, Typography Design, Type Art, Illustrations, Editorial Design, Print Design, Vector Graphics, Individual Jewelry, Flyers, Web Design, Posters. | https://www.studio-steffenwagner.de/about |
Emily Klima Artist Bio:
Emily Klima is a New York City-based visual artist. She started her studies in fine art at Boston University as a painting major and completed her studies there with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design. Her love of that field"”most especially typography"”led Ms. Klima to have a full design career at several of New York's top fashion magazines, including GQ and Harper's BAZAAR, before she established a successful independent design business. Several years ago, Ms. Klima rediscovered her love of painting. During this time she noted a strong need to defy what she had been taught about art making. From that shift in perspective Ms. Klima explores painting's inherently raw power. Ms. Klima's art is alive with its particular flurry of color and energy, created with drips and splatters. Ms. Klima exploits her formal training in drawing, painting, and design yet breaks free of its strictures. Layered bursts of brilliant acrylic color hold collage elements"”mixed media such as typography and free-associative writing, and other media, such as resin and tape. Ms. Klima has given fresh vigor to her love of painting by applying oil sticks, which give her dynamic and layered paintings a velvety finish. Ms. Klima uses the guiding forces of structure and symmetry to manage the tension of positive and negative space contained in the frame. And she is always careful to incorporate a visual resting-place for the eye. Her engagement of formal aesthetic principles balance the dualities she embraces: order and chaos/discipline and freedom. "Composition is my first love," says Ms. Klima, "and every painting contains within it my process of moving from control to letting go of control, and back again." | https://art-section.com/emily-klima/ |
Illustrator.
Tofino, Canada.
Joined December 2019
, Illustrator
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Joined December 2019
Combine illustration and typography to create pieces full of depth and texture that invite exploration
- 98% Positive reviews (100)
- 1963 students
- Audio: English
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian
Combine illustration and typography to create pieces full of depth and texture that invite exploration
- 98% Positive reviews (100)
- 1963 students
- Online and at your own pace
- Audio: English
- Level: Beginner
- 13 Lessons (1h 39m)
- Available from the app
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian
- Unlimited access forever
When typography is applied to portrait illustration, compositions become ablaze with meaning, ready to take the viewer on a meandering discovery. Sarah King has been exploring the art of incorporating typography to her illustrations ever since she graduated in graphic design over 12 years ago. Her work has given her the opportunity to illustrate for clients such as the New York Times, The Guardian, and National Geographic, as well as editorials like TASCHEN and the SFMOMA.
In this course, you will learn how to apply your personal handwriting to portrait illustration, explore how to give meaning to your chosen figure, and discover the many ways in which it can be applied to different projects. Starting from the initial research to the finishing touches on Adobe Photoshop, you will acquire all the knowledge that is needed to apply your typographical ideas to your illustrations.
About this course
Course table of contents
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U1U1. Introduction
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U2U2. Research, Materials and Drawing Techniques
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U3U3. Drawing the Typographic Portrait
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U4U4. Final Editing
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FPFP Final Project
Start the course by getting to know Sarah, what inspired her to focus almost all her attention on using words to shape her illustrations, and where she draws inspiration from.
Next, select the person you want to illustrate and put pen to paper by sketching alongside Sarah, to understand how to create a gradient with the use of words. Experiment with your own style using your personal handwriting, and learn how Sarah researches to find words about the person’s work and personality to include in the illustration.
Discover editing techniques to enhance your original image, and facilitate the sections of your portrait to incorporate words. Learn how to organize the layout of your work to make the process easier by numbering the areas.
Once you have the sections defined, it’s time to start constructing words into your illustration. Find out how Sarah adapts words into distinct shapes and sizes to enhance their meaning. Learn how to include illustrations related to your character and choice of words in your composition, resolving space and weight in a professional manner.
Transfer your finished illustration into Photoshop for the final editing process, and understand how to use the best tools for the finishing touches to complete your final project. You will see how to export your image for web and print, ready to share with the world.
What is this course's project?
Create a dynamic, hand-drawn typographic portrait.
Projects by course students
Who is it for?
This course is for anyone interested in learning how to add handwritten typography to their illustrations.
What you need
Basic illustration skills are required to do this course, and the willingness to experiment and make mistakes while learning.
For the final edit of your portrait, you will need Adobe Photoshop installed, as well as a scanner.
Reviews
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This is a very inspiring, informative and fun course with a very likable teacher who inspires you to go beyond what you knew about typography - I still marvel at the ease with which she drew those wonderful additional pictures - loved them
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Good lesson, typography portrait is absolutely new for me. It enhance my creativity through the process. I don't have Photoshop so I've decided to make some changes on making the portrait: using Procreate. When we get to know the basic steps, it is fun to adjust the tools and approaches.
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Maravillosa y sencilla técnica para crear grandes proyectos. El aporte de Sarah es muy valioso.
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It was very good lessons. Sarah King is very good: she made herself clear every time and gives very analytical instractions. Her a advices were very helpful.
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If you love letter shapes and illustration, this course is for you! I am enjoying every step of the process and love exploring all the possibilities of merging text, shapes, and the bigger picture, the meaning you can add even between the lines. Awesome, creative course and inspiring teacher.
- More reviews
A course by Sarah King
Ever since she was a young child, Sarah King has been exposed to the world of prose, words, and design, growing up with a writer and an architect. After graduating in graphic design at the University of Brighton in 2008, Sarah took these two passions even further, illustrating with words became her iconic style, which led her to work for the New York Times, National Geographic, Vice, The Guardian, the SFMOMA museum and much more.
Today, Sarah shares her time between the mountain and the sea in British Columbia (Canada), combining her passion for nature and illustrating with words into her work. Constantly exploring new ways to transmit her art, Sarah also illustrates on different supports such as snowboards, wood, and textiles.
Contents
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U1
Introduction
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Introduction
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Influences
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What We Will Do in the Course
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U2
Research, Materials and Drawing Techniques
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Materials
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Drawing Techniques and Exercises
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Researching and Finding Text and Images
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U3
Drawing the Typographic Portrait
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Creating the Template
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Numbering and Preparing the Template
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Drawing Typography Within Template
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Using Drawings
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Cleaning up the Artwork
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U4
Final Editing
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Separating the Images and Removing Background
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Cleaning Up
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FP
Final Project
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Hand-Drawn Typographic Portrait
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This Is What Domestika Courses Are Like
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Learn at Your Own Pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule. You set your own timetable.
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Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Each instructor teaches only what she/he does best, conveying true passion and excellence in every lesson.
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Demonstrate your course attendance with a certificate signed by the teacher. Get it with your Domestika PRO subscription
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Videos of the highest quality ensure that you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them over and over.
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Share Knowledge
Ask questions, request feedback, offer solutions. Share learning with other students in the community.
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More than 5M creatives and growing. Domestika is the place to share and learn what you love.
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We selected top creatives and a team of experts to develop the courses. The result? You'll feel like you're working side by side with leading professionals.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What are Domestika's online courses?
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need for completing a specific final project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the instructor and other users, thus creating a dynamic course community.
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When do the courses start and when do they finish?
The course is 100% online, so once they are published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
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What do Domestika's courses include?
The courses are divided into different units, each one includes lessons, informational texts, tasks and practice exercises to carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You will also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the instructor and other students, and share your work and your course project, thus creating a community around the course itself.
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Have you been given a course?
You can now redeem the course you received, just access redeeming page to enter your gift code and redeem it. | https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/1238-hand-drawn-typographic-portrait |
Giovanna Conforti is a flexible and enthusiastic illustrator, graphic designer and UX/UI designer based in Edinburgh.
Throughout years of design studies and daily practice she has acquired hand and digital drawing, layout design, photo composition, analytical and problem solving skills.
She uses a lot Adobe Creative Suite and the App Procreate for creating her artworks.
She primarily focuses on conceptual illustrations and book artworks for editorial purposes. She adores combining unusual elements together in order to express a sophisticated meaningful message.
She also tends to pay a great attention to the typography components of the artworks and as she has a keen interest in psychology and problem-solving she additionally leans towards the UX design discipline. ( UX/UI portfolio website: www.giovannaconforti.com )
She defines herself a person who loves to use the power of visual communication with a keen eye for details and with the desire to share the same passion for creativity with other people. | https://www.giocillustrations.com/about |
Traditional Graphic Design has been a leading discipline for decades, but it’s now giving way to data driven experiences and tailored interfaces, offering a solid foundation for dynamic digital adventures. Don’t get me wrong, composition, typography and colour theory are still essential for cognition and usability, and they’re not only there to make things pretty. When it comes to interfaces though, we have fresh guidelines and inspiration to follow, new interaction patterns to study, and new challenges to face.
Components need to be versatile, simple, and effective. Atomic Design is a great methodology to achieve this. Start the process from the smallest elements you can find in the geometry archetype - such as the circle - as if you were a botanist breaking down the photosynthesis process.
In Chemistry, atoms combine to create molecules, and the same happens in design. If you’ve been using Illustrator (or other Adobe softwares) in your teenage years, you probably have an instinct to ⌘G everything, even outside of the CC. That’s just a shortcut for one of the Gestaltism-obsessions we humans have in our genes.
As well as being more productive and satisfied with the results created we need to make sure that we are delivering content that actually represents the brand we’re working with. This is where style and colour come in. Flat and bold or outlined and slim? Grey wireframes or shades of a neutral colour? There’s no universal answer to this. | https://www.audiogum.com/blog/wireframe-components-design |
20th century.
An audience-focused typography exercise takes the form of an identity concept for Francis Picabia: Our Heads Are Round So Our Thoughts Can Change Direction which ran at MoMA in spring 2017. His exhibition identity concept was created for the Parsons Advanced Typography class taught by Kevin Brainard; this identity encompasses posters, environments, and collateral.
The graphic system conveys MoMA’s focus on Picabia’s mastery of mimicry and a man of the moment by using reflective materials, variable type, and fluid forms that blend from one composition to the next.
the posters
When posited side-by-side, the posters act seamlessly as an infinite banner.
the exhibition space
Graphic elements like the ribbons act as visual connectors and wayfinders for the exhibition space wherein the direction of the wall-printed essays changes throughout, right-to-left or left-to-right.
the catalog
In the original exhibition text, the authors point out how particular paintings have multiple drafts layered underneath them, some of them with entirely different compositions. Indeed, toward the end of his career Picabia developped his own signature style by layering multiple transluscent paintings together.
The design of the catalog draws from this idea.
This project is featured in Teaching Graphic Design, Second Edition, edited by Steven Heller, 2017︎, per Kevin Brainard’s class on Advanced Typography. | https://cobeylusinger.com/Francis-Picabia |
Graphic design is the process of visual communication and problem-solving using one or more of typography, photography, and illustration. The field is considered a subset of visual communication and communication design, but sometimes the term “graphic design” is used synonymously.
Graphic designers create and combine symbols, images, and text to form visual representations of ideas and messages. They use typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to create visual compositions.
Apidigital solutions had a great history in Graphics Designs area. We did some great graphics designs work for our customer. We want to part of some great business journey. | https://apidigitalsolutions.com/services/graphics-designs/ |
Contact:
Milstein 203
Barnard College
3009 Broadway
New York, NY
10027
she/her
Website
Social:
Facebook Page
Twitter Page
Subjects:
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Zine Construction
Zines: Read & Consider
how do images and text complicate or complement one another?
how does the creator use color?
did they create the zine by hand, by computer, by typewriter, or what?
what does the cover convey to a potential reader
Covers
color
construction
relief prints
Binding
staples
sewing
stab
materials
Graphics
illustrations
fair use/copyright
photographs
typography/handwriting
backgrounds
Elements
prose
art
poems
games
collages
internet content
metadata: author/title/date/publication location/rights
manifestos
white space
excerpts
reviews
Genre
personal
political
art
literary
split
compilation
minicomics
DIY
PS Check out the
Design Center
for sewing and print making.
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My early work is strongly influenced by the mythical fantasy world, where archetypes, mermaids and fairies figure in dream landscapes. More recent works have been inspired by the magical and fantastic elements that exist in the natural world around us.
All my art works are intricate illustrations of rich narratives. They are deeply personal and reflect my multi-cultural influences and inspirations. I am passionate about my work. I find the process of creating artwork introspective, reflective and meditative. I enjoy that they can have a similar effect on viewers. My work allows me to give form to my stories and I enjoy that it can be viewed through many lenses to create new stories.
The mandala has been a common thread in my work. These circular designs are created using a set of images, symbols and ideas. Together, these elements create a layered mandala that can be appreciated as a big picture design but also invites a closer look at the details.
My work is influenced by Art Deco, Gustav Klimt, Frida Kahlo, iconography, M.C. Escher, Shaun Tan, religious art, rose windows, nature, symbols, narrative, colour, geometry, fractals, medieval manuscripts, children’s book illustrations, maps and graphic novels.
My artwork has appeared on gallery walls, in people’s homes, on business cards and magazine and book covers. My designs have been tattooed on bodies, and my illustrations have been used on shopfronts and as site maps. I have produced posters, flyers and pamphlets, newsletters and magazines.
My works are generally produced on 300gsm paper using ink and watercolour. I am passionate lover of colour. My work is detailed in line and colour. | https://melanievankessel.com/about-the-artist/ |
• Working through the complete life cycle of data projects:
• brainstorming with the business stakeholders to define the problem statement, goals, and objectives
• preparing the input data and target variables,
• data profiling
• pre-processing
• creating the base / initial model
• training the model
• baselining and productionizing the model
• seek feedback from business and incorporate required improvements / changes in the model
• create necessary documentation and
• repeat this cycle for every other model
• Work closely with the data engineers and application developers to ensure data… cleanliness, data integrity, comprehensiveness of data from various sources
• · Experiment with new models and techniques and cross validate models to ensure generalizability
• Work with structured and unstructured data and perform data mining to come up with new insights and opportunities to help business in their strategic decisions
• Responsible for, mentor and guide the team of Data scientists, Data Engineers and BI developers
Requirements:
• 8 to 10 years of strong experience as a Senior or Lead Data Scientist with an aspiration to grow
• Experience working in the financial domain, especially retail lending in Indian market would be required.
• Competent in artificial intelligence / machine learning principles and techniques.
• Flair for statistical analysis and strong understanding of predictive and prescriptive modelling
• In-depth understanding of SQL and NoSQL databases
• Good knowledge of R, Python, and other relevant technologies
• Masters’ Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, or similar field
• Ability to relay insights in layman’s terms to the business and senior leadership teams, that can be used to make informed business decisions. | https://avodha.tech/job/lead-data-scientist-at-five-star-business-finance-limited-2/ |
We are developing our facility plan for the Butler Area School District. Many of our schools need capital improvements -- some more than others. Prior to investing money into all eleven schools, we have decided to solicit community input to determine if our community is satisfied with how we are currently organized.
We held eight School Organization Community Forums this fall to solicit community feedback. At the forums, stakeholders reviewed a variety of possible school organization scenarios. New possible scenarios were added that were brainstormed by community members. The goal was to gather feedback and information from as many of our stakeholders as possible.
Following the School Organization Community Forums, the results were reviewed and the feedback from the community was analyzed. Dr. White presented the School Organization Community Forums Executive Summary at the School Board meeting on February 11, 2019. The Executive Summary is a high level review of the thoughts, ideas and insights that were provided at the School Organization Community Forums. | https://www.basdk12.org/news/221 |
I am writing to notify you that the Department of Health has appointed Mr Donie O’Shea as an Independent Support Liaison Officer to engage directly with the families involved in recent allegations on the RTÉ Prime Time programme regarding the collection of data for litigation purposes.
The department can confirm that no more than 35 families are involved in open litigation related to these allegations. Each of these families will be contacted shortly through their solicitor offering the opportunity to engage directly with the Independent Support Liaison Officer.
The department regrets the distress recent media reports may have had on the families involved and is taking steps to ensure that they, and others associated with autism services, are listened to and supported.
The department is committed to publishing the Independent Expert Review by an external Senior Counsel, that was commissioned after allegations were brought to the attention of the department last year. Due to legal implications, including protocols around publishing a protected disclosure and the department’s desire to protect the rights of the discloser, the department is continuing to engage with legal counsel and aims to publish the report next week.
I can confirm that the review found that there was no basis to suggest wrongdoing arising from the allegations made by the discloser.
Again, I would like to reiterate that the Department of Health has never gathered sensitive medical and educational information on children involved in court cases in the manner portrayed in recent media reports.
A team within the Department of Health has been established to assess the facts in respect of the specific allegations made to RTÉ Prime Time programme on 25 March 2021. The team has identified a single video recording in one case file. This video was provided to the department as co-defendants to the litigation, by the Plaintiff’s Solicitors. At no time did the department seek such videos. This review is ongoing and will deal with each of the reported allegations.
The department welcomes an inquiry by the Data Protection Commission (DPC), who is currently investigating data collection practices regarding these cases. I, as Secretary General, along with officials in the department look forward to the findings of this review and where necessary will make improvements based on their recommendations.
The Department of Health is committed to continuing engagement with service providers to improve supports for service users, which will hopefully reduce the need of service users to seek litigation.
Our goal is, and always has been, the improvement of health services for the people of Ireland. This government has provided an unprecedented €100 million additional funding for new developments in 2021, bringing the total funding for disability services to €2.2bn.
Developments in relation to children’s disability services include:
Your role as stakeholders to the Department of Health, representing many patients and families affected by autism is valued and we will continue to engage and inform you of updates regarding this issue going forward.
Kind regards,
Robert.
This is a prototype - your feedback will help us to improve it. | https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/a55a7-open-letter-to-stakeholders-secretary-general-of-the-department-of-health/ |
You will probably hear from APNIC soon, inviting you to provide feedback and insights to help us understand what problems, challenges or needs you have, and to ask you to help validate potential solutions before we build them.
APNIC is a membership-based organization whose core business is to manage Internet number resources, serving our Members who hold resources from APNIC, as well as the global Internet community and stakeholders who rely on the information we provide about the resources, and their holders.
As one of the key Internet support organizations in the world, we strive to understand what challenges our Members and stakeholders face in building and managing a global, open, stable and secure Internet. We run a comprehensive survey every two years, we listen to Member contacts when they make a request or inquire about their IP address and ASN resources, and we participate at events to share information and ask for feedback about our activities.
We use all this information we gather to build and maintain a set of products and services to help our Members and stakeholders operate and manage a better Internet. To do this more effectively, we are adopting a Product Management framework.
What will the Product Management framework do?
We created new Product Manager roles this year to improve the way we process Members’ and stakeholders’ problems, challenges and needs into products and services that will solve them.
Being a not-for-profit organization, the fact that APNIC is now doing Product Management may raise questions — Product Management often relates to ‘return on investment’, a term more frequently used in the commercial world. This is not always the case.
The framework/methodology we are implementing helps us better understand users’ needs, so we can build products and services people will use and love, and which they can really benefit from.
APNIC didn’t rush into this. We have carefully evaluated and experimented with the idea of Product Management over the past year and it has shown great benefits to the way we develop current and future services. We are simply improving the way we work.
We need YOU on board
We can’t do this without your help! We’re working on ways to get more people involved in the Product Management framework and we would love to hear how you would like to provide input to us, so go ahead and leave us your comments below.
And please keep an eye on future blog posts as we continue to update you on how we are doing with the implementation of this framework and the progress we are making on our products and services.
Contributor: Adam Gosling
The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog. | https://blog.apnic.net/2018/08/22/building-products-and-services-that-matters-to-you/ |
Thank you for your recent letter setting out the progress you have made on your respective FDI and inward investment statistics following the publication of our compliance check on 19 April 2021. We appreciate ONS and DIT working together and with OSR to develop these statistics.
Your joint work will take forward important improvements to these statistics to better answer questions raised by stakeholders, users and Parliament about this important area of economic performance at national and sub-national levels. The developments to ONS’s FDI surveys will help users better understand the different types of FDI, for example greenfield and brownfield investments.
It is useful that you have made checks on the robustness of your data sources to provide important re-assurance around the quality of your data. Additionally, sharing FDI and Inward Investment data between ONS and DIT should facilitate cross-referencing DIT’s project-level data and your respective data, potentially creating new insights for direct investments in the UK..
We support the creation of a Trade and Investment user group meeting, and as it expands, more feedback will enhance the public value of your statistics further.
We look forward to the continued benefits of your collective development of these statistics. | https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence/mark-pont-to-rob-pike-and-jane-naylor-foreign-investment-statistics/ |
It’s easy to ask someone a question, and to report the response.
It’s harder to ask the right question, receive the response, and interpret that response for its meaning. The responsibility of a qualitative researcher is to look beyond what someone is saying, and extract the true meaning; the real deal.
When working with attitudes and behaviours that challenge social expectations, getting to the truth can be a minefield. Unmasking the papier-mâché of bias and unravelling the complex webs of justification require a researcher to be delicate, yet unafraid to gently confront.
I’m going to discuss only two of the many behavioural and attitudinal conundrums a social researcher faces daily.
When we think about our own behaviour, a lot of what we say and do is driven by social pressures – some we are conscious of, while others are engrained in the collective conscience and begin shaping our behaviour from tiny human stage. This is social desirability bias – the tendency to act and respond in a way that we believe will be looked upon favourably by others. It presents in many forms across a wide range of theories and paradigms (Azjen’s ‘subjective norm’, Kahneman’s ‘System 2’, and even cameos in social identity and obedience theories – e.g. Tajfel, Zimbardo and Milgram, to name a few). It even underpins today’s vernacular – “I should…”, “I shouldn’t…”. This superficial veil has a lot to answer for, and social researchers must be particularly mindful of SDB’s traps when working with a myriad of topics sensitive to this bias – from addiction, mental health, and prejudice, to physical appearance, income, and charitable behaviours.
If that’s not complex enough… another paradigm commonly observed in social research is Festinger’s cognitive dissonance (a personal favourite of mine). A complex paradigm, but here’s a 30 second version:
It’s common to hold two or more contradictory or inconsistent beliefs, values, needs, behaviours, etc.
This causes psychological discomfort.
For instance, for simplicity’s sake, picture a health-conscious person who eats quinoa and kale, and washes it down with a bottle or two of (biodynamic) wine every night.
What does this person do to reconcile their internal inconsistency?
Cue “band-aid” solution. A band-aid sits over the top and justifies the inconsistency; ergo “Wine helps me unwind and relax, which is most important to me”.
The band-aid could be an ineffective plastic one that slides off or rips, causing the person stress, which might motivate them to change one belief or another, or find another way to rationalise, in order to regain comfort.
Or the band aid might be a strong fabric one; a fool-proof justification, allowing someone to forge forward, bluffing themselves with imagined internal consistency.
This is just a tiny slice of what a social researcher is faced with – disentangling the elements of a response, a behaviour, an interaction (or hundreds) that are driven by bias and underpinned by justification, and peeling back the band-aid to gently expose the raw and sometimes unpleasant truth. | https://www.mintresearch.com.au/what-do-you-mean/ |
What the Data Really Says About European anti-Semitism
A recent poll challenges claims of a surge in anti-Jewish sentiment on the continent, but the numbers aren't the only story.
MILAN, Italy — Everything you’ve heard about mounting anti-Semitism in Europe might be wrong, at least according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. The study, published on June 2 by the Washington, D.C.-based organization on the strength of a poll of adults in six major European countries, suggests that anti-Jewish sentiment is marginal in Western Europe and slightly in decline.
Only 7 percent of French and British respondents reported an unfavorable opinion of Jews, compared to 9 percent in Germany. The figures were much higher in Poland, (28%) Italy (21%) and Spain, at 28 percent, 21 percent and 17 percent, respectively. A similar Pew study from 2014 found slightly higher levels of anti-Semitism in some of these countries, with 9 percent of French respondents and 24 percent of Italians expressing a negative opinion of Jews.
These figures seem to contradict other reports pointing to widespread, increasing anti-Semitism in Europe. In February, Pew itself reported a rise in 2013, to 77 of the 198 countries surveyed, in the number of countries in which Jews faced harassment, either by governments or social groups. That number was the highest in seven years. It found that Jews were harassed in 34 of Europe’s 45 states. A 2013 poll conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights of Jewish residents in eight EU member states found that 46 percent overall reported feeling threatened by anti-Semitism and 33 percent said they had personally experienced some form of harassment in the past five years.
In France the numbers were much higher, with 70 percent and 35 percent of respondents, respectively, reporting feeling threatened by and personally experiencing anti-Semitism.
What accounts for the seeming discrepancy between the relatively low levels of self-reported anti-Jewish sentiment in key European states and the high levels of perceived anti-Semitism reported by Jews in Europe as a whole? And how to explain the fact that France scored the lowest in anti-Jewish opinions but it is where Jews reported feeling the most threatened?
There are many possible answers. To begin with, anti-Semitism can be a serious issue even if the number of actual anti-Semites is low, especially if their views are particularly vehement and they are keen to act on them.
“It is possible to think that anti-Semitism is a serious problem, and to feel threatened by it, even if only a relatively small percentage of a country’s population expresses negative views about Jews. It is certainly possible that some among the minority of people who express negative views could pose a threat. And people may feel especially threatened if there have recently been anti-Semitic acts of violence in a country,” the director of global attitudes research at Pew, Richard Wike, told Haaretz by email.
January’s killing of four men in an attack on the Hyper Cacher Market in Paris was not the only recent incident of its kind. In March 2012 a gunman killed four people, including two children, at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school in Toulouse, while in January 2009 four customers were shot at a different kosher grocery store in Paris. But these acts by Muslim extremists may not reflect a broader anti-Jewish prejudice in the French population.
“The main source of anti-Jewish threats in France today ... comes from the marginalized Muslim immigrant community. These threats are real, but they radiate out from the Middle East, rather than being a reflection of longstanding social conflict within Europe,” Justin Smith, a philosophy professor at Paris Diderot University, told Haaretz.
David Hirsch, a sociologist at Goldsmiths, University of London who has studied anti-Semitic trends in Europe, concurs. “In Western Europe, anti-Semitism is significant, but only in particular milieus; it is not mainstream and it is not rife in popular culture. It is found most commonly amongst well educated people who consider themselves to be politically radical and it is overrepresented amongst Muslim people,” he said in an interview by email.
‘Social desirability bias’ may be a factor
Others, however, question the reliability of surveys such as the one recently published by Pew in assessing the actual level of anti-Jewish prejudice in Europe.
One possible problem is that they are based on self-reporting. Even people who do hold anti-Jewish views may be reluctant to admit them to pollsters. In the social sciences, this is known as “social desirability bias”: Survey respondents sometimes answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others and thus tend to underreport undesirable behaviors or opinions
“After the Holocaust, it is somewhat forbidden to speak out against the Jews, especially in Germany and also in France,” says Matthias Küntzel, a political scientist who teaches at a technical college in Hamburg, Germany. “But the anti-Semitic mindset is still there,” he adds. | https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-what-the-data-really-says-about-european-anti-semitism-1.5372765 |
Third-Person Effect. The third-person effect hypothesis predicts that people tend to perceive that mass media messages have a greater effect on others than on themselves, based on personal biases. The third-person effect manifests itself through an individual’s overestimation of the effect of a mass communicated message on the generalized other, or an underestimation of the effect of a mass communicated message on themselves.
These types of perceptions stem from a self-motivated social desirability (not feeling influenced by mass messages promotes self-esteem), a social-distance corollary (choosing to dissociate oneself from the others who may be influenced), and a perceived exposure to a message (others choose to be influenced by persuasive communication)
Belief Bias. Judging the strength of arguments based on the plausibility of their conclusion rather than how strongly they support that conclusion. A person is more likely to accept an argument that supports a conclusion that aligns with their values, beliefs and prior knowledge, while rejecting counter arguments to the conclusion. Belief bias is an extremely common and therefore significant form of error; we can easily be blinded by our beliefs and reach the wrong conclusion.
Availability Cascade. The more people believe (and talk about) something the more likely we are to think it’s true. Again, see the earlier post about Social Proof. Or the old “that’s what they say” argument. | https://www.wellthatmakessense.com/third-person-effect-belief-bias/ |
The list experiment is used to detect latent beliefs when researchers suspect a substantial degree of social desirability bias from respondents. This methodology has been used in areas ranging from racial attitudes to political preferences. Meanwhile, social psychologists interested in the salience of physical attributes to social behavior have provided respondents with experimentally altered photographs to test the influence of particular visual cues or traits on social evaluations. This experimental research has examined the effect of skin blemishes, hairlessness, and particular racial attributes on respondents' evaluation of these photographs. While this approach isolates variation in particular visual characteristics from other visual aspects that tend to covary with the traits in question, it fails to adequately deal with social desirability bias. This shortcoming is particularly important when concerned with potentially charged visual cues, such as body mass index (BMI). The present article describes a novel experiment that combines the digital alteration of photographs with the list experiment approach. When tested on a nationally representative sample of Internet respondents, results suggest that when shown photographs of women, male respondents report differences in levels of attractiveness based on the perceived BMI of the photographed confederate. Overweight individuals are less likely than their normal weight peers to report different levels of attractiveness between high-BMI and low-BMI photographs. Knowing that evaluations of attractiveness influence labor market outcomes, the findings are particularly salient in a society with rising incidence of obesity. | https://collaborate.princeton.edu/en/publications/body-mass-index-and-physical-attractiveness-evidence-from-a-combi |
Marketing researchers face a number of measurement challenges when interviewing their audiences. Certain factors limit subjects’ ability to provide accurate or reasonable answers to all questions: they may not be informed, may not remember, or may be unable to articulate certain types of responses. And even if respondents are able to answer a particular question, they may be unwilling to disclose, at least accurately, sensitive information because this may cause embarrassment or threaten their prestige or self-image.
Research projects that investigate socially risky behavior (for example, “Have you used illegal drugs in the past week?”) or, conversely, socially expected behavior (e.g., voting, religious attendance, charitable giving, etc.) are subject to what are referred to as social desirability pressures. These sorts of questions, we advise, will almost certainly yield inaccurate results if not administered correctly.
Social desirability distortion is the tendency of respondents to answer questions in a more socially desirable direction than they would if the survey were administered anonymously. A form of measurement error, it is often referred to as bias, socially desirable responding, or response distortion.
Over the past few years, we have successfully employed a questionnaire technique called the Item Count method to reduce the effects of social desirability distortion. As used, the respondent reports only the number of items on the list in which he/she has engaged, not which behaviors. If the average number of non-stigmatizing behaviors is known for the population, one can estimate the rate of the sensitive behavior for the population by the difference between the average number of behaviors reported for the population including and excluding the stigmatized behavior.
Item Count Method
The item count method allows survey respondents to remain anonymous when reporting a sensitive behavior. This is accomplished by including the sensitive behavior of interest in a list of other relatively non-stigmatizing behaviors. It is also used to estimate socially positive behaviors as well, such as voting.
Example
In the example below, the researcher is attempting to identify the percentage of college students who tried or used cocaine in the past.
One of the groups received a set of five items. The participants were told that this questionnaire was designed to encourage honest responding, and were asked not to respond directly to whether any particular item is true; rather, they were asked to list how many of the four items were true.
How many of the following have you done in the past six months?
While indicating how many items were true, they never directly endorse any particular item. Someone who responded 3, for instance, was indicating that three of the five items were true for him or her.
Another group of respondents is given the same list, plus one additional behavior—the one we are interested in measuring.
How many of the following have you done in the past six months?
Subtracting the average number of behaviors reported by the first group from the average number of behaviors reported by the second group estimates the proportion of people given the longer list who said they performed the requested behavior.
There are a few guidelines when designing an item-count method experiment.
- The behavior used on the item-count method list should be such that few respondents have performed all or none of them. Reporting one activity negates the anonymity.
- Behaviors should be within the same ‘category’. For example, if one is investigating risky sexual behavior, then other risky behaviors should be included on the list. It the goal is to estimate voter turnout, other civil activities should be included.
- A separate sample for direct reporting may be included for comparison.
- Larger samples enhance estimate stability and accuracy.
Below are preliminary results, by gender.
The base rate estimate for the behavior of interest is found by subtracting the two means: mean (Group 2) – mean (Group 1). In this example, in total Group 1 conducted 2.35 behaviors; Group 2 conducted 2.72 behaviors. Thus, the base rate estimate in this population for cocaine use is 2.72-2.35=0.37—roughly 37% of our college student sample has used cocaine at one time or another.
Broken out by gender, men have slightly higher means of risky behavior—not surprising, given that, for example, riding a bike without a helmet or walking through a dangerous neighborhood is viewed as less risky by male students than female. Men also had a slightly higher estimated cocaine usage.
Closing Thoughts
Reducing measurement error is an ongoing challenge for marketing researchers. Respondents are generally unwilling to respond, or respond truthfully, to questions they consider inappropriate for the given context, they do not see as serving a legitimate purpose, or are sensitive, embarrassing, or threatening to their own-self image. Utilizing the item-count measure can be an effective way of reducing misreporting caused by social desirability pressures associated with interviewer-administration. | https://greenbookblog.org/2017/03/03/who-is-doing-cocaine-estimating-bad-behavior/ |
It is often assumed that consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for eco-labeled products in research settings is not because of a desire for environmental protection, but rather that they are socially compelled to make decisions that reflects favorably on them, limiting the validity of findings. Using a second-price Vickrey experimental auction, this study found higher WTP for an eco-labeled product than a comparable good, but that social desirability bias, measured by the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale, was not a significant predictor of WTP. Instead, environmental consciousness, environmental knowledge, education, and available information were stronger predictors of WTP for eco-labeled goods. | https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/experimental-auction-confirmation-that-social-desirability-bias-d-2 |
Deerfield, IL – The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) invites you to attend the ISSCR Global Forum Press Conference, held from noon – 1 p.m. March 19, 2008, at the Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay in California. More than 30 of the foremost scientists, business leaders, governmental and industry officials are gathering examine the current state of stem cell research around the world.
The Forum will provide an opportunity to explore, from a global perspective, the multitude of new scientific, clinical, regulatory, ethical and societal issues that accompany the potential of stem cell therapies.
The press conference will address two topical issues: the continued pursuit of human embryonic stem cell research in view of recent induced pluripotent stem cell discoveries, and the promotion of safe, measured approaches to the application of stem cell therapies.
Invited press panelists include:
- George Q. Daley, MD, PhD,
Children’s Hospital Boston (USA)- President of the ISSCR
- Robert Goldstein, MD, PhD,
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (USA)
- Robert Klein, JD,
Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (USA)
- Story Landis, PhD,
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH (USA)
- Olle Lindvall, MD, PhD,
University of Lund (Sweden)
- Sir Ian Wilmut, PhD, DSc,
University of Edinburgh, Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (Scotland)
In light of the rapidly expanding field of stem cell research, initiating this meeting was a logical step for ISSCR. “The ISSCR is in a unique position to influence stem cell research worldwide,” said ISSCR President George Q. Daley, MD, PhD. “We are meeting to biopsy the field, to learn how the ISSCR can best help the media, the public and funding institutions understand the implications of scientific breakthroughs with stem cells.”
Members of the press are invited to attend the ISSCR Global Forum Press Conference. The Forum is a closed meeting and only journalists who are employed by, or on official assignment from, an accredited news organization for the purpose of editorial coverage will be granted complimentary press credentials to attend the press conference. To register, e-mail your contact information and affiliation to Meagan Comerford at [email protected].
11 March, 2008
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The International Society for Stem Cell Research is an independent, nonprofit membership organization established to promote and foster the exchange and dissemination of information and ideas relating to stem cells, to encourage the general field of research involving stem cells and to promote professional and public education in all areas of stem cell research and application. | http://www.isscr.org/professional-resources/news-publicationsss/isscr-news-articles/article-listing/2008/03/12/leading-international-stem-cell-society-to-hold-first-ever-global-forum |
In the prospect of the discussions on proposal of the EC on the next Multiannual financial framework and the 9th Framework Program for Research and Innovation, coupled with exploring the opportunities for promoting public-private partnership for increasing the processes of inclusive participation involving actors from different sectors, the project for a Flagship conference during the Bulgarian EU Presidency intends to provide a platform for discussions on increasing the impact of R&I for the whole food chain, in response to societal needs and expectations, climate change and globalization. To do this, Bulgaria will address, invite and involve a wide diversity of actors to build a shared and inclusive vision, boosting future investments in R&I in Europe and leveraging private investments and increasing synergies with public funding.
Within the overall European Research and Innovation context, this would mean maximizing the impact from R&I on industry, policy and society, and making difference for local and regional communities and enhancing their innovation potential.
The focus of the conference will be on R&I for future proofed Food and Nutrition Systems. Food 2030 – Research and Innovation for Food and Nutrition Security and Quality Empowerment conference concept will be built upon the whole Food System approach, linking land and sea, producers to consumers and back to addresses the four FOOD 2030 priorities: Nutrition for healthy and sustainable diets, Climate and environmental sustainability, Circularity and resource efficiency,
Innovation and empowering communities. | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/785213 |
PlastPack Defence (PPD) was founded in 2012 as a small and innovative Danish company specialising in defence industry packaging, especially for ammunition, in terms of weight, cube and production/material technologies.
In 2013, the company received its first contract, worth €31m, to develop the first ever lightweight ammunition case (LWAC) as a replacement for the industry standard M2A1. It put to use more than 30 years of experience in packaging optimisation, and over ten years in the defence industry, to develop a novel solution.
How does the LWAC address operational needs?
The LWAC uses innovative design principles, which make it significantly lighter than other cases. Compared to a steel ammunitions case, the PPD LWAC is 68% lighter – for every one million rounds of 12.7mm (.50cal) ammunition the total weight reduction amounts to 16.5 tonnes. The product has reached the end of its development and is now UN approved for the handling, transportation and storage of ammunition.
In this booklet, PPD recounts the story of the development of LWAC, from the initial rounds of UN testing the product underwent in 2015 – which examined its ability to withstand heavy fire, among other capabilities – to its certification for use in non-operational areas, for applications such as training.
Why choose the LWAC?
The booklet outlines a number of major benefits that LWACs offer, including the fact that they can be colour-coded to indicate the type of ammunition inside, and that they can be semi-transparent to allow users to count the number of rounds without opening the case. Further, PPD can build in RFID tags to each LWAC, to allow each case, its contents and its movement to be tracked throughout its journey.
The booklet goes on to estimate the potential financial savings that could be made, as the reduction in weight translates to savings in fuel, increased capacity, and fewer supply missions transporting ammunition to theatre. This can also decrease environmental impact, and the LWAC meets EU requirements for ‘green gas’ emissions. | https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/ebook/ppd-plastpackdefence-aps/ |
Handrim wheelchair propulsion is a straining form of ambulation. In contrast, arm crank exercise in laboratory settings has shown a higher degree of gross mechanical efficiency and increased levels of peak power output. Moreover, arm crank exercise can be conducted at different gear ratios and in asynchronic or synchronic mode. Although tricycle crank exercise or handcycling has become increasingly popular for recreational use, sports and outdoor wheeling over the last decade, today little is known about the cardiopulmonary strain in handcycling. The physiological and subjective responses during handcycling were evaluated in a group of 12 male non-wheelchair users (age 24.6±2.7 yr; body weight 73.7± 9.7 kg). During an incremental submaximal exercise test on a motor driven treadmill (velocity: 1.8 ms-1; an incremental slope of 1% per 3 min; 0-3%; mean power output of the subject group varied between 7.6±1.6 W and 47.5±6.2 W), effects of asynchronic and synchronic crank settings and three different gear ratios (1: 0.42, 1:0.59, 1:0.741 (or 24, 36 and 44 rpm)) were evaluated in a random testing sequence. Significantly lower levels of mean oxygen uptake, ventilation, relative heart rate and oxygen uptake were seen during synchronic arm use and for the lighter gear ratios (i.e. higher movement frequency; 44 rpm). Subjective local perceived discomfort showed similar trends. Conversely, gross mechanical efficiency appeared higher for these conditions. The need for strong medio-lateral stabilizing muscle effort during asynchronic arm use (to ensure a proper wheeling direction as well as simultaneous power transfer to the cranks) and the effective use of the trunk in this subject group may explain the advantage of synchronic arm use. Whether this advantage is consolidated among wheelchair confined individuals needs further study. Apart from the important effects of a shift in force-velocity characteristics of the contracting muscles with varying gear ratios, increased static finger flexor and arm muscle activity may explain the increased strain in the somewhat unnatural heavy gear condition (24 rpm) at the studied velocity. Results need to be re-evaluated for wheelchair user populations and different higher velocities and power conditions. Moreover, other aspects of the wheelchair-user interface must be studied in order to generate optimum fitting and design guidelines for different user groups and conditions of use. | https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/handcycling-different-modes-and-gear-ratios |
One’s state of health is the result of many choices made throughout a lifetime. The more positive and helpful choices made, the more one experiences a vibrant and healthier life. No opportunity is too small to have an impact, whether visible or not, and your choices matter. You experience these opportunities every day.
So what do you do about it? You change your mindset and approach. Embrace the truth that every choice matters. Change your approach to health and know the basic cornerstones and/or structure of a healthy body.
Make decisions that support this way of thinking and being. Know that the more decisions you make that are supportive of good health, the better your life and health will be for it.
Consuming Air
Let’s start with the most basic. You need oxygen, regularly. All air isn’t equal. Let’s take an exaggerated example: there’s a house fire two doors down. Smoke is billowing out of the house at a rapid rate. The air in and around that house may be breathable, but that doesn’t mean it’s high quality. And that quality of air would not sustain you as long as air in the backwoods of Montana.
Now, you’re not likely surrounded by smoke infested air consistently, and you probably aren’t living in the backwoods of Montana. However, the pollution in the air is much higher than it used to be because of our ways of living, transportation, growing food, and so on. My point is you don’t need to see the pollution for it to have an effect on you and your health. Our society spends an enormous amount of time inside. The quality of air inside, especially those buildings that allow smoking, is nowhere near as supportive for your body, mind, or well-being, as being outdoors in less populated areas of nature.
So do yourself, your body, your mind, and your health a favor during the week: simply get out of the office and outside as much as possible and consciously take deep breaths into your belly. Walk the mail across the street to the post office instead of putting it in the office mail pick-up. Walk the dog one more time than usual in the morning or night. Weekends, look to get further into nature, go to a park that’s out of the way, a reservoir that is off the beaten path, or a walk in the woods. These choices matter.
Consuming Sufficient Water
Most people choose to not drink enough water to keep themselves as healthy as possible. Every person should consume half their body weight in ounces of water daily. For example, a 50-pound child should consume at least 25 ounces of water; a 140-pound adult should consume 70 ounces of water. Our body is mostly comprised of water, so it makes sense that we would replenish it with a like substance instead of soft drinks or booze.
Consuming Food and Drink
One choice, whether it’s a quick fast food meal or a bit of overindulgence with decadent sweets, isn’t going to make or break your health. The problem is that people repeat these “one choice, one time” scenarios over and over and then end up in a state of health that isn’t supportive of their life or well-being.
To be our healthiest, we should focus on whole nutrient-rich food (unprocessed meats, organic fruits and veggies, whole nuts and seeds).
Exercise Movement
Movement is life. Optimal movement is dependent upon proper alignment of the spine. The better the alignment, the healthier the movement. There are two types of movement, global movement and segmental movement.
Global movement - Think big -- squats, arms over head, simple walking motions. At minimum, get up from your desk every hour and do five air squats and five jumping jacks. Move one hour per day. Change your walking routine to include stairs instead of the elevator, parking in the farthest stalls from the entrance when you shop or run errands, and walk Fido twice around the block instead of once. Of that hour of movement, ideally at least 30 minutes is heavier exercise in which your heart rate is up and you’re huffing and puffing.
Segmental movement - These are smaller movements of the joints. Global movement is optimal when segmental movement of your spinal joints are optimal. Segmental movement of joints is analyzed by chiropractors. When segmental spinal motion is decreased, the chiropractic adjustment increases range of motion. The restoration of movement increases segmental range of motion, allows the opportunity for increased global range of motion and, most importantly, allows the body’s communication system (nervous system) to operate without interference. Thus your opportunity to experience health is increased!
Our life is made up of decisions, good and bad, timely or not. But there are some decisions, if you’re interested in living a longer and healthier life, are obvious. Breathe clean air. Drink proper amounts of water and eat whole foods. Move often and get your spine checked and adjusted regularly by a chiropractor. Your health and life depend on it. All of it.
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this page are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this post is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics. It is not intended to provide or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your chiropractor, physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this page. | https://www.thejoint.com/2018/09/19/decisions-decisions-your-choices-shape-you-and-your-health |
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(3) comments
Not related to the above video analysis Wayne, but I am sure you got a kick out of your “buddy” Brandel talking about Bubba after the big win. He was ranting about how he doesn’t need a teacher, video camera, technology, and he just plays the game with feel. I was laughing because he is so anti-swing coach/take advant. of technology and believes so much in feel alone. Dude has a poor attitude! Nice analysis again by the way.Reply
This is my first post since joining. One thing that I find interesting is how the shaft relates to the right forearm on the downswing. Players like Sergio get the shaft almost below the right forearm whereas players like hanson have it what appears to be way above the right forearm. Does this relationshi indicate a ball flight tendency? Does it effect toe vs heel strikes?Reply
Hi Wayne,
*contentious posting alert* ;-)
Rather than say “some players lower in the backswing, some in the forward swing but almost all good players lower” why not try and develop a theory about lowering in the golf swing? You have more data on the golf swing than almost anyone in the world of golf.
I know you have a problem with the word ‘theory’ but lets stay scientific about that – in science a ‘theory’ is something that fits the observed facts/data and can be usefully used for prediction – and its the closest thing we humans have to a truth the best theories come with an underlying rationale or explanation. Theories are developed from hypotheses and to be scientific it must be possible to disprove them – meaning we must be able to think of some data or circumstance that would disprove the the theory.
Here is my hypothesis about lowering in the golf swing:
1. The act of ‘lowering’ in the swing momentarilty removes vertical load on the body (its not really about “compressing” in the first instance, in my opinion). Try this simple experiment: stand on some bathroom scales and perform a golf swing. If you lower (in the backswing or forward swing) you will see your weight momentarily decrease then increase past your normal weight and then stabilise at your normal weight.
2. This weight unloading while lowering in the forward swing allows the hips to turn faster and hence further in the same time frame – put a golf shaft across your hips and perform hip turns while not lowering and then do it again while lowering – it doesnt matter if you lower by bending your knees (McIlroy) or bending at the waist (Tiger). You can turn your hips further and faster when you lower.
3. When the lowering stops – your hips load up and stop the hip turn more rapidly than if you didnt lower – so the “compression” or loading serves to slow down the hip turn – see the new Titleist Performance Institute(TPI) kinematic sequence graphs here http://web.me.com/jtclubs/JTClubs/3D_Swing_Analysis.html to illustrate this point – in the downswing the hips turn first and slow down first (slow before impact), then torso, then arms then the clubhead in sequence.
4 Faster hip turn followed by more rapid hip stop translates to higher clubhead speed due to the kinematic sequence as shown in the graphs in the web link mentioned above. Even a small increase in the height of the hip curve peak in the downswing multiplies to a big increase in clubhead speed.
Here are some predictions from this hypothesis:
1. A player that lowers early in the forward swing will be able to increase the hip curve peak on the TPI kinematic sequence test (I know that needs a lot of fancy equipment to prove -maybe TPI will do that for us?). Other things being equal – arm movement, wrist cock etc. that will translate to higher clubhead speed
2. Players that do not lower in the forward swing will either not be long hitters or will be larger and stronger than average and able to compensate with other elements of the kinematic sequence (Peter Hanson, Jason Day, Nick Faldo)
3. Shorter and lighter players that can hit the ball a long way (McIlroy, Player, Hogan) will have a sharp lowering movement in the forward swing.
My hypothesis could be disproved by:
1. The TPI curves showing no difference in the hip rotation peak with lowering (other factors equal)
2. The existence of a small lightweight player that can hit the ball consistently as far as larger good players who does not lower in the forward swing.
I cant see any particular advantage in lowering in the back swing other than maybe priming the body rythym to keep lowering into the forward swing. | https://members.wayned.com/swing-analysis-day-3-at-the-masters-hanson-and-mickelson/ |
Saturday Afternoon will be a beginner focused workshop, so it will focus more on the process of how to learn the freestanding handstand as well as its variations. This workshop may also be interesting for teachers to learn new methods on handstand instruction.
Topics include:
Physical preparation for handstands to keep the joints healthy and prevent injury
Exercises to build comfort and awareness with arm support and inversion
Wall handstands performed in a way that encourages independence
Learning to safely fall out of a handstand to overcome fear
Developing the sensation of what it feels like to balance your handstand
Consistent handstand entries
Progressing towards freestanding handstand
How to spot in a way to help develop balance
Ways to further develop strength, versatility, and control in the handstand
September 1st - Intermediate/Advanced Handstands
Sunday will be more focused on intermediate/advanced levels, so this workshop is better suited for students who are already able to hold a freestanding handstand on their own. We will focus on refining the basics as well as learning how to approach new skills.
Class content depends on the level and desires of the group but potential topics include:
High level refinement of the basics
How to develop more control in the balance
How to add movement to the handstand
Different ways to enter and exit the handstand
Press Handstands
Handstand Push-ups
One Arm handstands
Other advanced work upon request
September 2nd - Acrobatics/Movement
This workshop will take participants through different ways of moving on a hard floor. We will be focusing on performing movements in a way that reduces impact on the body. The content will draw upon inspiration from different styles such as gymnastics, dance, capoeira, and martial arts in order to create an interesting movement vocabulary. All levels of ability are welcome.
Topics include:
Physical Preparation to warm up the body and help prevent injury
Basic coordination necessary for learning acrobatic movements
How to reduce impact when jumping and landing
Learning to become comfortable with falling
Basics of acrobatics: handstands, rolls, and cartwheels
Floorwork and other moves depending on the level and desires of the group. This topic has many possibilities, so I leave it open to see what will work better for the group.
Partner work to add an element of unpredictability.
*Note that actual content of the workshops are open and dependent on the level and desires of the group. | http://www.yuri-mar.com/events/2019/8/31/long-island-ny |
3 Total Rounds of:
- 1 Minute of Box jumps (20/24″)
- 1 Minutes of Alt DB snatches (40/60lbs)
- 2 Minutes of back rack step-ups (40/60lbs)(16/20″)
- 2 Minutes of Calories
- 3 Minutes rest
*Score is total box jumps + snatches + step-ups + calories
Stimulus Goal:
Why Do This Workout? Develop your lower body explosiveness. Each round starts with high power movements, then goes into high muscle endurance. You will be able to maintain robust speed and power for longer in the lower body after doing this workout.
Duration and Feel: The minutes tell you exactly how long you’re working for. It should be challenging, but you should be able to hold and do the movements listed without resting during these working minutes. Remember that you have 3 minutes of rest between rounds.
Specific warm-up focus: Warm up hips, legs, and shoulders. Yogi squats, jumping squats, jumping jacks, weightless step ups before prepping for the exact movements would be good.
Scaling Options: Lighter weight on BB and DB for the step ups and the DB snatches. Lower boxes for box jumps and step ups as needed. | https://fit2livegym.com/rounds-of-timed-intervals/ |
Health, Safety, Environment and Quality management
At SWISDARL Freight & Logistics we have set high standards for the quality of our services as well as for the internal working environment and for the impacts on the external environment. Therefore we maintain and continuously improve the efficiency of our quality and HSE management system in accordance with the requirements of ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001. SWISDARL Freight & Logistics is certified to these standards. It is the policy of SWISDARL Freight & Logistics to ensure that all work is carried out properly with regard to health, safety and working environment for employees and visitors and with regard to the external environment.
We will continuously improve our systems and processes to prevent damage and contamination and reduce the risk as far as practicable. For the external environment, we focus on improvements for truck transportation, waste handling and paper consumption. To improve the working environment and the health and safety, our main focus is on promoting employee well-being, and to avoid incidents and strains that can cause adverse health as well as to encourage health-promoting activity.
The requirements of the Working Environment Act, the Pollution Control Act and other applicable safety regulations we consider as a minimum standard for our HSE. We want to create safe, healthy workplaces and to help protecting the external environment.
The top management and owners of SWISDARL Freight & Logistics have undertaken an obligation to promote this policy and support in full all objectives, safety measures and procedures as documented in the HSE system. It is expected that all employees and partners do the same. | https://swissdarl.com/risk-management-hseq/ |
The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) conducts independent investigations of patient safety concerns in NHS-funded care across England.
Most harm in healthcare results from problems within the systems and processes that determine how care is delivered. Our investigations identify the contributory factors that have led to harm or have the potential to cause harm to patients. The recommendations we make aim to improve healthcare systems and processes in order to reduce risk and improve safety.
Our organisation values independence, transparency, objectivity, expertise and learning for improvement.
We work closely with patients, families and healthcare staff affected by patient safety incidents, and we never attribute blame or liability to individuals.
Our investigations
Our team of investigators and analysts have diverse experience working in healthcare and other safety critical industries and are trained in human factors and safety science. We consult widely in England and internationally to ensure that our work is informed by appropriate clinical and other relevant expertise.
We undertake patient safety investigations through two programmes.
National investigations
Our national investigations can encompass any patient safety concern that occurred within NHS-funded care in England after 1 April 2017. We consider the requirement to investigate potential incidents or issues based on wide sources of information including that provided by healthcare organisations and our own research and analysis of NHS patient safety systems.
We decide what to investigate based on the scale of risk and harm, the impact on individuals involved and on public confidence in the healthcare system, as well as the potential for learning to prevent future harm. We welcome information about patient safety concerns from the public, but we do not replace local investigations and cannot investigate on behalf of families, staff, organisations or regulators.
Our investigation reports identify opportunities for relevant organisations with power to make appropriate improvements through:
- ‘Safety recommendations’ made with the specific intention of preventing future, similar events.
- ‘Safety observations’ with suggested actions for wider learning and improvement.
Our reports also identify actions required during an investigation to immediately improve patient safety. Organisations subject to our safety recommendations must send their response to us within three months. These responses are published on our investigation pages.
Find out more in the national investigations section.
Maternity investigations
From 1 April 2018, we became responsible for all patient safety investigations of maternity incidents occurring in the NHS which meet criteria for the Each Baby Counts programme.
The purpose of this programme is to achieve rapid learning and improvement in maternity services, and to identify common themes that offer opportunity for system-wide change. For these incidents HSIB’s investigation replaces the local investigation, although the NHS trust remains responsible for Duty of Candour and for referring the incident to us.
We work closely with parents and families, healthcare staff and organisations during an investigation. Our reports are provided directly to the families involved and to the NHS trust. The trust is responsible for actioning any safety recommendations we make as a result of these investigations.
We have been operating in all trusts since 1 April 2019. Our longer-term aim is to make safety recommendations to national organisations for system-level improvements in maternity services. These will be based on common themes arising from our trust-level investigations.
Find out more in the maternity investigations section.
Our independence
We conduct independent investigations and make independent judgements. We are funded by the Department of Health & Social Care and hosted by NHS England and NHS Improvement.
In September 2017, the Government published the Health Service Safety Investigations Bill (HSSIB) in draft. The legislation will allow HSIB to become a fully independent investigations body responsible for finding answers, giving safety recommendations and embedding new practices across the NHS.
Central to this will be a commitment to a no-blame approach, encapsulated by the idea of investigations providing a ‘safe space’ for participants, including patients, families and staff, to share information.
The draft Bill underwent pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee of the House of Lords and House of Commons from May to July 2018. The Committee published its report in August 2018 and the government published a response to this report in December 2018.
We hope that when parliamentary time allows, we will be established as an independent public body. Full information about the draft Bill is available on the Department of Health and Social Care website. | https://www.hsib.org.uk/about-us/ |
Considerations for enhanced recovery pathways for cesarean deliveries differ significantly from those proposed after other surgical procedures, in that unique and essential elements for both maternal and fetal/neonatal care goals, standards and outcomes are necessary. Importantly, ensuring women's ability to care for their newborn is crucial, which requires optimization of pain management and achievement of specific milestones by the time of hospital discharge. The overarching goal is to improve maternal outcomes without compromising measures of patient safety including maternal readmission and complication rates. While it is desirable to reduce postpartum depression, improve neonatal safety, reduce chronic pain, and decrease maternal morbidity (eg, surgical site infection, acute kidney injury, and wound dehiscence), future research needs to evaluate ERAC effects on these rarer outcomes.
Implementation of ERAC pathways for obstetric patients requires highly functional relationships between hospital systems and local cultural factors to support each element. ERAC pathways improve maternal and infant outcomes, enhance the patient experience, and support a local culture of growth orientation and commitment to continuous improvement and high quality of clinical care. Inherent to enhanced recovery pathways is ongoing interdisciplinary quality improvement and auditing of processes and outcomes to continuously adapt and improve individual ERAC protocols.
Due to relatively limited, high-quality evidence supporting enhanced recovery elements specific to obstetric populations, several recommendations presented here are based on low or very low-quality evidence or expert consensus. Strongest evidence (level 1 A) exists for intraoperative and postoperative recommendations, such as avoidance of spinal-induced hypotension to prevent IONV, implementation of multimodal analgesia and delayed cord clamping. Postoperative recommendations with strong evidence (level 1 A) are early mobilization, glycemic control, and use of multimodal analgesia.
There is minimal evidence of specific effects of individual elements of ERAC protocols; however, recommended elements proposed here have been evaluated together in different bundles and resulted in improved maternal and neonatal outcomes.
A limitation of this consensus statement is that no obstetricians or nurses were invited to participate, yet several recommendations primarily apply to obstetric providers and nurses. However, as perioperative specialists, it is the responsibility of obstetric anesthesiologists to promote and facilitate these important elements of an enhanced recovery program to all, rather than on a case-by-case basis, and ensure they are built into ERAC pathways. There is no international consensus regarding which specific outcomes should be monitored in perioperative enhanced recovery pathway studies. Future research should therefore focus on providing high-quality data clarifying which pathway elements, or combinations thereof, best enhance recovery. More study is required to facilitate consensus among the various ERAC protocols that are utilized while considering the impact of local practices. Other areas of knowledge gaps include how to best initiate, support, and maintain ERAC system changes, and how to optimally involve and motivate patients to be part of and comply with enhanced recovery care pathways.
Glossary
5HT3 = 5 hydroxytryptamine receptor; AAP = American Academy of Pediatrics; ACC = American College of Cardiology; ACCP = American College of Clinical Pharmacy; ACOG = American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; AHA = American Heart Association; APAP = acetaminophen; ASA = American Society of Anesthesiologists; D2 = dopamine receptor; ERAC = Enhanced Recovery After Cesarean Delivery; ERAS = Enhanced Recovery after Surgery; Hb = hemoglobin; IONV = intraoperative nausea and vomiting; IT = intrathecal; IV = intravenous; NICE = National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; NSAID = nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; OR = operation room; PACU = postanesthesiacare unit; POD = postoperative day; PONV = postoperative nausea and vomiting; PPH = postpartum hemorrhage; PRN = pre re nata (as needed); q6h = every 6 hours; QLB = quadratus lumborum block; QTc = QT duration in electrocardiography; SOAP = Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology; TAP = transversus abdominis plane block; UNICEF = United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund; UTI = urinary tract infection; VTE = venous thromboembolism; WHO = World Health Organization
Funding
G. L. is supported in part by NIH, K12HD043441. | https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/949640_5 |
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July 2015, Volume :46 Number 7 , page 56 - 56 [Free]
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Q Our hospital is in the window for a visit from The Joint Commission within the next 6 months. Can you highlight the key components of its new 2015 chapter on patient safety systems?
The Joint Commission journey of patient safety has evolved over time, beginning with Dr. Ernest Codman who has been acknowledged as the founder of patient outcomes and treatment in 1910. Dr. Codman also helped lead the founding of the American College of Surgeons and its hospital standardization program, which eventually became The Joint Commission. Other key patient safety organization milestones include the establishment of the Institute of Medicine in 1970, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 1989, and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in 1991.
In 2002, The Joint Commission's focus on the development of national patient safety standards led to the establishment of its National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) program, which became effective in 2003. The NPSGs were developed by a patient safety advisory group, which consisted of an interdisciplinary team with in-depth experience and knowledge of patient safety. The first NPSGs included: 1) improve the accuracy of patient identification; 2) improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers; 3) improve high-alert medication safety; 4) eliminate wrong site, wrong patient, and wrong procedure surgery; 5) improve infusion pump safety; and 6) improve the effectiveness of clinical alarm systems. In 2015, the NPSGs based on patient outcomes data evolved into the following: 1) identify patients correctly, 2) improve staff communication, 3) use medicines correctly, 4) use alarms safely, 5) prevent infections, 6) identify patient safety risks, and 7) prevent mistakes in surgery.
The 2015 patient safety systems chapter provides "guidance for healthcare organizations with a proactive approach to designing or redesigning a patient-centered system that aims to improve quality of care and patient safety."1 The chapter doesn't include new accrediting requirements for The Joint Commission, but it does highlight how existing standard requirements (22 standards) can be applied to positively impact patient safety processes. The leadership standards 03.01.01 (leaders create and maintain a culture of safety and quality throughout the hospital) and 04.04.05 (the hospital has an organization-wide, integrated patient safety program within its performance improvement activities) have a combined total of 24 performance elements ranging from regular evaluation of the culture of safety, processes for managing behaviors that undermine a culture of safety, and education that focuses on safety and quality to leaders implementing a hospital-wide patient safety program.
In addition, the patient safety systems chapter highlights the following:
* fair and just safety culture. The organization has a trusting environment in which staff can report a safety event without fear of retribution. The safety culture does incorporate individual accountability; for example, if there was deviation from established protocols.
* data use and reporting systems. The organization has an infrastructure that supports a transparent and just-in-time reporting process, and collects, analyzes, and utilizes data effectively to drive results. Today, many hospitals have access to a plethora of data but the key is to identify data that align with patient safety strategic priorities; for example, patient falls with injury, medication errors, and adverse drug reactions.
* proactive approach to preventing harm. The organization completes proactive risk assessments to evaluate processes with the potential for failure and understand how the outcomes of the identified failure could cause patient harm. This section also highlights strategies and tools for conducting an effective risk assessment.
* encouraging patient activation. The organization encourages patients and families to actively participate in decisions regarding their healthcare with a focus on patient safety.
This new patient safety systems chapter clearly spotlights the key role of hospital leadership in transitioning the organization to a sustainable infrastructure focused on patient safety through a trusting and transparent patient safety event reporting environment, which results in improvement and a high-reliability organization.
1. The Joint Commission. Patient safety systems chapter for the hospital program. http://www.jointcommission.org/patient_safety_systems_chapter_for_the_hospital_p. [Context Link]
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The Curriculum area of Electrical Installations is looking for a Technical Trainer. In this role, you will deliver technical training to an allocation of apprenticeship / full cost candidates, both practically and within classroom environments, as well as liaising with employers, external verifiers, staff and other stakeholders to maximise the success of the candidates. You will also be expected to carry out assessments and undertake pastoral care.
The successful applicant will hold a level 3 qualification (or equivalent) in Electrical Installation, and be willing to obtain a level 3 teaching/training qualification and Assessor Award within 12 months, if not already held. You will also have significant industrial experience within the Electrical sector and display excellent written and oral communication skills.
Purpose Statement:
To coordinate the successful completion of all aspects of an allocation of apprenticeship candidates, including the carrying out of assessments and the undertaking of pastoral care. To deliver technical training associated with an allocation of apprenticeship / full cost candidates, both practically and within the classroom, environments Liaise with employers, external verifiers, staff and other stakeholders to maximise the success of candidates.
Main Tasks
- To teach and train candidates both in the college and in the workplace towards agreed qualifications/standards/frameworks.
- Maintain target number caseload of apprentices/full cost learners.
- Undertake target hours for timetabled teaching/training.
- Meet agreed on timescales for sign-up and enrolment processes.
- Carry out progress reviews in line with policy and setting action plans with clear and SMART targets for all elements of the training programme.
- Design, develop coordinate and deliver an individual programme of learning and assessment, including the development of behaviours, to ensure successful completion of candidates within the planned duration
- To co-deliver English, Maths and ICT qualifications as required.
- To recruit and assess new candidates suitable for learning programmes in accordance with college processes and targets.
- To complete health and safety assessments of employers and their premises in accordance to standard requirements.
- To, at all times, maintain high expectations of learners work, commitment, and behaviour, taking action to ensure the highest of standards are met and to monitor candidates progress, including carrying out regular (12-week minimum) progression reviews and target setting.
- To complete appropriate awarding body/funding body documentation and ensure compliance of required procedures.
- To keep and maintain accurate records and documentation.
- To undertake internal verification processes required by awarding bodies.
- To competently and professionally liaise with employers and external verifiers in the completion of the above.
- To attend regular programme meetings and briefing sessions in line with curriculum policies.
- To liaise with the colleges work-based learning and widening participation centres ensuring compliance with college-wide systems and procedures.
- To continuously evaluate and improve the quality of learning and teaching within your work utilising and engaging with the college’s development and observation programmes.
- To contribute fully to the development of curricula and specialist facilities.
- To assist in the promotion and marketing of programmes within your team and centre of study.
- To actively promote and apply the colleges Safeguarding, Prevent and Health and Safety Policies.
- To actively promote and apply the college's equality and diversity policy at all times.
- To undertake such other duties as may be required by or on behalf of Colchester Institute provided that they are consistent with the nature of the post. | http://www.aocjobs.com/job/85951/technical-trainer-in-electrical/ |
Job Summary:The Patient Navigator for the Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH) Ambulatory Safety Net Program will provide facilitation, communication, and coordination to patients within a four-year system-wide project, supported by a CRICO-directed grant program. Missed and delayed diagnoses can happen when a positive screening test is not followed up. The Patient Navigator will help to eliminate barriers that might prevent patients from completing these follow-up screenings. The project will include outreaching to patients to help them navigate through the process of scheduling follow up breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer screening tests. The Patient Navigator is the primary point of contact for safety net patients and an integral member of the core project implementation team. Under the direction of the Senior Project Manager, this role is responsible for the identification of patients through a registry who need follow-up testing and the subsequent outreach to those patients to facilitate scheduling or completion of the test. The Patient Navigator will collaborate, communicate, and coordinate care with all members of the patient's health care team. The Patient Navigator will work to ensure best practices and high-quality standards of care across clinical settings to achieve the goals of the Ambulatory Safety Net Program.
Essential Responsibilities:
Reviews patients' medical charts and patient registry information to determine eligibility for outreach through the Ambulatory Safety Net program.
Follow-up with patients using various methodologies including phone, mail, email, and a patient portal, for the purpose of closing the loop on follow-up cancer screening tests.
Act as a key BILH system-level central resource for practices in the management of patient registries to ensure that patients have the required screening tests and consultation to promote optimal health and clinical outcomes.
Help patients set up appointments for doctor visits and medical tests. Guide patients through the health care system and help them overcome barriers that prevent them from getting the care they need.
Work collaboratively with practices to develop processes to address gaps in care and provide feedback as needed to ensure success. Coordinate work with specialty care and primary care practices to maximize efficient scheduling of screenings.
Facilitate access to the BILH system for underserved populations by connecting them to resources most appropriate for each patient's individual needs.
Identify and communicate best practice opportunities to primary and specialty practices and the safety net team to help improve performance. Participate in team decisions regarding data requirements for proactively managing the ambulatory safety net patient population.
Build working relationships, solve problems, direct patients to resources and manage information.
Ensure project documents are complete, current, and stored appropriately. Tracks project milestones and deliverables.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree required.
1-3 years related work experience required in in the areas of patient outreach, scheduling, patient registries or care coordination.
Experience with computer systems required, including web based applications and some Microsoft Office applications which may include Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Access.
Preferred Qualifications:
Prior clinical experience (e.g., medical assistant or other prior healthcare experience).
Bi-lingual preferred.
Competencies:
Decision Making:Ability to make decisions that are based on specific instructions, standard practices and established procedures which generally require little or no supervision.
Problem Solving:Ability to address problems that are varied, requiring analysis or interpretation of the situation using direct observation, knowledge and skills based on general precedents.
Independence of Action:Ability to follow precedents and procedures. May set priorities and organize work within general guidelines. Seeks assistance when confronted with difficult and/or unpredictable situations. Work progress is monitored by supervisor/manager.
Written Communications:Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written English with internal and external customers.
Oral Communications:Ability to comprehend and converse in English to communicate effectively with medical center staff, patients, families and external customers.
Knowledge:Ability to demonstrate full working knowledge of standard concepts, practices, procedures and policies with the ability to use them in varied situations.
Team Work:Ability to work collaboratively in small teams to improve the operations of immediate work group by offering ideas, identifying issues, and respecting team members.
Customer Service:Ability to provide a high level of customer service to patients, visitors, staff and external customers in a professional, service-oriented, respectful manner using skills in active listening and problem solving. Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.
Physical Nature of the Job:
Light work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force frequently to move objects. Some elements of the job are sedentary, but the employee will be required to stand for periods of time or move through out the hospital campus
EOE Statement
BIDMC is EOE M/F/VET/DISABILITY/GENDER IDENTITY/SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Vaccines
As a health care organization, we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to care for and protect our patients, our colleagues and our communities. BILH requires that all staff be vaccinated against influenza (flu) and COVID-19 as a condition of employment. | https://mass-healthcare.jobs/boston-ma/patient-navigator-bilh-ambulatory/C40BDF73AD32495C92FB46C72D4C5C86/job/?vs=28 |
The Coroners and Justice Act allows coroners in England or Wales to issue reports after inquest, if they believe that action should be taken to prevent a future death. Coroners are under a statutory duty to issue a Prevention of Future Death (PFD) report to persons or organisations that they believe have the power to act. Cumulatively, these reports may contain useful intelligence for patient safety.
Content
The aim of this study from Leary et al. was to examine the feasibility of extracting data from these reports and to evaluate if learning was possible from any common themes.
In total 710 reports were examined, with 3469 concerns being raised. Thirty-six reports expressed concern about having to issue repeat PFDs to the same organisation for the same or similar concerns. Thematic analysis reliability was high (κ 0.89 unweighted) with five emerging primary themes: deficit in skill or knowledge, missed, delayed or uncoordinated care, communication and cultural issues, systems issues and lack of resources. A codebook of 53 subthemes were identified.
The study concludes that PFD reports offer valuable insight. Aggregation and continued analysis of these reports could offer more informed patient safety, workforce development and organisational policy. Improved data quality would allow for possible automation of analysis and faster feedback into practice. | https://www.pslhub.org/learn/investigations-risk-management-and-legal-issues/investigations-and-complaints/coroners-reports/a-thematic-analysis-of-the-prevention-of-future-deaths-reports-in-healthcare-from-hm-coroners-in-england-and-wales-2016%E2%80%932019-3-march-2021-r4153/ |
DFT Presswork is a flexible, innovative and reliable subcontractor. Our organisationally-based risk management ensures 100 % integrity for our management systems under both anticipated and unanticipated operating conditions. We continuously evaluate customer satisfaction and other market conditions and implement activities that provide constant assurance of legal compliance, business continuity and profitable customer relationships. We are continuously working to improve our methods and processes, with a particular focus on defect prevention and reduction of process variation and wastage in the value chain. We are an action-oriented and quality-conscious company where the entire staff are motivated to show initiative and flexibility both individually and in cooperation with the management.
Environment and Occupational Safety and Health
We undertake to continuously maintain and improve our environmental and occupational safety and health policy to ensure compliance with all relevant legal and other requirements we have pledged to abide by. We will set up an organisational framework that makes it possible to set up targets for our occupational safety and health and environment as well as monitor target achievement. The policy shall be well-suited to the risks affecting the company's employees and other interested parties, including the environment. We pledge to prevent injuries to people and damage to the environment and will seek to improve occupational safety and health and prevent pollution. Our policy will be documented, implemented and communicated to the employees and the general public. Our policy will be subject to constant scrutiny to ensure that it is always relevant and suitable for the company and its operations.
Certified: | http://www.dft-presswork.dk/en/quality-200.html |
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Table of Contents
Preface
- Introduction
- Matter Fields
- Gauge Fields
- Interactions
- Standard Model Gauge Groups and Representations
- The Standard Model Interacting Particle bundle Appendices Index
Description
This book provides a philosophically informed and mathematically rigorous introduction to the 'standard model' of particle physics. The standard model is the currently accepted and experimentally verified model of all the particles and interactions in our universe. All the elementary particles in our universe, and all the non-gravitational interactions -the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, and the electromagnetic force - are collected together and, in the case of the weak and electromagnetic forces, unified in the standard model.
Rather than presenting the calculational recipes favored in most treatments of the standard model, this text focuses upon the elegant mathematical structures and the foundational concepts of the standard model.
Key Features
· Combines an exposition of the philosophical foundations and rigorous mathematical structure of particle physics · Demonstrates the standard model with elegant mathematics, rather than a medley of computational recipes · Promotes a group-theoretical and fibre-bundle approach to the standard model, rather than the Lagrangian approach favoured by calculationalists · Explains the different approaches to particle physics and the standard model which can be found within the literature
Readership
Professionals and graduate students in the areas of philosophy of physics, physics, mathematics and mathematical physics, and departmental and university libraries
Details
- No. of pages:
- 264
- Language:
- English
- Copyright:
- © Elsevier Science 2007
- Published:
- 8th May 2007
- Imprint:
- Elsevier Science
- Hardcover ISBN:
- 9780444531124
- eBook ISBN: | https://www.elsevier.com/books/the-structure-and-interpretation-of-the-standard-model/mccabe/978-0-444-53112-4 |
“It’s hard to be a role model, however, because what you really need to do is show students how imperfect people can be and still succeed… I may be a wonderful mathematician and famous because of it, but I’m also very human,” adds Uhlenback.
Lack of female representation
To this day there remains a lack of acknowledgment for women, not just in mathematics, but in the scientific field as a whole. Of the 607 Nobel prizes awarded in physics, chemistry or medicine since its inception in 1901, only 19 of them were women. That number includes renowned scientist Marie Curie, who won for physics in 1903, and for chemistry in 1911; she was the first female winner of a Nobel prize, and remains one of two people who have won a Nobel twice.
Mathematics is currently not part of the disciplines included in the Nobel prizes. Only one other woman has won a major international mathematics prize – the Fields Medal – Maryam Mirzakhani of Iran in 2014, who passed away in 2017. Both the Fields Medal and the Abel prize are among the world’s most prestigious maths prizes.
“Women are relative ‘newcomers’ as research mathematicians, so it will take a while for us to get to the level of the ‘top prize winners,'” says fellow Princeton mathematician Alice Chang Sun-Yung, who is a member of the Abel committee. | http://thegoodlife.com.ph/76-year-old-karen-uhlenbeck-becomes-first-female-recipient-of-abel-prize-for-mathematics/ |
On April 20, 1902, Marie Curie isolated radioactive radium salts that earned her the Nobel Peace Prize with her husband and another scientist for their radioactive work.
Born in Warsaw in 1867, Marie grew up with the desire to learn. Her parents, as teachers, helped her to have a good education. Though she wanted to go to higher education, her family could not afford it. Instead, she and her sister made a deal. Marie would work as a governess and send money to her sister to help her go to school. When done, they would switch and her sister would help Marie attend school. With this agreement, Marie Curie did not attend college until she had turned 24. Still, that did not stop her from doing great things.
After receiving her physics and mathematics education, Marie originally planned to go for a teaching degree. Then she met Pierre Curie and the two married. She did receive her teaching degree but went into research. She did much research into radioactivity. This research eventually gave her cancer which killed her. Still, she did much to further science. | http://mepsfit.com/2021/04/20/marie-curie-and-radioactive-radium-salts/ |
Date of Defense 2017-08-21 Availability unrestricted AbstractIn normal epithelial wound repair, cells across an epithelial sheet begin a coordinated process of re-epithelialization within minutes of wounding. These coordinated behaviors are driven by a calcium wave, a rise in cytosolic calcium expanding away from the wound in a wave-like fashion. The calcium wave is evolutionarily conserved and is the earliest detectable wound response. Understanding the mechanisms of calcium influx and propagation may reveal fundamental aspects of wound detection and of cell coordination.
We observed multiple, distinct mechanisms of calcium influx and propagation around reproducible wounds in the Drosophila notum. First, extracellular calcium flows directly into cells through micro-tears on the cell surface. We were able to assess the role of micro-tears in calcium dynamics by using pulsed laser ablation, a common wounding method that generates exaggerated micro-tears. Pulsed laser ablation creates a cavitation bubble, which forms and collapses within microseconds of ablation and damages the plasma membranes of cells tens of microns away from the wound. Once inside the cells, our model predicts calcium diffuses to neighboring cells via gap junctions. Next, we observed a larger, wound-induced calcium wave that is driven by an unknown extracellular signal. This signal activates a Gαq mediated signaling cascade and induces calcium release from intracellular ER stores.
Our simple, pulsed laser ablation wounding model recapitulates a complex damage profile and reveals multiple patterns of calcium influx and propagation around a single wound. For this reason, this model has the potential to unite previous, and seemingly contradictory, findings regarding calcium dynamics in the wound healing field. | https://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-09112017-142409/ |
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Anne Kasus-Jacobi, Amanda J. Stock, Gina L Griffith, H Anne Pereira; Corneal wound healing mechanisms modulated by novel antimicrobial peptides. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2017;58(8):159.
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Purpose :
Corneal abrasion is the most common eye injury. If corneal re-epithelialization is not optimal bacterial infection and vision loss can occur. The neutrophil protein CAP37 has wound healing and antimicrobial properties and our goal is to develop therapeutic peptides derived from CAP37 for the treatment of corneal abrasion and vision-threatening bacterial keratitis. This study was designed to identify membrane receptor(s) mediating the wound-healing effects of CAP37 and CAP37-derived bioactive peptides in corneal epithelial cells.
Methods :
Corneal re-epithelialization was measured using a mouse corneal epithelium abrasion model, with and without treatment with CAP37 or derived peptides. To identify the receptors that mediate re-epithelialization induced by CAP37, we used an innovative ligand-based receptor capture method based on a TriCEPS reagent that features (1) an NHS group for coupling with the ligand protein, (2) a hydrazine cross-linker for coupling to the receptor, and (3) a biotin for purification of the complex. Interactions of CAP37 and its bioactive peptides with potential receptor candidates were then confirmed in vitro, using ELISA and far-dot-blotting analysis.
Results :
We found that full-length CAP37 and CAP37-derived peptides based on a specific domain of the native CAP37 could accelerate corneal re-epithelialization in a mouse abrasion model. Using CAP37 coupled with TriCEPS on human corneal epithelial cells, we identified 17 proteins as most likely candidates to interact specifically with CAP37. Surprisingly, none of these candidates was a membrane receptor. Four potential candidates were tested in vitro for interaction with CAP37 and the calgranulin proteins S100-A8 and S100-A9 were confirmed to interact specifically and significantly with CAP37 and two of the bioactive peptides tested.
Conclusions :
S100-A8 and S100-A9 are ligands of the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) and are important players in ocular surface inflammatory diseases through the activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). We speculate that a physical interaction of CAP37 and its peptides with S100-A8 and S100-A9 could modulate the activation of RAGE and/or TLR4 on corneal epithelial cells, thus promoting corneal wound healing. These findings will be key to optimization and translation of CAP37-derived peptides into innovative therapeutics with the dual effects of killing pathogens and promoting wound healing.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017. | http://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2636948 |
- et al.
Abstract
Epithelial tissues are groups of cells, typically tightly adherent to one another, organized as sheets, and lining various tissues. Maintenance of epithelial tissues such as the adult mouse epidermis and hair follicle is largely driven by epithelial stem cells, which have the ability to give rise to the various epithelial cell types that make up these tissues. At a broad level, the focus of this dissertation is multifaceted but aims to add to a better understanding of epithelial stem cell function, regulation, and how these stem cells alter their cellular dynamics (proliferation, differentiation, heterogeneity, and migration) in the context of wound healing.
Chapter 3 focuses on a continuation of previous work from the lab that aims to elucidate the function of Ovol2 in the context of hair follicle (HF) regeneration and epidermal repair. Previous work had explored the function of Ovol2, a known transcriptional repressor of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the context of mouse epidermal development, but whether Ovol2 has critical functions during the dramatically distinct processes in the adult mouse isn’t clear. As Ovol2 regulates EMT, this work addresses larger questions associated with whether the EMT process itself plays distinct roles in previously underexplored biological processes such as during HF regeneration, a process associated with dynamic epithelial stem cell cellular movements. Cellular movements during epidermal repair have been shown to be largely driven by transcriptional regulators that promote partial-EMT events. Understanding how these regulators both promote the necessary migratory abilities of epidermal cells to facilitate wound closure but maintain cellular adhesions throughout the repair process is not well understood. Beyond the migratory properties associated with epidermal cells during wound healing is their ability to exhibit directional migration. In this work, I show that loss of Ovol2 leads to both defective HF regeneration and wound repair. These defects are associated with enhanced migratory behaviors and loss of directional type movements. I show that the Ovol2-Zeb1 molecular circuit (through Ovol2’s transcriptional repression of Zeb1) is critical for regulating the directional migration of epithelial cells. Although this work provides detailed insight into a critical aspect of repair, wound healing involves many other cell types as well as many other cellular dynamics.
Chapter 4 takes a dramatically different approach, utilizing single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) to ask questions at a more global level, directly comparing wounded and un-wounded skin. Isolating total skin during both normal homeostasis and during re-epithelialization, a stage of active wound repair where epidermal cells utilize partial-EMT events to facilitate wound closure, allowed for a whole skin wide characterization and comparison of the key differences between these two states. Here I addressed global changes in cellular heterogeneity, characterizing the major cell types that are present in normal skin and during active wound healing. I then computationally subset epidermal stem cells (or basal cells) for extensive analysis probing for presence of basal cell heterogeneity represented by various cellular states during normal homeostasis. Lineage tracing studies have suggested that there exists some sort of hierarchy within the basal layer of the epidermis but there lacks a global perspective of basal cell heterogeneity. I identify four distinct basal cell states, which are subsequently confirmed in situ. Beyond identification of these different states, we arrange these different states in a lineage hierarchy, identifying a population enriched for Col17a1 and Trp63 as the most stem-like. I then ask a fundamental question of whether this heterogeneity I observed in normal skin during homeostasis is also present during active wound healing. I show that the same cellular states exist but in different proportions, with the expansion of a growth arrested (GA) population, which has distinct migratory, immune, and metabolic characteristics distinct from the other basal cell states.
Overall, this thesis work takes a multi-scale approach, understanding global chances in cellular processes such as epithelial homeostasis and repair as well as taking a more focused approach, elucidating transcriptional regulators that govern cellular dynamics in epithelial stem cells.
Main Content
Enter the password to open this PDF file: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0ns3r47g |
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Interleukin-22 promotes wound repair in diabetes by improving keratinocyte pro-healing functions.
J. Invest. Dermatol. 135, 2862-2870 (2015)
DOI
Impaired re-epithelialization, imbalanced expression of cytokines and growth factors and vascular disease contribute to healing impairment in diabetes. Interleukin-22 (IL-22), a pro-inflammatory cytokine mediating crosstalk between immune system and epithelial cells, has been shown to play a role in repair processes. In this study we aimed to investigate IL-22 regenerative potential in the poor healing context of diabetic wounds. By using streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice, we demonstrated that IL-22 wound treatment significantly accelerated the healing process, by promoting re-epithelialization, and granulation tissue formation and vascularization. Improved re-epithelialization was associated with increased keratinocyte proliferation and STAT3 activation. We showed that endogenous IL-22 content was reduced at both mRNA and protein level during the inflammatory phase of diabetic wounds, with fewer IL-22-positive cells infiltrating the granulation tissue. We demonstrated that IL-22 treatment promoted proliferation and injury repair of hyperglycemic keratinocytes and induced activation of STAT3 and ERK transduction pathways in keratinocytes grown in hyperglycemic condition or isolated from diabetic patients. Finally, we demonstrated that IL-22 treatment was able to inhibit diabetic keratinocyte differentiation while promoting VEGF release. Our data indicate a pro-healing role of IL-22 in diabetic wounds, suggesting a therapeutic potential for this cytokine in diabetic ulcer management.
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Process of Healing
The healing process is more or less identical in all types of tissue damage, be it inflammatory damage or injuries. The latter situation is covered by the term wound, which simply means damaged tissues generally by physical injury. Healing of wounds is not possible without the participation of inflammatory cells chemical mediators and blood vessels that are also the essential components of an inflammatory process.
The wound healing process is a dynamic one which can be divided into three phases.
- Inflammatory phase
- Proliferation phase
- Maturation phase
- Inflammatory phase
The inflammatory phase is the body’s natural response to injury.During inflammatory phase 2 major processes take place:
- Clotting
Healing of a wound begins with clot formation to stop bleeding and to reduce infection by bacteria, viruses and fungi. Clotting is followed by neutrophil invasion three to 24 hours after the wound has been incurred, with mitoses beginning in epithelial cells after 24 to 48 hours .
- Inflammation
In the inflammatory phase, macrophages and other phagocytic cells kill bacteria, debride damaged tissue and release chemical factors such as growth hormones that encourage fibroblasts, epithelial cells and endothelial cells which make new capillaries to migrate to the area and divide.
2. Proliferation phase
During proliferation, the wound is ‘rebuilt’ with new granulation tissue which is comprised of collagen and extracellular matrix and into which a new network of blood vessels develop, a process known as ‘angiogenesis’. Healthy granulation tissue is dependent upon the fibroblast receiving sufficient levels of oxygen and nutrients supplied by the blood vessels. Healthy granulation tissue is granular and uneven in texture; it does not bleed easily and is pink / red in colour. The colour and condition of the granulation tissue is often an indicator of how the wound is healing. Dark granulation tissue can be indicative of poor perfusion, ischemia and / or infection. Epithelial cells finally resurface the wound, a process known as ‘epithelialization’. 3.Maturation phase
Maturation is the final phase and occurs once the wound has closed. This phase involves remodeling of collagen from type III to type I. Cellular activity reduces and the number of blood vessels in the wounded area regress and decrease. | http://www.simplynotes.in/process-of-healing-regeneration-of-tissues-repair-of-tissues/2/ |
Before a wound can heal, epithelial cells on its edges have to swap their adherens junctions (AJs), Taguchi et al. reveal.
A unique type of AJ, the zonula adherens (ZA), generally connects epithelial cells. ZAs are linear, which allows them to zip adjacent cells together without leaving gaps. During development and wound healing, epithelial layers go through an upheaval. Taguchi et al. investigated what happened to ZAs during such changes.
The researchers found that different types of AJs occur in different parts of an epithelial layer. ZAs predominate in the interior, but cells at the tissue margins carry punctate adherens junctions (pAJs), which aren't linear. Scratching a layer of epithelial cells to simulate a wound spurred the cells at the edges to replace their ZAs with punctate junctions, suggesting that pAJs are necessary to bring the two sides together.
pAJs lack EPLIN, a protein that helps organize ZAs, and the researchers discovered that actin fibers perpendicular to the junction keep EPLIN away. Zapping these cables with a laser caused the junctions to convert to ZAs. By contrast, stretching a cell layer boosted the amount of EPLIN at the intercellular junctions. The researchers think that EPLIN serves as a tension sensor in epithelial layers. When the layer is taut, there's plenty of EPLIN in the ZAs. But when the tension eases, such as when the layer is wounded, EPLIN is lost from ZAs, allowing them to convert into the pAJs that will help knit the wound together. | https://rupress.org/jcb/article/194/4/508/36500/Switching-adherens-junctions-to-seal-wounds |
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World No. 4 Roger Federer is leading the race to be called the 'Greatest of all time (GOAT)', according to eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl.
In an interview with sports journalist Craig Gabriel, Lendl spoke extensively about the GOAT race - a topic that seems to split tennis fans like nothing else. In the eyes of the Czech-American, Roger Federer is currently ahead of his competitors courtesy his tally of 20 Grand Slam titles, an all-time record. However, Lendl also believes the race is not over yet.
"All you can say at the moment is that Roger is leading the race, but the race is not done and dusted," Lendl said. "Only when they retire, the race will get over and you will be able to judge. At the moment Roger is ahead in the race but the race is far from over."
During the interview, Lendl was also asked about two other players - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - who have staked strong claims to be called the GOAT. The former coach of Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev replied:
"It's between Novak, Rafa and Roger on who ends up with the most Majors and who is considered the best of all time in the Open era. That chapter is not written and it's going to be fascinating to watch."
Roger Federer has held the Slam record since Wimbledon 2009
A five-set win over American Andy Roddick at 2009 Wimbledon took Roger Federer past Pete Sampras (14) for most Grand Slam titles, and the Swiss has held the record ever since.
In recent times Rafael Nadal (19) and Novak Djokovic (17) have closed the gap in the all-time Grand Slam title leaderboard, but Federer is still at the top of the pile with 20.
Lendl touched on that too, but reinforced how unpredictable such records can be. He talked about how Pete Sampras' tally of 14 Grand Slam titles looked 'untouchable' for a while - before not one, but three guys surpassed the American's tally.
"I would have never thought after Pete got to 14 that it was not going to stand for a long time, and all of a sudden there is going to be three guys who are going to thrash his record. Who would have thought that, right?"
Interestingly, in an earlier interview with Gabriel, Lendl had expressed reservations over whether there could ever be a single 'greatest of all time'. The 11-time Grand Slam finalist had said the following in this regard:
"I don't think (it is realistic to call somebody the greatest of all time) because we have two different eras. In my mind there is one guy, Rod Laver, from the pre-Open era. Even though he won his second 'calendar year' Grand Slam in the post Open era (1969), he played most of his tennis in the pre Open era. Even if he had not won the 'calendar year' Grand Slam in 1962, he would have won a fair share of Majors between 1962 and 1968."
"I think Laver is the best in the pre-Open era. In the Open era it is much easier to judge. You just look at the record books, and we have a hell of a fight for who it will eventually be. I don't think you can compare the two eras, you have to separate them."
Is Roger Federer the GOAT of the Open Era?
As Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are still active in the sport, Lendl believes the 'book is not closed' on the GOAT issue. But the 60-year-old had no qualms in admitting that there was no greater player than Laver when tennis had yet to open its doors to professionals.
"Definitely Laver in the pre-Open Era, no doubt about it. For the Open Era, you have to go with Roger right now but I'm not closing the book on that. It's far from finished. Roger is 39 this year. Novak and Rafa are much younger and they will pay a bit longer. It is going to be one hell of a race to follow." | https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/roger-federer-is-leading-the-goat-race-according-to-ivan-lendl |
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The Australian Open is arguably tennis' toughest Grand Slam to win for a variety of reasons. The intense heat of the Australian summer in Melbourne... | https://tennisbuzz.net/page/117/ |
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic 'GOAT' debate conundrum posed by Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl has weighed in on the ongoing GOAT debate.
Eight-time Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl doesn't believe there can be an undisputed 'greatest of all time' in tennis because of the difference between eras.
The Open era started in 1968 when professional players were allowed to compete against amateurs.
Prior to this landmark moment, Rod Laver was the most dominant player of his generation, winning six Grand Slam tournaments from 1960-62 as an amateur.
When Laver became professional in 1963, he was banned from the major events until the French Open in 1968 when the sport finally turned professional.
The Australian would go on to win a further five majors and finish his career with 11 titles.
But Laver not been blocked from competing at the Grand Slams, it's widely thought he would have added numerous more titles to his collection.
Who will finish as the GOAT - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic?
Instead, Laver's records have been largely surpassed by the unprecedented greatness of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Federer leads the all-time list with 20 Grand Slam titles with Nadal and Djokovic on 19 and 17 respectively.
In the conversation over who is the greatest male player of all time, the number of major titles is considered to be the deciding factor.
But Lendl feels the different eras means one player can't be viewed as the 'GOAT' on their own.
"I don't think so because we have two different eras," he told WWOS.
"In my mind, there is one guy from the pre-Open tennis era even though he won his second Grand Slams in the post Open era but played most of his tennis in the pre Open era, won eleven majors, two Grand Slams and even if he had not won the Grand Slam in 1962, he would have won his share of majors between 1962 and 1968, and that's Rod Laver.
"I think he is the best in the pre-Open era. And then you have the Open era where it is much easier to judge, and you just go by the records and we have a hell of a fight for who it will eventually be.
"I don't think you can compare the two, you have to separate them."
But Lendl, who has coached Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev, did he admit he is eager to see who will eventually finish with the most major titles.
He added: "It's between Novak, Rafa and Roger on who ends up with the most majors and who is considered the best of all-time in the Open-era.
"That chapter is not written and it's going to be fascinating to watch, like in golf. We are very fortunate to watch Tiger chase down Jack.
"I would have never thought after Pete got to 14 that it was not going to stand for a long time and all of a sudden there is going to be three guys who are going to thrash his record.
"Who would have thought that, right?" | https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/1280029/Roger-Federer-Rafael-Nadal-Novak-Djokovic-GOAT-Rod-Laver-debate-Ivan-Lendl |
Paris Masters draw: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on semi-final collision course
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are on a Paris Masters collision course after the draw revealed a possible semi-final clash between the two iconic rivals.
Federer’s half of the draw contains sixth seed Alexandader Zverev, Fabio Fognini, and the hugely unpredictable Gael Mofils.
Nadal, meanwhile, will have to fight his way down a path that contains potential match-ups with Stan Wawrinka, Matteo Berrettini, and defending champion Karen Khachanov.
The other half of the draw is headlined by world number one Novak Djokovic, who has been handed a tough draw with Diego Schwartzman and Roberto Bautista Agut, and Stefanos Tsitsipas standing between him and a potential semi-final clash with Daniil Medvedev.
RELATED: Rafael Nadal fights with the spectre of Roger Federer’s Grand Slam record ‘every day’
Potential Paris Masters quarter-finals
Novak Djokovic v Stefanos Tsitsipas
Daniil Medvedev v Dominic Thiem
Alexander Zverev v Roger Federer
Karen Khachanov v Rafael Nadal
British interest in limited with Andy Murray opting not to make Paris one of his stops on his comeback trail.
Kyle Edmund, however, is in Djokovic’s quarter of the draw. The former British number one, who has been in free-fall this season, will play a qualifier in the opening round.
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Chris Evert believes Rafael Nadal is on the brink of one of sport’s great achievements
Chris Evert believes Rafael Nadal will complete one of the greatest achievements in sporting history if he wins his 14th Grand Slam title at the French Open.
Nadal will surpass his great rival Roger Federer in the race to finish with the most Grand Slam titles if he wins his 21st major in Paris, and tennis legend Evert believes the Spaniard would move onto a different level in the sport if he achieves his goal.
“If Rafa wins his 14th French Open, that would be spectacular,” she told us at a Eurosport event. “To win 14 French Opens has to be one of the greatest achievements in sports history period, not even in tennis.
“The last 10 years Roger has been the ‘GOAT’, but I think that Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic are coming more and more into the picture as far as that is concerned.
“Anybody who can win more Grand Slams than anybody else has to be one of the highest achievements you can attain.
“I think Nadal would be jumping by surpassing the 20 Grand Slams.
“Not to diminish Djokovic because as we saw in that last match Djokovic can beat Nadal on his day but I think Nadal is still the favourite to win the French Open again.”
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Rafael Nadal dominated proceedings in the semis, and marched into the final. | https://indianexpress.com/about/rafael-nadal/ |
2019 saw an increase in forest fires across the globe. In Indonesia, fires set to clear land for palm oil ravaged ancient rainforests and in Siberia and Alaska, unprecedented wildfires tore through millions of hectares of frozen lands. At the start of 2020, things look just as worrying with Australia only recently emerging from a national state of emergency, after flames engulfed vast areas of its East Coast. Reckless land use and climate change are largely to blame for the rise in forest fires across the world.
At Ecosphere+, we represent three forest conservation projects that work to protect the Amazon rainforest in Peru, an ecosystem that has also recently come under huge threat from fire – the Cordillera Azul National Park, Tambopata-Bahuaja Biodiversity Reserve and Nii Kaniti: Community Forest Management with Indigenous Communties. We are grateful that these projects have not been involved in any large-scale fires. Here, we explain the fire prevention methods and activities that our projects undertake as well as the mechanisms that the Verified Carbon Standard uses to account for any fire damage and the way that forest carbon projects systemicly address some of the root causes of fires in the Amazon.
How do we combat forest fires in our projects in the Peruvian Amazon?
Both our Cordillera Azul and Tambopata projects are nationally protected areas where the risk of fires is low as human settlements lie outside the parks and illegal forest clearing for agriculture is closely monitored and prevented by rangers who undertake a programme of forest surveillance. Our Nii Kaniti project is different in that it encompasses community forest land where indigenous people live. Local communities do use fire as part of traditional land clearing practices but are responsible for ensuring carefully controlled burns for which they receive training.
Our NGO partners on the ground that implement these projects, CIMA and AIDER, monitor the incidents of fire via remote sensing and park guard reports so that they can respond quickly to any fire. These projects also have prevention and response measures in place to address the risk of fire.
In addition to our project specific actions, the Peruvian Government has several policies and practices in place to safeguard against fire. The National Fire Administration of Peru (INBP) is by law the governing body in charge of the country’s fire prevention, control and extinction. The Forest Service (SERFOR), which includes organisations such as INDECI, COEN, COER, SERNANP, among others, has developed the National Plan for the Prevention and Reduction of Forest Fires. In addition, SERNANP has developed its strategy of Forest Fire Risk Management in the National System of Natural Areas Protected by the State, which covers our three Peruvian project areas. These include guidelines to prevent, reduce and combat the occurrence of these events. SERNANP has also been training new forest rangers and firefighters to deal with emergencies.
There is also an increasing availability of open source technologies and methods to detect fire. Small fires are generally a precursor to larger deforestation so spotting them quickly is invaluable. These technologies include Fire Spot created by NASA and Global Forest Watch Fires.
How do standards play a role?
The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) has certified ours and numerous projects around the world. This standard includes a methodology and set of criteria to ensure that verified carbon credits remain ‘permanent’, or representative of real and long-lasting emissions reductions and even account for extraordinary events such as fires. This is managed by a mechanism called a buffer pool, or a bank of credits which cannot be sold on the market. If carbon from a land-based project is emitted into the atmosphere, which can happen for various reasons including by forest fire, these buffer credits are cancelled to ensure that verified carbon credits available for sale are still representing real emission reductions.
A risk assessment tool is used in this process and is critical for verifying and ensuring the validity and effectiveness of Verified Carbon Units. At validation and subsequent verification, projects must assess the risk of fire. Higher risk scores lead to a higher percentage of buffer credits being set aside from the emissions reductions achieved.
Natural Climate Solutions
Deforestation for agricultural and livestock purposes is one of the main causes of forest fires. The damage from large scale clearing heavily disrupts the core processes that give rainforests their name and identity – the ability to absorb, store and recycle water as rainfall. As the soil dries out and the tree cover is lost, the forest shifts from being fire-resistant to fire prone.
Forests and other natural climate solutions play an essential role in the fight against climate change. They gift us some of the greatest opportunities to mitigate emissions and increase sequestration. A recent study highlighted that natural climate solutions can provide a third of the emissions reductions needed to keep global warming below 2 degrees, in addition to being highly cost-effective.
Forest carbon projects such as Tambopata, Nii Kaniti and Cordillera Azul attach an economic value to the carbon stored in the forest, therefore presenting an incentive to keep forests alive. These projects make trees worth more when standing than they are cut down. This economic incentive to protect forests reduces deforestation and deforestation-induced forest fires. But the benefits don’t stop there; saving forests has a plethora of co-benefits. These include reducing drought, helping to prevent hunger, protecting ecosystems and even empowering women. You can read how our projects are doing just this.
Private sector engagement is key
The world requires not only national and international policy commitments to fight climate change, but also key private sector engagement.
We believe the extent of the destruction in the Amazon and forests worldwide reinforces the need for our model of improved forest management of natural areas by working closely with local communities. Ecosphere+’s work on the ground in these vulnerable and threatened ecosystems is strengthening their resilience and working to improve local livelihoods so that they become more regenerative than destructive. Carbon finance is a critical part of the solution. Funding from carbon markets, along with well-designed policies and (ever-increasing) programmes that boost natural climate solutions, is key in putting us on track to meet our critical global climate targets. | https://ecosphere.plus/2020/03/31/fire-protection-in-the-amazon/ |
Give Back to Mother Earth: The Importance of Planting More Trees
The earth is losing 18.7 million acres of forests every year, which is equivalent to 27 soccer fields for every 60 seconds. The Center for Global Development recently discovered that if the loss of trees continues at its current rate, forests with the same size as India will be destroyed by 2050. Experts have urged the public to plant more trees to alleviate the problem resulting to several campaigns all around the world. In India, a group of volunteers have conducted land restoration and planted 2,000 trees across 10 acres. To ensure a greener future, government and citizens must help one another.
Current State of Deforestation in India
The loss of forests is not uncommon even in India. The country has a target of keeping 33% of its geographical area for forests, but a 2017 State of Forest report showed that only a total of 21.54% of the country is covered by forests. In fact, only about 15 states/UTs have forest cover of more than 33%.
There has been rapid deforestation in India in the past years, mainly because of the focus on economic development such as cultivation and developmental activities. A lot of forests have been cleared to accommodate industrial projects all over India. As a way to ensure that the government achieve its goal, it has implemented guidelines about land clearing.
Title 7 of the Land Use Regulations provides details about the permitting process and requirements about land clearing in India. This law helps to ensure that only necessary and beneficial land clearing is conducted in the country.
As a result of deforestation, forest goods and services, which were once thought to be abundant are now a scarce resource. This issue affects individuals who are dependent on forests for their livelihood. In India, more than a fifth of its population, specifically members of tribal communities, depend on forests for their survival and livelihood, in addition to the many animals that consider forests their main ecosystem.
Plant More Trees
Forests are human’s weapon against climate change because they soak up carbon dioxide that would otherwise roam free in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. The most effective and cheapest way to fight global warming is to plant lots of trees. A new study suggests that a trillion trees should be planted to save the planet. This number of trees could help absorb carbon dioxide that humans have produced in the past decades.
In India, some places have managed to improve their forest cover. For example, Andhra Pradesh has a net increase of almost 2, 141 kilometres in forest cover, which is the highest in the country. Plantation and conservation activities contributed to this increase of vegetation in the country. Another example would be Mawphlang where the local community is empowered and works together in reviving and strengthening sacred groves by ensuring trees are not cut, produce remains untouched, and animals are not poached. The state has implemented policies to adapt to climate change and some officials have suggested that other states can learn from them.
“Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky, we fell them down and turn them into paper, that we may record our emptiness,” wrote Kahlil Gibran. Trees give so much to human beings. It’s time to return the favor and plant more trees.
Image source: Pixabay. | https://www.myindiamyglory.com/2019/08/28/give-back-to-mother-earth-the-importance-of-planting-more-trees/ |
Mission: To unite science, innovation, and people to protect the Amazon – the greatest wild forest on Earth.
Results: Amazon Conservation measures its impact across the land we protect, awareness we build, communities we serve, and research and education we provide. Some highlights of our success on the ground include: - Protected 9.1 million acres of forests and wild places in the western Amazon through helping create and maintain conservation areas. - Benefitted over 17,000 individuals who live in the 30+ conservation areas we helped create and maintain. - Established the Los Amigos Conservation Concession, the world’s first conservation concession, protecting 360,000 acres of forests and creating a conservation model that is now implemented in other areas of the Amazon and the world. - Helped establish the Haramba Queros Ecological Preserve, the world's first indigenous conservation concession managed by an indigenous group. - Trained over 1,000 harvester families in the sustainable harvesting of Brazil nuts and their post-production. We also have assisted communities as they formed associations to sell Brazil nuts and other forest-friendly products and handicrafts. - Developed a program to address human-jaguar conflicts in Bolivia, providing education and outreach programs to nearly 500 adults and children to dispel myths and create wildlife management alternatives. - Built Peru’s first permanent research center focused on Andean cloud forest ecology, Wayqecha Biological Station. - Launched a new Wildlife Conservation Laboratory at our Los Amigos Biological Station in Peru, which aims to carry out wildlife health and biodiversity monitoring using the latest technology. This lab gathers vital data on zoonotic diseases and transmission risks in the region in a first step toward creating a replicable decentralized, locally-based One Health laboratory network. - Created a real-time remote monitoring system using satellite technology to detect, analyze, and expose deforestation and fires as they happen. Our Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) uses cutting-edge satellite data from a variety of sources, including NASA, to analyze and share deforestation information that enables local authorities to take action against forest crimes. - Developed the Southwest Amazon Drone Center, which has trained over 150 community members, government officials, and forest users in using drone technology to find and expose illegal deforestation. - Collected data about mammal, bird, insect, and plant species in our three research stations in the Peruvian Amazon, registering over 7,000 species within their borders. - Partnered with indigenous communities in Peru and Bolivia as well as local partners supporting indigenous groups in Ecuador to improve their capacity to protect their ancestral lands. - In key protected areas we support, we worked to establish climate resilience and adaptation plans to address the impacts from a changing climate including fires and flooding.
Geographic areas served: across the most biodiverse places of the Amazon, focusing at the headwaters where the rivers of the entire Amazon basin begin
Programs: Amazon Conservation employs a holistic approach focused on protecting wild places, empowering people, and putting science and technology to work for conservation. 1. Protecting Wild Places Currently, we safeguard over 9.1 million acres of wild forest in the most biodiverse place on Earth. The altitudinal range of this area provides a living laboratory for understanding and mitigating the effects of climate change. We protect this forest by creating and supporting a network of public and privately owned lands, which maintain the connection among vital habitats and increase the chance for species to survive. 2. Empowering People As a trusted partner, we work hand-in-hand with communities, governments, and indigenous peoples to provide technical support, innovative tools, and technology to ensure enduring conservation solutions. We help communities implement profitable and sustainable forest-friendly businesses. Finally, we train the next generation of conservationists at our three research stations and beyond. 3. Putting Science and Technology to Work for Conservation Science informs our conservation actions. We harness the power of satellite and drone technology to detect and stop deforestation across the entire Amazon basin. We manage one of the most important networks of biological stations in the tropics, which are hubs for research and discovery. Our science provides key information that governments and communities need to make decisions and take action. | https://greatnonprofits.org/organizations/view/amazon-conservation-association/page:3 |
DR. IBRAHIM KAMARA
Growing up near the foot of the hills of Freetown, Sierra Leone in the mid-1990s, life was a pleasant mix of childhood bliss and bountiful surprises from family and neighbours. The evenings were characterized by playful groups of children running down the street to welcome relatives returning from work carrying small bulging polyethene bags that surely contained gifts of candies, or the very popular doughnut called “Sweet Mother”. It was every child’s dream to be the proud recipient of a Sweet Mother doughnut so that they could proudly show their peers and share with them. Life then was full of happiness and joy. I can still feel the rays of the morning sun at dawn on my cheeks, the smell of the flowers on fruit trees as they blossomed, the cold and refreshing morning breeze, and the beautiful spectacle in the distant horizon of the sun setting in the evening which was a reminder that soon our elder siblings would come to ‘drag’ us home because our excuses of “I am coming” never worked.
My favourite sight was seeing pigeons chirping in the trees and a variety of other species of birds returning home from their daily exploits into the tall trees in the hills overlooking Freetown. The ecosystem of my Freetown Mountain District community was vibrant. It was because of the excellent environmental health status of its population characterized by a habitable environment where community and parental care were key ingredients in raising children, and the source of family and community happiness and growth.
Fast forward to 2019, and you are quickly saddened by what the same community of Mountain District has turned into in just over two decades. My parents could barely recognize it when we visited. The beautiful hills, trees, and forests have given way to commercial houses and factories. The community must now deal with harsh noise and environmental pollution generated by the daily roaring of diesel generators constantly pumping carbon monoxide gas into the air within residential dwellings . I heard my father say to my mother; “Today our hill is dark, the trees are gone, all the butterflies have broken wings, the birds and other wildlife have either migrated or have been wiped out, and the people of our community are seriously exposed to diseases due to deforestation.” My mother was distraught as we left what was once our home, a place of solace, still intact, but now empty of hope. Uncontrolled urbanization will always be linked to deforestation and destructive geo-hazards , and Freetown was never an exception.
Freetown was much safer than most parts of Sierra Leone during the civil war; hence, this led to the in-migration of people from different regions of the country seeking safety . Post-civil war, its population continues to grow as it offers attractive socioeconomic opportunities compared to other parts of the country, thus requiring that more space is needed for residential land dwellings . Furthermore, given that certain forms of land usage, such as agriculture, cannot compete with urbanization , some inner-city habitants who cannot afford the steep rental prices in the city, are forced to relocate to areas of minimal rent, such as forest, mountains and wetlands, in the outskirts of the city.
Figure 1: Map of Freetown indicating land cover in 1986
Source: https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/article/10.1007/s10661-016-5469-y
The relocation of people into forest and mountain areas of Freetown, led to abrupt deforestation processes, given that the primary economic activities of most migrants are farming, logging, quarrying and sand mining . The combination of these activities and population growth, combined with the suburban sprawl, set off environmental degradation in the city [3,6]. This is evident from the numerous flooding and landslide disasters in the city, which should provide insight into the city’s increasing environmental degradation.
Figure 2: Map of Freetown indicating land cover in 2015
Source: https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/article/10.1007/s10661-016-5469-
Given the 2014 flood and mudslide in Regent, Freetown , the need for intervention strategies to combat deforestation could not be more overemphasized. As a health promotion practitioner, I firmly believe that Freetown needs a radical public health policy fiercely supported by the national government, and the Administration of the Municipality of Freetown. The plan must be skewed in favour of health promotion. It must include, among other things, interventions designed to combat deforestation, which ought to reflect the core values of health promotion – equity, participation and empowerment .
Availability and accessibility of the requisite funds for such interventions have always been daunting for activists and organizations advocating on behalf of the Freetown community to the government of Sierra Leone. The participation of the government and its willingness to allocate funds to combat deforestation will be a significant factor in determining the success of public health policies. Emerging from the Ebola epidemic that swallowed half of the annual government budget , the government of Sierra Leone continues to prioritize the health sector on paper. However, the current government health expenditure of Sierra Leone remains 10.8% , thus creating a potential obstacle. Building partnerships with potential external sources of funding such as The World Bank and the World Health Organization may help to eradicate health inequity due to deforestation across Freetown, as evident from the recent mudslide disaster .
Funding could be used to develop and implement payment for ecosystem services (PES) policy. PES involves paying people to keep the forest intact, to reduce deforestation, and maintain carbon sources and habitats for threatened species . It is a program that is effective and efficient, and has been widely used successfully to mitigate deforestation in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Uganda, reducing health inequities and disasters due to deforestation . It has proven to be highly cost-effective and beneficial to governments, non-governmental organizations (NGO), and local and national communities, as it strengthens community actions by creating a healthy and supportive environment [13,14]. Also, these funds could also be used to create greener pastures such as employment and good low-cost housing in the other cities, thus reducing encroachment into Freetown, which subsequently reduces deforestation in the city.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of the PES policy and the development of healthy cities or rural regions would need to revolve around empowering the Freetown community to adopt behavioural changes over time, bearing in mind that behavioural change is a process and not an event, and individuals do not have the same level of motivation to embrace change. Addressing behavioural change will require implementing a community-based participatory approach, starting from the grassroots to understand why people do or do not practice health-promoting behaviours. Such behavioural change could include awareness and education on risks related to deforestation, especially on human health and the ecosystem.
However, once the community understands and appreciates the benefits of environmental preservation as part of being directly linked to their health outcomes, the momentum behind behavioural change will (all things being equal) at worst be maintained, and at best surge upwards. | https://juxtamagazine.org/2020/06/16/combating-deforestation-in-freetown-sierra-leone/ |
This is the fifth post in a series about the United Nations Development Goals, seventeen benchmarks for eradicating global poverty. UN member nations have set to work in partnership with NGOs, businesses, and individuals, to make sure these goals are met within 15 years. Through our fair trade partnerships, Global Handmade Hope is working hard to alleviate global poverty, and we’re proud to be a part of this movement.
Today, we’ll discuss goals 13, 14, and 15.
GOAL THIRTEEN: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Climate change is the most urgent problem facing the world today, as our warming planet affects all aspects of life worldwide. Global emissions of carbon dioxide have been increasing steadily in the last three decades, contributing to the rise of ocean levels, an increase in powerful weather events, and a sharp rise in the atmosphere’s average temperature. The United Nations, in partnership with the nations that signed on to the Paris Climate Accord in 2015, is working to increase education about ways to combat climate change, incentivize nations to make changes to decrease their carbon emissions, and help vulnerable countries deal with the effects of climate change on their populations. In an effort to do our part we work with partners to produce products made of recycled materials. An excellent example of recycled products is our Haitian artwork, which is made of recycled metal drums. This hummingbird is an example of one of our newest arrivals.
GOAL FOURTEEN: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources.
According to the United Nations, “our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea.” This means keeping our oceans clean, safe, and healthy should be of paramount importance to all of us. The UN is working to reduce ocean pollution, protect fragile ecosystems, and prevent overfishing and harmful fishing practices. There is an enormous amount of plastic polluting our oceans, and in an effort to divert discarded plastic from making its way to our landfills and ultimately, into the oceans, our partner Conserve in India crafts some their products from up-cycled plastic and tires. This purse is made of recycled plastic and tires is one of our favorite items.
GOAL FIFTEEN: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss.
Forests cover 50% of the earth’s surface, and they support a significant amount of the planet’s plant and animal life, but more than thirty-two million acres of forest are chopped down annually - a threat to the health and livelihoods of rural communities around the world. The UN is working to educate poor communities about sustainable forest management, halt deforestation, and actively increase reforestation of depleted areas. We work with partners who handcraft their products out of wood. We intentionally seek out producers who find sustainable sources for their wood and plant new trees in their communities. Not only do we source products made from sustainable wood or sustainable grass like our baskets from Rwanda, but we also strive to find products that are innovative in their solutions to deforestation. We would love to take this opportunity to highlight the work that our partner Peruvian partner Berrocal does with butterfly wings. This group protects the tropical rainforest from deforestation by collecting butterfly wings and turning them into beautiful sterling silver jewelry pieces. After the butterflies have lived their natural lifecycle, people gather the wings and send them to another group who makes sterling silver jewelry. Butterfly farming provides and alternative livelihood for local indigenous people who now work to protect the butterflies natural habitat instead allowing the widespread practice of cutting and burning to continue. Here is one of our favorite pieces.
Here is a link to many more fair trade gifts that match up to help accomplish the UN Development Goals and that are working to eradicate poverty. | https://www.globalhandmadehope.com/blogs/news/blog-five-on-the-united-nations-sustainable-development-goals |
Jakarta. Indonesia’s deforestation rate hits a record low amid the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Environment and Forestry Ministry.
Back in March, the ministry revealed that within 2019-2020, Indonesia’s deforestation rate had dropped by up to 75.03 percent or around 115,460 hectares. This is a drastic fall from the 2018-2019 period, in which Indonesia had lost around 452,460 hectares. The ministry also claimed the deforestation rate was the lowest ever recorded by the Indonesian government.
According to the Forestry Ministry, the achievement illustrates the government’s commitment to halt deforestation from year to year and lower carbon emission.
“The government’s commitment to curb deforestation is among the efforts to lower emission. This achievement shows how the various efforts by the Forestry Ministry along with other parties have brought significant results,” Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya wrote on her Instagram account @siti.nurbayakar, not long ago.
Among those efforts include the 2019 presidential instruction on the moratorium on new permits for primary forests and peatlands. The Forestry Ministry has also run several initiatives to control forest fire, peatland damage, and climate change.
“The government is doing multiple efforts by involving all stakeholders even down to the grassroots. [We will] continue to allocate resources to control deforestation in various levels,” Siti said.
The ministry’s director of forest resource monitoring, Belinda A. Margono said the 75.03 percent plunge is the net figure and encompassed deforestation both within and outside Indonesia’s forest area.
Since the 2011-2012 period and as technology progresses, the net deforestation — calculated by taking account of regrowth— has been used to determine the deforestation rate.
In 2019-2020, Indonesia’s gross deforestation stood at 119,100 hectares with around 3,600 hectares of reforestation. Whilst in 2018-2019, the gross deforestation amounted to 465,500 hectares and 3,000 hectares replanted.
Positive Impact to Climate
Indonesia’s accountability and transparency in their deforestation reporting enabled the country to secure a grant from Norway and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
In 2010, Indonesia and Norway agreed on a bilateral partnership on reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). Norway has committed up to a result-based payment (RBP) of $1 billion if Indonesia’s efforts on halting emission from deforestation shows any significant improvement. In 2016-2017, Indonesia managed to slash their emission by 11.2 million tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent (CO2eq). For this accomplishment, Indonesia will receive a RBP of $56 million from Norway.
In addition, the GCF has approved a funding of $103.8 million in recognition of Indonesia’s success to reduce 20.3 million tons of CO2eq in 2014-2016.
Erik Solheim, former UN Environment Program (UNEP) executive director, is optimistic Indonesia’s deforestation rate will continue to decline, considering the country’s strong leadership and the ongoing global trend towards a green economy.
“[The Forestry Minister] is proven to be extremely efficient and systematic so it can bring positive results to [REDD’s] RBP mechanism,” Erik said at a recent webinar themed “Declining Rate of Deforestation: Is it The New Normal?”.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s efforts earned praise from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Richard Trenchard, the FAO representative and interim for Indonesia, applauded the declining deforestation and forest fire prevention efforts during President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s presidency.
“We applaud the efforts that are being used to combat them, ranging from weather modification technology, such as cloud seeding before the peak of the dry season, to increased community involvement in fire prevention and response,“ Trenchard said at the “Reflection Event: SOIFO 2020, Hints and Seek 2021” held late last year.
FAO commended the Indonesian government’s efforts on biodiversity conservation, as well as conservation and restoration on 16 million-hectare of peatland. As well as the Forestry Ministry’s innovation on monitoring forest resources and commitment to restore 600,000 hectares of mangroves by 2024. Government’s continuous efforts on mitigating climate change and commitment to resolve land conflicts also earned praise.
According to Trenchard, FAO, along with other UN partners, will continue to help bring the latest technology, innovative approaches, and technical capacity for the ministry’s ongoing and future works.
“We are here to ensure that Indonesia’s forest resources are managed sustainably and that the many important challenges that still remain are overcome in the future,“ Trenchard said. | https://jakartaglobe.id/special-updates/combating-climate-change-indonesias-deforestation-hits-historic-low |
The Eyjabakkajökull Glacier is an outlet glacier of the Vatnajökull ice cap in Iceland that has been retreating since a major surge occurred in 1973. Students analyze these maps to identify the scale, rate of change, and volume affected by the glacier retreat.
Educational Resources - Search Tool
The fires in Greece during the summer of 2007 devastated large tracks of forest and ground cover in this Mediterranean region. Students analyze these data to determine the scale, area, and percentage of the forest impacted by of these fires.
Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is affected, among other things, by processes involving forests including fires, deforestation and plant respiration. Evaluate a Landsat image to determine the rate of carbon dioxide sequestration in a particular area.
This activity is one of a series in the collection, The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change activities.
Students graph sea ice extent (area) in both polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) over a three-year period to learn about seasonal variations and over a 30-year period to learn about longer-term trends.
This series of videos highlights how NASA Climate Scientists use mathematics to solve everyday problems. These educational videos to illustrate how math is used in satellite data analysis.
In this activity, students use satellite images from the NASA Landsat team to quantify changes in glacier cover over time from 1986 to 2018.
In this activity, you will use an inexpensive, simple spectrophotometer* to test how light at different visible wavelengths (blue, green, red) is transmitted, or absorbed, through four different colored water samples.
In this activity, students will use sea-level rise data to create models and compare short-term trends to long-term trends. They will then determine whether sea-level rise is occurring based on the data.
What is sea-level rise and how does it affect us? This "Teachable Moment" looks at the science behind sea-level rise and offers lessons and tools for teaching students about this important climate topic. | https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/search?f%5B0%5D=%3A1&f%5B1%5D=%3A3&f%5B2%5D=%3A6&f%5B3%5D=%3A6&f%5B4%5D=%3A11&f%5B5%5D=%3A12&f%5B6%5D=%3A16&f%5B7%5D=%3A20&f%5B8%5D=%3A41&f%5B9%5D=%3A54&f%5B10%5D=ngss_science_and_engineering_practices%3A4&f%5B11%5D=spheres%3A3&f%5B12%5D=spheres%3A5&f%5B13%5D=spheres%3A26&%3Bf%5B1%5D=filter_phenomenon%3A38&%3Bamp%3Bf%5B1%5D=filter_phenomenon%3A15&%3Bamp%3Bnode=89&keys= |
Over 14,000 square kilometres of forest land have been cleared for industrial use over the past three decades in India. Paradoxically, according to the State of the Forest Report from 2015, India’s forests now cover 701,673 square kilometres of the country compared to 640,819 square kilometres 29 years ago. How can we understand these conflicting trends?
The idea of forest transitions, which refers to a reversal from deforestation to net forest area gain, may provide a clue. Such forest area gains are increasingly observed today in developing economies such as India, China, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. What explains these forest transitions?
The research of Ashwini Chhatre, faculty at the Indian School of Business, and his colleagues, Lingchao Li and Baodong Cheng from Beijing Forestry University, Jinlong Liu and Wenyuan Liang from Renmin University of China, and Jiayun Dong from the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University of Science and Technology, on developing countries’ forest resources reveals some surprising findings. Forest transitions can, in fact, be linked to global industrial restructuring, which can spur the development of export-oriented manufacturing and service industries within developing economies, in turn reducing reliance on forest resources.
The authors reach their conclusions in two ways. On the one hand, their research investigates the link between forest transitions and trade activity as well as foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing economies. Second, they present a nuanced approach to forest area growth data by considering forest quality along with forest area coverage.
Why forest transitions in developing economies?
Most developed countries experienced forest transition before the 1980s, and their forest cover has remained stable since then. Developing countries, however, have traditionally faced ‘forest leakage’ or forest resource loss through trade activity, for instance, because they were exporting primary products such as timber into developed economies. According to a 2012 National Academy of Sciences report, the robustness of North American and European forests can be directly traced to forest leakage of 50 million hectare of farmland out of Africa.
How have the forces of 20th and 21st century economic integration and globalisation merged in developing economies to shift the trend from forest leakage to forest transitions? To answer this question, Chhatre and colleagues analyse two sets of indicators for 76 countries including India, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic.
They measure trade and adjustment of trade structure in developing countries through their forest product import value, total exports value, and percentage of non-primary products in total exports. This data is important to determine the link between forest resources and trade structures including FDI.
They use planted forest area to measure forest transitions. Along with forest area, the study also examines the effectiveness of afforestation initiatives or forest protection policies in terms of forest quality, including aspects such as biodiversity and carbon stocks.
Can Trade Save Forest Area?
The analysis shows three correlations between trade structure and forest area:
Primary Product Imports: Forest area is positively correlated with imports of primary products into the developing country. A dramatic increase in forest product imports into Vietnam, for example, is strongly associated with forest transitions or forest area growth.
Primary Product Exports: In countries that experienced forest transitions in the last few decades, the proportion of primary products or raw materials in total exports declined rapidly. In India, the proportion of forest products in total exports declined rapidly after the 1980s, and forest cover area has increased in the following three decades. By contrast, forest leakage in Cameroon can be correlated with increasing forest product proportions in total export value.
Non-primary Product Exports: The percentage of non-primary products among total exports has a significantly positive effect on forest volume and forest density.
In an interesting corollary, the paper also shows that the growth of service and manufacturing sectors within a country’s FDI structure has a positive effect on forest transitions. Consider China. Opening doors to the outside world became China’s national policy in the mid-1980s. China started to witness increased FDI in the manufacturing sector. The rapid and sustained development of an export-oriented manufacturing economy absorbed millions of migrants from inland China, reducing the economic and subsistence pressures on forest resources and facilitating forest regeneration.
One way of leveraging this research can be for developing countries to promote FDI inflows into the manufacturing and service sectors by highlighting the positive correlation to forest transitions. In Chhatre’s words, “Not much attention has been paid to the positive effects of economic globalisation on natural resources within developing countries. It is a public good that has not been considered so far.”
A Cautionary Tale: Forest Quality
The research provides evidence that although deforestation continues in these countries, reforestation effects are greater. Afforestation activities are closely related to forest cover increase in the 76 countries under study, as we saw in the Indian forest cover numbers. At the same time, the simple equation of afforestation and concomitant forest cover gains is complicated when we consider ecological factors.
Planted forest areas can have a positive effect on forest volume but not on forest density. Thus, reforestation initiatives in developing countries can accompany declining forest quality. The case of Mexico illustrates this starkly. Abandonment of agricultural land by farmers and conservation policies have led to forest area growth in the Michoacán highlands of Mexico. However, even as forests regrow in Michoacán, they display major differences in ecological structure and canopy species composition compared to the original primary forests.
Within the broader positive narrative of forest transitions, afforestation can thus become a cautionary tale. Native forests are complex ecosystems that evolve over many decades or even centuries. They cannot be fully replaced in quality by monocultures or planted trees. The study concludes that policymakers need to focus on forest quality along with quantity.
As Chhatre argues, “Not all forests are created equal. A lot of the forests coming back are assisted plantations, and it is important to not delude ourselves into thinking that we don’t need to worry. It needs more attention and stewardship to ensure that the forests that are coming back increase in quality and not just in area. That requires a different kind of public policy.”
These research findings might show the way forward for industry and policy engagement with forestry. The shift to FDI in the service and manufacturing sectors as well as afforestation policies and activities are all closely related to forest cover increase in India. Already, organisations such as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have set up sustainable forest management targets for industry and incubated the India Business and Biodiversity Initiative (IBBI) to nurture responsible forestry.
Policymakers can use the positive correlation between service/ manufacturing sector FDI inflows and forest transitions to further mainstream sustainable forest management initiatives across sectors. At the same time, policymakers should also pay attention to the principles of ecological stewardship and protect both quality and quantity. In this way, we can truly “see the forest for the trees”—or keep an eye on the big picture of sustained forest transitions while achieving economic growth.
About the Researchers
Ashwini Chhatre is Associate Professor of Public Policy as well as the Academic Director of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business.
Lingchao Li is Assistant Professor at the School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University.
Jinlong Liu is affiliated with the Department of Forestry and Resource Economics at the Renmin University of China.
Baodong Cheng is Assistant Professor at the School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University.
Jiayun Dong is at the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University of Science and Technology, Fuzhou.
Wenyuan Liang is affiliated with the Department of Forestry and Resource Economics at Renmin University of China.
About the Research
Lingchao L, J Liu, B Cheng, A Chhatre, J Dong, and W Liang, 2017. “Effects of economic globalisation and trade on forest transitions: Evidence from 76 developing countries”, The Forestry Chronicle, 93 (2), 171-179.
About the Writer
Yogini Joglekar is an Editorial Consultant with the Centre for Learning and Management Practice at the Indian School of Business.
Check out our anniversary discounts on subscriptions, upto 50% off the website price, free digital access with print. Use coupon code : ANN2022P for print and ANN2022D for digital. Click here for details. | https://www.forbesindia.com/article/isbinsight/can-trade-save-forests/51071/1 |
This graphic organizer may be used to help students analyze the processes and components of Earth System phenomena.
Educational Resources - Search Tool
My NASA Data has recently released several new resources, story maps, for use in educational settings.
This video provides tips for teachers on helping students make sense of data to help them understand and work with data.
Students are introduced to the Earthrise phenomenon by seeing the Earth as the Apollo 8 astronauts viewed our home planet for the first time from the Moon. They will analyze a time series of mapped plots of Earth science variables that NASA monitors to better understand the Earth System.
This USGS activity leads students to an understanding of what remote sensing means and how researchers use it to study changes to the Earth’s surface, such as deforestation.
The purpose of this activity is to have students use an Earth Systems perspective to identify the various causes associated with changes to Earth's forests as they review Landsat imagery of site locations from around the world.
This investigation introduces students to the significant environmental changes occurring around the world. The investigation uses NASA satellite images of Brazil to illustrate deforestation as one type of environmental change.
Explore using units for calculations with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). NDVI is a ratio of different light wavelength reflectance which can be used to map the density of green vegetation.
Explore using units in calculations with the Leaf Area Index (LAI). LAI is a ratio that describes the number of square meters of leaves per square meter of available land surface. Because of the units in the ratio, it is dimensionless
The fires in Greece during the summer of 2007 devastated large tracks of forest and ground cover in this Mediterranean region. Students analyze these data to determine the scale, area, and percentage of the forest impacted by of these fires. | https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/search?f%5B0%5D=%3A17&f%5B1%5D=%3A20&f%5B2%5D=%3A21&f%5B3%5D=%3A45&f%5B4%5D=%3A46&f%5B5%5D=%3A62&f%5B6%5D=%3A67&f%5B7%5D=%3A70&f%5B8%5D=%3A920&f%5B9%5D=%3Amapsanddata&f%5B10%5D=%3Apage&f%5B11%5D=grade_band%3A1&f%5B12%5D=phenomena%3A14&f%5B13%5D=spheres%3A1&f%5B14%5D=spheres%3A2&f%5B15%5D=spheres%3A3&%3Bamp%3Bf%5B1%5D=filter_phenomenon%3A15&%3Bamp%3Bnode=89&%3Bkeys=&%3Bpage=1 |
This graphic organizer may be used to help students analyze the processes and components of Earth System phenomena.
Educational Resources - Search Tool
Students are introduced to the Earthrise phenomenon by seeing the Earth as the Apollo 8 astronauts viewed our home planet for the first time from the Moon. They will analyze a time series of mapped plots of Earth science variables that NASA monitors to better understand the Earth System.
The fires in Greece during the summer of 2007 devastated large tracks of forest and ground cover in this Mediterranean region. Students analyze these data to determine the scale, area, and percentage of the forest impacted by of these fires.
This investigation introduces students to the significant environmental changes occurring around the world. The investigation uses NASA satellite images of Brazil to illustrate deforestation as one type of environmental change.
My NASA Data has recently released several new resources, story maps, for use in educational settings.
Examine a model and answer questions about dust transport around the world.
This USGS activity leads students to an understanding of what remote sensing means and how researchers use it to study changes to the Earth’s surface, such as deforestation.
The purpose of this activity is to have students use an Earth Systems perspective to identify the various causes associated with changes to Earth's forests as they review Landsat imagery of site locations from around the world.
This video provides tips for teachers on helping students make sense of data to help them understand and work with data.
The My NASA Data visualization tool, Earth System Data Explorer (ESDE), helps learners visualize complex Earth System data sets over space and time. Visit this page to review the datasets we have available to you and their organization by Earth System sphere, science variable, dataset name, and start/end dates. | https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/search?f%5B0%5D=%3A1&f%5B1%5D=%3A2&f%5B2%5D=%3A2&f%5B3%5D=%3A6&f%5B4%5D=%3A14&f%5B5%5D=%3A15&f%5B6%5D=%3A41&f%5B7%5D=%3A52&f%5B8%5D=%3A61&f%5B9%5D=%3Alessonplans&f%5B10%5D=%3Apage&f%5B11%5D=grade_band%3A1&f%5B12%5D=phenomena%3A14&f%5B13%5D=spheres%3A26&%3Bf%5B1%5D=filter_phenomenon%3A6&%3Bamp%3Bf%5B1%5D=filter_phenomenon%3A15&%3Bamp%3Bnode=89 |
CIP Security™ includes the definition of security-related requirements and capabilities for CIP devices, specifically EtherNet/IP devices. It is currently under development.
Control system security has typically been addressed by adoption a defense-in-depth security architecture has been recommended for many years. This architecture is based on the idea that multiple layers of security would be more resilient to attack. The expectation is that any one layer could be compromised at some point in time while the automation devices at the innermost layer would remain secure.
However, as attackers become more sophisticated, it becomes more important for the CIP-connected device — the final layer of defense — to defend itself. Consider the situation where a piece of malware is, unknown to control system personnel, delivered to a compromised PC via USB drive. The malware could contain code to issue malicious CIP services to devices. However if the device were able to reject such services from untrusted sources, the threat would be mitigated.
Recognizing that every CIP device does not need to provide the same level of support for all defined security features, CIP Security defines the notion of a Security Profile. A Security Profile is a set of well-defined capabilities to facilitate device interoperability and end-user selection of devices with the appropriate security capability.
CIP Security for EtherNet/IP devices makes use of the IETF-standard TLS (RFC 5246) and DTLS (RFC 6347) protocols in order to provide a secure transport for EtherNet/IP traffic. TLS is used for the TCP-based communications (including encapsulation layer, UCMM, transport class 3), and DTLS for the UDP-based transport class 0/1 communications. This approach is analogous to the way that HTTP uses TLS for HTTPS.
Authentication of the endpoints — ensuring that the target and originator are both trusted entities. End point authentication is accomplished using X.509 certificates or pre-shared keys.
Message integrity and authentication — ensuring that the message was sent by the trusted endpoint and was not modified in transit. Message integrity and authentication is accomplished via TLS message authentication code (HMAC).
Message encryption — optional capability to encrypt the communications, provided by the encryption algorithm that is negotiated via the TLS handshake.
In November 2015, the first edition of CIP Security was published as volume eight of The EtherNet/IP Specification. | https://www.odva.org/Technology-Standards/Common-Industrial-Protocol-CIP/CIP-Security |
The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) published, on the last 5th, its first act aimed at cybersecurity of telecommunications equipment, Act 77/2021, which, among several measures to reduce vulnerabilities, determines that new WiFi routers and others products connected to the internet may not have easy passwords.
Issued by the Superintendence of Grants and Installment Resources, the new act aims to “establish a set of cybersecurity requirements for telecommunications equipment in order to minimize or correct vulnerabilities through software / firmware updates or through configuration recommendations”.
With the new regulation, Anatel intends to approve only new products developed with the concept “security by design”, that is, hardware or software systems designed, from the first stages of its design, to become as free as possible from vulnerabilities.
One of the most expressive aspects of Act 77/2021 is that it determines that any type of cybersecurity flaw found in equipment already approved by the regulatory agency, and that affect the safety of its users, providers or telecommunications networks, is evaluated by Anatel .
The end of easy passwords
For those who are already used to using the username and password “admin” to log in to the router, it is better to get used to the new rules, which also do not allow blank or weak passwords, and not even that several equipment of a certain brand leave. factory the same password.
As a result, the MAC (Media Access Control) address, determined by several manufacturers as a password, must be changed when first using the product, which must not admit credentials derived from easily accessible information.
During software updates, the new act determines that the equipment has automated and secure mechanisms that inform the user about the changes implemented in the updates.
In cases of remote management, the regulation requires that all devices have adequate authentication and encryption methods, in addition to control mechanisms that limit access to the particular sources involved. | https://www.somagnews.com/anatel-prohibits-wifi-routers-from-having-easy-passwords/ |
Fived: A Service-Based Architecture Implementation to Innovate at the Endpoints
Appeared as a poster at ACM SIGCOMM 2010 Conference.
Abstract
Security functions such as access control, encryption and authentication are typically left up to applications on the modern Internet. There is no unified system to implement these critical features. The access control that does exist on the network doesn't integrate well with user authentication systems, so access control decisions are based on the network location of a computer rather than the privilege level of its user. Just about every layer of the Internet provides optional encryption, yet most data on the Internet continues to be sent in the clear. Application developers routinely make mistakes in security critical code leading to bugs that manifest in worms, malware or provide a doorway for actively malicious attackers. We propose a unified session layer that integrates trustworthiness features into the core of the network. This would reverse the fortunes of security on the Internet and lead us toward a safer, more secure global network.
Publication date:
August 2010
Authors:
D J Capelis
Darrell D. E. Long
Projects: | https://www.ssrc.ucsc.edu/pub/capelis-sigcomm10.html |
Original Date: April, 2016
A clear technical definition of the term backdoor has never reached wide consensus in the computing community. In this paper, I present a three-prong test to determine if a mechanism is a backdoor: “intent”, “consent”, and “access”; all three tests must be satisfied in order for a mechanism to meet the definition of a backdoor. This three-prong test may be applied to software, firmware, and even hardware mechanisms in any computing environment that establish a security boundary, either explicitly or implicitly. These tests, as I will explain, take more complex issues such as disclosure and authorization into account.
The technical definition I present is rigid enough to identify the taxonomy that backdoors share in common, but is also flexible enough to allow for valid arguments and discussion.
1.0 Introduction
Since the early 1980s, backdoors and vulnerabilities in computer systems have intrigued many in the computing world and the government, and have both influenced and been influenced by popular culture. Shortly after the movie Wargames was released, Ronald Reagan discussed the plot, which revolved around a backdoor in a defense computer system, with members of Congress and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which led to research into the government’s own risk assessments. Before the Internet was largely in place globally, computers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory were compromised by an unknown vulnerability in the popular Emacs editor, the story of which led to a New York Times bestseller. Since the 1980s, and with the now global scale of the Internet, remote access trojans (RATs), root kits, and numerous other types of backdoors have been discovered from some of the world’s largest data breaches, and have made it into popular culture such as the CSI: Cyber television series, movies, and books. All of these events have included what has been referred to as a backdoor, but without any clear definition to test the validity of that statement.
While backdoors have become a significant concern in today’s computing infrastructure, the lack of a clear definition of a backdoor has led the media (and some members of the computing community) to misuse or abuse the word. System vulnerabilities that are clearly not backdoors are often reported as such in many media news articles, helping to spread confusion among the general public. This has the capacity to cause not only a disconnect with non-technical readers, but can also engender distrust, misplaced attribution, and even panic.
By misappropriating the use of the term backdoor, media and/or the entertainment industry can incite the panic that all computer systems are as vulnerable and open to attack as the fictional NORAD defense center in Wargames, and that physical safety is always subject to imminent danger due to such widespread vulnerability. Modern day paranoid has led to many conspiracy articles about power grids, dam computers, and other SCADA systems, painting a bleak picture of numerous doomsday scenarios. While such systems are susceptible to real world attacks, with the help of the media and a little fiction, the public’s fears can escalate beyond a healthy concern for security into paranoid delusions leading to stockpiling weapons, food, and even building underground bunkers. While backdoors are not necessarily the root cause of all of this paranoia, the attribution and conspiracy undertones of the word can help to fuel them.
1.0.1 Need for a Definition
In addition to public panic due to cyber threat “fan fiction”, the lack of a clear technical definition of a backdoor stands to affect technical analysis and possibly attribution of newly discovered implants in computing devices, which has become increasingly regular. By defining a backdoor, the technical community has a framework by which it can identify, analyze, and attribute new weaknesses as they are discovered.
On a legal front, privacy legislation is anticipated in Congress, and pending legal cases already exist within the court system in which a technical definition of backdoor would be beneficial. Without a clear definition, these proceedings pose the risk of misinformation in criminal prosecution, search warrants, warrants of assistance, secret court proceedings, and proposed legislation – all by preventing a duly appointed legal body from adequately understanding the concept.
In February 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation sought an order under the All Writs Act to force Apple Inc. to assist them in bypassing the security mechanisms of their own firmware in a terrorist investigation. Throughout proceedings and Congressional hearings to follow, the term backdoor had been strongly used by both sides to describe the FBI’s order, as well as different scenarios describing future orders or proposed legislation. It is crucial, then, that there be an accepted definition of the term as the very definition of backdoor stands to influence justice and legislation on a national, and possibly worldwide stage. Any future attempts at a legal definition of a backdoor must clearly begin with a technical definition, one of which is presented here.
1.0.2 Prior Attempts at Definitions
Some attempts have been made to define backdoor, however all fall short of being both specific enough to cover the intentional and subversive nature of backdoors, and general enough to avoid covering mechanisms that the computing community does not consider a backdoor.
The Oxford Dictionary defines “back door” as “a feature or defect of a computer system that allows surreptitious unauthorized access to data”. This definition makes several incorrect technical assumptions. First, by labeling the backdoor as either a feature or defect, the definition makes two incorrect assumptions about the mechanism itself: namely, that it is either designed to improve functionality (a feature), or that any unintentional vulnerability in a system could be considered a backdoor. Either falls short of what I propose as a definition, which rests somewhere in between: the mechanism is not a feature, but an intentionally placed component that is not disclosed to the user, and not the result of a programming error; otherwise any computer vulnerability could be considered a backdoor. The definition also fails to sufficiently cover the purpose of the backdoor, implying that its purpose is only about access to data. There are many backdoors into system that do not provide access to data whatsoever, but rather surrender control of a system to an actor. There are many backdoors placed in security boundary mechanisms that do not protect data. The definition fails to acknowledge such backdoors.
The Linux Information project (LINFO) defines “backdoor” as “any hidden method for obtaining remote access to a computer or other system”. This definition fails to sufficiently identify a backdoor as a specific mechanism within the software, but rather defines it as a method, suggesting that using any technique to obtain remote access should be considered a backdoor. This is too general, then, and could consider anything from hacking methods to social engineering, as a backdoor. It also allows worms, viruses, exploits, or other means to gain unauthorized access a backdoor, even though many in the computing community would not share that opinion. The second part of the definition requires that remote access be a mandatory requirement for a backdoor, however this paper will demonstrate that backdoors can exist for purposes including local (non-remote) access, or even access by a different user on the same machine. In this paper, I argue that it is the actor and not the origin of access that matters. Lastly, this definition is so broad that it would suggest that a software update mechanism (such as the kinds distributed with Linux distributions themselves) or other similar mechanisms could constitute backdoors.
Aside from generalized definitions, it is surprising that no academic papers could be found that specifically attempted to define the term. There are countless papers in which backdoors are documented, and their taxonomy analyzed, however no clear definition of backdoor was found that could be applied to a general component of a computer system. It would seem that for decades, the computing community at large has taken a “know it when I see it” approach to the term, without ever accepting a clear definition or test.
1.0.3 General Taxonomy
While backdoors have become increasingly complex and vary in design over time, all backdoors share the same basic taxonomy. They affect security mechanisms (more specifically, boundary mechanisms) in the following ways:
- They operate without consent of the computer system owner
- They perform tasks that avert disclosed purposes
- They are under the control of undisclosed actors
1.1 Purpose
The purpose of the three-prong test in this paper is to provide a basis for technical argument: to be able to effectively argue that a component within a security boundary mechanism constitutes a backdoor, or does not constitute a backdoor, and support that argument with consistent facts.
Essentially, this framework is designed to enable one to point at something, in a technical context, and argue, “this is a backdoor, and here are my facts to support that argument”, while also enabling someone else to argue, “no it isn’t, and here are my supporting arguments”, with the expectation that after thorough analysis, consensus may be achieved.
1.2 Definitions
Throughout this paper, the term mechanism is used to describe a boundary enforcement mechanism (security mechanism) that is being evaluated. A mechanism (or security mechanism) can be any piece of software, firmware, or hardware that establishes, either explicitly or implicitly, a security boundary. For example, an authentication mechanism explicitly establishes a security boundary by controlling user access. A software update mechanism implicitly establishes a security boundary by means of code control; that is, controlling the code introduced into a computer based on the user contract, which I will explain in depth. An encrypted channel establishes an implied security boundary by controlling who, or what, can communicate over a privileged channel of communication. All of these are referred to as security mechanisms throughout this paper.
When evaluating a mechanism, components of that mechanism may be explored; for example, an authentication mechanism with a component that allows “golden key” access. In this context, the mechanism is said to be “backdoored” if the component itself satisfies the requirements of a backdoor. Here, the malicious component, a mechanism in and of itself, is the overall subject of the evaluation within the context of the computer, however it must be explored in the context of the larger security mechanism.
Throughout this paper, the term owner or computer’s owner is referenced. Because ownership is complex, this term is intended to mean one who has entitlements and authorization to control access on a computer. This is sufficient to address complex ownership models such as employer owned equipment.
2.0 Three-Prong Test
This section identifies three specific requirements a security mechanism must satisfy in order to meet the definition of a backdoor, and proposes three crucial questions that must be satisfied to meet these requirements.
2.1 Intent
The intent requirement determines whether or not the actions performed by the security mechanism, as intended by its manufacturer, were adequately disclosed to the owner of the computer. Typically, a backdoor can exhibit malicious behavior related to subverting a security boundary that is expected by the user; the requirement allows for this to satisfy the intent of the manufacturer, however also leaves the requirement broad enough so as to accommodate other mechanisms that violate a security boundary that may not be as straightforward, such as the software controls in a software update service.
“Does the mechanism behave in a way that subverts purposes disclosed to the computer owner?”
The concept of intent plays closely to user trust and perception. In other words, does the mechanism perform only the tasks that the user expects it to perform (or support tasks that the user expects the larger components to perform), or does it, by design, subvert these purposes? If the mechanism can exhibit undisclosed behavior that is contrary to the intents disclosed to the user by the manufacturer, then this satisfies the intent requirement.
Consider the code controls of a typical software update mechanism. The intent, as disclosed by the manufacturer, is to prevent unauthorized updates. Disclosure by the manufacturer about what types of updates are authorized establishes a user contract.
A user contract, as I refer to herein, is an abstract construct whereby the manufacturer and the user have developed a mutual understanding and expectation of the intention and proper function of a mechanism. This construct allows the user to manage consent, which will be discussed in the next section. For example, the manufacturer will state that the purpose of software updates are to fix bugs and introduce new code into the system that the user would not find objectionable, according to the manufacturer’s privacy policies and end-user agreement.
An example of a user contract can be considered with the example of an authentication mechanism inside of a router that provides maintenance access with a “golden key” password. Here, the intent of the manufacturer for the authentication module was disclosed to the user as a function understood to allow only authorized users into the system (understood to mean having a password that matches a known password created by an administrator). By allowing for a maintenance password to bypass the administrator’s user list, the mechanism has subverted its original purpose in providing a security boundary, and violated the user contract.
Such discussions about intent can quickly become complicated. A manufacturer’s intent can change over time, and with that the user contract must be re-evaluated. For example, consider a software update that updates itself and adds a licensing component that the user may find objectionable. This new purpose must be expressed to the user prior to an update; otherwise the mechanism can be seen as having broken its user contract.
When new functionality is added to an existing user contract, additional disclosure is required in order to modify the user contract; this is frequently seen in practice. For example, release notes are displayed or published by software manufacturers prior to a software update. If intent has changed, the disclosed changes can continue to revise the user contract by again implying consent through disclosure, so long as the user continues to have an informed decision about the mechanism running on their computer. Software that initially obtained the user’s consent, but then revised its intent without disclosure to the user has violated the user contract, and therefore invalidated consent.
2.1.1 Subverted versus exploited
Lastly, consider the term intent, as well as the term subvert, incorporated into the definition. The term subvert takes into account a certain level of intentionality by design. This framework does not attempt to address the matter of negligence, but rather leaves that up to existing legal remedies to explore. It does, however leave open the argument that the manufacturer, for the purpose of exploitation, can leave a mechanism intentionally vulnerable; this is difficult to demonstrate in practice.
Whether or not the manufacturer’s intent for the mechanism is clear can determine whether or not stated purposes were subverted. There is enough freedom here to use other arguments to suggest intent through negligence, but also enough depth to this to ensure that a mechanism is not a backdoor simply because it is vulnerable. Some such arguments may overall be semantic ones, rather than technical ones.
2.2 Consent
The second requirement to determine if a mechanism meets the definition of a backdoor is a test of consent. This determines whether or not the owner of the computer has authorized the mechanism in question, based on the user contract established by means of disclosing their intent.
“Is the mechanism, or are subcomponents of the mechanism, active on a computer without the consent of the computer’s owner?”
This requirement provides enough room to be sufficiently satisfied in cases where consent is compelled (therefore, not truly consent), as well as cases where consent cannot be revoked (such as a service that cannot be turned off, which is also not consent).
Consider the controls of our automatic software update service from the prior section. Software update services typically behave in such a way as their capabilities rest in the hands of owner consent, however consent of the controls themselves are more or less implied. By activating software updates, the user is granting consent to the underlying security mechanisms with the pretense that they will behave according to their stated intent; in other words, they will only permit authorized code to be introduced into the system.
By enabling software updates, the owner implicitly grants consent to the underlying security mechanisms to place controls on the kind of software that is installed, but only to the extent of their disclosed intent. As long as these security controls are performing their disclosed tasks (in accordance with the user contract), such a mechanism would not satisfy this requirement to meet the definition of a backdoor, because it has the user’s consent to control the introduction of code accordingly.
In contrast, backdoors are mechanisms that are active without consent (e.g. that is, “unauthorized”), or cannot be disabled by means made available to the owner. For example, consider a subcomponent of the software update mechanisms that permits unauthorized software to be introduced into the system. The owner did not authorize this subcomponent (since it was not part of the user contract), and therefore did not grant consent for it to be active on the system – this satisfies the consent requirement to meet the definition of a backdoor. On the other hand, if the security mechanism was compromised (“hacked”), then it does not meet the consent requirement to meet the definition of a backdoor, because it was still running with the user’s consent. In this case, it is a compromised mechanism, but not a backdoor. This concept of compromised mechanisms will be explored in more detail throughout the paper. The intention of the manufacturer, which ultimately effects the user contract, plays a key role in determining the difference between the two.
Consider the following examples that would satisfy the consent requirement to meet the definition of a backdoor:
- A software daemon that is installed when the computer owner runs a new application for the first time, and is not capable of being disabled through the user interface. Here, the owner is not given the opportunity to grant or revoke consent from its underlying mechanisms. (Note: legitimate software may also satisfy the consent requirement, but will not satisfy the intent requirement, or the access requirement, discussed next).
- An authentication mechanism for router firmware that includes an undocumented subcomponent granting “golden key” access; that is, grants access if the given password matches a built-in maintenance password. Without knowledge of or the ability to disable this mechanism on the router, the user can be said to have not given consent.
- An undocumented diagnostics service allowing the manufacturer to bypass user-level encryption to make repairs easier. Here, the mechanism is undocumented, and therefore cannot have the user’s consent.
As demonstrated by these examples, consent is inherently tied to the manufacturer’s intent, and ultimately the concept of a user contract established between the manufacturer and the user.
2.3 Access
The access requirement determines two factors:
- Whether or not the mechanism can be controlled (or accessed) at all
- Whether or not the mechanism is subject to control (or accessible) by an undisclosed actor.
“Is the mechanism under the control of an undisclosed actor?”
The access requirement establishes both whether the mechanism is under control (that is, can be controlled or accessed at all by anyone other than users explicitly authorized by the computer owner), and whether or not it can be controlled or accessed by any undisclosed actors, such as unknown third parties. Here, the term undisclosed actors means anyone other than the computer owner, any users he or she has authorized to access the mechanism, and any disclosed external actors, such as the software manufacturer (delivering updates).
This is probably the most crucial requirement of all three tests because it contrasts the difference between a backdoor and other types of malicious code, such as malware, trojans, viruses, and adware. All of these can be backdoors, if they include a command-and-control (C2) component, however not every instance of these are in fact backdoors. A destructive piece of malware, for example, that is not controllable by the malware’s creator, is not a backdoor because it does not satisfy this requirement. A botnet payload that is controlled by a bot-master, however, does satisfy this requirement.
A piece of software that queues up information for future access is considered to be accessible by an actor. For example, a piece of malware that caches personal data, to be sent in batch, would satisfy this requirement towards meeting the definition of a backdoor.
This requirement also covers mechanisms involving access by a third party by means of proxy, for example a piece of ransomware in which the actor controls the software through decryption keys entered into the software by the computer owner. Such a mechanism satisfies this requirement towards meeting the definition of a backdoor.
This test is where the rubber meets the road when discussing government backdoors, such as the concept of pushing malicious software through an update mechanism without the computer owner’s knowledge. A software update mechanism, when behaving healthy, may not appear to satisfy the requirements of a backdoor, however if the mechanism can be controlled by a third party (either directly, or indirectly via court order) to subvert its stated intent, then it has violated the user contract, invalidated consent, and satisfies the definition of a backdoor.
2.4 Liability
Does a legitimate software update service that is attacked and used to push malware to the computer system constitute a backdoor? On a technical level, no, because the intentions of the software have not changed (unless malicious intent by the manufacturer can be demonstrated). There is an argument to be made, however, that the service has effectively been backdoored; i.e. “a hacker turned the service into a backdoor”, or, “a hacker backdoored the service”, however this is not a technical argument, only a semantic one. I make no attempt in this paper to define the proper use of backdoor as a verb.
3.0 Three-Prong Test Thought Examples
This section will examine a number of thought exercises, applying the three-prong test to various scenarios and expanding on the different ways it may be applied. These examples are intended for guidance only, and not to demand a specific technical conclusion about the examples used. The reader has the freedom to make counter-arguments and to test their interpretation of the three-prong test to arrive at their own conclusion.
3.1 Three-Prong Test Applied to Legislation
Considering recent “backdoor” legislation as it pertains to a legislated backdoor into end-user computer systems, legislation to allow the government to compel a manufacturer to install malicious software through a software update mechanism alone would not necessarily constitute a backdoor, unless this information was withheld from customers. If a manufacturer were to fully disclose that specific government agencies had control over a software update mechanism, and that the mechanism could install software whose intent was to introduce code deemed to be objectionable to the user, then the mechanism no longer satisfies the intent or the access prongs of the test.
In other words, in order for the government to legislate a mechanism that would no longer meet the definition of a backdoor, they must disclose to the owner that the government can install functionality through auto-update (the third prong), or disclose that functionality that can introduce code deemed objectionable by the owner (the second prong). If the user chooses to still update their software, then this is not a backdoor because it’s been disclosed, and either its intent or its origins have been fully stated. It is, in fact, much worse than a backdoor at this point; it is a surveillance tool and should be treated as such in law.
Some may wish to use a definition such as “government backdoor”, implying a disclosed form of a backdoor, however this is a semantic argument and not a technical one; it also does little justice to describe the civil rights issues that are raised by compelling such a surveillance tool.
Consider the following more realistic scenario, however. If the government were to misrepresent or hide the intent and the origins of their capabilities to subvert the auto-update software controls, ordering this functionality in secret, then this has not been disclosed to the user, and pushing malware or spyware (under the direction of an actor undisclosed to the user) would meet the definition of a backdoor, invalidating consent given by means of a user contract. This will be explored in the next section of this paper.
The construction of the three-prong test provides enough flexibility for technical arguments to be made of what constitutes consent and disclosure on a national stage. Because this framework has led us to such arguments (which are out of scope), the framework itself has done its job in providing a construct in which these arguments can be explored.
3.2 Three-Prong Test Applied to Secret Court Orders
In today’s legal landscape, secret court orders are a possibility. In such scenarios, we are no longer discussing disclosed actors or intent, but rather secret orders such as those going through a FISA court, such as section 702 orders or secret orders under the All Writs Act. In these cases, our hypothetical software update service could unwittingly become a backdoor if the government chose to quietly control it without any disclosure to the user.
In the same way, for the manufacturer to be ordered to keep such capabilities a secret would be to turn the manufacturer into an arm of government for the express intent of creating a backdoor, and the manufacturer could be considered partially liable for the consequences of doing so. Those that control the mechanism dictate the intent, and so if the government is partially in control of the mechanism, then their intentions must become part of the overall test. In such a case, the functionality of the software would likely subvert the intent disclosed to the user. Consent would similarly become invalidated, resulting in a software update mechanism that qualifies as a backdoor by definition.
3.3 Three-Prong Test Applied to Apple File Relay
Shortly after the release of research in 2014, Apple’s file relay service became the subject of debate among the information security community, and whether or not it constituted a backdoor.
File Relay was an Apple service that ran without the user’s knowledge on millions of iOS devices. The service was a mechanism that bypassed the backup password encryption on versions of iOS 7 and below, and was accessible by either using an existing pair record from a desktop machine, or by creating one by pairing an unlocked device on-the-fly. It was not a backdoor into the device’s operating system, but rather I argued that it was an encryption backdoor; it provided a way to bypass a critical security boundary against data theft, and subverted the backup password’s own stated purpose: to allow paired devices to be better secured against data theft.
Of course, this doesn’t mean it was nefarious, or intended for objectionable purposes (although that didn’t stop law enforcement from taking full advantage of it); Apple later claimed its purpose was for collecting diagnostics information. Applying the three-prong test to this service, my arguments are as follows.
3.3.1 Intent
“Does the mechanism behave in a way that subverts purposes as disclosed to the computer owner?”
The actual use for the file relay service was unclear at the time, until Apple came out publicly stating its intention as a diagnostics tool, however none of its functionality was – at the time – disclosed to the user. It was also not known that by allowing a device to pair with a desktop machine, this enabled a capability to bypass backup encryption.
My counter-argument was that a diagnostic service constantly running on the device was arguably not within the scope of the user contract. All other known diagnostic services in iOS were on-demand (with user consent), whereas file relay was “always on”. Its purposes included defeating a security mechanism that was explicitly provided to the user. Once the research made the existence of this service known to the average user, Apple promptly disabled it in all future firmware updates, demonstrating that the user did not consider this part of Apple’s stated intent. Future versions of iOS have the service disabled by default, and iOS is more secure for it today, much to the credit of Apple for quickly addressing it.
3.3.2 Consent
“Is the mechanism, or are subcomponents of the mechanism, active on a computer without the consent of the computer’s owner?”
The existence of the file relay service was not disclosed to any user, and it was active on millions of iOS devices without the user’s consent. The user had no way to disable this mechanism, even after research made its existence known, so it could not operate with user consent.
3.3.3 Access
“Is the mechanism under the control of an undisclosed actor?”
The mechanism was subject to access by anyone with a pair record copied off of one of the user’s machines, or by generating one on-the-fly from the user interface; once paired, it could be accessed across a WiFi network. It did not require authentication by the manufacturer to be used (such as a special certificate), or any other means of access control.
Remaining undisclosed to the user, I argued that ignorance of this capability modified the user’s perception of pairing relationships and screen lock policies, since the user believed that backup encryption protected a paired device from dumping the device’s content. This may have caused some users to be more lax with which devices they chose to pair with (such as community devices, work devices, or family and friend devices), or screen access.
The service was available to any USB or WiFi connection capable of using or generating a pair record. I argued that by defeating the security mechanism explicitly given to the user (backup encryption), file relay extended what would have been more restrictive access practices through pairing, as well as physical access, where a pair record could be created on-the-fly.
3.3.4 Discussion
So was file relay a backdoor? It failed the consent test and, in my opinion, the access test. The real question is whether or not the mechanism satisfied the intent test, and this is where many such technical conversations will end up. To Apple, it likely was not their intention to create a mechanism that subverts their own security; this could have easily been a programming oversight, with bypassing backup encryption an unintended side effect. The intent of the security boundary is what matters most here, and the security boundary was access control to user content via backup encryption. The real question is whether or not defeating backup encryption was intentional (even if only intended for internal use), or a design error.
To law enforcement, file relay was exploited as if it were a backdoor, and this capability was integrated – without Apple’s participation – into a number of commercial forensic tools to bypass user encryption for prosecuting crimes – a capability the user was not expecting from Apple. Under this definition, however, the manufacturer’s intent is what’s important in satisfying this requirements, and not the third party’s misuse.
Depending on how you interpret the intent test, its broader intention to subvert encryption could make it a backdoor for engineering purposes, or its more narrow intention as a poorly designed diagnostics tool could conclude that it was just a bad day of engineering. One might argue that law enforcement forensics tools backdoored the file relay service, which would make it a backdoor belonging to such product manufacturers, and not Apple. That is more of a semantic argument than a technical one.
3.4 Three-Prong Test Applied to Clipper chip
The Clipper chip was a cipher chipset developed and endorsed by the United States National Security Agency. The chip itself was designed to provide a key escrow enabling law enforcement the capability of decrypting any communication as a third party to any messages sent through the chip. It is considered by most to be the quintessential definition of a “backdoor”.
The three-prong test I have proposed here analyzes implementation in the context of a mechanism inside a computer. There are, therefore, different contexts to analyze the Clipper chip in. The standalone chip could be considered, as it incorporates a subcomponent that provides a “backdoor” key escrow through use of a Law Enforcement Access Field, however it is much more important to have a discussion about the Clipper chip in the context of a computer (such as the AT&T TSD-3600) it has been installed in, in order to correctly apply the three-prong test. Since the three-prong test deals specifically with the context of a mechanism inside a computer, the chip itself (the mechanism) arguably does not constitute a computer on its own. We will analyze the chip from the perspective of an installation inside the AT&T TSD-3600.
3.4.1 Background
The Clipper chip was designed as a drop-in replacement for the DES [NBS77] cryptographic chipset. The only product that it made it into was the AT&T TSD-3600 Telephone Security Device. While the capabilities of the chip had become made known to the public, the AT&T TSD-3600 itself was never sold to the public. It was, however, used internally inside various government agencies.
The user manual itself only made vague disclaimers about cryptanalytic attacks and did not forwardly state in any way that one intent of the device included surveillance capabilities. It also did not make any mention of the government, or any agencies, as actors that had control or access to the device.
In the analysis to follow, consider the three-prong test as applying from the perspective of a government employee who has been given a TSD-3600 to use, or a hypothetical end consumer (such as a CEO) who has purchased the device, had it been available for public consumption.
It’s important to note that any peripheral disclosure outside of that by the manufacturer is irrelevant to our purposes. Simply because the Clipper chip was known, by way of media, to allow for government surveillance does not satisfy the demands of disclosure in general; this, however, is a technical position to be argued outside of the scope of the backdoor test. For our purposes here, we will consider external factors such as the media irrelevant to disclosure.
3.4.2 Intent
“Does the mechanism behave in a way that subverts purposes as disclosed to the computer owner?”
Disclosed purposes, according to the TSD-3600 manual did not include a surveillance mechanism for law enforcement that bypassed the user privacy boundary. The manual made no attempt to notify the user of this capability, and there is nothing on record to demonstrate that AT&T made this capability known in any other way to the end-user. The intent requirement is satisfied.
3.4.3 Consent
“Is the mechanism, or are subcomponents of the mechanism, active on a computer without the consent of the computer’s owner?”
In the case of the TSD-3600, the user did not give consent for the Clipper’s LEAF mechanism to be active. The user also does not have any ability to disable it. Therefore, the consent requirement is satisfied.
3.4.4 Access
“Is the mechanism under the control of an undisclosed actor?”
The mechanism was under the control (or accessible) by an undisclosed actor (namely any government agency capable of sending the correct signal to the device). The access requirement is satisfied.
3.4.5 Analysis
The TSD-3600 incorporated a chip designed to give surveillance capabilities to the government. While the chip itself, out of context, is merely a surveillance-backdoor “kit” of sorts, its undisclosed use in a product demonstrates its implementation as a backdoor. The “mechanism” in question here is the LEAF mechanism that subverts the user privacy contract.
One might argue that court proceedings that garnered attention on the national stage may constitute disclosure. In this scenario, a government employee who actively used the TSD-3600 being fully aware of its surveillance capabilities was not necessarily using what they considered a backdoored product, but to them it may better fit the definition of an internal surveillance device.
Had the implementation been different, it is possible that the Clipper could conceivably be used in ways that would not constitute a backdoor, but rather a disclosed surveillance tool, for much the same reasons that modern Mobile Device Management is not considered a backdoor. For example, if AT&T had published in the manual that the surveillance capabilities of the Clipper existed in the device, or made known that government actors had control/access to the cipher routines inside the TSD-3600, then the user would have been informed of the intent of the unit, and could have made an informed decision to use a different solution.
On the other hand, had legislation passed that mandated Clipper’s use in all secure telephony products, then the user arguably would have no way to revoke consent of the mechanism. Disclosure would then determine whether the Clipper was a secret backdoor, or a mass surveillance tool without user consent, had its purpose been plainly disclosed to all end-users. I will reiterate, the civil rights atrocity for a government to compel the use of a mass surveillance tool on its citizens goes far beyond the malicious intent of a backdoor, and should be looked upon with more serious consequences than a backdoor.
3.5 Three-Prong Test Applied to Computer Worms
In this section, we examine two of the most destructive worms in history: My Doom and Code Red II. The My Doom worm affected one million machines and reported damages of $38 billion. Code Red II affected one million machines also, and reported damages of $2.75 billion. One of these two worms’ mechanisms will satisfy the definition of a backdoor, while one will not.
3.5.1 Intent
“Does the mechanism behave in a way that subverts purposes disclosed to the computer owner?”
The My Doom payload was included in an email attachment that subverted the user’s expectations of being an attachment containing a copy of an undelivered message; it had not established a user contract of any kind, and delivered its payload by means of deception. It clearly satisfies this requirement for the definition of a backdoor.
The Code Red worm was not disclosed to the user, and therefore it could not have formed a user contract of any kind with the user. It clearly satisfies this requirement for the definition of a backdoor.
3.5.2 Consent
“Is the mechanism, or are subcomponents of the mechanism, active on a computer without the consent of the computer’s owner?”
The My Doom worm was transmitted via email, masquerading as a mail delivery error message. When the user clicked on the included attachment, the worm executed and resent the worm to all email addresses found in the user’s address book and other files. Here, different arguments about consent can be made. One may argue that the user granted consent by executing the file. On the other hand, one may also argue that the user never intended to execute a file, but open a mail attachment. The latter argument suggests consent was contingent upon their understanding of the intent of the attachment, which turned out to be misrepresented, and therefore consent was not given.
Most would defer to the latter argument as the most valid, however the requirement is flexible enough in that more complex cases involving consent may be effectively argued on both sides. For the purposes of this paper, we shall conclude that it satisfies this requirement for the definition of a backdoor.
The Code Red worm affected machines running Microsoft IIS web server. The worm spread by exploiting buffer-overflow vulnerabilities, using a long buffer of characters followed by exploit code. The Code Red worm did not obtain user consent, and had no interaction with the user; it invited itself into the computer system and executed without any access being granted to it. It clearly satisfies this requirement for the definition of a backdoor.
3.5.3 Access
“Is the mechanism under the control of an undisclosed actor?”
The purpose of the My Doom worm was believed to have been to launch a distributed denial-of-service attack against SCO Group by flooding the host www.sco.com with traffic. This functionality was baked into the worm, and variants of the worm analyzed, for the purposes of this paper, did not subject the computer to any kind of remote access by a hacker or other actor. Because the worm was completely self-contained, and could not be controlled by any outside factors, the My Doom worm does not satisfy the access requirement for the definition of a backdoor, and therefore does not satisfy the definition of a backdoor.
The first strains of Code Red were self-contained, however the Code Red II variant installed a mechanism allowing a remote attacker to control the infected computer. This remote access mechanism satisfies the access requirement for the definition of a backdoor, and therefore with all three tests satisfied, Code Red II includes mechanisms that fall under the definition of a backdoor.
This requirement is also satisfied by download mechanisms in other worms as well. For example, the ILOVEYOU worm downloaded an executable from the Internet, which ran on infected computers. By changing this executable, one could effectively argue that the attacker had access to infected computers by means of the remote code.
4.0 Technical Definition of a Backdoor
If you take these three prongs and parse them into a single statement, the result is a reasonable technical definition of a backdoor:
A backdoor is a component of a security boundary mechanism, in which the component is active on a computer system without consent of the computer’s owner, performs functions that subvert purposes disclosed to the computer’s owner, and is under the control of an undisclosed actor.
With this definition, a mechanism can be said to be backdoored if it contains a component that is a backdoor.
It is the opinion of the author that this is sufficiently specific enough not to be misused. It is not so broad that it could describe every component of a computer system as a backdoor: non-purposeful software components fall under the intent disclosed to the user as well as informed or implied consent, and fall under normal operation of the software. Such services are also not under control of any party, but autonomous components running on the system (such as a task scheduling service).
The wording is also specific enough to apply to purposeful code that is intentionally performing tasks in violation of its user contract, but also under the control of an actor. This definition provides a solid construct but also enough room to allow for interpretation and counter arguments.
5.0 Conclusions
Defining a mechanism that has been presented in many forms is no easy task, and there may never be an entirely perfect black and white definition. This paper has described the taxonomy of backdoors so as to address their commonalities in a way that provides an adequate technical structure to analyze virtually any security boundary mechanism of a computer. A good definition of a backdoor must be able to contrast a backdoor from other classes of malware or legitimate security mechanisms, and we have done so here successfully. Only time and exposure to a number of technical challenges will determine the efficacy of this three-prong test, however applying it to numerous examples has thus far demonstrated it to be robust enough for consideration within the community.
6.0 Acknowledgments
Special thanks to peer reviewers Dino Dai Zovi and Wesley McGrew, whose insight helped add definition to these concepts.
Citations
Wargames (June 3, 1983), Motion Picture. MGM Pictures.
Brown, Scott (July 21, 2008). “WarGames: A Look Back at the Film That Turned Geeks and Phreaks Into Stars”. Wired.
Stoll, Cliff (September 13, 2005). “The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage”.
Zetter, Kim (December 23, 2015). “This Year’s 11 Biggest Hacks”. Wired.
Haselton, Todd (February 7, 2014). “Target Hackers Used HVAC Credentials for Backdoor Access”. Techno Buffalo.
Ryge, Leif (February 27, 2016). “Most software already has a “golden key” backdoor: the system update”. ArsTechnica.
Zdziarski, Jonathan (January 26, 2014). “Identifying Backdoors, Attack Points, and Surveillance Mechanisms in iOS Devices”. International Journal of Digital Forensics and Incident Response.
Blaze, Matt (August 20, 1994). “Protocol Failure in the Escrowed Encryption Standard”
AT&T (September 30, 1992). “AT&T TSD User’s Manual Telephone Security Device Model 3600”. Archived at http://www.beatriceco.com/bti/porticus/bell/pdf/bsp/106919921_att_tsd_3600_users_manual_09_30_92.pdf
National Geographic. “Doomsday Preppers”. Television series.
Pudwell, Sam (October 24, 2015). “The most destructive computer viruses of all time”
CERT (August 6, 2001). “Code Red II: Another Worm Exploiting Buffer Overflow in IIS Indexing Service DLL”.
Oxford Dictionary. Definition 1.1.
Linux Information Project (LINFO). Definition. Archived from http://www.linfo.org/backdoor.html. | https://www.zdziarski.com/blog/?p=6077 |
The following Q&A with Sharp on print device security complements Noel Ward’s article “Think Like a Hacker,” which appears in the March 2020 issue of The Cannata Report. The answers provided are a collaboration between Akisa Matsuda, associate director, software product management, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) and George Grafanakis, associate director, hardware product management, SIICA. This is an edited excerpt of those responses.
CR: When it comes to networked, office-class printers and MFPs, what do you see as the greatest security risks?
Sharp: The leading security threats these days is that all network devices are vulnerable to phishing campaigns, social engineering campaigns, ransomware, and other malicious network intrusions. These attacks can penetrate an office-class MFP or printer much the same way as they would a computer or other network device. In these cases, endpoints are extremely vulnerable. The biggest challenge is when the end users or even network administrators are not following common sense IT practices. If unique login passwords and administrator passwords are not maintained and changed regularly, the risk of malicious attacks to a network MFP or printer becomes very high. Additionally, most office-class MFPs and printers today offer both wired and wireless network connections, which provides hackers with more than one way to access the networked device. In this case, malicious executable files can attack the machine file system, user data and more.
Also, many office-class MFPs and printers utilize inbound and outbound email accounts, which can be used as malware vehicles for hackers. Furthermore, the hard disk (or solid state) drive that processes and stores job data and user data on most office-class MFPs and printers can be a treasure trove of confidential information and intellectual property for hackers and malicious intruders if the data is not encrypted using modern AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption technology. This risk is compounded when businesses trade in their MFP or printer for a new model without taking steps to destroy the existing data on the hard disk (or solid state) drive. Sharp MFPs and printer devices utilize 256-bit AES data encryption and include an End-of-Lease feature, which deletes and overwrites all hard drive data at time of trade-in.
CR: How do these risks translate to printing and sending data to these devices?
Sharp: Printing and sending data to office-class MFPs and printers has several of the same risks as I mentioned above, starting with the users and network administrators. Many users print confidential company information and leave it on the exit tray of the MFP or printer until they get around to getting it. This makes it easy for anyone with malicious intentions to pick up the information and use it for their own gain. Also, users can send these same confidential jobs to the wrong MFP or printer, allowing anyone that walks by the device to take it. If administrators don’t enforce strict counter measures, such as secure print release and user authentication in these situations, confidential information such as sales data, customer lists, human resource data and more can be stolen and used maliciously. Additionally, sending data to MFPs and printers from mobile devices and cloud services also creates a risk if similar counter measures are not deployed. When scanning documents on and MFP, a common security issue is when the user forgets to take their originals. Sharp MFP models offer a flashing original reminder light to help users avoid this.
CR: To what extent are people using these devices are aware of the risks?
Sharp: One of the biggest challenges businesses have is training users of MFPs, printers and other network devices about common sense IT practices. Although mindshare about IT security is growing, users are not necessarily aware of all the risks that are involved. Users need to be educated regularly about existing and emerging security risks and learn how to practice good IT hygiene.
CR: What should owners of these devices be doing to help ensure their machines and networks are adequately protected from outside intrusion?
Sharp: Properly managing endpoints and resources in the organization, which includes installing the latest patches and updates, are important steps in protecting network security. Also, having an up-to-date disaster recovery plan is paramount. This is something all businesses should have. All of these things are a daily routine process that needs to be maintained, and if you take your eye off the ball and one of these steps is not done, it can potentially cause a catastrophe. It is also difficult to find IT people that are versed in all IT areas of security. Businesses are looking to companies, such as Sharp, that can provide managed IT services and complement the IT staff of these companies by providing help where it is needed.
CR: What types of security or practices (such as encryption) does your company employ to address these challenges?
Sharp: Sharp’s latest multifunction printers are armed with leading-edge, multi-layered security features, designed to meet various security requirements needed at each organization. Sharp security features include user authentication (local/LDAP/AD) and access control, as well as data and communication encryption (256-bit AES encryption.
Sharp has always aimed to achieve a secure and productive office environment through the development of our digital MFPs. Meeting evolving security standards is important to ensure organizations confidently handle the most sensitive data on Sharp devices. All Sharp MFPs go through rigorous vulnerability and penetration testing to become Common Criteria certified. Also, Sharp MFPs conform to the new California IoT law that went into effect January 1st, 2020, requiring network office equipment to prompt the customer to set a strong, unique password upon first time installation.
CR: How should users be educated about the risks?
Sharp: IT departments need to communicate with all employees and train them on the do’s and don’ts of IT security with regards to MFPs, printers, computers and other network devices. Users of these devices need to understand the ramifications of careless IT practices, such as clicking on links, opening attachments, leaving confidential documents in the exit tray, etc. Here at Sharp, our IT department requires every employee to take an IT security seminar as often as six times per year.
To help businesses protect their machines and their network, Sharp has an easy-to-use security checklist that is posted to our website to guide customers in deploying the proper settings to protect their MFP from malware attacks. Sharp also provides dealers and customers with a comprehensive security guide for our products that covers everything from printing and scanning security to user authentication and audit trail security, all to help businesses deploy the right security features for their environment.
CR: And How can a printer/copier dealer be part of a solution?
Sharp: Dealers can be trusted security providers to their customers by working with them regularly to make sure they understand and properly deploy the appropriate security settings for their MFPs and printers.
Sharp MFP products are designed for the technology driven office, enabling IT administrators to manage them similarly to the way they manage PCs and servers on their network, and deploying the same level of security. Features such as Active Directory integration enables Sharp MFPs to join the domain as a PC, allowing their security settings to be centrally controlled. Sharp’s SRDM remote management utility centrally monitors security settings of Sharp MFPs on the network and can reset the security policy if changes are made locally at the machine.
Dealers should also practice due diligence and be aware of the latest vulnerabilities, phishing campaigns and malware attacks. Government websites, such as FBI.gov, banking websites and other on-line resources can help dealers learn about the latest IT threats. Additionally, making sure customers have an up-to-date disaster recovery plan is paramount. Also, make sure all employees are properly trained to follow good IT practices themselves.
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Emotion regulation group therapy (ERGT) is a novel treatment specifically targeting deliberate non-suicidal self-harm (DSH) in individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Identifying robust predictors of positive response to ERGT could aid clinicians in treatment selection; however, to date, only one such study has been conducted. Thus, we aimed to replicate previously identified predictors of treatment response to ERGT by investigating demographic, clinical, and diagnostic predictors in 95 women with BPD or subclinical BPD who had participated in an open-trial evaluation of ERGT. Outcomes evaluated were frequency of DSH and emotion dysregulation. Assessments were conducted at pretreatment, post-treatment, and 6-month follow-up. Multilevel mixed linear models and multilevel negative binomial generalized estimated equations were used to identify significant interactions between the predictors and outcomes. We found that greater pretreatment DSH frequency was associated with greater improvements in DSH during treatment (b = 0.998, SE = 0.00, p = 0.03) and follow-up (b = 0.997, SE = 0.00, p < 0.01) and that greater BPD severity was associated with greater improvements in DSH during treatment (b = 0.84, SE = 0.06, p = 0.02) and in emotion dysregulation at follow-up (b = -3.05, SE = 1.47, p = 0.04). Co-occurring disorders were associated with poorer treatment response during follow-up. Results were generally consistent with a previous study of the predictors of response to ERGT. The findings provide further support for the utility of this treatment across a range of BPD patients, including patients with severe DSH and BPD.
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Cognitive behaviour therapy
ISSN: 1651-2316
Pages: 1-15
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Equivalence Trial
Trial that aims to show a new treatment is no better and no worse than the standard treatment.
Controlled Clinical Trial
Work consisting of a clinical trial involving one or more test treatments, at least one control treatment, specified outcome measures for evaluating the studied intervention, and a bias-free method for assigning patients to the test treatment. The treatment may be drugs, devices, or procedures studied for diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic effectiveness. Control measures include placebos, active medicine, no-treatment, dosage forms and regimens, historical comparisons, etc. When randomization using mathematical techniques, such as the use of a random numbers table, is employed to assign patients to test or control treatments, the trial is characterized as a RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL.
Adaptive Clinical Trial
Clinical study in which a prospectively planned opportunity is included to modify trial designs and hypotheses based on analysis of data from subjects in the study.
Randomized Controlled Trial
Work consisting of a clinical trial that involves at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table.
Evaluation Studies As Topic
Studies determining the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies. For drugs and devices, CLINICAL TRIALS AS TOPIC; DRUG EVALUATION; and DRUG EVALUATION, PRECLINICAL are available.
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One of the more compelling forms of evidence submitted to REF2014 by universities looking to demonstrate research impact was the corroborating statement or testimonial from a research user or partner organisation. Stephen Kemp provides clear guidance on what these statements should include and aim to convey, while also sharing advice on how they might be sourced, as well as other, more easily overlooked considerations.
The REF impact assessment requires impact case studies to include evidence of impact. This evidence can take many forms, quantitative or qualitative. Statements from research users, stakeholders, and beneficiaries can be a powerful form of qualitative evidence, as seen in REF 2014 (see here for an attempt to analyse links between evidence types and impact case study scores). For the next REF we have the opportunity to collect these statements as we go along and this guide should facilitate such statement-gathering.
What to include
In general statements should:
- Be written on the external organisation’s headed paper (or a suitably professional-looking email).
- Be signed by someone at an appropriate level. This will vary by case study but considerations should include seniority vs. connection to the research (e.g. should the statement come from your direct contact, the person with responsibility for the area, or the head of the organisation?), maturity of relationship, reputation, and conflicts of interest.
- Name the researcher and refer to the research (could be in descriptive terms, citation of a research output, name of research programme – whatever comes across as most fitting).
- Describe how the organisation “found” the research/researcher.
- Describe how it fits with the organisation’s activities, strategy, needs, challenges, opportunities, and other drivers.
- Describe how the research/knowledge/skills were put into action or used – e.g. did the organisation work with the academic (maybe through commissioned research, consultancy, knowledge transfer grant, advisory work, other joint activities); did they use the research in their decision-making; did they train their staff according to the research?
- Describe what happened as a result of using the research/knowledge/skills or working with the researcher – e.g. did they produce guidelines for practice; were they better informed in making strategic decisions; was their service provision directly improved?
- Describe the resulting impact of this work – what was the benefit of using the research/knowledge or working with the researcher? Include quantitative or qualitative indicators to show the impact – i.e. how they know it was beneficial. They could also say where they’d be if they hadn’t used the research. This is the most important part of the statement as it’s where the impact is really articulated (and any quantitative/qualitative evidence the organisation provides can be quoted in the case study and woven into the narrative).
- Say something about the future – what’s next in this line of work? Do they foresee continued and growing benefits? Will they work with the researcher again? Will they be more open to using academic research in the future? Maybe they’ll change the way they operate as a result of the impactful piece of work.
Image credit: Kelly Sikkema, via Unsplash (licensed under a CC0 1.0 license).
How to gather testimonials
The first (and by far the best) option is to put the above list into your own words (so it doesn’t sound so much like a checklist) and use this to prompt a statement from your partner. You could either put it in writing and let them respond accordingly or you could use this as the basis of a conversation/interview. The beauty of the latter approach is that you can explore and clarify and it may uncover other relevant information.
Secondly, you could use the above list as a checklist/questionnaire. I wouldn’t recommend this approach. It may save time but you are unlikely to get the richness or authenticity of a more personal/tailored interaction. It won’t strengthen your relationship with the organisation and it may even damage it.
Finally, in some cases it may be necessary to essentially write the statement yourself and hand it over to the partner to sign. This is not recommended as you lose the authentic voice and you may miss some aspect of what made the work so valuable (including possibly some extra information the partners would have included if they’d had to write it themselves). On top of this there is a very real risk that if the academic writes a number of such letters for different partners to sign, they could all end up looking fundamentally the same which undermines the credibility of the messages. Consider how you’d view this as an assessor.
Other considerations
- Make sure the person providing the statement knows what it is for and has the authority to give it.
- Observe the relevant data management and ethics policies as you gather, hold, and use this information.
- In REF2014, some organisations were overwhelmed with requests for testimonials to the point where relationships were affected and in some cases they simply refused to provide testimonials. This is where strong relationships really count so focus on lasting, rather than superficial, interactions with stakeholders and partners.
- Some organisations will be concerned about confidentiality. Although we don’t currently know how this will work for impact case studies and evidence in REF2021, there were provisions for this in REF2014 so we can expect similar in REF2021.
- Don’t wait to get testimonials. The details, nature, and value of impacts may become dull with time so jump on them while they’re fresh. Plus you never know where people will be in a couple of years.
Examples
These statements are not only a source to be referenced – you can use choice quotes to tell the story and illustrate the outcomes. Here are some examples from REF2014 showing the kinds of things said in testimonials and how they can be weaved into the narrative. They all happen to be from UoA 22 (Social Work and Social Policy) just because they were handy. You will find similar examples across the UoAs.
1. From “Improving evidence-based policy and programming for AIDS-affected children in Sub-Saharan Africa”:
This is evidenced by a comment from a Regional HIV and AIDS Advisor at Save the Children: “By sharing rigorous evidence on how children affected by HIV faced increased vulnerabilities over time, Dr Cluver has engaged major policy makers, donors and program implementers in critically ‘rethinking’ and redesigning programs with an emphasis on effectively measuring results. Based on Dr Cluver’s research, UNICEF, PEPFAR have launched new technical guidance (UNICEF: From Evidence to Impact; PEPFAR: OVC Guidance: 2012) for program implementers. Her work is a testimony of how rigorous research is the foundation for effective programming…a clear example how a true partnership between researchers, policy makers and implementers can result in programs that actually make a difference in children’s lives”.
A senior advisor for PEPFAR also stated: “I have quoted Dr Cluver’s data more than any other research to support our work and also to justify and set policy for our global portfolio. All of the data presented from these studies has been influential, however of particular influence has been the data discussed in Cluver [et al] (2011) and 2012.”
2. From “Reducing child anti-social behaviour through effective parenting interventions: international impact on policy, practitioners and families”:
As explained by the then Deputy Director of the Social Exclusion Task Force at the Cabinet Office, who played a major part in driving New Labour policies on early parenting interventions in the late 2000s: “Support from the Start” and Gardner’s UK trials were highly influential in creating momentum towards these major policy developments, including the very substantial rollout led by the National Academy of Parenting Practitioners (NAPP) from 2008.
The founder and research director of NAPP adds to this: “Gardner’s research was pivotal in helping persuade the Cabinet Office to set up NAPP. Her trial was the first in the world to show that parenting programmes could be effective in reducing severe antisocial behaviour, outside the narrow confines of child mental health services, showing that the voluntary sector could do just as good a job with difficult cases. Influenced by these findings, the government awarded £35 million to NAPP to disseminate evidence-based parenting programmes across the voluntary sector; this is estimated to have benefited over 150,000 children; Gardner was an important member of its steering group to ensure this research was implemented.”
Gardner’s team’s research is frequently cited in influential systematic reviews, guidelines, and policy documents. For example, four of the trials have been cited in the NICE (National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence) Guidelines; the Chair confirms their policy influence: “As Chair of the NICE Guideline on antisocial behaviour and conduct disorders, I oversaw the marshalling of the evidence which has to be relevant to British practice, and Gardner’s work was important in shaping the recommendations, since it showed that the interventions work in Britain — not all psychosocial interventions developed in the USA do this. Their work also added to the plausibility of the recommendations since it demonstrated that the mediating mechanism was an increase in positive parenting”.
3. From “Situational crime prevention policy and practice”:
A letter from the Home Office states: “The work of the Department and its advocacy for, and expertise in, situational crime prevention strategies are well known by officials responsible for Crime policy within the Home Office and to the experts within my own area, Home Office Science, whose task it is to ensure that we provide the best evidence on which to base policy developments”. As an example it is noted that “at a recent Forum ‘away-day’ he [Wortley] led a session on preventing theft from the person, which is one of the only crime types to have increased recently, and in particular focused on the need to convert good ideas for prevention into concrete policies and practices.”
The New Zealand Police explicitly credits SCS with a significant role in shaping their crime strategies and helping to reduce crime: “The Jill Dando institute (JDI) has made a significant contribution to the development of crime science and intelligence led policing in New Zealand. We are grateful to JDI staff and associates who have increased our knowledge base, contributed to the development of our key products and fundamentally helped evolve the mindset within the New Zealand Police over the last 10 years…Over the past 4 years we have achieved sizeable reductions in crime against a backdrop of very high (and improving) levels of public trust and confidence in Police.”
The practical value of the research is acknowledged by the Agency: “Of particular value in recent years has been the work done by the Department around the topic of Internal Child Sex Trafficking (ICST)… In 2010, SOCA actively supported two research projects carried out by Professor Gloria Laycock with two masters students, Ella Cockbain and Helen Brayley. One project examined the social networks of offenders and victims and the other deconstructed the offence into a ‘crime script’. The research has been influential in helping to shape SOCA’s response to ICST”.
I hope this is useful. If you have any experiences or tips of your own then please share!
This blog post originally appeared on the author’s personal blog and is republished with permission.
Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Impact Blog, nor of the London School of Economics. Please review our comments policy if you have any concerns on posting a comment below.
About the author
Stephen Kemp is a funding and impact consultant working with universities and individual academics. Previously he has worked as a chemistry researcher, a Research Councils portfolio manager (managing the funding process), a university funding manager (helping academic staff navigate the funding process) and a university impact manager (nurturing impact culture and supporting REF2021 impact preparations). Funding and impact are core themes running through his work. Stephen can be found on Twitter @stephenckemp. | https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2018/06/08/guidance-on-testimonials-and-statements-to-corroborate-impact/ |
The reviews, primary research, commissioned reports and economic modelling include full details of the methods used to select the evidence (including search strategies), assess its quality and summarise it.
The minutes of the Programme Development Group (PDG) meetings provide further detail about the Group's interpretation of the evidence and development of the recommendations.
All supporting documents are listed in appendix E and are available at the NICE website.
Guidance development
The stages involved in developing public health programme guidance are outlined in the box below.
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1. Draft scope released for consultation
2. Stakeholder meeting about the draft scope
3. Stakeholder comments used to revise the scope
4. Final scope and responses to comments published on website
5. Evidence reviews and economic modelling undertaken and submitted to PDG
6. PDG produces draft recommendations
7. Draft guidance (and evidence) released for consultation
8. PDG amends recommendations
9. Final guidance published on website
10. Responses to comments published on website
Guidance to tackle obesity at a local level using whole-system approaches was initiated by NICE in 2009. The work was put on hold in November 2010 and reviewed as part of the Government's obesity strategy work programme. The revised scope has a stronger focus on local, community-wide best practice. Before the development of this guidance was put on hold, the Programme Development Group (PDG) for this work met on four occasions and a series of evidence reviews was completed. Consultation with the PDG and stakeholders following the revision of the scope confirmed that the evidence reviews produced to address questions relating to 'whole-system' approaches to obesity were relevant to address questions relating to 'community-wide' approaches to obesity prevention.
Key questions
The key questions were established as part of the scope. They formed the starting point for consideration of the reviews of evidence and were used by the PDG to help develop the recommendations. The key questions were:
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What are the essential elements of a local, community-wide approach to preventing obesity that is sustainable, effective and cost effective?
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What barriers and facilitators may influence the delivery and effectiveness of a local, community-wide approach (including for specific groups)?
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Who are the key leaders, actors and partners and how do they work with each other?
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What factors need to be considered to ensure local, community-wide approaches are robust and sustainable?
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What does effective monitoring and evaluation look like?
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Can the cost effectiveness of local, community-wide obesity interventions be established and, if so, what is the best method to use?
Reviewing the evidence
Effectiveness reviews
One review of effectiveness was conducted (review 2).
Identifying the evidence
A number of databases were searched in July 2010 for interventions published in English from 1990 onwards. See the review for details.
General health and topic-specific websites and other sources of grey literature were also searched including:
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Scrutiny committee reports (searched via an Internet search engine)
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ZeTOC database (British Library)
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ISI proceedings (Web of Science)
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Conference Proceedings Citation Index (Web of Science).
Selection criteria
Studies were included in the effectiveness review if they:
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demonstrated core features of a whole-system approach (as identified in review 1) to preventing obesity or smoking
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covered whole populations or communities and reported on outcome measures or other indicators for an intervention
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used comparative study designs
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were published from 1990 onwards in English.
Studies were excluded if they:
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did not report on the outcomes listed
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only presented a single component of an intervention or strategy
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did not focus on obesity prevention, improving physical activity or diet, or smoking prevention.
Other reviews
One review was undertaken to define a 'whole-system approach' (review 1) and one review of qualitative data was undertaken to consider the barriers and facilitators to such an approach (review 3).
Identifying the evidence
For reviews 1 and 3, the databases and websites searched were the same as for the effectiveness review (see above).
Selection criteria
Studies were included in review 1 if they considered:
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the theory, key elements and relationships of a whole-system approach
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a whole-system approach in relation to obesity or smoking prevention.
Qualitative studies were included in review 3 if they focused on:
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any 'whole-community' programme in the UK
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'whole-community' obesity and smoking prevention programmes, including those delivered in schools or workplaces in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
Studies were excluded from review 3 if they focused on:
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people's opinions about eating and exercise and their understanding of the issues around obesity, for example, food choices
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community engagement, unless there were elements specific to obesity prevention
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relationships between members of a single agency (for example, a primary care team)
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a single setting (even where the intervention was part of a multi-agency initiative) or a single aspect of health (for example, physical activity or diet).
Quality appraisal
For review 1, included papers were assessed according to whether they provided a coherent account of the concepts and approaches taken and their relationship to each other. (Those that provided more information along these lines were considered better 'quality'.)
For the effectiveness review (review 2), included papers were assessed for methodological rigour and quality using the NICE methodology checklist, as set out in the NICE technical manual Methods for the development of NICE public health guidance (see appendix E). Each study was graded (++, +, −) to reflect the risk of potential bias arising from its design and execution.
Study quality
++ All or most of the checklist criteria have been fulfilled. Where they have not been fulfilled, the conclusions are very unlikely to alter.
+ Some of the checklist criteria have been fulfilled. Those criteria that have not been fulfilled or not adequately described are unlikely to alter the conclusions.
− Few or no checklist criteria have been fulfilled. The conclusions of the study are likely or very likely to alter.
For review 3, the qualitative research studies were assessed using a thirteen-question checklist to determine:
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the clarity of descriptions
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the appropriateness of the aims and methods
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the evidence for the findings
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logical and theoretical coherence.
Summarising the evidence and making evidence statements
The review data was summarised in evidence tables (see full reviews).
The findings from the evidence reviews were synthesised and used as the basis for a number of evidence statements relating to each key question. The evidence statements were prepared by the public health collaborating centre (see appendix A). The statements reflect their judgement of the strength (quality, quantity and consistency) of evidence and its applicability to the populations and settings in the scope.
Commissioned report
Primary, qualitative research was commissioned (September 2011) to understand how local teams can work together effectively to prevent obesity in local communities. The opinions and experiences of the 93 participants are reported in 'Implementing community-wide action to prevent obesity: opinions and experiences of local public health teams and other relevant parties'.
Cost effectiveness
There was a review of economic evaluations and an economic modelling report.
Review of economic evaluations
The obesity-related Reference Manager databases were searched for economic evidence as part of reviews 1 and 2. In addition, selected new searches were undertaken in economic bibliographic databases (NHS EED and EconLit). As a result, four economic evaluations were selected and summarised narratively.
The generic tool for economic evaluations (Drummond and Jefferson 1996) was used for quality assessment.
Economic modelling report
An economic logic model was constructed to explore the circumstances in which a collaboration of two or more local organisations could usually be expected to be cost effective. The model aimed to deduce the direction of change of interventions, but not the magnitude of that change.
The results are reported in: 'Cost effectiveness analysis in partnership working for reducing obesity and other long-term conditions.'
How the PDG formulated the recommendations
At its meetings from July 2011 to February 2012, the Programme Development Group (PDG) considered the evidence, expert reports, primary research and cost effectiveness to determine:
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whether there was sufficient evidence (in terms of strength and applicability) to form a judgement
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where relevant, whether (on balance) the evidence demonstrates that the intervention or programme/activity can be effective or is inconclusive
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where relevant, the typical size of effect (where there is one)
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whether the evidence is applicable to the target groups and context covered by the guidance.
The PDG developed draft recommendations through informal consensus, based on the following criteria:
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strength (type, quality, quantity and consistency) of the evidence
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the applicability of the evidence to the populations or settings referred to in the scope
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effect size and potential impact on the target population's health
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impact on inequalities in health between different groups of the population
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equality and diversity legislation
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ethical issues and social value judgements
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cost effectiveness (for the NHS and other public sector organisations)
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balance of harms and benefits
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ease of implementation and any anticipated changes in practice.
The PDG noted that effectiveness can vary according to the context.
Where evidence was lacking, the PDG also considered whether a recommendation should only be implemented as part of a research programme.
Where possible, recommendations were linked to an evidence statement(s) (see appendix C for details). Where a recommendation was inferred from the evidence, this was indicated by the reference 'IDE' (inference derived from the evidence).
The draft guidance, including the recommendations, was released for consultation in May 2012. At its meeting in July 2012 the PDG amended the guidance in light of comments from stakeholders. The guidance was signed off by the NICE Guidance Executive in October 2012. | https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph42/chapter/Appendix-B-Summary-of-the-methods-used-to-develop-this-guidance |
Theories on the Causes of Business Cycles
Business cycles fluctuate through four stages: recession, recovery, growth and decline. They occur randomly and at times unexpectedly with varying duration. Some have lasted as short as two years and others as long as 12 years. Early economists such as John Maynard Keynes and Adam Smith laid the theoretical groundwork upon which future economists have built their models.
Keynesian Economics
A century and a half apart, Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes held opposing views as to how best to achieve a healthy economy. Adam Smith championed a free market where consumers' actions dictated supply and demand without any artificial interference. Conversely, in 1935 John Maynard Keynes’s General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money recommended government's active participation in economic health through lowering interest rates when prices rise and raising rates when prices fall. Keynes also advocated deficit spending for the greater good of keeping people employed. He believed the public generally saved too much and spent too little, resulting in a business cycle slowdown, and felt government involvement could prevent the economy from stalling.
Other Factors Influencing Business Cycles
As society has progressed, so too have the financial and business sectors that are intertwined with partners around the globe. A business cycle could be on an upturn when an errant fiscal policy in an overseas country reverberates throughout other national economies and sends it downward. Technological advancements also directly impact business cycles. As fewer manual laborers are required to perform a task, unemployment can rise and consumer spending fall, resulting in lower product demand and reduced productivity.
Government Impact
The impact of politics and government on business cycles can be considerable. Federal bailouts of corporations, international trade regulations, bipartisan policies, regulatory oversight and the Federal Reserve’s setting of interest rates are but a few of the influences on American business cycles. How quickly a recovery follows a recession can be partially dependent upon the government’s actions – or failure to act.
Ebb and Flow of Business Cycles
While there are various theories as to what causes one cycle to end and another to begin, there are no set rules or timelines. A boom during wartime may be followed by a long recession or even depression -- as was experienced in the 1920’s after World War I. In the present era, the economic feast created by the millions of baby boomers born in the 1950’s will now have the opposite effect as that generation retires from the workforce and collects the monthly Social Security stipend.
References
Writer Bio
Anita Flynn resides in Philadelphia and has worked for more than 36 years for a global chemical manufacturer. She has an extensive background in the SAP Order-to-Cash environment. Flynn holds a BS in marketing and an MS in information systems management. She has been published in "Supervision" magazine and was a contributing author to Philadelphia's local CBS website. | https://smallbusiness.chron.com/theories-causes-business-cycles-77927.html |
On 7 March Malta woke up to the first case of COVID-19 and a few weeks later, the health authorities reacted efficiently by imposing national wide orders for social distancing and wearing face masks, imposing lockdown of many sectors, the closure of all sea and airports: the latter opened (some say rather hastily) to welcome visitors in mid-July.
Businesses operating within the tourism and designated retail sectors came to a complete standstill. In a panic move to safeguard jobs, the government-financed a furlough scheme. Lobbyists assured it will be sufficient to fight the first wave and driving the “R factor” below one. Cavalier attempts were drafted to help firms improve access to credit by issuing free guarantees to retail banks from a State development bank when the former lend to firms in distress.
The take-up was modest, so the question on everybody’s lips is: what is the best medicine to administer to the patient? Lately, much to the chagrin of many, who made untold sacrifices during the rigid three-month lockdown, the island’s health defences were breached (due to political rhetoric “let us enjoy summer” brandishing rave parties hubris) and, as predicted Malta has been hit with a second pandemic. Most EU countries are greylisting it as a risky tourist destination.
Nobody can bring the genie out of the bottle, so let us briefly review how since the post-war period, successive governments experimented with various economic remedies. This debate on free markets dates back to 1776 and since then no consensus was reached as to which strand of economic thought is most efficacious.
One of the biggest advocates for a market rule model was the 18Th-century economist, Adam Smith. In his seminal treatise, The Wealth of Nations, Smith argues that having everyone act in their own self-interest leads to an optimal outcome. In other words, Smith proposed that by giving everyone freedom to produce and exchange goods as they please (free trade) and opening the markets up to domestic and foreign competition, people’s natural self-interest would promote greater prosperity than with stringent government regulations.
This free-market doctrine implies that in the absence of government intervention and with everyone acting selfishly, the market would eventually reach equilibrium on its own, as if by an “invisible hand”. Another argument emphasised by advocates of free markets is personal freedom. Government intervention is likely to take away some of the freedom that citizens enjoy in terms of what and how much to consume. Economists argue that under this regime, producers are incentivised to produce what consumers want at a reasonable and affordable price as if guided by the invisible hand.
Moving on, modern markets follow a capitalism economic system, simply put that private individuals own capital goods such that production is based solely on the markets’ supply and demand rather than through central planning, so popular in totalitarian regimes. Almost all of today’s economies feature elements of “free trade” laced with a varying degree of government intervention. The justification for government intervention is that free markets do not always lead to an optimal and efficient outcome, so intervention is de rigueur.
Typically, government intervention can improve society’s welfare when there are market frailties, for example, monopolies, oligopolies, cartels, externalities, and the abuse of common property rights. Hot on the heels of the chaos bequeathed at the end of the Second World War, one reads about the dominance of a British economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynes advocated an expansionary fiscal policy to stimulate aggregate demand and hence pull the global economy out of the depression. More specifically, Keynes argued that in order for an economy to improve its conditions, greater government expenditure (direct injections to the economy) is required while simultaneously reducing the leakages within the economy by reducing taxes.
With lower taxes and greater government expenditure, the money supply within the economy increases. As the money in circulation increases, households and firms are able to spend and invest more money, hence stimulate aggregate demand. Likewise, one observes how this was the motor that fuelled the exemplary GDP growth in Malta, which in 2018 alone exceeded 7% (the highest in the Eurozone). Many recall, how rapid expansion of aggregate demand since 2013, was a consequence of an explosion in residence permits issued to expatriate staff (apart from the millions collected from the sale of passports and a runaway property bubble).
These contributed in no small way to a higher consumption generating unprecedented levels of economic activity, boosting output to meet the new higher demand. As employment levels grow, people’s disposable income increases, to further lift one’s consumption and stimulate more affluence (albeit an artificial one).
In short, in the post-COVID slump, our political leaders can take a leaf from Keynes theory to reduce consumption taxes, invest more in much-needed infrastructure projects, and spurned with EU recovery stimulus funds, bet on quality tourism. Start by trimming down excess bed stock and non-performing property loans (an albatross around the neck of banks). Moving on, we notice how Keynes’ philosophy dominated the first half of the 20th century, which was then superseded by the economic theories proposed by Milton Friedman. Friedman developed a “Monetarism” theory.
One may remark that this theory proved successful for the short term but post the 2007/9 crisis, it lost its shine when the globe is facing an acute slowdown. Since the global recession of 2007/9, after the ploughing in of massive TARP rescue funds in the USA, the global economy took an unusual pattern. It manifested anaemic growth with an unusual cocktail of low unemployment, low inflation, and low-interest rates. This turned the creed of the classical economist upside down and led to a massive drive by central banks to indulge in Quantitative Easing to calm the waters.
Back to Malta and a sure-fire solution is not easy but certainly surgery is better than tinkering with palliative care. Both tourism and credit institutions have reported weak results. A maverick elixir will see the government set up an SPV, which can buy non-performing assets, such as those hotels and non-performing loans, including any collateral assets and over a period of five to 10 years manage such a toxic portfolio until an equilibrium level is reached. Certain hotels saddled with a dismal ROI can be acquired by the Fund and acreage transformed in recreational parks or erecting more affordable social houses, thus embellishing the island and rendering social value to society. Alternatively, a piece meal solution by populist tinsel will simply squander millions and administer a band-aid plaster when only surgery has the magic cure. | https://www.tunemalta.com/drafting-covid-recovery-free-markets-government-intervention-monetarism-bust/ |
In medicine, diagnosing an illness is considered a good thing. It allows us to pinpoint the problem and treat it. The same applies to the economy. The economic and financial crises are global, affecting virtually every country in the world. It is hard to estimate the overall damage wrought by the crisis, as we are nowhere near its end. However, it is clear that the crisis is a continuation of the downturn of 2008, and has emerged as the greatest economic and financial challenge the world has faced since the 1930s’ Great Depression. How governments, federal banks, and international financial institutions handle this evolving, expanding crisis will have a major impact on the future of the planet...
The Great Depression of the 1930s and the failure to resolve it with the paradigms of classical economics led economist John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) to develop the Keynesian model. This model asserts that to assure economic growth, there must be active government intervention in the financial markets...
The global crisis has put two of the tenets of capitalism to a test—one they seem to be failing. Those tenets are 1) that supply and demand balance themselves, and 2) that by working in one’s own interest, an individual actually benefits the public. To pinpoint the issue let’s return to the origins of capitalistic thought...
One example of the influence of human interconnectedness on economic dynamics is called “negative externalities.” This term describes the cost inflicted upon others by an action to which those affected have no connection. Thus, if a factory pollutes a nearby lake, killing the fish in that lake, it inflicts harm on the fishermen whose livelihoods depend on the fish in the lake. This is a negative externality...
The failure of capitalism, as expressed in the current crisis, demonstrates our urgent need to build a new economic paradigm. The heads of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) recently issued a warning that “The overall number of unemployed is still at 200 million worldwide, close to the peak recorded at the depth of the Great Recession.”...
The new world is pushing people closer, forcing us to care for one another in genuine solidarity, and to rethink aggressive competition and excessive consumerism. This crisis is leading us, kicking and screaming, into harmony with the laws of the global-integral system... | http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/full/108875 |
Prije koji dan Lord Robert Skidelsky je napisao kratki osvrt o trenutnom globalnom financijskom potresu i stavio ga u povijesni kontekst ekonomskih struja. Esej je napisan za Project Syndicate, ali tamo još nije objavljen. Ja sam ga pronašao u Globe&Mail i na njegovim osobnim stranicama. Profesor Političke Ekonomije na Warwick University, Skidelsky je najpoznatiji po svom biografskom opusu – oko 3000 stranica u 3 komada – John Maynard Keynes-a. Ovo je vjerojatno najbolji sažeti, britki i balansirani podsjetnik za širu publiku o ciklusima ekonomskih teorija slobodnog tržišta u 20. stoljeću koji su se pojavili kao odgovori na postojeće makro krize te kako su te teorije izašle iz mode. Iako nema garancije da je Skidelsky sigurno u pravu svojim razmatranjem posljedica financijskih potresa – iz razloga koje i sam navodi – nije pogrešno zaključiti da je prilično on the money. Ciklusi ekonomskih paradigmi se izmjenjuju nakon većih kriza. Ovo je jedna takva kriza. Skidelsky se koristi Sj.Američkom terminologijom – Liberal znači, što bi mi rekli lijevo, Conservative je desno – suprotno europskom razumjevanju pojma liberal.
The looming bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the forced sale of Merrill Lynch, two of the greatest names in finance, marks the end of an era. But what’s next?
Cycles of economic fashion are as old as business cycles, and are usually caused by deep business disturbances. “Liberal” cycles are followed by “conservative” cycles, which give way to new liberal ones, and so on. Liberal cycles are characterized by government intervention and conservative cycles by government retreat. A long liberal cycle stretched from the 1930s to the 1970s, followed by a cycle of deregulation that seems to have run its course.
With the nationalization of American mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the February nationalization of Britain’s Northern Rock, governments are stepping in again. The heady days of conservative economics are over for now.
Each cycle is triggered by crisis. The last liberal cycle, associated with the New Deal and economist John Maynard Keynes, was triggered by the Great Depression, although it took massive wartime government spending to get it properly going. During this era, governments in the capitalist world managed and regulated their economies to maintain full employment and moderate business fluctuations. The new conservative cycle was triggered by 1970s inflation. Milton Friedman, the economic guru of that era, asserted that the deliberate pursuit of full employment was bound to fuel inflation. Governments should concentrate on keeping money “sound” and leave the economy to look after itself. The “new classical economics” taught that, in the absence of egregious government interference, economies would gravitate naturally to full employment, greater innovation and higher growth rates.
The current crisis reflects the massive buildup of bad debt that became apparent with the subprime crisis, which has now spread to the whole credit market. “Think of an inverted pyramid,” investment banker Charles Morris has written. “The more claims are piled on top of real output, the more wobbly the pyramid becomes.”
When the pyramid starts crumbling, taxpayers must step in to refinance the banking system, revive mortgage markets and prevent economic collapse. But once government intervenes on this scale, it usually stays for a long time.
At issue is the oldest unresolved dilemma in economics: Are market economies “naturally” stable or do they need to be stabilized by policy? Keynes emphasized the flimsiness of the expectations on which economic activity in decentralized markets is based. The future is inherently uncertain; investor psychology is fickle.
“The practice of calmness, of immobility, of certainty and security, suddenly breaks down,” Keynes wrote. “New fears and hopes will, without warning, take charge of human conduct.” This is the “herd behaviour” that George Soros has identified as the dominant feature of financial markets. It is the government’s job to stabilize expectations.
The neo-classical revolution held that markets were much more cyclically stable than Keynes believed, that the risks in all market transactions can be known in advance, that prices will therefore always reflect objective probabilities.
Such market optimism led to deregulation of financial markets in the 1980s and 1990s, and the subsequent explosion of financial innovation that made it “safe” to borrow larger and larger sums on the back of predictably rising assets. The just-collapsed credit bubble, fuelled by so-called special investment vehicles, derivatives, collateralized debt obligations and phony triple-A ratings, was built on the illusions of mathematical modelling.
Liberal cycles, historian Arthur Schlesinger believed, succumb to the corruption of power, conservative cycles to the corruption of money.
Both have their characteristic benefits and costs. But if we look at the historical record, the liberal regime of the 1950s and 1960s was more successful than the conservative regime that followed. Except for China and India, whose economic potential was unleashed by market economics, economic growth was faster and much more stable in the Keynesian golden age than in the age of Friedman; its fruits were more equitably distributed; social cohesion and moral habits better maintained. These are serious benefits to weigh against some business sluggishness.
Of course, history never repeats itself exactly. Circuit-breakers are in place nowadays to prevent a 1929-style slide. But when the system seizes up as it has now, we are clearly in for a new round of regulation.
The cycles in economic fashion show how far economics is from being a science. One cannot think of any natural science in which orthodoxy swings between two poles. What gives economics the appearance of a science is that its propositions can be expressed mathematically by abstracting from the real world.
The classical economics of the 1920s abstracted from the problem of unemployment by assuming that it did not exist. Keynesian economics, in turn, abstracted from the problem of official incompetence and corruption by assuming that governments were run by omniscient, benevolent experts. Today’s “new classical economics” abstracted from the problem of uncertainty by assuming it could be reduced to measurable, hedgeable risk.
A few geniuses aside, economists frame their assumptions to suit existing states of affairs, then invest them with an aura of permanent truth. They are intellectual butlers, serving the interests of those in power, not vigilant observers of shifting reality. Their systems trap them in orthodoxy.
When events coincide with their theorems, the orthodoxy they espouse enjoys its moment of glory. When events shift, it becomes obsolete. As Charles Morris wrote: “Intellectuals are reliable lagging indicators, near-infallible guides to what used to be true.”
Lord Skidelsky is professor emeritus of political economy at Warwick University, England, and author of a prize-winning Keynes biography. | https://cronomy.org/2008/09/18/o-potresima-u-kontekstu-skidelsky-i-milton-keynes/ |
Listener: 18March, 2000.
Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy
Of course there were economists before Adam Smith (1723-1790) but he was the first to offer a reasonably comprehensive account of economic behaviour, founding the “classical” school of economics with its concern of how economies grow. His Wealth of Nations, published in 1776 on the eve of the American Revolution (which he supported), is a book which people quote rather than read, so its richness, its humanity and its subtlety tends to be lost. Smith, a professor of moral philosophy, later customs collector (and not as endeared to free trade as one might think), was a close friend of David Hume (1711-1776) who was also a Scottish philosopher and economist.
David Ricardo (1772-1823), a London Jew, is in the list not just because of his key theories of land rent, trade, labour value and money, but because he begins the formal modelling the economy. He was a wealthy stock broker, a member of parliament (for a rotten borough), wrote Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, and was influential in the policy debates of his day.
The German independent scholar Karl Marx (1818-1883) has an honoured place in economics, even if many of his disciples have not. He was the last great “classical” economist, perhaps more a synthesizer of past economics theories, but enriching them with philosophy, history and sociology. Marxism has suffered enormously from Marx predating the neo-classical revolution, although it is clear from Marx’s own writing that he was fascinated by new ideas, and would have seized upon neo-classical economics, had he been a generation younger. He is best known for Das Kapital, although I prefer his younger socially oriented writings.
Many economists contributed to neoclassical economics, with its concern of how markets work, adding the demand side of the economy to the supply (or production) side of classical economics. The greatest was English Cambridge professor, Alfred Marshall (1842-1924), a mathematician who hid his mathematics behind prose, a theorist who assiduously collected facts, visiting factories and walking the streets of London (with poverty investigator Charles Booth). His Principles of Economics, published in 1890, remains a masterpiece of microeconomic exposition of market behaviour. (It was recommended reading to my student generation 70 years later.) He is my personal favourite from this list ….
… but I would have been mesmerised by the charisma of Marshall’s prize pupil John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), the “maynard” to distinguish him from his father John Neville Keynes. Even Keynes’ detractors are keynesians, for they use his macroeconomic framework for the study of business fluctuations and unemployment. (Was Keynes a keynesian – or Marx a marxian?) Keynes was a Cambridge academic but also advised the British government, and contributed to the creation of the post-war economic institutions although dying before the began to function. Probably the best writer among economists, his General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money was also one of my textbooks.
The last of the pantheon was also a Cambridge professor, but this time at the Massachussets Institute of Technology, at US Cambridge. Paul Samuelson (1915-) led the development of rigorous mathematical modelling of the economy, something which Marshall and Keynes, also good mathematicians, avoided. In some ways the mathematization of economics has been its curse, yet it cannot be ignored. Moreover Samuelson has a humanity, humour, and intuitive insight that distinguishes him from his corrupted followers. His Principles of Economics, my first year economics textbook, is still a pleasure to read.
…. AND SOME ALMOSTS
I have avoided the common practice of stacking a list with recents. American professor, Milton Friedman (1912-), is not there because I am not sure his monetarism is anything more than an ideology attractive to businessmen. His methodology would struggle to get a pass in a first year philosophy class. Regrettably it has been adopted by too many pedestrian economists.
I have hopes that Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950) may yet join the pantheon. An Austrian, and a short time Minister of Finance, he ended up teaching at Harvard in the US, to be eclipsed by Keynes. His breadth of vision, encompassing history and sociology, would be a welcome return within the economics profession. In recent years, I have found myself turning to Schumpeter’s approach, to explain economic growth, financial crashes and the role of social institutions.
American Ken Arrow (1921-) might be a possible addition for a number of brilliant insights into how markets work and risk, including the Arrow-Debreu general equilibrium model, which he developed with French economist Gerard Debreu (1921-), but was started by French-Swiss economist Leon Walras (1834-1910). Arrow is best known for his voting paradox, in which communities are unable to make consistent decisions. Incidentally, he and Samuelson are uncles of Larry Summers, the secretary of the US Treasury.
My punt for the next to join is Ronald Coase (1910-), an Englishman based at the University of Chicago. His insights into transaction costs and the role of property (which generated a new inter-discipline of Law and Economics) are so revolutionary that my generation of economists are still struggling to come to terms with them. | https://www.eastonbh.ac.nz/2000/03/a_pantheon_of_seven_/ |
Can John Maynard Keynes teach us anything new for dealing with the problems created by the covid-19 pandemic? Hasn’t his thought been thoroughly integrated into current economics? (“We’re all Keynesians now.”)
We can learn something, argues Zachary Carter, maintaining that today’s Keynesian economics, on the right as well as on the left, has missed Keynes’ key insight. The heart of Keynes’ insight, culminating in The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, is not just the possibility of adding fiscal and monetary policy to the classical economists’ view of markets. The heart of Keynes’ insight is that markets are incapable of coping with uncertainty.
For Keynes, using government management of expenditures and interest rates was key to preventing the spread of authoritarianism and dictatorships and to forming a just society. But government action needed to go beyond using monetary and fiscal policy to tweak an otherwise reliable market system. Contrary to the beliefs of 19th century proponents of laissez-faire (“liberals”), and contrary to the beliefs of recent neoliberals, markets cannot maintain economic stability. Markets cannot maintain economic stability because, while they can manage risk, they cannot not manage uncertainty.
Despite all the mathematical sophistication of modern financial analysis, the economic collapse of 2008-2009 demonstrated that markets cannot cope with events that cannot be forecasted—that is, they cannot cope with uncertainty.
When we risk money on the roulette wheel, we know the probabilities and, if we want to, we can hedge our bets. Uncertainty is something quite different. There is no way to hedge your bet against someone walking into the casino and shooting up the roulette wheel when you are just about to win big.
It was uncertain, up to the beginning of 2020, whether there would be a worldwide pandemic in 2020. There was no way the markets could hedge against the pandemic. Likewise, markets thought they had hedged all their bets leading up to 2008. But the collapse of the financial house of cards was not something markets could hedge against. An unpredictable event brought the entire economy to a standstill that only government action could kickstart. (The fact that a few individuals saw what was coming (Michael Lewis, The Big Short) could not offset the failure of the market as a whole, with its firms that were “too big to fail.”) While it was fiscal and monetary policy that pulled the economy through in the short run, in the long run the Great Recession showed the necessity of active government regulation of financial markets.
Events for which the markets cannot plan, events which are, in prospect, uncertain or perhaps even inconceivable, can overwhelm the ability of markets to manage economic activity. Only the government, Keynes argued, can hold the economy steady by using taxation, monetary policy, and public-works projects to keep people working, to keep markets working, and to keep economic disparities within the bounds of economic and social health.
In 1789, the various states ratified the United States Constitution “in Order to… establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, … [and] promote the general Welfare.”
Keynes’ great insight, according to Carter, was to recognize the crucial economic role of government in achieving these goals.
During Keynes’ lifetime (the first half of the 20th century), the main threat to justice, tranquility and the general welfare was unemployment and poverty, unemployment and poverty that resulted from governments’ misguided efforts to lower prices (actually lower them, not just stop or control inflation) and avoid a negative balance of trade. These draconian austerity policies along with “the economic consequences of the peace” created the conditions that led to the rise of fascism in Spain, Italy and Germany. Many in Great Britain and the United States were also strongly attracted to fascism.
In the summer of 2020, the main threat in the US is the unemployment, poverty, anger and distress resulting not only from the covid pandemic but also from 40 years of neoliberal (i.e., “free market”) policies causing job losses, housing losses, and growing economic inequality. Between 1970 and 2019, household income in the lowest quintile fell from 4.1% of total household income to 3.1%. Household income for the lowest 3/5 (bottom 3 quintiles) fell from 32% to 25% of total household income.
Between 1983 and 2016, median household wealth for the lowest quintile fell from $0 to negative $1099. A large share of national wealth moved dramatically to high-income households. The share of lower income households fell from 7% to 4%. The share of middle income households fell from 32% to 17% while the share of high-income households rose from 60% to 79%.
In the last third of his book, Carter argues that, in the 70 years since Keynes’ death, public policy, following “Keynesian” economists on both the left and the right, missed the most important thrust of Keynes’ work. The field of economics was influenced strongly by Paul Samuelson’s neoclassical fusion of Keynesian elements with classical market theory, and later by Milton Friedman’s attacks on government involvement in the economy and his unlimited faith in the ability of free markets to solve all of humankind’s problems. The resulting neoliberalism (so called because it harkened back to the 19th century liberals’ advocacy of laissez-faire) was practiced by both Democratic and Republican administrations. (Cf. Bill Clinton’s abolishment of the Glass-Steagall law, his “welfare reform,” and his support of NAFTA; also Obama’s failure to rescue homeowners after the 2008-09 collapse in his drive to cut the deficit).
Keynes’ study of history taught him that markets, money, and financial institutions do not spring automatically into existence as people truck, barter, and trade. Rather, they are creations of governments, and government is necessary to maintain them.
Though Carter’s book was completed and published before the pandemic, it would seem from what he tells us about Keynes’ insights, that not only do we need a unified, national plan for fighting the pandemic, but we also need the government to take appropriate action to maintain the economy as well as possible and to restore it when the time comes.
As we see financial markets struggling to anticipate what’s going to happen, as we see a giant share of the economy shut down and unemployment rising exponentially, it’s clear that the bulk of the economy could not have hedged against the pandemic. But the pandemic is also revealing that the health care system cannot hedge against a pandemic. The health care system cannot supply the beds and supplies (PPE, ventilators, medicines) that would be needed only in an unpredictable emergency. The health care system cannot supply the research and epidemiological information necessary to cope with a pandemic. The health care system cannot create a nation-wide Playbook for dealing with a pandemic. The health care system cannot coordinate nation-wide supply-chain problems.
Carter’s and Keynes’ hope would be that the government can respond to the pandemic and the harm done by 40 years of neoliberal deregulation and income redistribution to the rich in a manner which is more just and equitable than its response to the Great Recession of 2008-2009.
Read the book for the details of the arguments I have presented here and the many other themes, including Keynes’ personal life, that Carter explores. | http://www.ericbeversluis.com/zachary-carter-the-price-of-peace-money-democracy-and-the-life-of-john-maynard-keynes/?shared=email&msg=fail |
Drum CirclesDrum Circles actively involve children in the collaborative process of group rhythm creation. Using a variety of drums and percussion instruments, children can engage in a community drum circle with the aim of having lots of fun while simultaneously learning about music, rhythm and world cultures.
Group drumming also inspires self-confidence, creativity and self-discipline. Drum Circles give children the opportunity to express themselves in a creative non-verbal way.
During participation children can indeed learn how to play various percussion instruments, however it is not necessarily about learning to play the drums – it is about creating community - building unity. | https://www.mtsd.k12.nj.us/Page/5518 |
Based on the facilitation techniques of Arthur Hull, this video is a complete introduction and guide to the concepts of facilitating successful community rhythm-based events.
Learn how to facilitate extraordinary drum circles for groups ranging from children to corporate executives.
Explore a series of fascinating rhythmic technologies and techniques for building bridges and enhancing personal connections in a host of settings.
This video utilizes information from the book, Drum Circle Spirit: Facilitating Human Potential Through Rhythm, and the VMC Facilitator Playshop training programs. It was shot at the 6th annual Village Music Circles week-long Hawaii Facilitators’ Playshop. It includes 120 playshop participants who came to Hawaii from eleven different countries. Although the video is designed for the beginning beginner facilitator, there is plenty of intermediate and advanced information included.
– Remo D. Belli, founder & CEO, REMO, Inc. | https://villagemusiccircles.com/product/drum-circle-facilitation-video/?full-site=true |
What's inside?
How is a drum circle like working in an organization?
Recommendation
Most people associate drum circles with the counterculture and rarely think of them in relation to how their corporations function. However, drum circles can build emotional and energetic connections among people, says drummer and organizational change expert Jim Boneau. The energy of the drum circle can provide a powerful transformational metaphor for organizational change. All of that happens in the “rumble,” a time of chaos and change.
Summary
About the Author
Jim Boneau leads drum circles and facilitates organizational change. | https://www.getabstract.com/en/summary/the-rumble-zone/40114 |
No experience necessary. Drums to share. Bring your friends!
Drum circles have been used since ancient times, all over the world, to create and maintain physical, mental and spiritual health.
Current research is now verifying the therapeutic effects of ancient rhythm techniques. Recent research reviews indicate that drumming accelerates physical healing, boosts the immune system and produces feelings of well-being, a release of emotional trauma, and reintegration of self.
Read more...http://healing.about.com/od/drums/a/drumtherapy.htm
Hope to see you there!! There is no set fee for this gathering, though we suggest a $10 donation if possible. :) If you can't, then give what you can. If you can give more, then give more for those who can't! Thank you for helping support this community space! ? children are welcome, free of charge! | http://thingstodo.dayton.com/event/drum-circlejanuary-13-2017584ed1b702a4e?s=1 |
As a Certified Center for Successful Aging, Acacia Creek promotes a lifestyle of growth, social connections, purpose, and resilience. One unique aspect of our community is our engaged residents who introduce their passions to each other through new campus programs and events.
Resident Joan Wong introduced her passion of Taiko drumming to Acacia Creek in 2013 when she arranged a performance of her drumming group. Taiko drums originated in Japan, where they were used to ward away evil spirits and pest, mimic thunder during drought periods, and express thanks for bountiful harvests.
The drummers were so popular that they have returned every year since, delighting staff members and residents alike. At the end of each performance, the audience has a chance to participate. It is exhilarating to beat the big drums in rhythm with the group! The booming drums can be heard all over campus.
Joan says that drumming has been good for her physical and mental health. It has helped improve her timing, rhythm, and balance. “You have to memorize everything, so it’s great exercise for the brain,” she explains. The performances leave her feeling exuberant!
The drumming group’s camaraderie, with members of all ages, is also important to Joan. “We are like a family,” she says. As she is the oldest drummer in the group, she sees herself as the matriarch. Playing Taiko drums brings a sense of oneness, harmony, and interdependence, not only with the drum but also with fellow drummers. Joan says, “Beating the drum is like the heartbeat of the mother.”
If you’re interested in participating in a new on-campus activity, there are lots of ways to share your talents. Check out this month’s calendar. | https://acaciacreek.org/2018/05/taiko-drumming-body-mind-and-spirit/ |
The beat of the drum resonates with the human heartbeat. The pounding sound of a drum can help us to take notice of our own heartbeat. It is our heartbeats that keep us alive and vital. A low, steady beat can create calmness whereas a stronger upbeat can stir us into action or frenzy.
Are your emotions bottled up and ready to explode?
Do you feel unsupported in life?
Have you wanted to help people but don’t know how?
Looking for a sense of purpose?
If you participated in the Drum Building Workshop or Shamanic Journey Workshop, this is a perfect way to tie it all together.
Drumming circles serve many purposes.
Can be a powerful way to deepen in the knowledge and practice of shamanism.
Healing for individuals and for the community.
A drum circle provides an opportunity to connect with your own spirit at a deeper level, and also to connect with a group of other like-minded people. Group drumming alleviates self-centeredness, isolation, and alienation.
Using the sound energy of the drum to disrupt and reconfigure the energy of the parts of your life that are misaligned, shifts this energy to help you create what you want in your life, allowing the things that no longer serve you fall away — effortlessly and delightfully.
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Listen in as Michael shares about the voice of the drum. | http://drumbeatoflife.net/drum-circle/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=drum-circle |
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