url
stringlengths 15
1.48k
| date
timestamp[s] | file_path
stringlengths 125
155
| language_score
float64 0.65
1
| token_count
int64 75
32.8k
| dump
stringclasses 96
values | global_id
stringlengths 41
46
| lang
stringclasses 1
value | text
stringlengths 295
153k
| domain
stringclasses 67
values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
https://sahrngegba.org/women-in-tech-highlighting-powerful-influences/ | 2023-12-05T02:10:50 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100540.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20231205010358-20231205040358-00510.warc.gz | 0.92813 | 625 | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-50__0__101484016 | en | In a world increasingly steered by technology, the individuals behind these advancements shape our future. Among these influential figures, many women are breaking barriers, redefining norms, and leading the way in the tech industry. Their presence challenges the historically male-dominated realm and brings diverse perspectives that drive innovation and progress.
For the longest time, the tech industry mirrored the broader societal structures, sidelining women to peripheral roles. Historically, despite women like Ada Lovelace’s pioneering in computing, their contributions were often overshadowed. However, the latter half of the 20th century and the dawn of the 21st saw a gradual yet notable shift. Organizations began to recognize the value of diversity, and women started climbing corporate ladders and founding successful startups. Despite the progress, challenges like the gender pay gap, representation in leadership roles, and implicit biases persist. Against this backdrop, understanding the impact of women in tech becomes even more significant.
Women have been pivotal from the foundational algorithms of computer programming to the frontiers of AI. Ada Lovelace, often hailed as the first computer programmer, envisioned the broader applications of computers beyond mere calculations. Grace Hopper, a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, contributed to the development of COBOL, one of the first high-level programming languages. Today, tech entrepreneurs like Rana el Kaliouby push the boundaries of emotional AI, reshaping how humans and computers interact. These innovators have shaped technology and set precedents for future generations through their breakthroughs.
Advocates for Inclusion
Beyond their technical contributions, many women in tech have become powerful advocates for diversity and inclusion. Figures like Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code, are championing the cause of closing the gender gap in technology. Their initiatives aim to create more inclusive environments, challenge stereotypes, and provide younger generations with role models. Organizations led by such figures emphasize mentorship, empowerment, and opportunities for underrepresented groups. Their advocacy goes beyond speeches and enters boardrooms, coding classrooms, and recruitment processes, aiming for tangible change.
Industry Leaders and Entrepreneurs
The tech industry is also witnessing a surge of women entrepreneurs and leaders. Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, emphasizes the importance of women ‘leaning in’ and assuming leadership roles. Entrepreneurs like Whitney Wolfe Herd, the CEO of Bumble, have not only founded tech giants but also redefined markets. Their leadership styles, vision, and determination challenge the status quo. Moreover, their presence at the helm of significant companies paves the way for inclusive corporate cultures, ensuring that tomorrow’s tech industry is more equitable.
The narrative of women in tech is one of resilience, innovation, and transformation. Their multifaceted roles as innovators, advocates, leaders, and mentors have significantly impacted the technological trajectory. Celebrating their achievements is not just about recognizing past accomplishments but is also a call to action. It is a reminder to dismantle barriers, foster inclusive environments, and ensure that the following chapters in tech history are written with equal representation. | sociology |
http://finngravesart.com/arttherapy/thrivearttherapyworkshop | 2018-01-24T11:06:27 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084894125.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20180124105939-20180124125939-00021.warc.gz | 0.973903 | 874 | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2018-05__0__188530743 | en | Thrive Art Therapy Workshops were an experimental, test run of teaching art as therapy to members of the community. Our goals were to create a space for community engagement together, to support one another during the process, to learn how to use art as self-care in order to heal oneself, and to practice trust and collaboration together as a community. My personal goals for the workshop were to: engage as a facilitator during the learning process, create a flexible curriculum based on changing needs, teach my participants four self-care based productive creative habits, and expose them to a variety of options, mediums and art exercises.
Providing options for self care to people who suffer a higher rate of exhaustion through their daily career practice was our first collective goal. In order to do this, it required weekly commitment from the participants, both to show up for the workshop and to engage in the exercises on their own time. The entire first month of the project was based in laying the foundation for being able to use art practice as healing and self care, while the next five months were based in experimental techniques, methods, mediums and artistic options for self expression. Six out of six participants, six months later, are still using their sketchbooks two to three times a month. Five out of six participants are journaling three to four times a week. Six out of six participants are painting biweekly, or when they need therapeutic support.
Engaging in habitual artistic and creative practices for the participants was our second goal. The four foundational methods were: draw, write, paint, and move everyday. Each component was structured to take up fifteen minutes of the participants day, resulting in an hour a day of creative, connected and habitual artistic practice. Our goals were for the community members to repeat this routine three times a week, as busy schedules allowed. 5 out of 6 participants completed the routine five times a week of their own accord. Five out of six participants are using these methods weekly to continue to grow their artistic skill set. Six out of six participants show a marked increase in their object rendering skills, their color theory knowledge, and their overall artistic skill and growth has increased.
Engaged community support through interaction between members, facilitators, practice, and space. During the duration of the six-month project, dialogue and support among members were encouraged both during the three-hour weekly workshops and outside of the community space. Each participant had a different response to the project outcome. All participants agreed that they felt supported by one another during the project. Participants continue to interact on a bi-weekly basis with one another by their own outreach. Facilitator continues to interact with individual participants on a bi-weekly basis as well. Participants have requested a return to Thrive Art Therapy Workshops on a monthly basis this winter. Each participant has also brought forward one to three community members to add to the collective should we return. The created network of emotional support, connection and interaction hav continued to offer support to community members.
Together we created space for one another. We worked as a team, participants and facilitator in order to engage artistically and emotionally as a community. The students reached out to one another, both to collaborate and to offer emotional connections. Those emotional links and network have continued beyond the duration of the project. Each participant has used different versions of continued art as therapy in their own self care routines post project. There have been no breaches of trust or fallouts. Participants have passed on their knowledge, suggestions, creative learning and artistic techniques to their partners and other community members post project. There is a request in for a return to the project for the winter of 2018. I posit that Thrive Art Therapy workshops achieved it’s three goals of creating space for community engagement, teaching community members how to use art for self care and healing, and practicing trusting one another for creative collaborations.
For myself as facilitator, I met my goals of teaching engagement during the workshop process, connecting the participants to the four core productive exercises of write, draw, paint and move and I exposed them to a large expanse of mediums, substrates, disciplines and techniques regarding artistic skills. I saw a marked improvement in their artist skills, their abilities to communicate complex emotions, and their willingness to experiment, play and use art to heal themselves. | sociology |
https://www.thepurposeagents.com/post/connecting-business-purpose-with-employee-values-part-four | 2024-02-24T01:39:39 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474482.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20240224012912-20240224042912-00421.warc.gz | 0.948182 | 459 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__209102345 | en | Purpose-driven organisations operate at the intersection of planet, people and profit, where creating value for the planet, value for people and value for the company’s profits are inextricably linked. Employees are key to satisfying ‘value for people’ and aligning on purpose is a key way that companies can connect with their employees’ values.
Employees feel a stronger connection to a company if they align with its purpose.
Employees with a strong sense of alignment between their values and their employer’s purpose are more loyal, motivated and resilient to organisational changes. These strengths are reflected in the significant productivity gains observed by a 2020 Deloitte report, with purpose driven companies experiencing productivity gains translating into 30% higher levels of innovation.
There is a groundswell for more considered values-alignment among employees too. The Washington Post reported this June that corporations are reexamining their purpose in response to the concerns of their employees about workplace culture – particularly those concerns voiced publicly through news and social media.
Consumers are equally switched-on. Accenture Digital’s 14th annual Global Consumer Pulse Research found that 65% of consumers were attracted to buy from certain brands over others if ‘the company treats its employees well’. Now that employees find themselves working in new and often difficult circumstances, consumers are increasingly critical of businesses’ treatment of employees during the coronavirus pandemic. One poll saw 76% of respondents declare ‘how it treated employees, customers and the community during the pandemic’ to be an important factor when determining whether to support the brand after the pandemic.
‘Culture is the container in which purpose comes alive.’ Purpose cannot connect with consumers or impact the business bottom line without the genuine investment of employees. Businesses that show an authentic alignment between the values of their employees and their purpose are best positioned to benefit from the transformational power of purpose.
This is part four of a five-part series on the importance of purpose in a post-COVID environment. Read part one on purpose as retail’s major industry disruption, part two on defining purpose, part three on environmental sustainability. Part five will examine the impact of purpose on profitability. | sociology |
http://www.stagesofgrief.co.uk/5-stages-grief/ | 2021-10-18T00:43:39 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585186.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20211018000838-20211018030838-00326.warc.gz | 0.971525 | 1,142 | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-43__0__79888759 | en | The 5 stages were first proposed over 40 years ago as the Elisabeth Kubler Ross model in her book “On Death and Dying.” Published in 1969 and now widely used as the main framework when talking about the stages of grief being; Denial, Anger, Bargaining, depression and acceptance.
The Kubler Ross stages of grief since published has been widely followed and embedded in the way think and discuss the experiences of someone dealing with grief, however this has also been widely criticised with the lack of scientific evidence backing this up.
Despite this the 5 stages of grief model is used as gauge of measurement and the linear way in which the stages are experienced so below is a brief introduction of each of the stages of grief to allow you to take from it a basic understanding of the framework which was proposed.
This is the first part of coping with the overwhelming emotion experienced with the loss of a loved one with the shock bringing the temporary denial of the full reality of the situation being faced.
Everything becomes numb and meaningless but acts as a protective barrier allowing us to deal with the situation in the short term allowing the day to day survival possible with our feelings being kept away as a defence mechanism keeping us as safe as possible from the initial shock allowing us to deal with only what we are able to handle unknown to us acting as the very first stage of the healing process.
Once the first protective defence mechanism of the denial stage begins to come to an end and the feelings that were being blocked out begin to come to the surface and the reality begins to emerge. The intense emotion we are not ready for most often becomes redirected as anger and with no limits can be directed at anything from inanimate objects to family, friends and love ones.
A very natural response to loss, anger can also be aimed towards a recently lossed love one as feeling abandoned and deserted. Left on our own to face the world, turned inwards our anger can become a form of guilt on ourselves for not being there or doing something we think might have somehow made a difference.
However anger is expressed it is a way of making a connection and creating an anchor to replace the emptiness and nothingness that is grief and whilst anger becomes something we can identify and label as a genuine feeling to try and make sense of everything whilst also forming part of the healing process.
When it comes to bargaining it can form a feeling of guilt and wishing you could go back and do or say things differently that might have changed things and bring the lost love one back and where you start focusing on “what if…” or “if only…” and this can be a stage of grief that starts before the loss occurs or after.
Bargaining can be a case of just wanting things to be back how they were and how they used to be and a way to not face the feelings, the emotions and the pain of the present keeping focused on the past trying to block out what is happening right now as another defence mechanism for personal protection and survival.
Entering a deeper level after bargaining we start to focus more on the present, the intense empty feelings and feeling of sadness take over and life becomes a burden for even the simple day to day things and the withdrawal from life itself and the wondering “what is the point?” when it comes to most things in life makes the depression stage an experience than can last for some time.
Depression after a loss is sometimes seen as an unnatural response unlike a clinical depression as a mental illness, but this is not a mental illness we are dealing with this is a grieving response and the mourning of a loved one and regarding as a necessary step to dealing with the depressing situation in itself of losing a love one and another part of the healing process.
Acceptance ultimately follows depression in a lot of cases and is very often regarding as the “cured” phase and that everything is now all right with everything that has happened and the loss of a loved one.
The loss will always be with us and everything being all right is not what the acceptance phase is at all, it is about accepting the reality of our life in the world we now live in without our loved one and how things will now be in the future and how we can determine how our lives from now on will be and learn to live with it.
What comes with acceptance is not trying to see things how they used to be and try to maintain it but to see life as it is now and focus on re-adjusting. Some days might be more difficult than others but overtime we can accept that even though we can never replace our love one, our loss we can move on and make new connections and create new experiences and invest time in our lives improving our friendships and relationships but only after we have given ourselves and grief time to run its course.
What is clear is that everyone experiences things differently as we are all individual, even Elisabeth Kubler Ross at one stage spoke about the 5 stages of grief as just a “common” experience people went through from her observations and not something that is required or a universal experience everyone goes through. Individuals experiencing the grief and loss of a loved one might experience all of some of the stages of grief and at the same time, not linear and simply different stages at different times and also each stage lasting different lengths.
Fully knowing that our stages of grief and loss are totally individual and personal experiences and navigating the grief cycle whatever that might be is not something individuals going through the stages of grief have to do alone and it is not an unnatural experience, but a totally natural process of healing. | sociology |
https://rhubarbfool.livejournal.com/ | 2021-08-04T16:04:46 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046154878.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20210804142918-20210804172918-00299.warc.gz | 0.97198 | 468 | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-31__0__166838898 | en | Instead of asking will I be better off leaving or remaining in the EU you can ask yourself another question. I’m going to vote to remain, how much guaranteed would convince me to vote leave £100 a year, £1000, £10,000? I’m going to vote to leave, how much guaranteed would convince me to vote to remain £100 a year, £1000, £10,000? In both cases it’s probably a lot, or at least a lot more than the numbers promoted in all the articles and videos floundering around the internet.
A similar argument can be made for other questions. Not democratic enough, how democratic would it have to be?
Too long to arrange new trade deals, how quick would it have to be, what if they were already in place?
Too many immigrants, what's the maximum number you'd be happy with?
The big question for June 23rd isn’t about money, how Europe is run, how we trade with Europe or about migration, it’s about identity. It’s about how we feel about Europe. Do you feel connected somehow to those other people who live across the water (or for some people across the border) , in spite of speaking different languages, eating different foods or listening to different music, or do you fear them because of those self same reasons?
So on June 23rd I'll be voting to remain because I do feel connected to the rest of Europe. This doesn’t mean I disagree with the economic or political arguments for remaining, because generally I do but I know quoting these at people who are vehemently in the leave camp won’t change their minds and generally those arguments aren’t why I’m voting to remain.
I'm lucky enough to have visited a number of different European countries, met different European people and experienced their different cultures. Many people in the UK may not have had this opportunity and as such may be more inclined to vote to leave as their exposure to Europe is different to mine.
The important thing about this referendum is that you must vote but do not vote out of fear or hate, do not vote because of greed, do not vote because of the situation now but vote for the future that inspires you. | sociology |
https://www.examsplanner.in/free-education-for-transgenders-in-ignou/ | 2021-10-25T06:57:22 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323587655.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20211025061300-20211025091300-00631.warc.gz | 0.971683 | 269 | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-43__0__268295695 | en | IGNOU introduced free education for transgenders with an aim to provide educational opportunities and thus create better livings.
24 July, 2017: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has enrolled 661 transgender students in various courses after the ‘Others’ category was introduced in the admission form in the year 2012. Bachelor Preparatory Programme (BPP) designed for those who haven’t completed their class 12 is receiving the highest number of applications.
IGNOU has now announced free education for transgenders from this year and has received 100 applications till now. This initiative was announced earlier this month during the 22nd Prof G Ram Reddy Lecture by the Vice Chancellor Ravindra Kumar.
As per reports from India Today Education, Dr Ekta Sharma, Assistant Regional Director, IGNOU RC Delhi III said; "Transgenders live a secluded life as they are not accepted by their families, in particular and society in general. They spend their life in their own small community, struggling for their existence throughout life. Giving them educational opportunities will support them in earning their lively hood in a respectable manner and also for their social mobility,"
The free education initiative was taken for more than 40000 transgenders in the state who don’t have necessary qualification and thus loose on good jobs. | sociology |
https://hangingsteel.com/portfolio/rscale/ | 2020-04-05T18:37:13 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371609067.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20200405181743-20200405212243-00351.warc.gz | 0.953896 | 106 | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2020-16__0__57636194 | en | Domestic security organizations must prioritize, focusing more on some risks and less on others. But most such organizations have difficulty comparing the magnitude of various risks. Are we more at risk from everyday street robberies? Or are we more at risk from a terrorist bombing on the subway? Or perhaps from a peaceful protest that turns violent?
Rscale uses an open book model to compare risks in a stakeholder workshop. Workshop participants discuss the intensity and the consequences of the risk, and reach consensus on the relative magnitude of the risks they face. | sociology |
https://tncpnews.com/most-interesting-and-influencial-2006-clyde-hanna/ | 2024-02-26T08:14:32 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474653.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20240226062606-20240226092606-00236.warc.gz | 0.943513 | 576 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__5143931 | en | Manager of Group Sales, Cultural Diversity & Community Outreach
Wharton Center for Performing Arts, Michigan State University
As Manager of Group Sales, Cultural Diversity & Community Outreach for Wharton Center for Performing Arts, Mr. Hanna is responsible for a myriad of programs at Michigan’s largest performing arts center.
As group sales manager, he serves as a liaison to corporations, community organizations, tour companies, and others, with 20 or more individuals wishing to attend a Wharton Center attraction(s). Groups receive priority seating, special services and discounts to most shows. “Group purchases are an important piece of Wharton Center’s sales strategy,” says Hanna. “Developing relationships throughout the community is crucial to our long-term success as a performing arts center.”
As manager of cultural diversity and community outreach, Mr. Hanna is responsible for personally inviting groups of all interests and cultures to enjoy the culturally-diverse programming at Wharton Center. In recent years, Wharton Center has focused much of its energy on diversifying its programming in order to appeal to a wider, more diverse audience. “One of our goals is to ensure that our audience reflects the diversity we see throughout our community and on our stages,” says Hanna. “Developing meaningful relationships with individuals who have not otherwise seen Wharton Center as an option for cultural entertainment takes patience and persistence, but it’s vital to our mission.”
Another important part of community outreach is developing partnerships with community organizations such as Cristo Rey Community Center and Black Child & Family Institute. “Earlier this season we had a wildly successful community meet and greet in conjunction with Ballet Folklorico de Vera Cruz,” says Hanna. “We hosted a reception with the artists and over 100 community members on-site at Cristo Rey.” Mr. Hanna and other members of the Wharton Center staff are currently dialoguing with the Black Child & Family Institute about additional engagement opportunities.
Mr. Hanna also serves as staff liaison to Wharton Center’s community advisory groups (African-American, Hispanic). These advisory groups help shape the direction of Wharton Center’s programming and marketing efforts to reach underserved communities. “Developing unique programs and strategies to appeal to diverse communities takes time,” says Hanna. “But we’re committed to enhancing our role as a meaningful cultural asset for the entire community and the state of Michigan.”
Mr. Hanna has been a resident of the Lansing area for 30 years and is a single father of (4) children David, Candice, Kristina, and John Jacob. The performing arts have always been important to the Hanna clan. Kristina is now a freshman studying dance at Julliard in New York City. | sociology |
https://www.d3-westsiderevive.com/subarea-4 | 2019-10-15T12:30:07 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986658566.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20191015104838-20191015132338-00010.warc.gz | 0.936484 | 287 | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2019-43__0__116697662 | en | Subarea 4 Workshop Summary
June 26, 2017
Grace Midtown Church
On Monday evening, June 26th, Council member Ivory Young and the City of Atlanta Department of City Planning welcomed the public to a “subarea workshop” for the D3: Westside Revive project. Due to the range and diversity within District 3’s many neighborhoods, the planning team divided the district into 9 geographic “subareas,” so that residents can focus on the issues and opportunities specific to their community.
For this event, neighbors and stakeholders gathered at Grace Midtown Church to participate in a workshop designed specifically for Subarea 4, which includes Home Park.
Councilmember Young welcomed attendees via a pre-recorded video message. “We do face a lot of challenges,” he said, referring to development pressures in this rapidly-changing area. “And we don’t have a prayer without your input in this plan.” Councilmember Young’s Chief of Staff, Mi-Lan Henderson, along with Project Manager Shayla Reed from the Office of City Planning, welcomed attendees and thanked them for their participation.
Lead consultant Contente Terry then reviewed the planning process, timeline, and introduced the team for D3: Westside Revive. She explained the purpose of the workshop and how participants would be able to give feedback at the activity stations. | sociology |
https://www.chandlersfuneral.com/obituaries/frayle-nancy-gail | 2024-04-21T21:34:05 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-18/segments/1712296817819.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20240421194551-20240421224551-00875.warc.gz | 0.977691 | 343 | CC-MAIN-2024-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-18__0__105231745 | en | It is with deep sadness that the family of Nancy Frayle of Westfield, Queens County announces her passing on Feb. 3, 2022 at the age of 75.
Nancy was born and raised in Ontario and there she met the love of her life, Arthur. They moved to Nova Scotia with a two year old son Donald. Three years later they had moved to Westfield and their daughter, Sheila was born.
Nancy embraced the community and when her sister Lin also moved from Ontario, they opened a restaurant in Caledonia. Nancy later moved her business to Westfield and opened Kelly’s Convenience store with Arthur and over the years enjoyed watching the youth of the community grow. She became a dedicated member of the Westfield Community Hall. She was an avid baker and supported many charitable organizations in the community. Nancy loved animals; never without a pet in her home and in her later years especially enjoyed feeding and watching birds.
Nancy was predeceased by husband Arthur, her parents Gordon and Evelyn Latimer, infant son Kevin and grandsons Jordan and Patrick.
Left to mourn Nancy are son Donald, daughter Sheila (Kris), brothers Gord (Melody), Michael (Sharon), Ted, and sister Linda as well as a large circle of extended family and friends.
Cremation has taken place. A committal service will take place Saturday, July 16th, 2022 at 1:30 p.m. in Hillcrest Cemetery, Westfield. A celebration of life to follow at Westfield Community Hall, Westfield, N.S. Commemorative donations may be made to your local animal shelter or a charity of choice. | sociology |
https://elanacoles.com/2016/04/02/book-review-the-natural-way-of-things/ | 2021-04-20T04:23:18 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618039375537.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20210420025739-20210420055739-00006.warc.gz | 0.981128 | 2,205 | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-17__0__38440413 | en | Title: The Natural Way of Things
Author: Charlotte Wood:
Genre: Dystopian / Feminism
At first I lay comfortably back on my pillows, casually flicking through the pages. As I continued to read I felt my frown-lines deepening as my brain hummed and my stomach churned. Eventually, I ended up sprawled at the end of my bed on my tummy, chewing on my lower lip and flipping pages incessantly. Once I had read the last line, and re-read it a couple of times, I plopped the book down on my blue bedspread and rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling-fan in frustration. Charlotte Wood, did you really have to do that to me?!
I read three quarters of this book in one day; it was captivating. It’s been a few days now since I finished reading it, and I still have a knot in my stomach. And I’ll tell you why. The Natural Way of Things is a book that is both enlightening and disturbing. What makes it so disturbing is the fact that it all just hits so close to home.
We live in a society where sexual harassment and assault are fairly common. A lot of this goes unreported and often the victim is blamed for something that is not their fault. Victim blaming is awful, yet it occurs amongst the friends and family of victims, as well as within the police force and within a political framework as well. Victims of rape are often asked, ‘what were you wearing?’, ‘how short was your skirt?’, ‘could you have done anything to prevent this situation?’ It is absolutely absurd; the only person who should be blamed for an assault is the person who chose to commit the assault.
Charlotte Wood has taken the idea of victim blaming on-board and reworked it into a chilling story… but the real power comes from the fact that this fictional novel is not too far-removed from the truth.
Verla Learmont and Yolanda Kovacs wake up, groggy from drugs and finding themselves imprisoned. Their heads are shaved and they are forced into Amish-like clothing, their vision restricted by large bonnets and their feet destroyed in heavy footwear. With eight other girls, they are leashed to their captors and forced to march under the sun, forced into hard-labour, and forced to sleep, chained, in dog-houses.
Why are they here? What could they have possibly done to deserve this? When Verla demands to know where she is, her male captor responds,
‘Oh, sweetie. You need to know what you are.’
Soon it is obvious that the girls all have one connection; they have all been involved in high-profile sexual scandals. And this seems to be the reason why they are being held captive.
‘In the days to come she will learn what she is, what they all are. That they are the minister’s-little-travel-tramp and that Skype-slut and the yuck-ugly-dog from the cruise ship; they are the pigs-on-a-spit and big-red-box, moll-number-twelve and bogan-gold-digger-gangbang-slut. They are what happens when you don’t keep your f*king fat slag’s mouth shut.’
The girls are victims of rape, they are mistresses, they are beautiful, they are the girls who experimented a ‘little too much’ in the eyes of society. They recognise each other from the television and from the news reports; they are the girls who have been brave enough to speak out. They are the victims who have been shunned from society, swept under the mat, for causing too much trouble. These women, whose sexuality has become an inconvenience for powerful men, have been removed from society.
Charlotte has absorbed and scrutinised rape culture, she has breathed in coverage of sexual assaults and the onslaught of victim-blaming, and she has exhaled her anger onto the page in this dystopian tale. This book, although the writing is carefully crafted and beautiful, is not easy-reading. I felt sick a lot of the time while reading this. Perhaps it was the themes, the metaphors, the descriptions of the inhumane ways humans can treat each other, the constant fear for the girls, or maybe just the calm anger that flowed like poison through every sentence. It was spine-chilling.
The novel contains and expresses layers upon layers of misogyny and the effects this has on all of us. It is revealed that some of the women are every bit as sexist and masculinist as the men. Some of them perpetuate sexism as much as their captors do. Even the two male guards, Boncer and Teddy, aren’t safe from the effects of misogyny. They too, find themselves trapped within the prison – with no power, diminishing food supplies, and no way out.
One thing I wished for in the novel was a little more info about the male characters. It would have been interesting to see how the men in this novel became so enveloped in misogyny.
The men treat their prisoners with unreasonable, unexplained cruelty – desperately attempting to maintain their control. But now, the women’s survival instincts begin to kick in and the power dynamics change… things get really interesting.
The Natural Way of Things is told from the perspective of Verla and Yolanda who both perceive themselves to be ‘better’ than the other women. Verla is an educated woman, career focussed and savvy, but unfortunately swept up in a love-affair with the politician she worked under – the same politician who organised to have her removed from society once the news of their affair became public. Yolanda is downright gorgeous; she is the sexy girlfriend of the footballer who gang-raped her with his football buddies, the same boyfriend orchestrates her disappearance, her continued humiliation and pain.
The women all react differently to their situation. Some of the girls use tweezers to pluck their eyebrows, their arm hair, their leg hair, their pubes – desperately trying to maintain their ‘femininity’. Some of them believe they are in a game show,
‘Like The Bachelor, but more edgy’.
Of all the women, Yolanda undergoes the most radical transformation. As a beautiful woman, her life has constantly been plagued with sexual harassment – she is is used to being cat-called, to being stared at, to being touched by strangers. She is targeted by one of the guards, and feels his constant gaze and knows it is only a matter of time before he attacks her. Yolanda decides that she needs to shed her old self, the only way to protect herself is to cast off her femininity. She becomes one with the land, embracing an animalistic nature, an animalistic freedom. Can women take on traditionally male hunter-gatherer roles? Yolanda does. Instead of being the hunted creature, Yolanda becomes the hunter.
Verla, on the other hand, has a dream of a white horse. She believes that the horse is real, and she insists that it is coming to rescue her. This metaphor runs throughout the story. I believe it represents her belief that because she is loved by the men in her life, because she is ‘important’, she will be rescued by a ‘knight in shining armour’. I think this idea is really important, because it is what all girls are taught from an early age; your prince will rescue you, he will protect you and he will provide for you. In reality, Verla’s ‘prince’ never really loved her, and he has condemned her to this fate. Through recollecting poetry read to her by her lover, she begins to understand that she meant nothing to him.
‘You can do nothing and be nothing but what I will infold you’.
She realises that only she can save herself. Once she realises that he is not coming for her, she changes. Her worldview shifts and she realises the outside world is not the fairytale she always believed in.
As the women in the story strengthen, gaining courage and working together, they wonder what people in the ‘outside world’ would think of them now. Following this is my favourite segment of the book.
‘Would it be said they were abandoned or taken, the way people said a girl was attacked, a woman was raped, this femaleness always at the centre, as if womanhood itself were the cause of such things? As if the girls somehow, through the natural way of things, did it to themselves. They lured abduction and abandonment to themselves, they marshalled themselves into this prison where they had made their beds, and now, once more, were lying in them.’
This little paragraph sums everything up. It sums up the victim blaming, the shaming, the epidemic of sexual assault and harassment. It sums up the fact that womanhood is always at the centre of these things, and begs the question: why? Why do we so often blame women for what others choose to do to them? This book is provocative for a reason. This book is designed to make you feel uneasy, to make you feel sick to your stomach.
For me, when I read this, the worst part was the fact that it’s not implausible. In the past, women who have had babies out of wedlock were sent away from friends and family. Even now, in some countries, women are punished for being raped by being stoned to death. So then, if powerful men such as politicians had the opportunity to hide away those who threatened their social standing, what would they do? Yes, it’s an extreme example, and yes, it’s frightening. That’s the point; rape culture, victim blaming… they are frightening things. But they are happening. And they need to be discussed and scrutinised. Our society needs to reflect on itself, on its values. We need to stop shaming women (and men!) who are violated by someone else. Rape is never the victims fault.
I have never read something quite like this. It made me feel vulnerable but empowered at the same time. It made me feel ferociously angry and hopeless all at once. This book is uncomfortable, but it is also a vital commentary on the stigma around sexual assault.
I will never forget this book. | sociology |
http://jimcraigsworld.blogspot.com/2009/01/2009-legislation-on-capital-punishment.html | 2017-05-22T23:25:54 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463607242.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170522230356-20170523010356-00327.warc.gz | 0.951925 | 1,099 | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2017-22__0__90314178 | en | From Mississippians Educating for Smart Justice (http://www.mesj.info/):
2009 Legislative Update: Capital Punishment
The United States Supreme Court has said that any criminal punishment, including the death penalty should reflect the “conscience of the community,” and its application should be measured against society’s “evolving standards of decency.” Events in our state in 2008 should trouble the consciences of Mississippians. In the past year, we have seen:
· the exoneration of Kennedy Brewer, an innocent man who spent 13 years on death row;
· the exoneration of Levon Brooks, another innocent man who was convicted of murder and imprisoned for 16 years;
· the execution of Earl Berry, a mentally retarded man;
· the execution of Dale Bishop, a mentally ill man who was merely present during a killing while the actual murderer received a life sentence; and
· the forced resignation of Dr. Stephen Hayne, the de facto State medical examiner whose testimony has been crucial in condemning many of the prisoners on Mississippi’s death row.
Thoughtful Mississippi must contemplate the absurdity of continuing a system that has delivered such horrific injustices. Proposals expected to be introduced in the 2009 Legislative Session address these issues.
Compensate the Innocent. More than 120 people have been freed from death row since 1973, after their innocence was vindicated by DNA analysis and other proof. Polls show that the American public is deeply concerned by the prospect of sending more innocent men and women to their deaths. Many are skeptical of such claims, but in the wake of the State’s admission that Kennedy Brewer was innocent of the charges that held him on Death Row for 13 years, we are faced with the likelihood that there are others like him in Parchman.
State Representative Willie Perkins has introduced House Bill 189 and House Bill 200. These bills would compensate people wrongly convicted of crimes. Mississippi is one of the few states without such a system; we send wrongly incarcerated people home with only an apology. To be certain, compensation will never fully redress the wrong inflicted on innocent prisoners and their families, but it will reflect a measure of repentance for that wrong. It may also serve to hold the State’s agents – whether prosecutors, law enforcement officers, or appointed defense counsel – accountable for their misconduct.
Both of Rep. Perkins’ bills have been referred to the House Corrections and Appropriations Committees. They can be followed at:
Stop the Executions of Those Who Do Not Kill. The bipartisan outcry against the unfairness of executing Dale Bishop, a mere accomplice, while the actual killer in the case was sentenced to life, proves that Mississippians do not support the arbitrary application of the death penalty. Of the over 1,100 prisoners executed in the United States Since 1976, Bishop was only the eighth person to be executed who was not either the actual killer or the payor in a murder-for-hire.
As the Clarion-Ledger reported in July 2008, neighboring States such as Louisiana or Alabama would not permit a mere accomplice to be executed. Representative John Mayo has introduced House Bill 29, which would adopt this rule in Mississippi. It has been referred to the House Judiciary En Banc Committee. It can be followed at:
Moratorium. These two proposals, of course, are merely the beginning of a moral response to capital punishment in Mississippi. Those who work with Death Row prisoners know that capital punishment does not deter crime; most persons who commit murder are seriously mentally ill, high on drugs or alcohol, or desperately impoverished. They do not undertake a “cost-benefit” analysis before killing their victim.
The death penalty is not needed to prevent repeat murders. Society is more than adequately protected by incarcerating murderers for life without parole. In that event, if later proof shows the prisoner is actually innocent, he would be alive and could be released and compensated. That is certainly not the case today. And the families of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment can continue to visit their loved ones; when a prisoner is executed, his or her family suffers as well.
If deterrence and the protection of society are insufficient to justify the death penalty, why keep it? Some argue that the families of victims deserve retribution. This is doubtful both factually and morally. Although the cost per execution varies from state to state, the fact that prosecuting, appealing and inevitably executing those sentenced to death costs much more per case than that of those given a life without parole sentence is indisputable. With 64 death row prisoners in our state, can we afford to continue such a costly and fallible practice?
Spending that same money on assisting the families of murder victims, such as college funds established for minor children of murder victims, low interest mortgage loans, retribution payments, would be a far more Christian response than fostering revenge.
The fact is that more study of these issues is desperately needed. Representative Mayo has sponsored House Bill 145, imposing a moratorium on executions pending such a study. The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary En Banc Committee and can be followed at:
Conclusion. These bills should be important to Mississippians who seek to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before [their] God.” Micah 6:8. They are commended to your further study and support. | sociology |
http://anewparadigm.net/node/3 | 2023-05-31T15:31:53 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224646937.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20230531150014-20230531180014-00043.warc.gz | 0.923677 | 1,944 | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-23__0__27972417 | en | The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) catalyzes communities for a regenerative world. GEN is a growing network of regenerative communities and initiatives that bridge cultures, countries, and continents.
GEN builds bridges between policy-makers, governments, NGOs, academics, entrepreneurs, activists, community networks and ecologically-minded individuals across the globe in order to develop strategies for a global transition to resilient communities and cultures. https://ecovillage.org/global-ecovillage-network/about-gen/
GEN North America (GENNA)
GENNA stands for the North American Region of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). We focus on meeting the needs of community projects within “Turtle Island,” the name given to North America in the creation stories of some indigenous peoples. The image of a turtle in our logo is meant to honor the rich cultural heritage and ecology of Turtle Island, as we work to grow community networks towards a more beautiful, just, and regenerative world.
GENNA has created the GENNA Alliance – a collaborative platform for organizations and individuals serving the regenerative communities network within North America. https://ecovillage.org/region/genna/
The Next System Project is an ambitious multi-year initiative aimed at thinking boldly about what is required to deal with the systemic challenges the United States faces now and in coming decades. Responding to real hunger for a new way forward, and building on innovative thinking and practical experience with new economic institutions and approaches being developed in communities across the country and around the world, the goal is to put the central idea of system change, and that there can be a “next system,” on the map. http://thenextsystem.org/
The New Economy Coalition (NEC) is a network of organizations imagining and building a future where people, communities, and ecosystems thrive. Together, we are creating deep change in our economy and politics—placing power in the hands of people and uprooting legacies of harm—so that a fundamentally new system can take root. http://neweconomy.net
The United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives is the national grassroots membership organization for worker cooperatives and other democratic workplaces. https://usworker.coop/home/
Union Cooperative Council
The UnionCo-ops Council of the US Federation of Worker Co-ops has a vision of a worker-driven, cooperative economy with workplace and economic democracy for all. We’re working to build bridges between worker cooperatives and organized labor. The Council is an all-volunteer, virtual organization that has been operating since 2007. Participants from across the U.S. and occasionally Canada include labor activists, worker cooperators, technical assistance and funding representatives, and academicians. Associates meet monthly by conference call, plan union co-op workshops at various labor and co-op conferences around the country, share information about and resources with local projects, and arrange for participants to engage in media exchanges, among other activities. New associates are welcome! Contact us at [email protected] if you’re interested in getting notice of our monthly conference calls or in developing a workshop on unions and co-ops in your local area. https://unioncoops.wordpress.com/
The Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting cooperative culture.
We believe that intentional communities are pioneers in sustainable living, personal and cultural transformation, and peaceful social evolution. “Intentional communities” include ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, income-sharing communes, student co-ops, spiritual communities, and other projects where people live together on the basis of explicit common values. WWW.IC.org
Federation of Egalitatian Communities The FEC is a union of Egalitarian Communities which have joined together in our common struggle to create a lifestyle based on Equality, Cooperation, and Harmony with the Earth. WWW.theFEC.org
Liberty Tree Foundation The Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution is a nonprofit organization rooted in the belief that the American Revolution is a living tradition whose greatest promise is democracy. In order to help achieve that promise, Liberty Tree works to create a society in which communities and individuals have the desire, skills, and capacity to participate in the vital decisions that affect their lives. Such a society, we believe, is most likely to emerge from a genuine democratic revolution -- one that focuses on deep structural, legal, and institutional change, dismantles oppression in all its forms, and is organized through the transformation of communities, institutions and local governments into conscious agents of democratic change. At Liberty Tree, we provide vital support to grassroots campaigns for democratic reform in many areas of American life, and bring those campaigns together to form a united movement for democracy. https://www.libertytreefoundation.org/
In 2016, TESA Collective collaborated closely with over twenty worker-owned cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, community colleges, universities, and museums. We helped organizations integrate democratic, participatory education into their programs. Together with our clients and partners, our work helped fuel more cooperative, effective, and people-driven social movements and communities. Here’s a taste of our work with organizations in 2016.
TESA completed our third year of teaching our course “Creating Farm and Food Focused Cooperatives” at a Massachusetts jail through Greenfield Community College. http://www.toolboxfored.org/
The Venus Project is an organization that proposes a feasible plan of action for social change, one that works towards a peaceful and sustainable global civilization. It outlines an alternative to strive toward where human rights are no longer paper proclamations but a way of life. http://www.thevenusproject.com/
Sustainable World Coalition http://swcoalition.org, Sustainable World Source Book
We are a coalition of individuals and supporting organizations who work toward a world that is environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually fulfilling. [email protected] works with Shift Network
Our work is to educate, inspire and activate, fostering a strong engagement in planetary sustainability and a fair, equitable human society.
We produce programs, events and materials for education and engagement to promote action that restores and maintains the health of the planet and the well-being of humanity.
We are a project of the Earth Island Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Transition Network is a charitable organization whose role is to inspire, encourage, connect, support and train communities as they self-organize around the Transition model, creating initiatives that rebuild resilience and reduce CO2 emissions.
Ultimately it’s about creating a healthy human culture, one that meets our needs for community, livelihoods and fun. We’re here to support you.
We run events, conferences, trainings, blogs, webinars. We produce monthly newsletters, books, films, guides, tweets, and more, all with the intention of best supporting those around the world who are doing Transition. https://www.transitionnetwork.org
Our mission is to create community-based, on-the-ground programs, projects and people that foster a vibrant, just, and regenerative world. Our goal is to accelerate the design and implementation of local, nature-based, regenerative systems and thriving community-inspired culture. Our vision is of humanity living by the wisdom of nature in a way that honors and supports life in peaceful, thriving and celebratory cohabitation.
Our programs bring together leading teachers, practitioners, and innovators with participants who want to gain real life skills that can be put into practice in your own lives and communities. Learn more about our programs. Our headquarters is the Ashevillage Sanctuary, a transformed junkyard and crack house turned one-acre, eco-urban, demonstration site, living-learning laboratory and guest house. Our community of Asheville, NC is abundant with people, projects, and initiatives that, together, are creating a dynamically engaged and vibrant place to live (and visit). We recognize the land, rivers, mountains, trees, and other living beings of this region to be the greater community of which we are a part of.
Our guests and participants come from many walks of life, and are based locally, regionally, nationally, and even internationally. Many of you are looking to deepen your skills, visions, paths, and next steps toward creating the world and life you desire deeply. Others are simply curious to check out our scene. Whatever your reason for connecting with us, we applaud you, are inspired by you, and dedicate much of our work to be in service to you. Please come visit, participate, share, and take the leap toward being all that you can be in this world — it is calling you! http://ashevillage.org/
Be in touch at [email protected].
Grassroots Economic Organizing (GEO) is a decentralized collective of educators, researchers and grassroots activists working to promote an economy based on democratic participation, worker and community ownership, social and economic justice, and ecological sustainability--a "solidarity economy"--through grassroots journalism, organizing support, cross-sector networking and movement-building and the publication of educational and organizational resources. http://www.geo.coop/ | sociology |
http://deadendrap.com/2010/08/30/lupe-on-mosque-controversy/ | 2024-02-24T13:14:56 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474533.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20240224112548-20240224142548-00695.warc.gz | 0.966821 | 343 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__197121343 | en | Lupe weighs in on the Mosque controversy that has been looming for the last few weeks. He takes this time to spread some shine on the Muslim community with Rolling Stone and also sheds his opinion on whether building the Mosque is a good idea or not.
As a devout Muslim, how do you feel about the Ground Zero mosque controversy?
I’m taking President Obama’s stance. Everyone has the right to worship where they please, but you do have to question the wisdom of it when you look at the reaction that it caused. I’m Muslim, so I understand the importance of practicing the faith. But that is something that is sensitive to Americans. I don’t trust polls, but there was such an overwhelming sentiment that maybe it’s not the best of idea. I think the people who are building it should take that under consideration. Would they be setting themselves up for vandals? Because now it’s become a target. But on the other side, I think it’s a great opportunity because Islam is in the forefront. This mosque situation is a good chance to spread what Islam is really about. People can give commentary on how much of a peaceful religion it is. I look at the situation as a win-win. Just by you talking to me about the controversy, I get to spread the fact that Islam is a wonderful religion. The majority of Muslims are not even in the Middle East. the majority of Muslims are in South East Asia. The point of Islam is to promote peace. But there are a lot of emotions in New York. I’ve visited Ground Zero so I understand that it’s a sensitive subject. | sociology |
https://conflictmanagement.org.uiowa.edu/confidential-resources | 2023-10-01T04:18:50 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510781.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20231001041719-20231001071719-00273.warc.gz | 0.925331 | 500 | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-40__0__183293380 | en | Office of the Ombudsperson: offers informal, confidential and neutral problem solving and conflict management for faculty, staff and students and provides mediation and advocacy for fair treatment and fair process. The office is a safe place to discuss any concerns about the University or its policies and procedures. The office will direct visitors to additional resources as needed.
Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP): provides counseling, in-person advocacy, information and referrals to people who have experienced sexual assault and harassment. Our services are free and confidential. RVAP staff and volunteers are certified sexual assault advocates who accompany individuals to the hospital, police department, the Office of the Sexual Misconduct Coordinator, and to criminal or institutional proceedings. Counselors provide individual and group counseling to assist victims and significant others in dealing with the impact of trauma. RVAP offers programs and training (e.g., healthy relationships, respect, and sexual abuse/harassment) to the University community.
Rape Crisis Line (24 hour): 319-335-6000
UI Employee Assistance Program (UI EAP): a confidential, voluntary Employee Assistance Program offering services to University of Iowa faculty, staff and their dependents. Up to four free sessions are available with a licensed mental health professional for the purpose of assessment, referral, and short-term counseling. UI EAP partners with University of Iowa Behavioral Health to offer sessions in three convenient locations.
University Counseling Service (UCS): offers free, confidential counseling services to University of Iowa students. The UCS assists students with any personal, emotional, or academic issues that prevent the attainment of academic and personal goals. The UCS is staffed by licensed psychologists and psychologists-in-training.
Women's Resource and Action Center (WRAC): offers advocacy, counseling, information and referral services as well as support groups, a lending library, and educational programs. All services are free and confidential, and are available to any UI student or employee, and all members of the community. The Center provides a safe space to discuss concerns about harassment (including online harassment), abuse, or discrimination, and connects individuals with additional resources as needed. | sociology |
https://bbwsexdate.org/how-to-get-started-in-online-dating | 2022-11-28T16:03:19 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446710533.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20221128135348-20221128165348-00569.warc.gz | 0.958733 | 857 | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2022-49__0__107156975 | en | Despite popular perception, online dating is still a great way to meet new people and meet the love of your life. Online dating has become a popular method of dating in recent years, with three in ten American adults having used an online dating website or app in the past year. These sites have helped some people find meaningful connections, as 12% have been married or committed to a relationship with someone they met through an online dating site. Another 23 percent have been on at least one date with someone they met through an online dating site.
To get started, users create profiles on online dating services and upload pictures or videos. Other members can view these profiles and initiate contact. Most online dating sites provide digital messaging to facilitate contact, though some offer additional features such as webcasts and message boards. In some cases, members can meet offline, if they choose. The best part of online dating is that it’s easy to meet someone and get acquainted with them! Just follow the tips below and get started!
Once a member of an online dating site, they can then search through thousands of other members’ profiles. This is particularly useful if they have few friends or don’t have a large social network. Many sites also offer specialized services for specific groups, including those of a religious background or those of the gay and lesbian community. The online dating community is an excellent place to meet potential dates and find love. It can help you meet other people who share the same interests and values as you.
While online dating services may seem convenient, you should be careful to avoid those that collect identifying information. Some dating sites ask for basic information like birthdate and e-mail address. The answers to these questions are highly personal and should be kept confidential. Depending on the site, you can choose to disable this feature, but the data they keep can be used to track you. You should also choose an anonymous profile if you are concerned about your privacy.
If you are shy and have trouble interacting with people in real life, you can opt for online dating. The Internet allows you to freely express yourself and share personal information with potential dates. Online dating is not perfect, and there are many negative aspects to it. As with any other method of meeting a partner, it can be beneficial or negative. If you’re shy or uneasy about making the first move, online dating can be the answer.
While online dating services vary in their membership bases, many are free, and are therefore popular. Moreover, some online dating services charge members in advance for their services and do not give you a chance to preview profiles before paying a subscription fee. Likewise, many of these sites provide different functionalities to paid members compared to non-paying members. As a result, you should be careful to avoid scammers who use these free sites.
The response rate you get from members of online dating websites depends on how much effort you put into the process. While some users report getting replies from their matches, others say they receive no response at all. You can also contact the dating provider to report the problem. If you’re not happy with someone you’ve met on a dating website, you should not continue the conversation. If you feel pressured or tricked, contact the dating provider immediately.
The fact that people are sharing their personal information is one of the main reasons why online dating relationships fail, so make sure you are truthful when you’re creating your online profile. In fact, according to one study, one in four online daters admitted to giving embarrassing details about themselves. Similarly, one in ten (9) of these people have shared intimate photos on an online dating website. This information can potentially be used against them, for example, for blackmail.
Despite these negative aspects, online dating is still a valuable tool. The vast amount of potential partners that are available to you online is relevant to people who have trouble meeting people in the real world. For example, it is relevant to people who don’t get to meet new people everyday, like younger people in their early twenties, or those who live in areas with thin dating markets. This is because the Internet provides a broader spectrum of potential partners than offline dating does. | sociology |
https://www.windsorhomesonline.com/article-news-6/a-good-day-for-the-citys-of-windsor-downtown-core | 2020-10-20T05:15:55 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107869933.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20201020050920-20201020080920-00301.warc.gz | 0.947724 | 1,149 | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2020-45__0__124036960 | en | Tuesday was a good day for Windsor.
City councillors voted to invest more in our troubled core neighbourhoods.
They waived development charges for five years in a swathe bordered by Tecumseh, Prince and Pillette roads. Then they asked staff for more ways to revive these neighbourhoods.
High unemployment, low income and property values. More blight, foreclosures, vacant buildings and lots. More population loss. It marks much of downtown, Sandwich, Glengarry east of the casino and Ford City.
Along the city’s edge, especially in the south and east, it’s the opposite: higher incomes and property values, burgeoning and prosperous neighbourhoods.
We’re not sharing our success. We need to “level the playing field,” as N. Barry Lyon Consultants of Toronto told council in their report recommending waiving development charges to spur investment.
Waiving these charges recognizes this inequality and offers these neighbourhoods a leg up.
But the 82-page report also states this, repeatedly: waiving these fees is only one small measure. There is a lot more to do. This shouldn’t be one decision. This should be the beginning of a discussion that permeates most council decisions.
Why does this matter to people like me who live in South Windsor? Or those in thriving Walkerville? Because if we lift up these core neighbourhoods, we’ll lift up the whole city. If we bring investment to these neighbourhoods, we’ll bring jobs and tax revenue for all.
A hollow core is a critical issue for Windsor. Our population hasn’t grown much in four decades. But it has shifted, creating sprawl that makes it difficult and expensive to offer adequate services and amenities.
Our distinctive, historic core neighbourhoods have character. They’re walkable. They’re close to our waterfront. They’re the kind of neighbourhoods people across North America are flocking to. Think of Walkerville extending from Prince Road to Pillette Road and south to Tecumseh. That’s the potential.
It’s difficult for a big city like Windsor to compete with county towns when it comes to taxes and fees. But there is one trump we have for those who want it: urban life and its singular vibe.
But we need comprehensive, co-ordinated and drastic action. The city can’t do everything. But it can do a lot.
Hamilton offers loans to developers converting downtown land to residential property. It also offers tax grants. Other cities offer tax deferrals. Other fees can also be waived.
But people don’t come just because taxes and fees are lower. They move to certain neighbourhoods because they’re nice places.
“The little things really do matter,” said Windsor’s urban design manager Neil Robertson.
Says Coun. Chris Holt: “We need to start with the individual homeowner.”
Replacing a roof or painting a porch can seem like a big task with little return in a challenged neighbourhood.
“If we offer perks to do it, we can maybe encourage homeowners to do it,” said Holt. “From there, it will grow. If they invest money knowing there’s a better chance their property value will go up, neighbours are going to do the same thing. That will be a game changer.”
Windsor already offers matching grants starting at $2,000 for homeowners in Sandwich, the first such program in the city. But $2,000 is a lot of money for some people, so the city is considering expanding the program but lowering the amount so more people can use it.
It can be spent on cleaning, painting, repairing or replacing windows, doors, porches — “the things you see from the street that signal people care,” Robertson said.
The city is also considering helping fund small community projects, like gardens — things “that make the neighbourhood more livable,” said Robertson.
West side resident Caroline Taylor suggested another option Tuesday: enforce property standards. Vehicles litter her neighbour’s property, and garbage and furniture litter the street.
“We need more bylaw enforcement officers,” she said.
They shouldn’t wait for complaints, she said.
“They should be out patrolling.”
These neighbourhoods also need what the consultant’s report calls “public investments” — community centres, parks, libraries. We’re building these things, but not always where they’re needed most. Sometimes we’ve closed the ones needed most.
Strategically targeted over investment — that’s what the United Way’s latest report called for. These neighbourhoods need more than their fair share, as report author Frazier Fathers said. That’s why the United Way pours $1 million a year into programs in four “priority” neighbourhoods.
The city can’t do it alone. It has helped the university and college open campuses downtown. It has offered land for a high school downtown. It needs to help find ways to keep elementary schools in these neighbourhoods open, too. The city and school boards should be partners because vibrant neighbourhoods and successful schools depend on each other.
“When schools close, you start to see things go in a bad direction,” city planner Thom Hunt said Tuesday.
Like Mayor Drew Dilkens said: “We want all areas of the city to be successful.” | sociology |
https://www.thehongkongandshanghaibankingcorporation.com/blogs/news/the-cantonese-words-at-the-heart-of-hong-kong-s-2020-protest-vocabulary | 2024-03-01T21:18:02 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947475701.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20240301193300-20240301223300-00111.warc.gz | 0.954934 | 1,295 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__44785098 | en | Social movements create languages of their own. Participants develop a specific vocabulary, both to communicate easily with each other and to create a sense of solidarity. Hong Kong’s protests are no different.
Throughout the past six months, Cantonese—the lingua franca of the city, as opposed to the Mandarin spoken on mainland China—has been vital to the movement as a unifier and identity marker. Protesters have deployed the language in creative and bitingly satirical ways, creating multi-layered puns and coining memorable chants and slogans.
Here are some protest-related words that have found their way into the everyday speak of hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers in 2020.
黑警 (haak ging) “black police”
Literally “black” or “dirty” cop, this word encapsulates many Hong Kongers’ deep distrust and animosity towards the local police, which has faced widespread accusations of excessive use of force and abuse of power. The word took on added significance after July 21, when armed thugs launched an attack on civilians at a train station and police failed to arrive in time to thwart the assault, or apprehend anyone. Some of the attackers were later linked to Hong Kong’s triads, organized criminal groups known as 黑社會 (literally, “black society”). In an allusion to the suspected collusion between the police and the triads, protesters created a composite character that combined the characters for “black” and “police.”
Protesters who stick to “peaceful, rational, non-violent” means of resistance and demonstration are considered wo lei fei. They want to keep confrontations to a minimum, so protests typically take the form of mass rallies and marches, or activities like singing in a shopping mall, folding paper cranes, and forming a city-wide human chain. They may also help dig up bricks and set up roadblocks.
勇武 (jung mou) “brave fighters”
These are the so-called “radical” and “frontline protesters” who are up close with riot police, clashing with officers and lobbing Molotov cocktails from behind makeshift barricades. From the early days of the movement, there has been a concerted push for unity between the wo lei fei protesters and those who take more aggressive actions. As the movement developed, and as the use of force by both protesters and police escalated, the line between the two camps has blurred.
手足 (sau zuk) “comrades”
If Hong Kong’s protesters had an equivalent to the Chinese Communist Party’s “comrades,” this word would be it. Any participant in the movement is considered a sau zuk, literally “hands and feet.” It’s perhaps a nod to the all-hands-on-deck approach to the protests, and creates a shared understanding that every protester should hold fellow protesters near and dear. As a well-known local writer who was arrested during the siege of Polytechnic University put it (link in Chinese): “The term ‘hands and feet,’ it’s true, they’re part of your body. If you lose them, you’ll want to find them.”
The expression often rings out at demonstrations and is a quick way for protesters to address the crowd and rally the forces.
曱甴 (gaat zaat) “cockroach”
Hong Kong police have called protesters, medics, and journalists alike “cockroaches.” The phrase might have found impetus from a letter in August penned by the chair of the Junior Police Officers Association, which denounced protesters as “no different from cockroaches.” This act of dehumanization, especially by those in authority, is deeply worrying, not least because Nazis described Jews as rats, and Hutus involved in the Rwanda genocide called the Tutsi minority cockroaches.
狗 (gau) “dog”
It’s not just the police who doing the dehumanising. Protesters routinely call the police “dogs,” and refer to police vehicles as “dog cars” and police stations as “dog houses.” Some protesters have also scattered dog food at the entrance of police stations, or thrown dog food at officers.
獅鳥 (si niu) “lion bird”
This word is itself a play on another Chinese word, of which it is a homonym: 私了, which means to settle a matter privately without involving authorities. In this context, it means extrajudicial punishment. The practice is problematic, controversial, and almost inevitably devolves into violence, as certain protesters target those perceived to be opponents. Yet this phenomenon of vigilante justice also speaks to something larger: as a result of protesters’ complete distrust of the police, they feel the need to take matters into their own hands.
Artistic protesters have also taken the opportunity to create a visual representation of the concept of extrajudicial punishment, as a mythical creature that is a hybrid of a lion and a bird.
暴徒 (bou tou) “rioter“
The Hong Kong and Chinese governments have increasingly been referring to protesters as a seemingly homogenous mob of violent “rioters,” as they seek to paint the movement as something that has been hijacked by a crazed horde of “radicals” who are acting against the wishes of a “silent majority” too afraid to voice their opposition. The recent local district elections, in which the pro-democracy camp won a sweeping victory, pokes serious holes in this official narrative.
#StandWithHongKong #NoChinaExtradition #antiELAB #SOSHK #反送中 #FreeHongKong #StandwithHK #HKLastwords #SaveHongKong #HongKongProtest #DemocracyNow #NoExtraditionToChina #Shout4HK #BoycottBlizzard | sociology |
http://www.billingschrb.com/ | 2014-11-21T18:47:10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416400373301.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20141119123253-00127-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | 0.954646 | 463 | CC-MAIN-2014-49 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2014-49__0__80321266 | en | Fair Housing Discrimination
What is the CHRB?
The CHRB’s Board consists representatives from 19 organizations with a vested interest in fair housing. Our membership includes representatives of nonprofit service agencies, housing providers, and public bodies who join together in efforts to educate individuals and the community-at-large about fair housing.
What is our mission?
The mission of the Community Housing Resource Board (CHRB) is to eradicate illegal housing discrimination in the Billings area and create an open and welcoming community for all persons who choose to live here. In order to achieve this mission, the CHRB conducts educational programs and outreach activities throughout the community designed to ensure that all persons understand their rights and responsibilities under the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Montana Human Rights Act.
What do we do?
- Offer educational presentations and workshops
- Distribute brochures and fact sheets about fair housing
- Write informational Q&A columns for local newspapers
- Staff the city-wide Fair Housing Hotline
- Refer individuals who need legal assistance or help with fair housing complaints to the proper agencies
- Gather and review information about housing issues in the Billings area
What do we mean by the term Fair Housing?
Fair Housing simply means that all persons should be able to access the housing of their choice (for which they are qualified) without being discriminated against based on their race, color, national origin, religion, gender (including sexual harassment), familial status, marital status, age, or creed. The Federal Fair Housing Act and the Montana Human Rights Act are the primary laws governing housing discrimination. It is important to remember that both laws include all housing transactions including rental, leasing, mortgage lending, mortgage refinancing, the provision of homeowners insurance and appraisals, and real estate services of all types.
What about Landlord/Tenant issues?
Problems between landlords and tenants that are based on issues related to the Montana Landlord Tenant Act are usually (but not always) NOT fair housing issues. These issues are usually questions about security deposits, repairs, and evictions. The CHRB does not have a staff attorney and cannot offer legal advice, however we do answer simple questions in reference to the Montana Landlord Tenant Act and refer people to local sources of legal assistance. | sociology |
https://www.smcba.org/smcbas-anti-racism-statement/ | 2023-12-05T12:15:24 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100551.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20231205105136-20231205135136-00641.warc.gz | 0.955518 | 453 | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-50__0__82435136 | en | The San Mateo County Bar Association (SMCBA) is appalled by the persistent brutalization and oppression of people of color throughout America. The killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless Black Americans before them provide incontrovertible evidence that we as a country are far from achieving equality for all. As attorneys, we all took an oath to uphold the Constitutions of the United States and the State of California, both of which prohibit the deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, as well as the denial of equal protection of the laws. This responsibility was reiterated by our very own California Supreme Court on June 11, 2020: “Each of us has a duty to recognize there is much unfinished and essential work that must be done to make equality and inclusion an everyday reality for all.” As attorneys and legal professionals, we are in a unique position to educate, empower and advocate for our communities.
To that end, we established the Race and Social Justice Committee to develop a multifaceted approach to advance justice for all, including:
• Conducting a series of CLEs which will focus on education and specific actions that members of our legal community can take to help dismantle systems of oppression. Topics will include:
- Understanding Implicit and Explicit Bias in legal institutions
- Legal observer training
- Diversity and inclusion in hiring
- Jury selection and racial justice
- Racial discrimination in the Criminal Justice System, Housing, Education, and Healthcare
- Effective anti-racist ally-ship and advocacy
• Educating our communities of color through “Know Your Rights” workshops that include demonstration law, immigration law, housing law, voting rights and the criminal justice system.
• Encouraging our members to support social justice organizations with their time and donations.
We reaffirm our mission to advance the fair and effective administration of justice for all, and will continue actively working to transform that mission into a reality. We support the diversity of humanity and stand together to reject all forms of racism, hatred, and discrimination. We stand with Black Lives Matter to support the movement to end State-sanctioned violence. We are committed to being part of the solution to end systemic racism. | sociology |
https://www.azfct.org/our-mission | 2019-05-20T06:32:17 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232255773.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20190520061847-20190520083847-00425.warc.gz | 0.901489 | 245 | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2019-22__0__73813953 | en | AZFCT is a network of individuals and groups who welcome opportunities to explore progressive religious ideas through lectures, dialogue and in-depth reflection.
In recognition of the importance of religious thought and practice, AZFCT explores emerging paradigms of religious and spiritual experience that are relevant to cultural, social, political and scientific perspectives of the 21st century. Thought-provoking programs challenge us to examine how our theological and spiritual beliefs inform and influence our everyday lives.
Intellectual curiosity and the fellowship of kindred spirits, along with movement of the spirit, inspire personal action to bring about changes that make our daily lives congruent with our beliefs.
AZFCT is an ecumenical, interfaith group that welcomes people of all faiths, as well as those who have left organized religion behind and are seeking a safe place to navigate spiritual and religious complexities in an open, accepting atmosphere.
Study with leading theologians
Attend mind-stretching lectures and forums
Create new paradigms for emerging visions of spirituality
Reformulate for today the messages of sacred texts.
Explore your own vision of religion’s role in your life.
Discover new ways of thinking about spirituality and belief. | sociology |
https://ftthomas.org/about-ftpd/mission-values/ | 2023-06-05T06:56:53 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224651325.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20230605053432-20230605083432-00630.warc.gz | 0.91344 | 867 | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-23__0__198572044 | en | The primary mission of the Fort Thomas Police Department is to coordinate and lead the efforts within the community to preserve the public peace, protect the rights of the persons and property, prevent crime, and generally provide assistance to citizens in urgent situations. The Department is responsible for the enforcement of all Kentucky Revised Statutes, and City Ordinances within the boundaries of the City of Fort Thomas.
The Department must enforce the law in a fair and impartial manner, recognizing both the statutory and judicial limitations of policy authority and the constitutional rights of all persons. It is not the role of the Department to legislate, render judgments, or punish.
The Department serves the people of Fort Thomas by providing law enforcement service in a professional and courteous manner and it is to these people that the Department is ultimately responsible.
Department Values & Beliefs
We value life and dignity above all else. Therefore:
- We give first priority to situations that threaten life.
- We use force only when necessary.
- We treat all persons with courtesy and respect.
- We are compassionate and caring.
We believe integrity is the basis for community trust. Therefore:
- We are honest and truthful.
- We are consistent in our beliefs and actions.
- We hold ourselves to high standards of moral and ethical conduct.
- We are role models for the community.
Laws and Constitution
We believe in the principles embodied in our Constitution. We recognize the authority of Federal, state, and local laws. Therefore:
- We respect and protect the rights of all citizens.
- We treat all persons fairly and without favoritism.
- We are knowledgeable of the law.
- We enforce the law.
- We obey the law.
We strive for personal and professional excellence. Therefore:
- We do our best.
- We seek adequate resources: staffing, facilities, equipment, training, salaries, and benefits.
- We recruit and hire the best people.
- We are receptive to new ideas, to change.
- We meet state-recognized law enforcement standards.
- We lead by example.
- We work toward realistic, mutually agreed upon goals.
We are accountable to each other and to the citizens we serve, who are the source of our authority. Therefore:
- We communicate openly and honestly among ourselves and with the community.
- We are responsive to community concerns.
- We manage our resources effectively.
- We understand the importance of community values and expectations.
- We thoroughly investigate complaints against our employees.
- We acknowledge our mistakes and are open to constructive criticism.
We believe that cooperation and teamwork will enable us to combine our diverse backgrounds, skills, and styles to achieve common goals. Therefore:
- We work as a team.
- We strive to understand those who disagree with us.
- We seek the help and cooperation of others.
- We seek to resolve conflicts.
- We rely on community support and involvement.
- We share our responsibility to serve the citizens of Fort Thomas with many other agencies and organizations.
We are most effective when we help identify and solve community problems. Therefore:
- We work to anticipate and prevent problems.
- We give a high priority to preventing crime and helping citizens feel safe.
- We actively seek opinions and ideas from others.
- We plan, analyze, and evaluate.
- We recognize that crime is a community problem.
- We listen to problems and complaints with empathy and sensitivity.
- We seek innovative solutions.
We are capable, caring people who are doing important and satisfying work for the citizens of Fort Thomas. Therefore:
- We respect, care about, trust, and support each other.
- We are disciplined and reliable.
- We keep our perspective and sense of humor.
- We balance our professional and personal lives.
- We consult the people who will be affected by our decisions.
- We have a positive, “can-do” attitude.
- We cultivate our best characteristics: initiative, enthusiasm, creativity, patience, competence, and judgment. | sociology |
http://www.ludlowps.org/?DivisionID=10790&ToggleSideNav= | 2018-03-19T16:34:50 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647003.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20180319155754-20180319175754-00071.warc.gz | 0.961982 | 690 | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2018-13__0__79300237 | en | CLICK HERE FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BLOG
We are at an interesting time in education and on the cusp of major changes. Students think and learn differently than prior generations and rather than oppose that change, schools must adapt and be responsive to their needs. Today’s students are digital learners who have the knowledge of the world at their fingertips and educators must teach them how to analyze, interpret and utilize the vast amount of information available. In order to be successful, schools must actively work to incorporate skills such as collaboration, analytical problem solving and the use of technology within their daily curriculums.
The student of today demands an educational environment where the skills they bring to the classroom community are recognized and incorporated into the teachers' instructional practices. If we are to adequately prepare our students for life in a 21st century global society, education must move to embrace a hybrid learning model of instruction, weaving online and more traditional instructional strategies together into a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning. As we move into the 21st century we must build within our students the skills necessary to achieve in this rapidly changing global environment. We must encourage collaboration and the development of critical thinking skills. Rote memorization is not enough. Einstein stated, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” We must work to inspire creativity and innovation, training our students to apply what they know to novel situations.
Schools are a reflection of the culture of the community in which they reside and education is a partnership between the schools, parents and community. As educators, we must build upon the strengths, resources, and abilities of each segment of our population to insure that we support our families and community. Schools must partner with community organizations and governmental agencies and be a resource to help parents navigate the often confusing landscape of community services so that they have access to appropriate and needed supports. In these challenging economic times, schools must be fiscally responsible in their utilization of existing resources and find creative ways to supplement the traditional revenue streams coming from the state, federal and local governments. Education must embrace and support the whole child and insure continued access to curricular offerings that incorporate music, the arts and athletics in order to engage all learners. If we are successful in these efforts our students will be successful in school.
One of the most important ways for a district to insure its continued success is to recruit and retain strong, energetic, and committed educators. The best way to insure that those individuals remain is to create a supporting environment where staff members can grow personally and professionally. A supportive administration that rewards creativity and encourages its teachers to take appropriate risks is essential to this endeavor.
School systems must change and adapt to our modern society. The jobs we are preparing our students for are radically different than those present when our educational system was created. Rather than resist that change, we need to embrace this new reality. Educators must work to continually incorporate new strategies into their instructional practices in order to effectively move our schools forward. It is the educator’s duty to model and promote a group dynamic that fosters a collaborative spirit and encourages students to be optimistic and enthusiastic about the work they are performing. Inspirational speaker and practical philosopher Tom Morris states, “Do not allow what is very good to keep you from what is best.” These are the challenges facing educators today. How we rise to meet those challenges remains to be seen. | sociology |
https://www.johanfarkas.com/book/ | 2024-04-25T07:21:02 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-18/segments/1712297290384.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20240425063334-20240425093334-00853.warc.gz | 0.904204 | 2,174 | CC-MAIN-2024-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-18__0__83159118 | en | Published by Routledge in December 2023
Available as paperback, hardback and e-book
Get 20% off using promo code: AFL04
-> -> Read the introduction chapter <- <-
The new edition of Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy: Mapping the Politics of Falsehood offers an updated overview and critical discussion of contemporary discourses around truth, misinformation, and democracy, while also mapping cutting-edge scholarship.
Through in-depth analyses of news articles, commentaries, academic publications, policy briefs, and political speeches, the book engages with the underlying normative ideas that shape how fake news is being addressed across the globe. Doing so, it provides an innovative, critical contribution to contemporary debates on democracy, post-truth, and politics.
- Three new chapters: Chapter 2 provides an outline of the scholarly field of research into fake news; Chapter 5 examines how issues of fake news and (mis)information have become intertwined with contemporary crisis events; and Chapter 9 presents democratic alternatives to post-truth solutionism.
- A new foreword by Professor Sarah Banet-Weiser.
- Fully updated examples and studies from contemporary events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Capitol attack, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Extended discussions on the causes of democratic decline, currently proposed solutions to fake news, and democratic alternatives to our current predicament.
Interesting, informative, and well documented, Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy continues its commitment to understand and engage with the current state and future of democracy.
Endorsements of the Second Edition:
“The issue is not, argue Farkas and Schou, a confrontation between post-truth and rationality, but a question of democracy, implying a clash between different interpretations of truth, which in turn requires adequate and egalitarian opportunities for discourse and exchange for its constantly reiterated search for agreements and compromises. These qualities are usually absent in most societies. However lively current debates over post-truth and fake news, this vital dimension is usually overlooked. This is a book that not only deserves to be widely read, but which should also inspire movements and campaigns.” — Colin Crouch, Professor Emeritus at the University of Warwick, UK, External scientific member of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies at Cologne.
“One of the most original studies on liberal democratic politics today, Farkas and Schou’s book offers a stunning discourse analysis of the ways we talk about fake news and alternative facts, revealing how these ways of talking profoundly shape our political imaginaries in a manner reductive and perilous for democracy itself. But more than a compelling exploration of how discourses on post-truth work and why they matter, the book is also invaluable as a resource for the reinvention of democratic politics by placing people’s voices and public deliberation at the heart of the political process. This is a contemporary classic and I cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone – scholar, student, journalist or concerned citizen – seeking to understand the challenges of our media-saturated world.” — Lilie Chouliaraki, Professor and Chair in Media and Communications in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE, UK.
“Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy: Mapping the Politics of Falsehood is a clear-eyed critique of the new political imaginaries of “post-truth worlds” which have dominated popular and scholarly discourse since 2016. Johan Farkas and Jannick Schou systematically demonstrate how these discourses have limited not only how we conceptualize the relationship between democracy, information, and digital media, but the possible solutions. Instead, scholars must grapple with the legacy of political manipulation in liberal democracy, contextualizing the current moment within longer, and messier, histories. The book is a call to decouple academic work from trends, hot takes, and think pieces about “infodemics” and “fake news,” enabling us to rethink our assumptions about democracy and imagine more radical futures.” — Alice E. Marwick, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Co-Director of The Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.
“A wonderful scholarly polemic that argues that ‘fake news’ and ‘misinformation’ are not new but hard-wired into a media system that is skewed by the distortions and exclusions of corporate power and liberal democracy. It maps out in a comprehensive and accessible fashion both the problems and some of the radical democratic solutions we need for a meaningfully accountable media. Essential reading to make sense of post-truth discourses.” — Des Freedman, Professor of Media and Communication Studies, Head of Department and Co-Director of the Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
Endorsements of the First Edition:
“Post-truth, Fake news and Democracy provides a highly original analysis of how discourses of truth have emerged in the ‘fake news’ era. It shows how (re)equating democratic governance with only reason, rationality and truth undermines the voice of the people and excludes those most disaffected with politics. Anyone interested in contemporary debates on power and democracy will be both challenged and captivated by this book.” — Ariadne Vromen, Professor of Political Sociology, Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney
“Drawing on groundbreaking empirical and theoretical work, Farkas and Schou demonstrate the double threat to democracy posed by post-truth propaganda and its obverse: an authoritarian backlash to the politics of Truth with a capital T. Post-truth, Fake news and Democracy provides an invaluable conceptual roadmap for navigating the political perils of the contemporary media landscape with an unwavering commitment to democratic politics. The authors provide more than compelling arguments and timely analysis they offer a powerful and carefully constructed resource for hope.” — Mark Andrejevic, Professor at the School of Media, Film, and Journalism, Monash University
“The book I have been waiting for – a critical interrogation of post-truth and fake news discourses embedded in their political and historical context that puts democratic renewal centre stage. Farkas and Schou skilfully draw upon political philosophy to argue that it is democracy rather than truth claims that should take priority if we really want deeper, better and more inclusive democratic institutions and societies. As they put it ,”we don’t need more truth but more politics”. This book is not only conceptually compelling but also politically important. It helped me understand not only what is going on but also what to do about it. A book for our times. Read it.” — Natalie Fenton, Professor of Media and Communications, Co-Director Centre for the Study of Global Media and Democracy, Goldsmiths, University of London.
“This is a book that needed to be written. Through an impressive empirical mapping and discourse theoretical analysis of recent post-truth and fake news discourses, the authors identify, and problematize, how democracy in these discourses is articulated as a technocratic order based on “the rule by truth.” In the process, and with the help of historical contextualization, Farkas and Schou expose the reactionary anti-democratic imaginary within the discourses, and consequently open space to once more envision democracy in terms of “the rule by the people.” This incredibly insightful and important book is a must read for all students, scholars, and proponents of democracy.” — Lincoln Dahlberg, Researcher in Media Politics and Digital Democracy.
“Few deny the emergence and importance of post-truth politics, fake news, and the changing impact of the public and social media on democratic politics, though it is difficult to find compelling diagnoses and alternatives. In Post-truth, Fake news and Democracy, Johan Farkas and Jannick Schou provide a compelling diagnosis of the contemporary discourses on “post-truth” through an in-depth analysis of news articles, commentaries, academic publications, policy briefs and political speeches. Carefully linking empirical research and critical political philosophy, the book successfully challenges those who call simply for greater truth and rationality by outlining a deeper conception of democracy, and its attendant institutions and practices. This is an important and path-breaking contribution that responds to a pressing issue in contemporary society and politics.” — David Howarth, Professor and Director of the Centre for Ideology and Discourse Analysis, University of Essex, UK.
Reviews of the First Edition:
Fischer, F. (2021). Book review: Post-truth, fake news and democracy, Critical Policy Studies, 15(3), 400-403. https://doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2021.1915172
Kalsnes, B. (2021). Book review: Johan Farkas & Jannick Schou, Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy: Mapping the Politics of Falsehood. Nordicom Review. https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2020-0023%20%7C
Huntly, S. (2020). Book review: Johan Farkas and Jannick Schou, Post-truth, fake news, and democracy: Mapping the politics of falsehood. Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620927834
Hinnant, K. (2020). Book review: Johan Farkas and Jannick Schou, Post-truth, fake news, and democracy: Mapping the politics of falsehood. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620927834
Santos. N. (2020). Fake news e mundos de pós-verdade: que democracia em jogo?. Compolítica, 10(3), 225-232. https://doi.org/10.21878/compolitica.2020.10.3.424
Grisolia, F. (2020). Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy. Mapping the Politics of Falsehood. Studi culturali, 3, 460-466. https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.1405/99461 | sociology |
https://www.dominiquesensabaugh.com/nashville | 2019-10-19T10:34:10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986692723.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20191019090937-20191019114437-00291.warc.gz | 0.95335 | 394 | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2019-43__0__65039712 | en | Mission: The DSLB Inspired: A Dinner Series is a unique opportunity for women to dine and unite with other like-minded power players who are inspired by greatness. The goal is to curate an experience to connect a tribe of women who are equally as brilliant as they are beautiful. A movement for the woman who conveys passion and ambition. A moment for the women who believe, there is a seat at the table for all, to win.
The Scene: Nashville, TN- November 15, 2019
Southern Charm at its finest, you will not find a city more accommodating, authentic and accessible than Nashville. Some of the country’s most soulful sights and delicious cuisine while overlooking the city’s skyline. Because Nashville is one of the most philanthropic cities in the nation, the Dominique Sensabaugh Lifestyle Brand will highlight and honor women power players that are making a positive difference in their respective career fields and in their communities.
The goal of the event is to highlight women who are breaking boundaries and create an arena for a powerful collaboration as well as (to) highlight brands who celebrate dynamic women as part of their brand strategy. The Dominique Sensabaugh Lifestyle Brand offers a unique environment to merge the intersection of the modern millennial woman with a footprint in entrepreneurial business, a catalyst for positive social and civic change, and empowering motherhood. This event is designed to spark inspiring conversation amongst women who are relevant and impactful in every aspect of life. Host, Dominique Sensabaugh has made it her mission to inspire and empower women to tap into their most powerful and authentic selves. Female leaders are invaluable from the negotiation table to the brand strategy to the front office to building an empire. Our target audience is marginally impacting their presence in the political arena, finance, business, culture, and philanthropy to name a few. The DSLB Inspired Dinner Series is an opportunity to uplift, engage & INSPIRE! | sociology |
https://sheetsmemorial.com/academics/private-middle-school/ | 2024-04-12T13:42:52 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-18/segments/1712296816024.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20240412132154-20240412162154-00852.warc.gz | 0.961978 | 342 | CC-MAIN-2024-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-18__0__120590881 | en | Middle school can be challenging! Make it easier on your child with a safe environment like our private middle school.
When adults think back on their growing years, many shudder when thinking on the middle school years. Not only are there changing bodies and difficulties with friends, but school itself can be a challenge if these learning years are peppered with inadequate teaching methods and struggles with uncaring students.
At a private middle school like Sheets Memorial Christian School, your child can have a different experience. During the early adolescent years, our qualified and committed teachers guide students through this changing period in life with challenging academic instruction combined with the development of critical thinking skills. Core subjects include Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Bible. Middle school students will also take Physical Education and can elect to participate in Band, encouraging their growth and experimentation in these subjects in a safe environment.
Our private middle school understands the importance that peers play in development at this age. We work hard to provide your middle school students with rewarding, wholesome peer friendships in the Lexington, North Carolina area. SMCS private middle school students establish rewarding friendships so important to self-esteem during several outings throughout the school year. Making new friends is easy during the retreat held at the beginning of the school year where Biblical lessons will be taught as well as teamwork encouraged.
In order to reiterate lessons and values being taught at home, as well as allow for questions, middle school students experience chapel services weekly where they will hear some of the local area’s finest Christian speakers and youth pastors. At Sheets Memorial Christian School, your children can have the experience of looking back on their private middle school years with fondness and confidence. | sociology |
http://peterahon.blogspot.com/2008/02/se-hae-buk-mani-paduseyo-happy-new-year.html | 2017-04-27T09:01:18 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917122041.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031202-00297-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | 0.973041 | 427 | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2017-17__0__60088285 | en | For foreigners like me New Year is a time of rest, stay home, posting blog entries, sleep and eat. Unlike in the Philippines we usually go to the home of our friends to celebrate with them, here in Korea it is very much a close knit family affair. Below is an article from Korea.net.
On the morning of Seollal, people get up early to wash and put on their ‘Seolbim (new clothes prepared for Seollal)’. Many people wear Hanboks. Then the families gather to perform ancestral rites, paying their respects by offering them food. According to Korean traditions, it is believed that ancestors return to enjoy the holiday food prepared for them. An ancestral tablet is placed on the rites table along with all the dishes and drinks. This is to show appreciation and respect for late ancestors. The ancestral rites also symbolize the descendants’ prayers for a good new year.
After the rites have been performed, everyone shares the holiday food together. Tteokguk is also prepared without exception, made of thinly sliced tteok (rice cakes) cooked in beef soup. According to tradition, eating tteokguk on Seollal adds one year to your age. Therefore, the children ask each other ‘how many servings of tteokguk did you have?’ and they calculate their age according to the number of serving they had just for fun.After finishing their meal, the younger generations pay their respects to the elders of the family by bowing to them. The elders offer well-wishing remarks such as ‘have a healthy year’ or ‘meet someone nice’ as they give the young people ‘New Year’s money’. Children especially like Seollal because they can receive money as a New Year’s gift. Lately, an increasing number of Christian families are choosing not to perform the ancestral rites due to their religious beliefs. Instead, their family members gather to share food and stories, and spend quality family time during Seollal. Read more. | sociology |
https://emn.sk/en/news-and-events/628-emn-educational-seminar-on-migration-put-into-the-spotlight-migration-topics-in-the-global-context.html | 2021-12-04T22:06:47 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964363125.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20211204215252-20211205005252-00136.warc.gz | 0.938635 | 556 | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-49__0__61348489 | en | The International Organization for Migration (IOM) as a coordinator of the European Migration Network in Slovakia organized the 8th edition of the Educational Seminar on Migration – Migration in the Multilateral World that took place from 24 to 26 August 2021 in an online format. 22 speakers from 15 countries lectured on current migration topics.
Experts from Afghanistan, Greece, the Netherlands, Libya, Mexico, Norway, Austria, Slovakia, the USA and other countries, working in the area of policy making, research, academia or in the field, addressed the role of multilateralism in migration management and the impacts of international cooperation on migrants and refugees in transit and destination countries. The participants of the seminar learnt about the life in refugee camps in Greece, current migration situation in Afghanistan, in Libya and in the Mediterranean, but also about the possibilities to strengthen legal migration and work mobility into the EU.
Among more than 100 participants there were representatives from 25 countries working in state and public administration, state implementing authorities, embassies, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organisations, think-tanks, academia, private sector and as independent experts. Representatives of the EMN National Contact Points from other EU Member States and Norway, Georgia and Moldova also participated in the seminar.
The seminar offered three public events. On Tuesday, 24 August, an online discussion entitled How does Slovakia assist migrants and refugees? took place. You can watch the recording of the discussion with experts on migration policies in Slovakia and on the assistance to vulnerable people in the world at the IOM Slovakia YouTube Channel.
The first seminar day ended with the documentary film screening Midnight Traveler in the Kino Lumière in Bratislava. In the context of the current situation in Afghanistan, the film was very topical and it showed the spectators an uncertain journey of the Afghan director Hassan Fazili to Europe. Together with his wife and two daughters he was forced to flee under the threat of Taliban and he documented this odyssey on the mobile phone.
In the context of labour migration that was discussed during the third seminar day, we introduced on 25 August in Kino Lumière the Slovak premiere of a German film Gleis 11 (Track 11). The director Çağdaş Eren Yüksel recorded stories of five families that talk about the life of the first generation of German guestworkers – about their dreams, expectations, fears and about the reality from the beginning until today. After the film a short pre-recorded interview with the film director Çağdaş Eren Yüksel followed. It is available on the YouTube channel of IOM Slovakia.
The presentations, videos and podcasts from the seminar will be available soon at www.emnseminar.sk. | sociology |
https://futuretransport.com.br/european-mobility-week-2017-making-shared-mobility-clean-and-intelligent/ | 2020-08-12T11:58:22 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439738892.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20200812112531-20200812142531-00304.warc.gz | 0.947495 | 425 | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2020-34__0__40384893 | en | The European Commission launched the 16th EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK, a flagship campaign for Mobility and Transport, taking place from 16 to 22 September 2017. More than 2,000 towns from Europe and beyond have organised events to encourage residents to try out alternatives to traditional means of transport.
Commissioner Bulc said: “Shared mobility is a smart and innovative emerging model of transportation, with the potential to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads: for example, for each shared car, 15 private cars are off the road. But it’s not only about cars; we are witnessing a real spurt of shared bike systems in cities and towns across the EU. We need to ensure that the future of urban mobility is both shared and sustainable.”
The theme of the 2017 campaign is ‘Clean, shared and intelligent mobility’, with the call-to-action ‘Sharing gets you further’.
This year’s EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK encourages people to use shared forms of transportation such as bicycle and car sharing. Europe is the leader in shared mobility solutions and the value of transactions in shared mobility in Europe was estimated at EUR 5.1 billion in 2015. It is expected to exceed EUR 100 billion in 2025. Sharing transportation not only helps people save money, but also support the EU’s goals of achieving a low-emission economy.
Every year, local authorities making significant efforts to promote sustainable urban mobility during the campaign, can apply for the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award until 23 October 2017.
In 2017, for the first time, small municipalities will have their own category within the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award. This means that two awards will be presented: one for municipalities with less than 50,000 inhabitants and one for municipalities with 50,000 inhabitants or more.
Local authorities can also apply for the Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP Award) until 3 November 2017. The SUMP Award rewards the development of a mobility plan addressing the diverse transport needs of people and businesses. | sociology |
http://www.grit.org.uk/news/the-big-give-produces-big-results | 2020-06-02T11:34:10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347424174.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20200602100039-20200602130039-00133.warc.gz | 0.972896 | 394 | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2020-24__0__109100286 | en | We’re sure you’re aware of our recent Big Give #ChristmasChallenge18 campaign, raising funds for our 3-year East London community programme. We may have sent one or two emails and done a couple of tweets. (joke!)
We were blown away by the response from our supporters throughout the whole campaign. There were definitely some tense moments but, in total, £37,009.75 was raised which is a huge amount of money. It’s not quite the £50,000 target we’d initially set but it’s far more money than we’ve ever raised through a campaign like this.
The campaign wasn’t just about getting donations from our supporters, there was a whole range of activity going on during the week:
Ellie, our Chief Operating Officer, did a sponsored ‘my kids dressed me for work’ day, raising over £700 in total.
Staff at the United Learning head office held a cake sale, raising over £300 in total.
Employees at Social Personnel, organised a Bake Off competition plus donated the money they’d normally spend on Christmas cards and postage for workers, raising over £1,340 in total.
And, we even held a coffee morning at Grit’s HQ with a raffle and everything. Our Head Office team took to the streets to raise awareness and donations. The event was attended by local Royston-based Councillor Sarah Dingley and raised over £1,340.
NB. All totals include matched funding and gift aid, where applicable.
Thank you so much for your donations and support. We can’t tell you how much it means to us.
Finally, a very special thanks to all those who pledged support in the form of matched funding, right back in August, at the start of everything. The campaign felt very distant at that point! | sociology |
https://www.luxurimag.com/news/from-runway-to-boardroom-women-pioneers-in-luxury-design/ | 2024-04-23T04:05:56 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-18/segments/1712296818464.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20240423033153-20240423063153-00705.warc.gz | 0.9501 | 593 | CC-MAIN-2024-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-18__0__158662391 | en | In the illustrious world of luxury fashion, where creativity meets commerce, a great era dawned upon the scene—one led by visionary women who are not only dominating the runway but also making waves in the boardroom. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it’s time to shine a spotlight on these trailblazers who are shaping the industry’s future with their talent, resilience, and innovative spirit.
Breaking Barriers in Luxury Fashion
Traditionally, the fashion world has been perceived as a male-dominated realm, with men occupying the majority of leadership positions. However, in recent years, there has been a remarkable shift as women have risen to prominence, challenging the status quo and bringing fresh perspectives to the table.
Creative Forces at the Helm
One of the most iconic figures in luxury fashion is Maria Grazia Chiuri, the Artistic Director of Dior. Since taking the reins in 2016, Chiuri has captivated the industry with her bold feminist statements and exquisite designs, cementing Dior’s position as a beacon of modern elegance.
Likewise, Phoebe Philo, the former Creative Director of Celine, transformed the brand into a symbol of understated luxury during her tenure. Her minimalist aesthetic and impeccable tailoring resonated with women around the world, earning her accolades and adoration.
Beyond the realm of design, women entrepreneurs are making their mark by founding and leading luxury fashion houses. Tory Burch, founder of the eponymous brand, has become synonymous with timeless chic, offering a range of ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, and fragrances that embody effortless sophistication.
Another trailblazer is Stella McCartney, who has pioneered sustainable and cruelty-free fashion with her self-named label. McCartney’s commitment to ethical practices has set a new standard for the industry, inspiring other designers to prioritise environmental and social responsibility.
Leading with Grace and Grit
In addition to their creative prowess, these women exemplify resilience and determination in navigating the competitive landscape of luxury fashion. They have overcome obstacles, shattered glass ceilings, and paved the way for the next generation of female leaders to thrive.
A Tribute to Women’s Excellence
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let us honour the contributions of these extraordinary women who have revolutionised the world of luxury design. Their vision, passion, and ingenuity serve as a testament to the power of female leadership and inspire us to continue championing diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the industry.
In the words of Coco Chanel, herself a pioneering figure in fashion history, “the most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” Today, these women pioneers are not only thinking aloud but also loudly reshaping the landscape of luxury fashion, one bold step at a time. | sociology |
https://alsonspower.com/subanens-receive-nc-ii-certificates-through-alsons-power-tesda-lgu-partnership-in-zamboanga-del-norte/ | 2024-02-20T22:24:54 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947473347.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20240220211055-20240221001055-00696.warc.gz | 0.927754 | 641 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__20205617 | en | Alsons Power Group, through its Sindangan Zambo-River Power Corporation (SZPC) and in collaboration with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Siayan Local Government Unit (LGU-Siayan), recently celebrated the graduation of 67 individuals from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs. The event took place within Brgy. Macasing, Siayan, Zamboanga del Norte.
Majority of the graduates are from the Subanen Group, an indigenous community native to Zamboanga, historically residing along riverbanks known as ‘suba’ and now settled in the mountains.
The implementation of the complimentary TVET courses in Siayan was driven by the area’s alarming poverty incidence. According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Siayan is one of the poorest towns of the region, registering a poverty magnitude of 84 percent.
Aligned with the local government’s efforts to alleviate poverty and uplift communities, Alsons Power, through SZPC, entered into a tri-partite agreement with the TESDA– Region IX and LGU-Siayan in 2022. This initiative aims to enhance the employability and entrepreneurial skills of the residents of Siayan, particularly those belonging to the indigenous communities.
Through the tri-partite agreement, 105 residents of Barangays Macasing, Diongan, and Pangi have already completed Shielded Metal Arc Welding, Carpentry, Masonry, Plumbing, and Construction Painting skills trainings and NC-2 assessments.
“This is our way of showing that WE POWER OUR COMMUNITIES WITH CARE,” said Alsons Power Vice President for Corporate Affairs Ruben G. Tungpalan.
“We care about your dreams and hopes, we care about powering them into reality,” he added. “Alsons Power will continue supporting the government’s inclusive growth strategies to reduce poverty and pole-vault impoverished families out of poverty.”
Rowena Villafranca, a single mother and one of the plumbing course graduates, thanked Alsons Power for “providing the bridge of opportunity to their underserved community.” She described the graduation as a dream come true and would shape a better future for her and her children.
In his message, Siayan Mayor Alberto J. Bongcawel urged the graduates to pursue excellence in their respective fields of expertise.
“Do not miss this chance,” Mayor Bongcawel remarked, “Let us repay our benefactors with the right attitude and values and become relevant in building our beloved Siayan into a more progressive town.”
Alsons Power’s SZPC is currently working on a hydroelectric power project with a capacity of up to 22 megawatts (MW) in Siayan. The project aims to meet the energy needs of several municipalities in Zamboanga del Norte, ensuring the provision of safe, reliable, and cost-effective power. | sociology |
http://dormlife2.blogspot.com/2016/12/research-blog-10-final-abstract.html | 2018-05-21T16:59:11 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794864461.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20180521161639-20180521181639-00214.warc.gz | 0.847402 | 732 | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2018-22__0__82327360 | en | Commuter students face a multitude of time commitments such as a job, family and transportation to and from school that prevent them from focusing on getting involved in the university community. While this may not cause a huge disruption in their academics and social life, research shows that students that live on-campus in a residence hall achieve higher GPAs and retention rates. These on-campus students succeed because they are able to get more involved in their university, such as having more time to interact with peers, professors and extracurriculars. Students who get involved feel more invested in their community and strive to succeed as a result. Meanwhile, there are some students who do not feel the same. Social isolates who reside in the residence halls do not receive the same benefits of on-campus living that other students experience; because they lack the social groups to get involved and to feel connected to the college community. Resident Assistants in the residence halls play an integral role in helping facilitate relationships for these social isolates, although they have failed to do so, so far.
Armstrong, Elizabeth and Laura Hamilton. Paying for the Party: How College Maintains
Inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2013. Print.
Astin, Alexander W. “Student Involvement: A developmental theory for higher education.”
Journal of College Student Development 40.5 (1999): 518-529. ERIC. 6 Oct. 2016
Balfour, Denise S. (2013). The Relationship Between Living Arrangement, Academic
Performance, and Engagement Among First-Year College Students, 1-89. Print.
Blimling, Gregory S. “A Meta-Analysis of the Influence of College Residence Halls on
Academic Performance.” Journal of College Student Development 30.4 (1989): 298-308.
ERIC. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.
Blumenthal, Andrew M. Analyzing the Role of the Resident Assistant in Academic Support. Diss.
Northern Michigan University, 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
Chickering, Arthur W. Commuting Versus Resident Students: [overcoming the Educational
Inequities of Living Off Campus]. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1974. Print.
Jacoby, Barbara, and John Garland. “Strategies for Enhancing Commuter Student Success.”
Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice 6.1 (2004): 61-79.
ERIC. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.
Moffatt, Michael. Coming of Age in New Jersey: College and American Culture. New
Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1989. Print. 15 Nov. 2016.
Newbold, John J. "Lifestyle Challenges For Commuter Students." New Directions For Student
Services 2015.150 (2015): 79-86. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.
Turley, RNL, and G Wodtke. "College Residence And Academic Performance: Who Benefits
From Living On Campus?." Urban Education 45.4 (2010): 506-532. Social Sciences
Citation Index. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.
Yongyi, Wang, et al. "The Influence Of Residence Hall Community On Academic Success Of
Male And Female Undergraduate Students." Journal Of College & University Student
Housing 33.1 (2004): 16-22. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.
Link to the Paper | sociology |
http://openexploration.co.uk/inclusive-co-design-how-to-bridge-understanding-with-neurodivergent-people/ | 2023-12-01T10:48:18 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100286.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20231201084429-20231201114429-00729.warc.gz | 0.970108 | 1,180 | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-50__0__194860574 | en | Last updated on October 2, 2022
I want to share an activity I created as a first step in a co-design process with a group of young people with additional support needs in order to build rapport, trust, a better understanding of their school experience and shared language.
A bit of background
The transitioning experience from childhood into adulthood can be traumatic for many young people with additional support needs. Their voices and dreams are unheard, their needs and struggles not sufficiently supported, and in some cases, young people may not be invited to the very meetings where their futures are decided.
While I was working at my company, Passio, I had the pleasure to work with the Divergent influencers, a group of young people aged 16-25 who were picked by ARC Scotland to represent the voices of people like them across the country. My task was to work together with this group to co-produce a tool that supports and educates young people across Scotland while also preparing them to be able to confidently advocate for their future.
In order to deliver this, it was crucial to create an inclusive design process to enable us to be on the same page of understanding the experiences of young people at school.
If you work in the design and accessibility field, you may have heard about the double empathy problem. The basic idea of the double empathy problem is that neurotypical people can understand and communicate with each other well and neurodivergent groups can also communicate within their own groups perfectly fine. The problem arises when neurotypical and neurodivergent people have to communicate with each other because there is often a gap in their perspectives which makes exchanging ideas difficult.
Knowing this, our first challenge was to design a workshop activity that bridge our worlds to build a vocabulary to establish a mutual understanding between everyone involved. This way, we could work together while combining our expertise in order to co-design a successful solution.
Coming from a cognitive science perspective, I initially contemplated using emojis in feeling charts to help us understand the affect young person’s journey through school. These kinds of activities should be familiar, intuitive and accessible.
However, I knew from experience neurodivergent groups reported these activities were not inclusive to them. Interpretations of emojis in feeling charts are subjective and created based on neurotypical standards. Neurodivergent people’s experiences do not always won’t fit into the same boxes.
Here is an example to illustrate this point:
Is this Emoji anger? Sad? Constipated? Different people can interpret this information in many different ways.
If we look at typical feeling charts, they do not encapsulate other affective states such as ‘sensory overloads‘, which is a highly relevant feeling many Neurodivergent people experience. Thus, if a person in your user research group cannot find an emoji or the language to represent how they feel, they are forced to find an approximation which may not be accurate to how they feel at all. In design research and co-creation, it means losing valuable insight, data and connection to peoples true experience.
Finding a new approach
Dr Dinah Murray, a brilliant autism and disability advocate, introduced me to ‘autimojis’. These were emojis created by autistic people to showcase their own emotional affect states. Here are a few examples. Notice how they do not have facial expressions?
Inclusive Design process
We built a bespoke user research method upon the idea that typical emotional scales would not fully encapsulate neurodivergent experiences. Thus we created a new activity. We asked young people to create three emojis to represent their experiences at school using automojis as creative prompts.
The Divergent Influencers were highly engaged and very creative. Here, a young person drew an emoji of Shrek. He explained he felt like an Ogre at school – people misunderstood him when he was a really soft and kind person.
Below you can see the Conflicting emoji with a person feeling happy, confused, happy, confused, all at once!
Here a person described feeling fragmented. I could never have imagined feeling like this without this imagery!
“I never knew how my child felt because she was unable to articulate her experience. If I had something like this, it would have made such a difference to her life.”— A Divergent Influencer’s parent
Involving young people in an inclusive design process where they created their own emojis instead of having them select them from pre-defined feeling charts proved to be an effective approach to building bridges and overcoming the barriers posed by the double empathy problem.
I was able to see a new perspective on how school was different for many young neurodivergent people and I gained insights into things I would have never otherwise imagined. Not only that, but this approach provided a platform for some interesting, deeper group discussions and I got a chance to gain an understanding of young people’s colourful experiences at school.
The feedback from the Divergent Influencers was also that they loved the the activity and were impressed it was so highly inclusive and accessible, allowed them to express their opinions in ways that are not possible through language but easier through drawing.
As people working in user experience, it is our job to capture participants’ true feelings towards products or ideas, and this is not possible without accurately mapping how our users might really be feeling.
So next time you’re tasked with assessing feedback on something, have a think about whether the tools you’re about to use are really suited to work with the people in your research group. You might find an artistic approach or even the use of sound might be more effective than language as a means of expression. | sociology |
https://artisanes.ch/en/women-ambassadors/ | 2024-02-28T12:28:47 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474715.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20240228112121-20240228142121-00762.warc.gz | 0.965293 | 162 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__105277298 | en | Women have long been a rarity in the Swiss wine world, and this motivated the Artisanes to show solidarity and favour cooperation rather than competition. Together they will promote their wines.
They rely on a network of women passionate about wine and its universe. The latter are brought together within the Ambassadors of the Artisanes and support the Association with their personalities and their knowledge. Their enthusiasm carries us and it is together that we promote the values and wines of the Artisanes.
They are invited to VIP meetings in our vineyards or those of friendly winemaking women in Switzerland and beyond. They are also invited to participate in events organised by the Artisanes, within the Association or in our cellars.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to join these happy occasions. | sociology |
https://armsandthemedicalman.wordpress.com/ | 2019-04-20T05:15:14 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578528523.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20190420040932-20190420062932-00519.warc.gz | 0.961067 | 308 | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2019-18__0__202329995 | en | My name is Jessica Meyer and I am a research historian at the University of Leeds, currently funded by the European Research Council. I am working on a project that examines the care provided to disabled ex-servicemen by the British state, charities and their families after the First World War. I am particularly interested in the ways in which the provision of care by these three groups was shaped by gender (of both carer and cared for), and how this in turn shaped cultural understandings of the gendering of care provision.
I am also currently writing a monograph based on research funded by the Wellcome Trust into the experiences and identities of non-commissioned military medical servicemen (basically, the RAMC stretcher bearers and orderlies) of the First World War.
Broadly my interests include the history of gender, particularly masculinity, the history of disability, especially war disability, the history of popular and middlebrow literature, mainly detective and adventure fiction, and the social and cultural history of warfare.
As the mother of two young children, I am also interested in the teaching of the history of the First World War and the representation of the war in popular culture, as well as questions relating to how academics (women in particular) can attain and maintain a work/life balance in the current climate. All these topics will form the subject matter of this blog along with musings on academia and working motherhood more generally.
Further details about my work and how to contact me can be found here. | sociology |
http://letsstaytogethertalkshow.com/making-marriage-work/ | 2017-10-17T00:12:45 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187820487.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20171016233304-20171017013304-00118.warc.gz | 0.968299 | 321 | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2017-43__0__143179800 | en | DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN A MARRIAGE
Jodine Basterash is a domestic violence and sexual assault Survivor, Advocate, Author, and Motivational Speaker. After enduring domestic violence for 14 years, she’s developed an expertise on dating abuse not only for the victim but the family as a whole. She has dedicated her life to this cause by educating others in various capacities and creating a support system through her initiatives Speak Your Peace Against Domestic Violence and Adore To Empower, a women’s empowerment group for domestic violence survivors.
Jodine enjoys working with the community and various domestic violence agencies as a freelancer and has spoken on numerous platforms with various political representatives, conducted training with the Department of Justice Law Enforcement, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs to name a few. She speaks at numerous community events either sharing her survivor story, teaching awareness or empowering other victims and survivors on their journey to healing & restoration.
Jodine has been featured and wrote for several publications and has received numerous awards and recognition for her courage and determination to educate the public regarding domestic violence and empowering others to live on purpose. She shares a dynamic message of having the courage to shine through adversity and the unlimited power of choice in our lives. She has been sought out as a positive example of how we do not have to be products of our circumstances. She is a firm believer that we have the power within ourselves to rise above our past and create the life we choose. Her story is proof that it’s never too late for a new beginning. | sociology |
https://ncvisionzero.org/about-us/vision-zero-in-nc/ | 2023-12-07T04:59:32 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100632.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20231207022257-20231207052257-00623.warc.gz | 0.931046 | 709 | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-50__0__169201019 | en | Vision Zero started in North Carolina in 2015 when Governor McCrory and NCDOT declared NC a Vision Zero state. Since 2015, a growing number of communities across the state have made a commitment to Vision Zero. These communities are working to convene diverse coalitions, each of which looks different and reflects the unique strengths and characteristics of each community. Many have passed formal resolutions committing to Vision Zero as well as adopting formal plans to achieve the goal.
Since 2020, with support from the NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program, UNC has provided technical assistance to Vision Zero communities across North Carolina to strengthen community capacity to address road violence through effective, multi-sector coalitions. The UNC team represents a diverse collaboration between the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center, UNC Highway Safety Research Center, the Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and the NC Institute for Public Health.
The UNC support team provides guidance for NC Vision Zero community efforts, including in the following areas:
Change management Providing guidance on adaptive leadership skills, conflict management, and effective communication to increase the likelihood of successful teamwork.
Implementation of Vision Zero and road safety principles Identifying and sharing out evidence-based Vision Zero strategies, providing resources for drafting Vision Zero action plans, and effective community engagement strategies.
Monitoring and metrics Providing technical assistance on monitoring and evaluating Vision Zero implementation progress.
Systems thinking for systems strengthening Supporting strategic thinking and actions with tools for building strong, diverse coalitions (e.g., the Community Readiness Assessment).
Additionally, in order to provide opportunities for peer sharing and to advance Vision Zero at a statewide level, there are several other regular activities that occur across the state. All NC Vision Zero communities are invited to participate:
Regular peer community touchpoints: The UNC team hosts monthly small group and “all-hands” community meetings for peer learning and sharing, tailored coaching, and coordination.
Annual NC Vision Zero Leadership Institute: Building from the regular touchpoints, this team-based, multi-sector training institute is hosted annually by UNC for Vision Zero community leaders to learn and apply system strengthening tools and training for sustainable Vision Zero planning and implementation.
NC Statewide Vision Zero task force: Convened by UNC and the NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program, this group of diverse stakeholders meets quarterly with the purpose of providing direction and mobilizing resources to help communities in North Carolina working toward achieving Vision Zero in the state.
Taken together, this work which is led by community leaders’ time, efforts, and generosity invested in sharing and helping one another, makes up NC’s Mutual Learning Coalition, Action, and Implementation Support model for Vision Zero. UNC organizes and provides a framework and resources for this model:
With increasing road traffic injury and death rates, particularly among individuals who walk and cycle, there is an urgent need to create a safer and more equitable transportation system in NC and across the US. Vision Zero strategies can help us achieve this goal. In NC, we have observed several successes and tangible movement towards a Safe System for all. However, large scale change will require sustained resources, multi-sector collaboration, and authentic attention to equity. We believe mutual support and collaboration models, such as this model utilized in NC, are critical to supporting and strengthening the life-saving work of community leaders across the state.
Download a summary report of the NC Vision Zero approach here: NC Vision Zero Summary Approach (PDF) | sociology |
http://ontheedge.mbwmag.net/ | 2014-09-16T11:25:52 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1410657114926.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20140914011154-00276-ip-10-196-40-205.us-west-1.compute.internal.warc.gz | 0.960504 | 217 | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2014-41__0__176564193 | en | Edgy political blog providing thought-provoking political commentary. The political views of this website are neither red nor blue but instead reflect a growing dissatisfaction with both political parties. I believe that the party extremes, Occupiers on one side and Tea Party folks on the other, are destroying our country. We need to awaken Nixon’s silent majority and take our country back. Many Americans have either lost their jobs or are in danger of doing so, they have either lost their homes or are in danger of doing so and they have lost faith in their government’s ability to govern. Our children are left saddled with college loans that are in default because they can’t get a job, our pensions are in danger due to a volatile stock market and a failing economy and the American Dream seems almost unachievable for the next generation. Whether you agree or not, please comment on the articles. We need to have a dialog in this country that unites and does not divide. Only by discussing our differences and recognizing our common ground, will we save our nation. | sociology |
https://www.diegoplacido.com/post/anti-racism-call-to-action-the-need-for-radical-change-to-address-racial-and-economic-inequality | 2024-04-17T15:53:02 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-18/segments/1712296817158.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20240417142102-20240417172102-00783.warc.gz | 0.951653 | 1,490 | CC-MAIN-2024-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-18__0__7314316 | en | Those of us that have been discriminated against and oppressed since we were born due to socially constructed notions of gender, race, and ethnicity—among other physical and mental traits relegated as undesirable or inconvenient by those in power—have come to understand early on that “freedom is a constant struggle,” as accurately proclaimed by political activist Angela Y. Davis. However, this appalling reality of society should never have existed. The path forward must include centering the voices of historically marginalized people in collective, transnational, and radical efforts across individual and institutional levels to secure a more just society.
Our goal towards a more inclusive society should not end at reducing racial and economic inequality. The aim should prioritize eliminating racial, economic, and social inequity. Collective efforts to assuage the living conditions of marginalized people need to distribute economic and political support based on the needs and circumstances of each person, rather than distributing support uniformly, to provide a fair chance of succeeding in society and living a fruitful life. Furthermore, our efforts will require us to fully acknowledge that the barriers marginalized people face are intersectional and systemic.
Over the years, various people around the world have worked to dismantle systems of oppression through education, research, and political activism. Angela Davis reminds us time and time again that true progress happens when oppressed people unite—within and across continents—to combat and end oppressive systems that are most unwilling to change. It was the mass movements of abolition that led to the demolition of slavery, segregation, and gender discrimination. Although, traces of these oppressions persist to this day due to the ill-founded acceptance of moderate progress which actually upholds oppressive systems and continues to disenfranchise many.
The movements witnessed during the 1800s lost traction when people disregarded the intersectionality of gender, race, and class. The early stages of the movement for women’s political rights focused solely on improving the livelihoods of middle-class white women while discounting the harsh reality experienced by the working class, Black women, and Black men. The early movement failed to grasp the inseparability between issues affecting those from a lower social class and racialized identity. People continue to fail today when they erroneously categorize issues of gender, race, and class as distinct from one another. In her reiteration of Angelina Grimke’s message, Angela Davis stresses “that the democratic struggles of the times—especially the fight for women’s equality—could be most effectively waged in association with the struggle for Black Liberation.” A united front that is steadfast in their demands for social and political change will be more sustainable than disparate efforts that accede to compromises.
Movements need to be disruptive to fasten change. Martin Luther King Jr. asserted that “the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice…” A people that are unwavering in their pursuit to end their suffering have the power to rebuild society in their image by compelling their governments to enact policies that protect freedoms. Malcolm X rightly stated, “It’s the hinge that squeaks that gets the grease.” In other words, “[…] if you want something, you had better make some noise.” In this day and age, we cannot justify being passive in the face of adversity and denigration of our people. Passivity is as inhumane as the active harm being done by racist and xenophobic perpetrators.
Today, we need to put into the forefront the issues of inequity across healthcare, education, and the justice system that are results of society’s increasing dependency on a capitalist framework that prioritizes materialism and profits over the well-being of people. Or better yet, we need to tackle the disease of capitalism itself rather than simply treating its symptoms. Capitalism exploits people. It does not function to serve the working class—which comprises the majority of people in society. Those that are monetarily privileged use capitalism as a tool to further oppress and disposes people that have been historically marginalized. Two discriminatory practices that were widely used in the United States include those in which banks or lenders refused services to people of color and others of minority status because they lived in areas that were of “financial risk” (redlining) and the manipulation of electoral constituency boundaries to disenfranchise a diverse faction of people including women, racialized groups, and people from lower socioeconomic classes (gerrymandering). Across the world capitalism has undoubtedly given power to practices that promote imperialism and fascism to subjugate the masses. Only transnational unity and solidarity amongst oppressed people will prevail in reconstructing a better society without authoritarian and unjust systems.
The immediate steps we need to take as a society comprise participating in the democratic process with increased forcefulness to create alternatives to the neocolonialist co-optation of governing foisted upon us. We need to hold those in positions with the power to ratify change accountable for their destructive actions and inactions. When they refuse to make the necessary changes for the betterment of the oppressed and the rest of society, it is our responsibility to reclaim our collective power by electing officials whose top priority is to serve the people and not the institutions. Psychological research has shown that legislation passed “prematurely” at the federal level, granting a subgroup of people legal rights, had the power to influence individual attitudes and reestablish social norms of acceptance for those that were initially resistant. Enacting anti-racist policies that protect the freedoms of the oppressed and offer various forms of reparations will restructure foundations at the systemic level and in turn will reshape how people function at the individual level. To do this effectively we will need to form a global community with our siblings across the seas. In the wise words of authors bell hooks and M. Scott Peck, “Communities sustain life […]” and “In and through community lies the salvation of the world.”
Davis, A.Y. (1983). Women, race, & class. New York: Vintage Books.
Davis, A.Y. (2015). Freedom is a constant struggle (F. Barat, Ed.). Chicago: Haymarket Books.
hooks, b. (2000). All about love: New visions. New York: William Morrow.
King, M. L. (1994). Letter from the Birmingham jail. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco.
Ofosu, E. K., Chambers, M. K., Chen, J. M., & Hehman, E. (2019). Same-sex marriage legalization associated with reduced implicit and explicit anti-gay bias. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116, 8846-8851.
Tankard, M., & Paluck, E. L. (2016). Norm perception as a vehicle for social change. Social Issues and Policy Review, 10, 181-211.
Trask, H-K. (1999). From a native daughter : colonialism and sovereignty in Hawai'i. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
X, M., & Haley, A. (1966). The autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Grove Press. | sociology |
https://brootto.co.il/en/haifa/lawyers/bituah-leumi-250832.html | 2022-01-25T01:04:44 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320304749.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20220125005757-20220125035757-00301.warc.gz | 0.912306 | 116 | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2022-05__0__93479009 | en | Field of work:
Assistance with Bitouah Leumi is a State organization established to provide economic support to citizens unable to support themselves: the elderly, the disabled, single mothers and the unemployed who are temporarily deprived of their source of income. In addition to insurance, Bituah Leumi provides citizens with additional services: refresher courses, rehabilitation programmes, assistance of social workers and care of the elderly or sick.
For detailed information or consultation, call: 054-667-0599
№250832 Created: 18 November 2021 | sociology |
https://laurenstartt.com/faq/ | 2023-12-03T14:23:03 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100508.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20231203125921-20231203155921-00168.warc.gz | 0.979143 | 255 | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-50__0__79919004 | en | I have a lot of people who ask me why I do what I do. I think this is an important question and one that I talk about in every reading I give. I do not do this work to change anyone’s beliefs. I don’t need you to believe in me or what I do. That’s not what this is about. I do this work, first, to be my most authentic self. Mediumship has been a part of my life since I was a child and for the first time I am stepping into who I really am without being worried about who thinks this or that. This isn’t something you wake up wanting to do one day because it’s cool or well accepted by others. I am choosing to share this ability with a whole lot of courage.
Most importantly, I share this ability for the people who have suffered major loss. I do this for the parents, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, cousins, aunts, uncles and all who are hurting. Unfortunately, I can not cure anyone’s hurting heart by bringing their loved ones back. What I can do is share specifics about their loved ones in spirit proving they are still with them just in a different way. | sociology |
https://beautynews.uk/2022/04/black-hair-in-prison-deserves-more-compassion-the-daily-utah-chronicle/ | 2022-06-29T22:06:14 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103645173.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220629211420-20220630001420-00755.warc.gz | 0.948168 | 1,169 | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2022-27__0__111805229 | en | Sydney Stam(Graphic by Sydney Stam | The Daily Utah Chronicle)
When Shia Milan Yearwood’s photograph was posted to a Twitter mugshot web page in 2018, it boosted her braiding enterprise. Yearwood’s expertise, nevertheless, contrasts how the prison justice system sometimes limits and regulates Black hair.
There is extra motion to simply accept Black hair texture and elegance in workplaces, colleges and different public areas. Last March, the U.S. House of Representatives handed the CROWN Act to ban race-based hair discrimination. But this dialogue has not expanded to incorporate accepting Black hair in prisons. Prison limitations and laws that unduly have an effect on and goal Black hair should change as a part of our effort to simply accept Black hair.
Discrimination Against Black Hair
Racism stays alive in jail in half via haircare. Haircare limitations implicitly enforced by costly and restricted commissary gadgets make it tough for prisoners to take care of wholesome hair. While commissary gadgets typically match the value of comparable merchandise outdoors of jail, jail wages are considerably lower than wages outdoors cell partitions. One examine evaluating commissary use throughout three U.S. prisons discovered that prisoners spend, on common, $947 per 12 months on the commissary, however wages in these three prisons ranged from solely $180 to $660 per 12 months.
Additionally, buying at commissaries just isn’t like buying at an area grocery store. Commissaries have a restricted product choice. Even then, accessible hygiene and wonder merchandise are sometimes for white individuals, making them ineffective for Black ladies’s hair or pores and skin. The problem of hair care in jail is even tougher for Black individuals, who typically use bonnets to guard hair throughout sleep.
Many prisons have laws that apply virtually solely to Black hair. For occasion, in 2015, one Texas jail had a rule requiring inmates to “take away hair weaves, even when they’re braided, glued or sewn into the hairline.” Failure to conform may outcome in the forcible removing of the weaves. A haircut or type can imply lots to inmates. Hair alternative makes them really feel like themselves in an atmosphere that strips their persona. Yet we nonetheless enable laws that discriminate towards Black hair and predominantly restrict Black hair care in prisons.
Differential Treatment is Rooted in Racism
Plenty of these limitations and laws we set on Black hair in jail outcome from detrimental connotations and racist beliefs surrounding Black hair. Black hair is usually referred to as nappy, ugly and dangerous in comparison with positive and straight hair. In jail, these beliefs are strengthened via inhumane remedy and forcible haircuts.
A Black inmate in Pennsylvania was pressured into solitary confinement for over a 12 months after refusing to chop his dreadlocks, which he believed gave him power based mostly on his faith. The inmate additionally claimed that correctional officers typically ordered prisoners of shade to take away their hats and run their fingers via their hair to “examine for contraband,” however by no means ordered white prisoners to take action. In one other instance, an Illinois prisoner had his dreadlocks forcibly eliminated by a jail guard after the guard claimed the inmate posed a safety danger. However, the guard failed to supply a cause for the safety danger and as an alternative made an pointless and extreme demonstration of energy to hold out his personal prejudiced beliefs and dehumanize a Black individual.
Someone’s standing as an inmate doesn’t justify humiliating them. Guards and correctional officers should not have the best to brutalize Black individuals via inhumane remedy and compelled haircuts. Many jail officers and guards justify their racist practices by citing grooming requirements, which exist to advertise the security of prisoners and guards in addition to the hygiene of inmates. There are issues about inmates sneaking contraband or weapons into prisons via their hair, and selling these grooming requirements acts as a measure of cleanliness and security. However, these absurd grooming requirements are rooted in historic stereotypes and negatively have an effect on Black individuals. Black our bodies have traditionally been characterised as soiled and diseased, stereotypes that began in the course of the Atlantic Slave Trade and endured all through the Civil Rights Movement.
Now, these stereotypes have an effect on Black individuals via up to date acts of discrimination towards their hair, whether or not they’re incarcerated or not. Through jail grooming insurance policies, prisons make use of strategies that dehumanize and present our tradition’s discomfort with Black individuals. Whether limitations or direct regulation cease Black individuals from caring for his or her hair in prisons or just carrying it, Black hair discrimination is rooted in a historical past that doesn’t respect Black individuals the way in which it does white individuals.
While the progress of accepting Black hair in workplaces and colleges is inspiring, we want the identical push for acceptance of Black hair inside prisons. Prisons make the most of racist grooming requirements that deny hair care and restrict acceptable hairstyles for Black inmates, or worse, punish inmates for his or her pure hair care. For some prisoners, hair is a approach for them to carry onto their former selves, be in management and maintain their hygiene. By denying them hair care, prisons deny them decency. Black women and men are deserving of compassion and humanity, similar to their white counterparts, and it doesn’t matter in the event that they’re sitting in a jail cell or not. | sociology |
https://www.siriusinsight.ai/modern-slavery-policy | 2024-03-01T15:04:21 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947475311.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20240301125520-20240301155520-00320.warc.gz | 0.942636 | 1,293 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__18886606 | en | Modern Slavery Policy
Slavery is a term used to include slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour, bonded and child labour, and human trafficking. Victims are coerced, deceived, and forced against their free will into providing work or services. Human trafficking is where a person arranges or facilitates the travel of another person with a view to that person being exploited.
Slavery and human trafficking are illegal and violate fundamental human rights.
Forms of modern slavery may include but are not limited to, withholding of passports, being forced to work against a person’s will, depending on the employer for housing, food, and other necessities, being recruited through some form of debt arrangement, such as an advance or loan, and limitations on movement of workers.
Sirius not only prohibits the use of modern slavery and human trafficking in our operations and supply chain but is actively engaged in helping Government Agencies to combat the perpetrators of these crimes many of which originate overseas.
We are committed to implementing systems and controls aimed at ensuring that modern slavery is not taking place anywhere within our organisation or in any of our supply chains.
We expect that our suppliers will hold themselves and their own suppliers to the same high standards.
We seek to ensure that our partners and affiliates have similarly high standards, respect local laws and customs along with meeting international laws and regulations and we will never knowingly deal with any organisation which is connected to slavery or human trafficking.
Business and Organisation Overview
Sirius currently employs people only in the UK and one of the most important parts of our onboarding process is to ensure that each employee has the legal right to work here,
As part of our commitment to combating modern slavery, and to conduct business in an ethical and transparent manner, along with mitigating risk of non- compliance, within our organisation we also have the following related policies:
Our policies also invite all staff to contribute to the development of policies and provide suggestion as to how the group may improve its governance and risk management framework, processes and controls.
Our whistleblowing policy provides guidance for individuals who wish to report any concerns or potential violations of our policies, including our anti-slavery and human trafficking policy. We are pleased to confirm that no incidents have been raised or reported to date.
We operate to high ethical business, employment, and recruitment standards. We recognise that responsible recruitment is an essential tool in combatting modern slavery and preventing human trafficking. Our internal recruitment standards acknowledge the importance of robust recruitment practices and serve as a reference point for management and employees.
In order to minimise our exposure to risks that may arise in relation to slavery and human trafficking, we always aim to recruit staff directly and do not make frequent use of temporary workers sourced through an intermediary or employment agency.
Our policies are reviewed and updated regularly to confirm content remains relevant and consistent with the Company's strong commitment to human rights.
Risk Management and Compliance
Given the small size of the company and the thorough due diligence process used in the hiring of each employee (interview process, use of BPSS etc.), the risk of an employee being the victim of trafficking or modern slavery is believed to be low.
Nevertheless, we adopt a zero tolerance approach to these matters we will not tolerate slavery or human trafficking within our supply chains. Any allegations made about modern slavery within the company or our wider supply chain are escalated internally and investigated without undue delay. Depending on the severity of the violation, potential actions available range from; discussions with suppliers around remediation and/or termination of the contract.
While modern slavery can be found among any population, we recognise that certain groups are particularly vulnerable to the risks of modern slavery, including:
Domestic and foreign migrant workers
Vulnerable populations (e.g., refugees)
Young or student workers
If and when we use third-party agents and suppliers then we wil ensure that they maintain the same standards - to conduct robust checks on any potential new employee, including eligibility to work in the relevant country, to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.
Sirius is proud of its culture and corporate ethos, and the collaborative relationships our staff actively maintain with customers and suppliers externally. Our organisation’s culture and the approach we take when dealing with clients, partners, advisors and other third parties has been instrumental in ensuring that we have low levels of staff turnover and few changes in the supply chain.
We understand that the COVID-19 pandemic has created, and continues to create global economic and social disruption, putting vulnerable groups identified above at greater risk of exploitation. The company recognises that the ongoing pandemic will likely exacerbate underlying factors driving modern slavery, including poverty, limited access to decent work opportunities, lack of quality education and the prevalence of the informal economy.
The company’s formal training and induction processes for new staff are firmly established across the group. The standard and behaviours expected of our employees are detailed within a number of policies and codes of conduct, in addition to those listed above. All new employees have access to the employee policies required as part of induction and training as required.
Management and support staff remain mindful of their duty and legal obligation to escalate any matters of concern in relation to human rights abuses, in line with company policies. All our employees are encouraged to identify and report any potential breaches of the organisation’s policies within the wider understanding of whistleblowing.
Commitment and performance
Having considered a range of factors, including the nature of our products, the sector in which we operate, and the various policies and procedures in place, we believe that the company is at low risk of exposure to slavery and human trafficking.
We are not aware of any areas of our operations and supply chain where there has been a breach of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Recognising that the human rights risks may change over time as the business enterprise’s operations and operating context evolve, we will continue to:
Re-evaluate the exposure to the risk of modern slavery occurring in our supply chain
Review and enhance our governance and risk management frameworks
Apply appropriate risk-based due diligence processes to mitigate the risk of non-compliance with the Act.
Continually review our induction and training programmes to support our zero-tolerance approach to human rights abuses.
Continue training to our executive team to build on their understanding. | sociology |
https://wensa.home.blog/2019/03/25/about/ | 2023-04-02T06:05:30 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296950383.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20230402043600-20230402073600-00445.warc.gz | 0.940373 | 195 | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-14__0__175461686 | en | The World Evangelisation Network of South Africa (WENSA) is a national strategic network, facilitating and promoting the South African missions movement.
WENSA facilitates movement by focussing on 3 strategic goals: – INSPIRE the church to keep the Great Commission in focus – ENGAGE the church in conversation, consultation and collaboration – Facilitate the church to become a LEARNING COMMUNITY
WENSA came into being as a result of the convergence of various missions’ initiatives into a single national initiative named WENSA.
In 2004 the WENSA vision and strategy was endorsed by key national role players and led to the adoption of the WENSA Declaration. WENSA aligns itself with several strategic partners such as TEASA (The Evangelical Association of South Africa) which is a national initiative of the WEA (World Evangelical Alliance), the Lausanne Movement and MANI (Movement for African National Initiatives). | sociology |
https://etiqa.com.my/v2/about-us/etiqa-cares/education | 2023-12-11T13:26:50 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679511159.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20231211112008-20231211142008-00688.warc.gz | 0.941968 | 130 | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-50__0__213061990 | en | Education is vital. Since 2007, Etiqa has invested in various holistic initiatives to nurture the minds of more than 10,000 young Malaysians.
Through Etiqa’s Back-to-School programme, we have provided basic necessities such as uniforms, shoes, and other school supplies to underprivileged students across Malaysia.
Our latest Back-to-School programme was held in Kelantan, Sabah, and Sarawak.
© 2023 Etiqa. All Rights Reserved.
Thank you for signing up.
We can't wait to send you updates that we hope you'll find informative and helpful. | sociology |
http://danvosslaw.com/litigation-employment.php | 2020-04-03T21:07:04 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370518622.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20200403190006-20200403220006-00144.warc.gz | 0.925931 | 454 | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2020-16__0__47599157 | en | Employers are prohibited by both state and federal laws from discriminating against or harassing employees on the basis of sex, race, national origin, religion, age, or disability. The Missouri law is referred to as the Missouri Human Rights Act. The federal law is called Title VII. Employers are also prohibited from retaliating against employees for attempting to protect their rights under both the Missouri Human Rights Act and Title VII. The law office of Daniel J. Voss has substantial experience representing employees in workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims.
Workplace and employment discrimination can occur in an employee’s hiring, firing, disciplining, training, promoting, or in harassment in the workplace when it involves an employee’s race, age, national origin, sex, disability, pregnancy or religion. Discrimination can also occur after an employee files a workers’ compensation claim or after a worker complains of an employer’s violation of a law or regulation (i.e., whistle blowing).
Daniel J. Voss protects the rights of employees who have suffered discrimination in matters involving:
- Sexual Harassment
- Racial Harassment
- Age Discrimination
- Race Discrimination
- Religious Discrimination
- National Origin Discrimination
- Pregnancy Discrimination
- Retaliation (after complaining about discrimination and/or harassment)
- Gender Discrimination
- Whistle Blowing
- Work Comp Retaliation
Unpaid Overtime and "Off the Clock" Work
Daniel J. Voss also represents employees who may be owed unpaid wages and overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for working more than 40 hours in a week. This is a complex area of the law where, in addition to hourly employees, some salaried and commissioned employees may also be entitled to overtime.
Contact the Law Office of Daniel J. Voss
If you believe you have been a victim of workplace discrimination or harassment, or are owed unpaid wages and overtime, call Daniel J. Voss at 816-522-3536 for a free initial consultation. You may also send us an e-mail ([email protected]), or complete the "Contact Us" feature on this website, and tell us briefly about your potential case. | sociology |
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/WCPD-1994-05-02/html/WCPD-1994-05-02-Pg908.htm | 2013-05-20T19:43:02 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699201808/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101321-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | 0.95205 | 892 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2013-20__0__28793897 | en | [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 17 (Monday, May 2, 1994)] [Pages 908-909] [Online from the Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov] <R04> Proclamation 6678--National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 1994 April 25, 1994 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Every day, our Nation's peace is shattered by crime. Violent crime and the fear it provokes are crippling our society, limiting our personal freedom, and fraying the ties that bind us. No corner of America, it often seems, is safe from increasing levels of criminal violence. And more and more, the victims of these crimes are random targets of assaults stemming from a serious breakdown of values in our families and our communities. National Crime Victims' Rights Week is a time when our Nation pauses to seriously reflect on these innocent victims of crime and on those who are working all across this country in their behalf. Thousands of people--many of them volunteers who have been victims themselves--are tirelessly striving at the Federal, State, and local levels to provide emotional support, guidance, and financial assistance to help crime victims recover from their trauma and to ensure that they are treated equitably and sensitively as their cases progress through the criminal justice system. My Administration is working to stop the violence today to ensure fewer victims tomorrow. The pending crime bill is tough and smart and fair, with victims' concerns as its centerpiece. It will strengthen programs that combat violence against women, it will impose a life sentence--without possibility of parole--on repeat, violent offenders, and it will amend the Victims of Crime Act to expand Federal resources available for crime victims' services, and it will promote the development of State registries for child abusers. We are encouraging citizens to assume personal responsibility for improving their neighborhoods and to get involved in finding solutions to the violence in their communities. Those who give of themselves to assist victims are helping immeasurably in this effort. They are there for their neighbors. They are there to provide comfort when someone has [[Page 909]] lost a child to random gunfire, when the sanctity of someone's home has been invaded by an intruder, when someone has been robbed, brutalized, or beaten. National Crime Victims' Rights Week affords us the opportunity to express our appreciation to these ``good neighbors'' and to renew our commitment to meeting the needs and ensuring the rights of crime victims. I encourage communities across the Nation to facilitate the restorative process. Offenders must take responsibility and be held accountable for what they have done. We must encourage victims to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and help them to rebuild their lives and their communities through volunteer efforts and community service projects. And community institutions must afford the same rights to the victim as those given to the accused and to the offender. This includes initiatives such as community policing, community prosecutors, and community action advocates. Members of AmeriCorps promise a source of untapped potential for even more victim service agencies in our cities and towns. In fact, thousands will be making their presence felt this summer in our national service Summer of Safety programs. The problem of violence is a problem for all Americans. It is not a partisan issue. Strong pro-victim measures must be enacted in order to give our children a brighter future. Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim the week of April 24 through April 30, 1994, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week. I urge all Americans to join in remembering the innocent victims of crime and in honoring those who labor selflessly in behalf of these victims and their families. We must recommit ourselves to working with our neighbors to stop the violence and to ensure safer streets, schools, and playgrounds for our Nation's children and for all of our citizens. In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighteenth. William J. Clinton [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:27 p.m., April 26, 1994] Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on April 29. | sociology |
https://www.graceonthemoon.com/men---eating-disorders-1.html | 2018-11-16T11:22:55 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039743011.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20181116111645-20181116133645-00340.warc.gz | 0.978043 | 1,037 | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2018-47__0__157495470 | en | Much progress has been made in the understanding and treating of eating disorders, but one big piece of misinformation still remains a battle: the stereotype about the population of those who suffer. Many people, including some doctors and therapists, still believe in the old idea that the only people who get an eating disorder are white, well-to-do, and young. The other assumption is that they are all female.
The reality is that many men and teenage boys suffer from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified), as well as other types of eating disorders. The National Association for Males with Eating Disorders cites the number of people with anorexia and bulimia who are male to be anywhere from 10-25%. According to Men Get Eating Disorders, Too, of the total number of people in the U.K. with eating disorders, 11% of them are male. As more statistics become available on binge eating disorder, which has just recently been recognized as a category of eating disorders, more will be known about exact numbers. Regardless of where the number falls, it means there are millions of men and boys who suffer from an eating disorder.
Sometimes a male may not just be suffering from one of the more well-known eating disorders. He might be engaging in compulsive exercising, which is using exercise in a compulsive and unhealthy manner in an effort to try to lose weight, maintain a weight loss, or develop muscles. Workouts become more and more obsessive, and sometimes commitments to family, friends, work and hobbies are put aside so the sufferer can get in another workout. They often push themselves to the point of severe physical symptoms, but the idea of not continuing to punish their bodies with over exercising causes great amounts of stress. Not only is compulsive exercising not a widely known problem, too often a man who is trapped in the cycle is seen by others as just a ‘gym rat’. He is celebrated as having great discipline. If he utilizes body building techniques, he risks developing muscle dysmorphia, aka “bigorexia”. If he puts an extreme focus on eating healthy, he risks going from someone who is trying to be mindful of his intake to someone who has orthorexia. For details of these types of eating disorders, see the Eating Disorder Definitions page.
It is already often quite difficult for a person who is sick to tell someone what’s going on and reach out for professional help. When you add the stigma of eating disorders being a “girls only” club, many men and boys are even more reluctant to seek out the support and treatment they need. There is also the perception held by some that a man with an eating disorder must be gay. While many people – both men and women – who have an eating disorder are gay, bisexual or transgender, there is no truth to the idea that only gay men get eating disorders. They occur regardless of sexual preference, age, income, gender, location, religion, career, and many other identifiers.
Males with eating disorders are also at risk of the same dangers that affect females, and the warning signs are the same, too. When seeking treatment from a physician, therapist, nutritionist or other source, it can be helpful to do some homework before making an appointment. Contact the person, or ask someone you trust to contact them on your behalf, if you need help, and ask them if they are comfortable treating a male with an eating disorder. While many professionals are qualified and experienced in doing so, weeding out those who feel they cannot give you the help you need can save time, trouble and money. They may also be able to recommend someone that can help you. You can also contact your insurance company for guidance in where to turn. If you are a college student, many universities provide resources and even support groups for their pupils with an eating disorder. There are a host of resources to examine, as well. One avenue of help can come in the form of online peer support, such as the busy forums on this site.
The bottom line is while progress is being made to better educate the public, professionals, and the loved ones of those who suffer from an eating disorder, there is still work to be done when it comes to helping these men and boys to know that they are not the only guy suffering. If you are a male with an eating disorder, you are not alone. You deserve help and healing, and there are ways to get it without being judged for your gender. If you are the loved one of someone with an eating disorder, keep in mind that it’s hard enough for anyone to open up about their illness. When you factor in a fear of being judged, ridiculed or not believed due to not being female, it can drive a man or teenage boy further underground in the secret and deadly world of eating disorders. It’s important to let the person you care about know that you are there for them, you will listen to them, and you will do anything you can to help them. | sociology |
https://sealy.co.nz/community/ronald-mcdonald-house/ | 2022-05-23T20:30:24 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662561747.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220523194013-20220523224013-00660.warc.gz | 0.969338 | 577 | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2022-21__0__171955351 | en | Providing support and comfort for families
As long-time supporters of Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) New Zealand, we are proud to be able to provide families in their care, with a little extra comfort at night. Since 2015, we have been donating Sealy beds to RMHC facilities around the country. RMHC provide a ‘home-away-from-home’ for families, so they can support their children undergoing hospital treatment.
This year, we have just donated beds to RMHC Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Invercargill to ensure they have plenty of comfortable and supportive beds for families during their stay; and have also donated a number of beds to RMHC Fiji.
We have much admiration for the important work RMHC does in supporting more than 3,600 families each year. The Houses offer practical support and provide safe, comfortable spaces for families to relax and recharge during a very difficult time.
RMHC New Zealand CEO, Wayne Howett says the Sealy beds delivered each year help provide families with that much-needed relief for a comfortable night’s sleep, during a very stressful situation. “We want families to feel well-rested during their time with us, as we know this will help them focus on supporting their child through medical treatments” Wayne explains. “Sealy’s ongoing generosity in providing comfortable beds goes a long way in helping us give each family the best possible care while they’re staying with us. We really appreciate that support.”
GM Development & Engagement, Alistair Kirk says RMHC is built on the simple idea that families should be able to focus solely on the health of their child and not worry about where they’re going to sleep each night. “Thanks to our relationship with Sealy, our RMHC families always have a safe, healthy and comfortable sleeping environment, so they can recharge for another day,” Alistair shares.
The Lee family from Fielding is one of those families who know just how important a restful sleep in a stressful situation can be, having stayed at a Ronald McDonald House while their child was in hospital. “We love the spacious rooms and the comfy beds. The room is the perfect place to spend some private family time together.”
At Sealy NZ, we feel privileged to provide support to RMHC, which goes beyond supplying just bedding needs. Our team are involved in providing additional support, such as the preparation of lunches for families staying at the House. It’s been an honour to have the opportunity to provide such tangible support, engage with the families and offer our time to the community.
RMHC provide incredible support for families and we look forward to helping them continue to provide this essential service. | sociology |
https://www.matesbrands.com/news/the-celebrity-brands-making-a-social-impact | 2023-12-11T13:01:56 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679511159.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20231211112008-20231211142008-00224.warc.gz | 0.955758 | 648 | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-50__0__181093995 | en | Today, a growing number of celebrities are leveraging their influence to create meaningful change in the world through their own brands. Whether it's advocating for sustainability, supporting underprivileged communities, or raising awareness for important causes, these celebrity-owned businesses are using their platforms to make a positive social impact. In this blog post, we'll explore some of the most inspiring examples of celebrity brands that are making a difference, and examine the ways in which they are using their platforms to drive social change.
Jessica Alba, the stunning actress turned entrepreneur, has made quite the impact with her brainchild, The Honest Company. This brand is all about providing eco-friendly, non-toxic products for babies, families, and homes. The Honest Company doesn't just talk the talk; they walk the walk. With a strong commitment to ethical sourcing, sustainability, and transparent business practices, they've set the bar high for social responsibility. Giving back is woven into the fabric of The Honest Company. They have partnered with organizations like Baby2Baby, providing millions of diapers and essential baby products to low-income families. Now that's what we call star power!
What's cooler than a father-son duo fighting for the planet? Will and Jaden Smith joined forces to create JUST Water, a bottled water brand that's redefining the meaning of eco-consciousness. JUST Water is all about sustainability. Their packaging is made of 82% renewable resources, and they prioritize ethical water sourcing. Thirsty for change? They've got you covered! In response to the Flint water crisis, the Smiths donated 9,200 bottles of JUST Water to the city's residents. This brand is not only a thirst quencher but also a beacon of hope!
Fashion icon Lauren Conrad is the mastermind behind The Little Market, an online fair-trade shop that empowers female artisans around the world. The Little Market is all about girl power! By providing a platform for female artisans, they're helping to break the cycle of poverty and promote gender equality. Through partnerships with over 75 artisan groups across 28 countries, The Little Market has generated income for thousands of women. This brand is truly making a world of difference!
Deadpool, anyone? Ryan Reynolds, the charming actor and entrepreneur, owns Mint Mobile, a budget-friendly wireless service provider. Mint Mobile is more than just a pretty face. With a commitment to providing affordable wireless services, the brand is making communication more accessible to everyone. Ryan Reynolds has also been known to lend a helping hand during tough times, such as offering free service to customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reynolds himself has taken part in social impact initiatives, including a recent partnership with SickKids Foundation. By auctioning off a signed Mint Mobile phone, he raised funds to support the foundation's mission to improve children's health. Talk about a superhero move!
Overall, it's clear that these celebrity brands are not only leaving their mark in their respective industries but also contributing positively to society and the environment. They are setting examples for other brands to follow, demonstrating that making a social impact should be a top priority in today's business landscape and we hope to see this trend continue! | sociology |
http://rachelcooperfoundation.org/about.html | 2022-09-26T14:59:28 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334912.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220926144455-20220926174455-00748.warc.gz | 0.962103 | 656 | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2022-40__0__11237589 | en | The loss of a child is the greatest tragedy a parent can experience. It also traumatizes everyone who is close to that child – grandparents, siblings, neighbors, classmates, aunts, uncles, and friends of the family. Rachel passed away so suddenly and unexpectedly that it shocked us with an awareness of how vulnerable our own families were. It left us not only grief stricken but feeling helpless. When the idea of creating a foundation in Rachel’s name began circulating, we embraced it. We were powerless to save Rachel but, we could save other children whose lives were imperiled by congenital heart disease, and spare their families the anguish we felt at the loss of a beloved child.
The Foundation began tentatively in the living room of Joan and Alan Fierstein. We were ordinary people with no experience in fundraising or the intricacies of organizing a foundation. We sought the advice of another family that had started a foundation and began taking our first stumbling steps to organize ourselves. We reached out to the Pediatric Cardiology Department at Montefiore Medical Center because they had provided excellent care to Rachel when she was an infant.
We brainstormed fundraising ideas and tapped every resource imaginable. Our first project as a Foundation was a modest one, which perfectly matched our humble bank account. We built a much needed playroom for the children hospitalized at Montefiore for cardiovascular procedures. It was a cheerful oasis from the tedium of the hospital room. It raised the morale of the children and the staff but it also inspired us. We had succeeded in our first step and we now had the confidence to aim higher.
Over the next few years as our donor base increased, we contributed equipment to build a stress test laboratory and an echo cardiogram laboratory. We created our Heal-A-Heart Program to sponsor surgeries for children from countries that did not have the trained physicians to do pediatric cardiac surgery. We forged a partnership with the nation of
Cyprus and brought 34 of their children to Montefiore for life saving open heart surgery. We contributed annually to a summer camp in the Berkshires that provided a therapeutic program for children who had had open heart surgery. We sponsored fellowships to train pediatric cardiovascular surgeons. And then in 1999 we accepted our biggest challenge when we pledged one million dollars towards the creation of
the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center (CHAM).
We are educators, parents, executives, business owners, grandparents and professionals in a variety of fields who share a commitment to children. Our medical team informs us that our Heal-A-Heart Program has saved the lives of over
800 children worldwide and the newly expanded Rachel Cooper Children’s Heart Center at CHAM will treat over 9,000 children annually who suffer from congenital heart defects.
The key to our success is that we are an all volunteer organization. Members give their time to fundraise, write the newsletter, do the mailings, visit children in the hospital, audit the Foundation’s books and even created this website. No one receives a salary or any other compensation for their work. This insures that we can fulfill our promise that 100% of all donations will be dedicated to programs for children. | sociology |
http://misrgo.org/whywearehere.html | 2020-02-24T07:19:58 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-10/segments/1581875145910.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20200224071540-20200224101540-00390.warc.gz | 0.827631 | 782 | CC-MAIN-2020-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2020-10__0__43811595 | en | Why We Are Here
We exist to combat the devastaing effects of tobacco consumption.
Did you know?
- Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in America. 1
- Tobacco smoke has been found to cause health problems to almost all parts of the body. 2
- Smoking causes chronic diseases that are progressive and fatal. 3
- Every year, smoking and other tobacco use kills more than 430,000 Americans—more than heroine, alcohol, cocaine, homicide, suicide, car accidents, fire, and AIDS combined. 1
- Each year, an estimated 47,000 African Americans die from smoking-related diseases. 4
- African Americans suffer disproportionately from chronic and preventable diseases associated with smoking. 5
- African American smokers are at increased risk to die from smoking-related cancer as compared to Whites. 6
- More African Americans die from lung cancer than any other race in the United States. 7
- Even smoking minimal cigarettes per day can increase a person’s chance of getting cancer. 8
- Smokers may still develop lung cancer many years after quitting. 8
- On average, a smoker will lose 10 years of their life for smoking. 8The 10 years lost are more like the “middle” years, the healthy years, and not the last 10 years of the smoker’s life.
- Fifty (50) percent of smokers will die prematurely from a smoking-related disease, while 25 percent will survive due to their genetic make-up. 8
Source of statistics: http://www.follow-the-signs.com
1National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2001). Nicotine addiction. National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Report Series. NIH Publication. Retrieved from http://www.fcd.org/admin/cgi- bin/file.asp?id=46
2National Cancer Institute. (2010). Harms of smoking and health benefits of quitting [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/cessation
3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Healthy youth: Tobacco use [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/tobacco/index.htm
4Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2003). Pathways to freedom: Winning the fight against tobacco. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/pathways/pdfs/pathways.pdf
5U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1998). Tobacco use among U.S. racial/ethnic minority groups—African Americans, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics: A report of the Surgeon General. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/1998/complete_report/pdfs/complete_report.pdf
6American Lung Association. (2010). African Americans [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from http://www.lungusa.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/african-americans-and- tobacco.html
7American Lung Association. (2010). Too many cases, too many deaths: Lung cancer in African-Americans. Retrieved from http://www.lungusa.org/assets/documents/publications/lung-disease-data/ala-lung-cancer-in-african.pdf
8University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey Tobacco Dependence Program. (n.d). Understanding tobacco dependence biology and psychology of addiction industry products & marketing to the addiction [PowerPoint slides]. | sociology |
https://www.tragstudio.com/copy-of-our-process | 2023-12-11T13:26:15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679511159.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20231211112008-20231211142008-00737.warc.gz | 0.9673 | 617 | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-50__0__271574314 | en | After more than a decade of operation, we know that the greatest impact we can make is by enabling others to make their own change. To provide this opportunity, we focus on maintaining a strong and healthy business – first and foremost.
By being strong, we are able to place ongoing orders for Fair Trade products. Consistent work translates to secure employment, fair working conditions, and sustainable livelihoods for artisans, which in turn provides financial security and the ability to educate families; access health care, and plan for the future.
For us, it is this approach – rather than a charity mindset – that is the true meaning of fair trade.
We have always gone above and beyond local and international Fair Trade standards in our business practices.
Most of the not-for-profit NGOs we partner with are members of the WFTO, so they regularly demonstrate how they meet, or are working towards, the globally-recognized Ten Principles of Fair Trade. Together, we are able to look after the small producers we work with in the best way possible.
Artisans work alongside other women in shared community workspaces. Sometimes they choose to work from home, where they can also care for their family and tend to daily chores. Although highly skilled, they hail from the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in Bangladesh, so access to education, training, and health care has been very limited.
By working with us, these women are breaking this cycle by using their traditional weaving and craft skills. Together with our NGO partners, they set the price for each piece based on the time it takes to make; the intricacy of the design; and the cost of the raw materials.
Being paid fairly is undoubtedly life-changing. However, a host of other wonderful benefits also arise through their work: the pride of making something beautiful with their own hands; the camaraderie of learning new skills alongside other women; earning respect from their families and community; the dignity of being able to buy new clothes; and the opportunity to educate themselves and their children.
Motivated to empower people out of the cycle of discrimination and poverty, these groups also support artisans in other powerful ways. Our NGO Partners have been created to support the most disadvantaged and marginalized people in each region, so they identify the needs within a community and develop strategies to assist them to become self-sufficient. We partner with these groups via their economic and women’s empowerment programs. This provides us with the opportunity to work with such skilled artisans.
Our partners employ design, production, and field staff to source, store, and distribute the raw materials for each order; train artisans in quality, and how to make our designs; and pay artisans when work is complete. By working with groups who truly do have the best interest of the artisans at heart, we know that our contribution is reaching the right place.
This approach means that we are also proudly part of a much bigger picture, that enables the artisans to benefit from a host of other life-changing support. | sociology |
https://www.charlesriveralleycats.org/ | 2024-04-14T12:03:24 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-18/segments/1712296816879.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20240414095752-20240414125752-00162.warc.gz | 0.962102 | 181 | CC-MAIN-2024-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-18__0__90227761 | en | Charles River Alleycats is the primary organization working to humanely control the community cat population in Eastern Massachusetts. Since our founding in 2002, we have helped more than 18,000 cats.
We accomplish these results primarily with volunteers who work tirelessly on the streets. Feral cats who are unsocialized to people are humanely trapped, sterilized, vaccinated, ear-tipped, and returned to their caretaker who provides food, water, and shelter so that they can live long, comfortable lives. Friendly stray cats are either reunited with their owners or if not claimed, are adopted through one of our shelter partners. We are the group that prevents street cat populations from multiplying and we are the link that gets homeless cats from the street into shelters for adoption.
Our vision is that every friendly cat has a loving home and every community cat is sterilized, vaccinated, and cared for in their territory. | sociology |
https://universityofthephoenix.com/the-haunting-and-compelling-story-of-night-by-elie-wiesel/ | 2024-03-05T11:24:57 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707948234904.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20240305092259-20240305122259-00444.warc.gz | 0.981968 | 611 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__157604800 | en | Elie Wiesel’s memoir ‘Night’ is a haunting and compelling story that recounts his experiences during the Holocaust. The book is a powerful reminder of the atrocities committed during World War II and the need to remember the victims of the Holocaust.
The Life of Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet, Transylvania, in 1928. He grew up in a close-knit Jewish community and was deeply religious. In 1944, when he was just 15 years old, his family was deported to Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp in Poland. His mother, father, and younger sister all died in the Holocaust.
After the war, Wiesel moved to France and began writing about his experiences. In 1958, he published his first book, ‘Night,’ which quickly became a bestseller. The book was eventually translated into more than 30 languages and has sold millions of copies worldwide.
The Story of ‘Night’
‘Night’ is a memoir that recounts Wiesel’s experiences during the Holocaust. The book begins with Wiesel’s family being deported to Auschwitz and follows his journey through several concentration camps, including Buchenwald. Throughout the book, Wiesel describes the horrors he witnessed and the struggles he faced as a young boy trying to survive in a world that had turned against him.
One of the most poignant moments in the book is when Wiesel describes the death of his father. He writes, “I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I was out of tears. And deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!”
The Impact of ‘Night’
‘Night’ is widely considered to be one of the most important works of Holocaust literature. The book has been studied in schools and universities around the world and has helped to raise awareness about the Holocaust and its impact on the Jewish people.
One of the reasons why ‘Night’ has had such a profound impact is because of Wiesel’s ability to convey the horror of the Holocaust in a way that is both personal and universal. By telling his own story, Wiesel is able to give a voice to the millions of people who were killed during the Holocaust.
In conclusion, Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’ is a haunting and compelling memoir that tells the story of one young boy’s journey through the Holocaust. The book is a powerful reminder of the atrocities committed during World War II and the need to remember the victims of the Holocaust. By sharing his own experiences, Wiesel has helped to raise awareness about the Holocaust and its impact on the Jewish people. ‘Night’ is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the true horror of the Holocaust and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable suffering. | sociology |
http://wetap.org.nz/programmes/woollies/ | 2019-06-27T09:23:25 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560628001014.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20190627075525-20190627101525-00246.warc.gz | 0.950144 | 298 | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2019-26__0__155145653 | en | ‘WOOLLIES’ KNITTING CLUB
Move over granny, there’s a new pair of needles in town!
The ‘Woollies’ Club is facilitated in collaboration with a staff and our volunteers from the community who come in to help teach kids knitting and other wool crafts. The art of days-gone-by is making a comeback, with knitting, crocheting, and other seemingly ‘old fashioned’ crafts becoming popular again. There is also extra sneaky learning going on as they unwittingly practise their math skills required in the process. Children work on creating what they can depending on their level, finishing up with squares to contribute towards a larger community project.
These are decided on by the children, who have opted to create blankets for animal charities and a refugee family in the past. The programme offers a unique opportunity to explore concepts of social justice, with representatives from these organisations coming and receiving the project at the end, and discussing their work with the kids.
The mantra that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ rings true in the Woollies programme. Volunteers of all ages, backgrounds, and walk of life come together to share time with the kids and guide them in learning how to work the needles. The friendships, stories and sense of belonging formed in this programme alone are a real success story.
This winter programme is immensely popular but places are limited – be sure to register today! | sociology |
https://www.kaupunginjohtajienyleiskokous.eu/uutiset-ja-tapahtumat/uutiset-ja-tapahtumat/uutiset/1952-mayors%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BD-voices-session-1-highlights-create-a-meaningful-local,-social-and-climate-contract.html | 2022-07-03T06:14:42 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656104215790.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220703043548-20220703073548-00026.warc.gz | 0.940639 | 629 | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2022-27__0__262666624 | en | A session at Energy Cities' 2022 Forum, held on 21-22 April in Brussels, showcased how Covenant of Mayors’ signatories rethink the local democratic governance from their cities’ transition plans.
Four mayors and deputy mayors from four different EU countries and two Deputy Director General from the European Commission's DG MOVE and DG REGIO shared experience-based solutions, key elements, challenges they faced while implementing local climate pacts or city climate contracts with citizens and local stakeholders.
“Local transition plans are also about a cultural change”.
Mohamed Ridouani, Mayor of Leuven (Belgium)
All speakers agreed on the necessity to involve citizens into the transition plans and to root those processes into democracy. Based on their experiences, they provided different analysis and solutions. First, “local transition plans are also about a cultural change”, as Mr. Ridouani, Mayor of Leuven (Belgium), said. Governance needs to shift from a traditionnal top-down approach to a bottom-up approach, by going through direct contact with the local communities. The role of the Leuven 2030 initiative is then to bundle projects, money and resources and not to impose transitions plan which have been decided without citizens.
This analysis is also shared by Allen Coliban, Mayor of Brasov (Romania), who spoke in favour of a change in the way cities communicate with their citizens.
“We need to go where the citizens are, not the opposite”.
Allen Coliban, Mayor of Brasov (Romania)
This way, citizens can get to grips with transition plans by co-designing and implementing those plans, assuring at the same time its success.
Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of Lodz (Poland), experimented a concrete local governance solution by organising a citizens' assembly dealing with citizens’ concerns. By bringing knowledge to citizens and letting a plan emerge from their debates, the municipality allows trust to be built between citizens through dialogue.
On a larger governance scale, the way we implement transition plans at a European level is also a key issue. Here again, a bottom-up methodology has to be adopted, as Normunds Popens, Deputy Director General of DG REGIO, underlined.
“Transition projects need to be spoken out and grasped locally to assure their success”.
Nordmunds Popens, Deputy Director General in DG REGIO
Since funding is available through European programme like React EU or Horizon Europe, Mr Popens reminded the necessity to deploy those funds into local transition projects. With this in mind, Matthew Baldwin presented the 100 Climate-Neutral Cities EU Mission which according to him is a tangible implementation of a bottom-up approach from cities to the EU. Cities involve their communities to co-design their plans, receiving funds and technical support from the EU and peers.
Once again, this session highlighted the undeniable vital role of cities as a driving force in the fight against climate change and the transition towards sustainable cities and future! | sociology |
http://endthedefense.blogspot.com/p/about.html | 2018-03-22T15:19:50 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647892.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20180322151300-20180322171300-00462.warc.gz | 0.918488 | 261 | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2018-13__0__210338247 | en | End The Defense is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan coalition of citizens seeking to strengthen New York State's child abuse and neglect law.
New York Penal Law Section provides criminal penalties for "endangering the welfare of a child" but also provides an affirmative defense to endangerment in the case of medical neglect (at Section 260.15) available to members or adherents of an “organized church or religious group the tenets of which prescribe prayer as the principal treatment for illness.”
This religious defense is dangerous, unnecessary, unconstitutional, and unjust. While parents enjoy constitutional guarantees of parental authority and free exercise of religion, these liberty interests should not trump the government’s interest in protecting the welfare of children.
Furthermore, the defense violates children’s rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by denying to one class of children substantial benefits that are extended to others.
Arguably, it violates the constitutional proscription of government endorsement of religion as well.
End The Defense is led by Children's Healthcare is a Legal Duty
(CHILD) and the Secular Coalition of New York. We will work with elected representatives and other stakeholders to remove the defense to child endangerment by medical neglect and ensure equal protection to all New York children. | sociology |
https://timbarberarchitects.com/blog/gratitude-and-giving/ | 2024-04-19T02:13:51 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-18/segments/1712296817253.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20240419013002-20240419043002-00572.warc.gz | 0.954859 | 473 | CC-MAIN-2024-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-18__0__15754158 | en | We recently celebrated 24 years in business. Looking back, one sentiment perfectly defines our experience: gratitude. We’ve been blessed to collaborate with inspiring clients, consultants, contractors, artisans, and designers, many of whom we also call our friends; to practice our art in many of the world’s most beautiful communities; and to see our designs fully realized as beloved forever homes.
The luxury of the materials we use and the homes we design is not lost on us. Sometimes any home at all can be a luxury, especially here in Los Angeles, where affordable housing is scarce and homelessness is tragically prolific. So when our team considered meaningful ways to mark our anniversary, helping the homeless seemed on-target for designers of shelter. We understood how transformative having a home can be, but we didn’t know how working with the homeless would transform our own lives.
We initially planned a day of maintenance at My Friend’s Place, a community center that provides life-changing services to over a third of Los Angeles’ homeless youth population. However, as our service day approached, our impact evolved into more than making small facilities repairs, and our commitment grew far beyond a just one day. We decided to help facilitate the center’s many enrichment activities, and to make and serve lunch to over one hundred homeless young people. When we learned that the center’s grill recently stopped working, we found a replacement. And donating a grill inspired our team to host a studio-wide donation drive, collecting much-needed clothing, toiletries, bags, blankets, and sleeping bags.
At each step, someone from our team stepped up to ask, “What more can we do?” In print, it appears like a lot… but in the context of our own lives and work, it quickly became apparent that there is so much more that can still be done.
As we enter the season of giving, we challenge you, too, to reflect on your good fortune — be it a wealth of energy, health, time, and/or resources. We ask you: how can you use your good fortune to give to your community? We hope that you find an answer as fulfilling as it is to those who receive it.
Wishing you an abundance of gratitude,
The Tim Barber Architects Team | sociology |
https://ballbusting.site/the-truth-is-you-are-not-the-only-person-concerned-about-online-gambling/ | 2024-04-18T16:41:39 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-18/segments/1712296817222.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20240418160034-20240418190034-00122.warc.gz | 0.928698 | 594 | CC-MAIN-2024-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-18__0__43801852 | en | The moral factors bordering on the internet gambling increase to its broader societal effect, such as its likely contribution to dilemma gambling behaviors and social inequalities. Whilst on the web gambling platforms offer you convenience and accessibility to players, they also current distinctive issues in conditions of dependancy avoidance, client defense, and neighborhood well-being.
Issue gambling, characterised by compulsive behaviors and an inability to handle gambling impulses, is a important general public overall health issue related with on-line gambling. Study signifies that men and women who have interaction in on the internet gambling might be at increased danger of developing gambling-related problems owing to elements these kinds of as the ease of entry, immersive character of online gaming environments, and deficiency of social accountability.
Furthermore, on the web gambling can exacerbate current social inequalities by disproportionately affecting marginalized communities, who may lack entry to assets and assistance companies to address gambling-related hurt. Low-income individuals, minorities, and people with pre-current mental wellness problems are especially inclined to the attract of online gambling as a signifies of coping with economic pressure, loneliness, and social isolation.
In addition to its affect on people and communities, on the internet gambling also raises broader ethical queries about the function of govt and regulatory authorities in balancing person freedoms with public overall health and protection considerations. Even though advocates of on the internet gambling emphasize personal independence and economic positive aspects, critics argue for stricter regulation and oversight to shield susceptible populations and mitigate the pitfalls associated with issue gambling.
Moreover, e200m of on the internet gambling presents special regulatory challenges, as operators can very easily evade nationwide regulations and restrictions by working in jurisdictions with lax oversight and enforcement mechanisms. This regulatory arbitrage undermines efforts to advertise accountable gambling practices and defend consumers from fraudulent and predatory operators, highlighting the need for international cooperation and regulatory harmonization.
In reaction to these issues, governments, regulatory authorities, and industry stakeholders have to collaborate to develop thorough techniques to tackle the ethical implications of on the web gambling. This may possibly require applying stricter age verification steps, promoting accountable gambling initiatives, and investing in public education and awareness strategies to foster a culture of dependable gambling.
Moreover, online gambling operators have a moral obligation to prioritize customer defense and responsible gambling practices in their organization operations. This contains utilizing safeguards this sort of as self-exclusion plans, setting limitations on betting amounts, and delivering obtain to assistance companies for people at risk of developing gambling-associated difficulties.
Eventually, the moral implications of on the internet gambling need a multi-faceted and collaborative approach that considers the interests of individuals, communities, and modern society as a whole. By fostering dialogue, analysis, and proof-based mostly policymaking, we can develop effective strategies to mitigate the hazards connected with on the web gambling although maximizing its prospective positive aspects for people and economies globally. Only by way of concerted attempts and shared obligation can we generate a safer, much more sustainable on the internet gambling atmosphere for all. | sociology |
https://gildadates.com/from-local-to-global-gildas-export-journey/ | 2024-04-22T08:44:20 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-18/segments/1712296818105.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20240422082202-20240422112202-00250.warc.gz | 0.910111 | 719 | CC-MAIN-2024-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-18__0__64515674 | en | In recent years, the importance of supporting local agriculture and sustainable food systems has gained significant attention worldwide. As global awareness of the environmental and social impacts of conventional food production practices grows, communities are actively seeking ways to empower local farmers. Gilda’s, a visionary organization dedicated to community development, exemplifies a remarkable commitment to empowering local farmers through various initiatives. This article explores Gilda’s unwavering dedication to fostering a sustainable and vibrant local farming community.
Gilda’s is a community-driven non-profit organization founded in the heart of a rural region known for its rich agricultural heritage. With a mission to enhance the well-being of both residents and the environment, Gilda’s roots are deeply intertwined with the local farming community. Understanding the challenges faced by small-scale farmers, Gilda’s embarked on a journey to empower these individuals and ensure their continued presence and success.
Farmer Support Programs:
Gilda’s has established a range of farmer support programs designed to address the unique needs of local farmers. These initiatives encompass financial assistance, training and education, access to sustainable farming practices, and marketing support. By offering grants and low-interest loans, Gilda’s helps farmers invest in modern equipment and technologies, improving overall productivity.
Sustainable Farming Practices:
Recognizing the importance of environmentally friendly farming methods, Gilda’s actively promotes sustainable agriculture. Through workshops, seminars, and partnerships with agricultural experts, local farmers gain knowledge about soil conservation, organic farming techniques, and water resource management. This commitment to sustainable practices not only benefits the environment but also enhances the long-term viability of local farms.
Farmer’s Markets and Community Engagement:
One of Gilda’s most visible contributions to the local farming community is the organization of vibrant farmers’ markets. These markets provide a platform for local farmers to sell their products directly to consumers, eliminating the need for intermediaries and ensuring fair prices for both parties. Gilda’s also hosts community events, such as farm tours and agricultural fairs, fostering connections between farmers and consumers.
Advocacy and Policy Support:
Gilda’s understands that empowering local farmers extends beyond immediate support; it also involves advocating for policies that benefit the farming community. The organization actively engages with local and regional governments to shape agricultural policies that prioritize sustainable farming practices, land conservation, and fair trade.
Networking and Collaboration:
Gilda’s recognizes the strength in collaboration. The organization fosters networks of local farmers, encouraging knowledge exchange and collective problem-solving. By connecting farmers with regional and national agricultural organizations, Gilda’s helps them access additional resources and opportunities.
Gilda’s unwavering commitment to empowering local farmers serves as an inspiring example of community-based initiatives that prioritize sustainable agriculture and local economic development. Through a holistic approach encompassing financial support, sustainable farming practices, community engagement, policy advocacy, and collaboration, Gilda’s has significantly improved the lives of local farmers and the well-being of the entire community.
As the world continues to grapple with environmental and food security challenges, Gilda’s remains a beacon of hope, demonstrating that community-driven efforts can lead to a more resilient and sustainable future for both farmers and consumers. By following Gilda’s lead, other communities can similarly empower their local farmers, contributing to a more sustainable and prosperous world. | sociology |
https://stjohnsnorthfield.org/about/history/ | 2024-04-17T06:33:17 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-18/segments/1712296817144.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20240417044411-20240417074411-00866.warc.gz | 0.956145 | 251 | CC-MAIN-2024-18 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-18__0__115129517 | en | St. John’s was founded over 150 years ago by immigrant Norwegian Lutherans. The congregation had close ties with St. Olaf College since its founding, and was the birthplace of the renowned St. Olaf Choir. Music, especially singing together, continues to be at the heart of our life together.
While the congregation’s members are now more ethnically and religiously diverse, we have continued our attention to newcomers and immigrants throughout our history. Twice in the last century St. John’s has made a special effort to reach out to refugees: after World War II when the congregation helped to resettle 250 “displaced persons” and in 1975 as part of a Northfield-area program to resettle more than 100 refugees from Vietnam. This effort continues today with efforts to assist newly resettled refugees.
Music and Arts
As part of St. John’s 150th Anniversary Celebration, Nathan Proctor, Organist and Director of Music, Worship & Arts, shares the history of music and composers at St. John’s. Judy Swanson shares the architectural history of St. John’s and the architects in the congregation who helped create the church building we have today. | sociology |
http://hopefulistinlatinamerica.blogspot.com/2014/07/family-visits-shopping-and-weaving-on.html | 2018-07-23T13:35:35 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676596463.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20180723125929-20180723145929-00442.warc.gz | 0.974034 | 385 | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2018-30__0__163994363 | en | In addition to me, sponsors of 6 Beca Project students have joined us this week, many for the 1st time - a highlight was visiting the families in their homes for the opportunity to ask questions, see student work, and express our gratitude to each other. Mynor shows us the way and takes care of translations between 3 languages: English, Spanish, and Tz'utujil, the local Maya language. The students speak Tz'utujil and Spanish, which they learned in school, and are also studying English. The majority of the parents did not have the opportunity to attend school so do not speak Spanish. Several told us they remember hiding under beds when teachers would go from house to house, asking about school age children; their parents felt that lazy people go to school and the others worked hard at home and in the fields. For many of them it was decades later they learned the benefits of education.
I hope these photos impart at least some of the joy of interacting and sharing that we feel with every visit.
Friday evening we took the kids shopping for needed items: clothes, shoes, personal items, plus corn and other staples for their families. Some of the sponsors are conversant in Spanish but it would be difficult to tell which from the photos below; some kinds of connection don't really require it.
Thanks to the mothers of Juan Carlos, Rosa Yanira, and Evelin Elena, we had a wonderful opportunity to observe master back strap loom weavers in action and to try it ourselves. Like tortillas, they make it look far easier than it is.
Time for another pickup ride up the hill (note the roadside gas station).
They prepared for us a type of corn-based atole used for celebrations called matz.
And finally, another trek back down into town.
You can find the complete photo sets for this trip HERE. | sociology |
https://www.tampacorporaterun.com/about | 2021-11-28T17:52:59 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964358570.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20211128164634-20211128194634-00193.warc.gz | 0.939508 | 346 | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-49__0__81183081 | en | Healthy people create healthy organizations and communities! The Corporate Run is a one-of-a-kind fitness and social event designed to promote wellness within organizations, community and non-profit groups. Organizations and individuals participate in the Corporate Run to emphasize the importance of staying active and healthy, as an opportunity for team building, and to network with other organizations. The Corporate Run provides teams with a platform to create ongoing health & wellness initiatives throughout the year.
Organizations are encouraged to create a team and recruit full-time employees, part-time employees, friends and family to their team. Running and walking is an easy and fun way to stay fit, and we welcome all levels of participants to take part in this festival of fitness.
This is Tampa Bay's Largest Annual Office Party! Most organizations showcase their creativity and go “all out” by reserving team tents in the Team Village. Here is where the party comes alive with food, drinks, music, custom shirts, tent decorations, giveaways, fun photos and team activities. It’s also a great opportunity to connect with other organizations! The electric atmosphere is full of great people, fun times and healthy initiatives!
The Corporate Run supports community causes. The United Way Suncoast is the official beneficiary, and shares in the vision of making the Tampa Bay community a healthier place to live, work and play. The United Way Suncoast aims to provide leadership that improves lives and creates lasting community change by mobilizing the caring people of the Tampa Bay to give, advocate and volunteer.
The 2021 Corporate Run has gone virtual with plans to return in-person in 2022.
About the Corporate Run
© 2021 by Big Guava Events | sociology |
https://en.olympiquesdegatineau.ca/article/the-olympiques-and-centre-daide-247-join-forces-to-raise-awareness-about-mental-health-and-suicide-prevention | 2020-06-07T01:54:48 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590348523476.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20200607013327-20200607043327-00244.warc.gz | 0.9254 | 580 | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2020-24__0__194160234 | en | The Gatineau Olympiques, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), the Quebec Association for Suicide Prevention (AQPS) and Centre d’aide 24/7, are joining forces to raise awareness of the importance of mental health during the club’s next home game.
This Friday night’s contest against the Sherbrooke Phoenix – which is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. – will feature:
* A kiosk hosted by staff from Centre d’aide 24/7 and Fondation Lani to learn more about mental health and suicide prevention;
* Public address announcements throughout the evening about mental health.
The awareness campaign is part of the ongoing commitment by the Olympiques, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Centre d’aide 24/7, the Regroupement des organismes communautaires en santé mentale de l’Outaouais (ROCSMO), and the Quebec Association for Suicide Prevention, to implement Talk Today. This program provides mental health support to players and raises awareness about mental health and suicide prevention throughout communities across the QMJHL.
A key piece of the program has been to educate players about mental health and suicide prevention. Every team has received mental health training specific to suicide prevention. Each team is also linked to a CMHA Mental Health Coach, who provides support and mental health resources to individuals in need.
“As general manager of Centre d’aide 24/7, and on behalf of all the people whose lives have been touched by mental health and suicide prevention, I would sincerely like to express our gratitude towards the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and particularly to our local team, the Gatineau Olympiques. Their participation in the Talk Today campaign and their involvement in fighting the stigma associated with mental health is a step in the right direction to make our day-to-day mission even more known to the public,” said Benoit Plamondon, general manager of Centre d’aide 24/7.
“The Olympiques are proud to join the QMJHL and the other teams from the League in the Talk Today program. In an era like the one we’re in right now, where everything goes so fast, just like in hockey games, it is really important to take the time to talk about our problems with loves ones and to avoid confining ourselves. That is exactly what we’ll try to encourage our fans to do on February 22,” mentioned Martin Lacasse, president of the Gatineau Olympiques.
Fans can purchase tickets for the game at the Robert-Guertin box office from Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., or online at ovation.qc.ca. | sociology |
http://clarenceceniza.com/2012/04/28/pr-beta-here-i-come/ | 2013-06-19T11:53:20 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708739983/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125219-00084-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | 0.919475 | 264 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2013-20__0__163404006 | en | PRbeta, Here I Come!
Exciting times ahead! On May 3rd, I will be speaking at PRbeta (one Romania’s most anticipated communications conference) in the lovely city of Timisoara. Inspired by the Collaborative Consumption movement, my friend’s work at OuiShare and my participation in the upcoming documentary project Collaborative Cities (directed by Maxime Leroy), I will be presenting about ‘The Culture of Collaboration’.
In recent years, fueled by the internet and the growing need for a more economical and sustainable way of living, we have been witnessing the rise of collaboration (shared production and consumption). From crowdfunding and coworking spaces, to carpooling and p2p accommodation (or p2p anything for that matter), an economy built around collaboration has been flourishing, spanning business models, working styles and lifestyles. My presentation aims to provide an overview of this social revolution and how it affects (and will continue to shape) our lives. I will not say much for now, but I will be writing a blog post after the event, summarizing the main points of my talk.
To the lovely folks at PRbeta (especially Cristina, Oltea and Bogdan) and all the attendees, see you in Timisoara! | sociology |
http://jjue.com/jjSchool.html | 2021-09-17T20:32:42 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780055775.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20210917181500-20210917211500-00298.warc.gz | 0.972358 | 9,973 | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-39__0__193249424 | en | A long time ago ...
Lot's of peoples mentioned in this article are my 1st and 2nd cousins. While everyone 's experiences were different, the general tone of the article is true about growing up in Mississippi in the 50's and 60's. Chinese rights to attend a white school was determined on a county by county basis. While my family attended a white school, my sister's husband was not allowed in the county he lived in, and traveled 40 miles to another county.
As a Chinese growing up in Mississippi
Reflecting on how we first started school in a county that we just moved to, the following is true story.
One summer, my parents moved from Cary, Mississippi, where the Chinese attended a white school to Warren County, where there were no Chinese attending the local school. My dad asked a local customer when the local school was starting and where the bus stop was.
That morning on the first day of school, my dad sent my older brother and sisters out to stand at the bus stop to see what would happen. The bus came by, and my brother and sisters boarded the bus with the other white kids. As was common in those days, the Chinese parents never went with their kids to school. The kids had to fend for themselves and somehow were enrolled in their proper classes.
After you read the article below, you can imagine what really happen on that first day. The bus driver, who most likely, never saw an Asian in his whole life, didn't know what to do about these strange looking kids boarding his bus. He could have refused to let them on (anyone can say no), but figured it was none of his business to decide what to do with these kids.
My brother and sisters arrived at school, and the teachers didn't know what to do, so probably the Principal was called and the matter placed in his hand. The Principal called the Superintendent of Education for the County and sometime after much debate, a decision was made to let them enroll. This probably took all day to resolve in the background.
So the first integration of Chinese in white school in Warren County was allowed because a bus driver was passive enough not to get involved, or wasn't "Redneck" enough to say "No way they getting on my bus!!!", which in turn started the chain of event that led to their eventually enrollment.
Below is an article describing the life of Chinese in the South in the mid-50's and 60's.
Struggle for identity in the most Southern place on Earth: The Chinese in the Mississippi Delta.
Chinese America: History and Perspectives - January 1, 2003
Title: Struggle for identity in the most Southern place on Earth: The Chinese in the Mississippi Delta.
Author: John Thornell
Publication: Chinese America: History and Perspectives (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2003
Publisher: Chinese Historical Society
The Mississippi Delta, an alluvial plain flanked by the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers in the northwest corner of the state, has been described by historian James Cobb as "the most Southern place on Earth." (1) It offers stark contrasts. Because of an economic heritage born out of cotton farming, a wealthy planter aristocracy has historically been juxtaposed against an impoverished laborer class. The economic contrasts are amplified by persistent racial and class differences. Landmarks such as abandoned railroad tracks and bayous establish boundaries within which unwritten rules maintain a black/white dichotomy Living inside those boundaries and struggling to find their place in that rigid dichotomy are the Mississippi Delta Chinese. How they came to the Delta and the difficulties they encountered there are the focus of this article.
A significant resource in support of the research described is an oral history project on the Delta Chinese funded by the Mississippi Humanities Council and directed by the author. Interviews from that project are the basis for a portion of the information provided herein.
The end of the Civil War in 1865 signaled the demise of the Confederacy and freedom for four million slaves. These slaves had been the cornerstone of an agricultural economy. Their freedom created panic among planters in the agricultural South. How would productivity be sustained as they faced the loss of the core of their labor force? One creative solution was to experiment with the recruitment of foreign labor. Chinese and, later, Italians came to the South in response to the potential need to replace the slaves who were now free.
During the post-Civil War period, several labor conventions were held to discuss the possibility of recruiting Chinese workers in an attempt to solve the labor problem. In June 1869, at a meeting in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, cotton planters organized the Arkansas River Valley Emigration Company. The purpose was to attract Chinese laborers, who could be obtained in "great numbers and at cheap rates, and made efficient in the cultivation of cotton, and are proof against the malaria of the climate." Recruiters were dispatched to Hong Kong in search of farm labor. Two ships, the Villa de St. Lo and the Charles Auguste, arrived in New Orleans in 1870 with approximately four hundred Chinese laborers.
Southern cotton planters met the two ships and transported the immigrants to their farms to work in the cotton fields. (2) Although there are no records to confirm the eventual disposition of the Chinese who arrived in New Orleans in 1870, it is known that a small core of Chinese laborers arrived in the Mississippi Delta a bout 1870 to work in agriculture in Washington County. (3) These early Chinese settlers came to the Mississippi Delta as sojourners. They saw working in the cotton fields as an opportunity to make enough money to support their families in China. Their goal was to eventually return home to their ancestral villages. (4) Longtime Delta resident Edward Joe recalled his father always telling him "that we were going to make our living and go back to China." (5)
Locating in the Mississippi Delta to work in farming seemed a harsh way to fulfill that goal, although in many ways it was preferable to the more populated West Coast, where discrimination against Chinese laborers working on the railroads and in the mines was well-documented among Chinese. The Mississippi Delta Chinese hoped for better. Yet their dream of making money in farming was short-lived. Due to the extreme physical demands of farm labor, to exploitation by planters, and to low economic returns from their labor, the experiment was a failure. The Delta Chinese began leaving the farms in search of other ways to earn a living.
Many found an opportune economic niche by opening grocery stores in black neighborhoods. Historically, Southern blacks had acquired goods in commissaries as part of a credit system designed to keep them in a state of peonage. As blacks established purchasing power independent of the farm, they provided an economic opportunity for the Mississippi Chinese to make a living by opening small businesses, mostly grocery stores. One of the first Chinese grocery stores opened about 1874 in the black neighborhood of Rosedale, Mississippi. Others quickly followed throughout the Delta, with Chinese families claiming black neighborhoods in small towns as their territory. (6)
For Southern blacks, who sought relief from the plantation-based commissaries, and Chinese, who saw new financial opportunities as merchants, the union was a merger of self-interests. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 placed severe limits on Chinese immigration. As a result, there was little opportunity for the early Delta Chinese to bring family members from China to work in the stores and, more importantly, to offset their social isolation. This isolation, coupled with close economic ties to the black community, served as a catalyst for the development of social relationships with members of the black community. There were almost no Chinese women, so a few romantic encounters evolved between Chinese men and black (and occasionally white) women. Some of these were primarily physical, while others became long-term relationships that included marriage and children. Arlee Hen, child of a black mother and Chinese father, remembered that "there weren't any Chinese women for them to marry and white women they weren't allowed to marry, so they had to do something." Charlie Sing and Emma Clay exemplified the long-term relationship, marrying in 1881 and producing fourteen children. (7)
In addition to the early cadre of farm laborers turned merchants, other Chinese came to the Mississippi Delta. Some came from California after having worked on the railroads. Bobby Jue remembers his grandfather coming to the Delta to open a grocery store after working on the railroad in California. (8) Others arrived in the early twentieth century to escape domestic turmoil in China, most notably after the downfall of the Manchu dynasty in 1911. (9) As Chinese established an economic presence in the Delta, they sponsored extended family members to join them, often to work in the grocery stores. The aforementioned oral history project of fifteen Delta Chinese families confirms a steady migration of Chinese into the Delta throughout the first half of the twentieth century Sam Chu-Lin, author of the documentary "Chu-Lin is an Old Family Name," recalls numerous stories of Chinese who came to the United States during the first half of the twentieth century and settled in the Mississippi Delta. His documentary look s at the struggle of those immigrants through the eyes of one family. (10)
Those who came from China were connected through family and friends in the Delta. Freeda Lee remembers traveling with her father when she was a small child to check on Chinese families who had come to the Delta. It was important to her father to help these people because of difficulties he himself had encountered when getting started. (11) Chinese immigrants knew the Delta to be a place of economic opportunity coupled with a strong support system of Chinese who would nurture their success in a new country That support system, combined with difficult political and economic conditions in China, led to a steady increase of Delta Chinese, from a total of 183 in 1900 to 743 in 1940 (12) and 1,200 in 1960. (13)
Living in the Delta was a challenge for the early Mississippi Delta Chinese. The decision to tie their livelihoods to the black community served their economic interests but tainted them socially in the eyes of the white community. Initially since they viewed themselves as sojourners, their status in the Delta social structure was of little concern. Although they lived in the United States, they thought in terms of their social position in China. One Chinese woman remembered that her father kept his queue because if he cut it, "he would never be able to go back to his village." (14)
However, as the Chinese shifted away from their sojourner identity and acknowledged the Delta as their home, they realized that their economic and social involvement with the black community was isolating them from the white community and the benefits thereof. Not inclined toward assimilation with the black minority and rejected by the prejudice of the white majority the Chinese found themselves victims of social isolation. In urban centers, they created their own enclaves, such as Chinatown in San Francisco. But the small population and fairly large geographical spread in the Mississippi Delta precluded this option for Chinese who had immigrated there, so that they lived quite differently from their urban counterparts. Acceptance in the Delta, where rigid social caste was dominant, required that the Chinese reassess their patterns of social behavior.
Delta Chinese sought ways to gain acceptance in the white community while continuing to support their black customers. In effect, they engaged in a juggling act in which they tried to keep both sides of the social fence happy Out of necessity they continued their links with the black community working hard to remain in favor with the customers who represented their economic lifeline. At the same time, links with the white community became increasingly important. Many Chinese expanded this courtship, seeking social affirmation. Chinese families began sending their children to church--most often the church favored by the local white power structure in the community They gave money to causes and programs favored by white leaders. And some anglicized their Chinese family names. It was not enough, however, for Chinese to court the favor of whites: in dealing with blacks, they also had to acknowledge the Jim Crow laws to show themselves worthy of white approval. (15) In some cases, the Delta Chinese had to distance themselves socially from blacks if they were to have any chance of escaping Jim Crow discrimination themselves. A part of that distancing entailed the rejection of children from mixed marriages.
Delta resident Luck Wing spoke of two of his children marrying Caucasians and of how accepted they were. He went on to say, however, that mixed marriages in the earlier years of the twentieth century were unacceptable. "The children would catch it from both sides. The Chinese wouldn't want to claim them and the Caucasians wouldn't claim them. I felt sorry for those children." (16)
Lillie Woo recalled how upset her mother was when her son announced that he was marrying a Caucasian. The young woman was eventually accepted, but it was difficult. (17) The history of interracial marriage and race relations in the Delta is a sensitive issue for Delta Chinese. A 1984 documentary by Christine Choy which addresses the triangular relationships among Chinese, blacks, and whites in the Delta, reflects the debate over how common such relationships were. Choy's work examines the practice of interracial relationships as a significant theme in the lives of Delta Chinese. Many Delta Chinese, however, are troubled by the documentary and refute its accuracy. (18) Particularly troublesome is the perception that Choy labels Delta Chinese as racist. (19)
The issue of race is complicated for Chinese because of their being "between black and white," as the subtitle of James Loewen's book on the Mississippi Chinese puts it. The ways Chinese responded to that distinction provide useful insights into their character and culture. There is ample evidence that prejudice against the Chinese was a prevalent part of their lives. From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to the Gong Lum court case of 1927, a clear pattern of overt discrimination, sanctioned by the federal government, was evident. Not as flagrant but equally insidious was the personal discrimination the Chinese encountered, as described in anecdotal comments based on their memories of growing up in the Delta.
Edward Joe notes that "there are a lot of people that would look flat at you." (20) Audrey Sidney recalls racial slurs such as "Chink" being used. (21) Luck Wing, in speaking about his college years at the University of Mississippi, remembers that "a lot of people would get all mad and stuck their nose out. They will call you 'Chinaan,'" (22) Annette Joe tells of applying for a teaching job and being told by the school superintendent, "I am not ever going to hire anybody like you," to which she replied "Well, how am I?" His reply was, "Well, you are Chinese." (23) Audrey Sidney tells a similar story of applying to teach in Greenville, Mississippi, in 1956, and being told that "only Caucasians could teach in the white public schools of Greenville." (24) Freeda and Hoover Lee remember white farmers refusing to send their children to the Louise public schools because Chinese children were allowed to attend them. (25)
Even as late as the 1960s, after the racial barriers for Chinese were supposedly removed, Warren Lancaster recalls going to Greenville to get a haircut: "The barber took me outside. He said, 'You know we don't cut Chinese's hair."' (26) As Chinese families gained financial security, some made the effort to move from their homes above or beside the family grocery store into white neighborhoods. But Audrey Sidney's realtor told her family that "he couldn't sell us a house in any white neighborhood." (27) Such prejudice was not limited to the white community. As a child, Bobby Jue recalls being called names and pushed off the sidewalk by black students attending the school next to his father's store. (28)
During the Civil Rights movement, tensions often arose. Freeda and Hoover
Lee describe the boycott of their grocery store by the black community after whites
had killed a black man. Out of fear, the white community also avoided the store,
so the Lees' business dropped off considerably. (29)
Although prejudice against the Chinese was pervasive, many whites and blacks treated the Chinese with respect and kindness. Fay Dong divided the whites into two groups: those who welcomed the Chinese with open arms, and the "rednecks, and some of those were not so wonderful." (30) Through their stores, the Delta Chinese developed many lasting friendships with their black customers. When Willie "Joe" Young retired from his grocery store in Rena Lara, Mississippi, in 1967, the entire town, black and white, turned out to say goodbye and thank him for a lifetime of kindness to that small town. The ultimate Good Samaritan, Young had loaned money, paid utility bills for neighbors before the "cut off" man came, and fed children in his store. (31) His example of the storeowner being a caretaker for numerous citizens, many of them black, was played out
throughout the Delta as well.
Although the stories of prejudice paint a picture of how difficult conditions could be for Delta Chinese, equally interesting--or more so, in their eyes--is the manner in which they responded. The Chinese take pride in the fact that they refused to become victims. Juanita Dong explained it as follows: "You just got to remember you have a handicap. You are just going to have to overcome it." (32) Annette Joe described prejudice as "an enabling experience," saying that "you can do a lot of things you couldn't do before." (33) Similarly, Bobby Jue called prejudice a "learning experience." He articulated the most common response--namely, that "that is the way things were at that time." (34)
Audrey Sidney, in a recent interview with the author, pointed out with pride that, although both blacks and Chinese experienced discrimination, the Chinese made a conscious choice not to hold demonstrations or, as she put it, "practice Yellow Power." (35) She went on to state that "sometimes we are mistreated. We may go home and talk about it, but we don't demonstrate." (36) Fay Dong's characterization of being Chinese as a "handicap" exemplifies the view that it wasn't society that needed to change its attitudes toward the Chinese but the Chinese who needed to work harder to overcome them.
A recent explanation by a Chinese-American college professor expresses the same perspective. He pointed out that the Chinese came as visitors to this country, so it wouldn't have been appropriate to demand changes to accommodate their differences. (37) The response of the Delta Chinese was to work harder. As Juanita Dong put it, "We were always just told you need to work 20 to 25 percent better than anybody else to get to the same place. That was a given." (38)
In the process of working to overcome prejudicial attitudes toward them, the Chinese have been accused of being prejudiced in turn toward the black community they served-an accusation disputed by the Delta Chinese. Bobby Jue remembers that "we didn't look down upon the blacks like the Caucasians did. (39) That is one reason we did well in black neighborhoods." Fay Dong expressed similar sentiments: "We were better to them and kinder than a lot of people were." (40) Luck Wing tells the story of why his brother moved to Los Angeles. He took the family and the black maid, who cared for the children, out for ice cream in Clarksdale, Mississippi. They were refused service because of the maid. The family got so upset they decided to move to California. (41)
Although the Chinese may not have expressed overt racism toward blacks, they didn't, or couldn't, embrace blacks as peers. Bobby Jue explained that Chinese wanted to improve themselves, "to achieve more and do better," so "you really didn't want to associate with what you called back then 'the colored race,' so we kept to ourselves." (42) To do otherwise would have jeopardized Chinese efforts to gain social acceptance from the white community. Jue's comments reflect the difficult and delicate task facing the Chinese--namely, to maintain the proper balance between seeking favor in the white community and not alienating their loyal customer base, the black community John Quon describes it as "a tightrope that we had to walk." (43)
This would become particularly troublesome during the Civil Rights movement. Quon recalls his father giving money to both the NAACP and the White Citizens Council. Sam ChuLin remembers his grandfather being a good friend of Senator James Eastland, a staunch supporter of segregation, while also making interest-free loans to numerous black friends. (44) Over time, such efforts aimed at gaining social approval met with some success, and Chinese radually ceased to be perceived by the white community as colored. As a result, they began to be afforded a degree of privilege in small towns throughout the Delta. Chinese were able to frequent public places that blacks could not.
After improving their stores, Chinese grocers began to have white customers. Social mobility for Delta Chinese increased as they curried white favor and acknowledged Jim Crow laws. Chinese in small Delta towns now sensed that acceptance by the white community was within their grasp. (45) In some communities, embracing the white community had an important tangential benefit: It gave the Chinese access to white public schools. The Mississippi Constitution, adopted in 1890 by conservative Democrats determined to eliminate the last vestiges of Republican Reconstruction, included a clear mandate for a dual school system for whites and blacks. The constitutional language did not address education for Chinese. The 1890 Constitution placed the Delta Chinese in a difficult position. The concept of a dual school system in Mississippi had always been a farce.
In the 1904 gubernatorial campaign, the voters elect ed James Vardaman, who ran on a platform that included elimination of funding for black public schools. (46) The State Legislature rejected Vardaman's proposal but continued to ignore the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case, which mandated "separate but equal" schools for the races. Mississippi schools were separate but hardly equal. The State Legislature and local white school officials gave only token support to black public education. Black schools were open as few as four months a year. Black teachers earned one-fifth of what white teachers did. There were enormous disparities in annual school expenditures per child.
As late as 1941 in Bolivar County, the county with one of the largest Chinese populations in the Delta, expenditures were $45.55 per white child and $1.09 per black child. (47) The black schools, though accessible to Chinese, were blatantly inferior, while the superior white schools were constitutionally off-limits to the Chinese.
Access to high-quality schools was important to Chinese because their cultural identity was often defined in terms of academic achievement; as one Chinese writer stated, "To do well in school is to be Chinese." (48) Moreover, Confucian tradition valued education, and the teacher in particular. One writer, commenting on the history of the Chinese in America,
suggested that their faith in schooling was unmatched by any other racial minority group. (49)
Longtime Delta resident Fay Dong, when asked about important Chinese parental values, stated: "More than anything else, they taught us the importance of education, which we were happy to pass on to our children." (50) With education being such an important cultural value, high-quality schools were paramount to the Delta Chinese. By the early 1920s, Chinese families had reconciled themselves to the disparities in the schools, and for the most part rejected the black public schools as a viable option.
In a few small Delta communities, Chinese were able to attend the white public schools. One family in Louise, Mississippi, remembered that the wife of a local farmer served as a benefactor to the Chinese, paving the political way for them to attend the white schools. (51) Some families reported being home-schooled by paid tutors who taught their children or, in one case, all the Chinese children in the community In cases where local schools wouldn't accept Chinese students but nearby communities would, the children would commute or move.
Freeda Lee recalls growing up in Ruleville but attending school in Sumner, some 15 or 20 miles away. (52) It was not uncommon to send children back to China to get an education. Several Delta families remembered children who did so. Freeda Lee's father took her three older brothers back to China "to get a Chinese education." (53) Sending children out of state in their high school years was de rigueur as well. Paul Wong remembers moving to Portland, Oregon, to finish high school, after attending the Cleveland, Mississippi, church mission school. (54)
Attending the white schools was preferred, but depended on the benevolence of a town's local school district. Typical of such towns was Rosedale, Mississippi. It was here that the legality of Chinese children attending white schools would be challenged in a landmark case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Rosedale, a small community located in Bolivar County on the Mississippi River, had an active Chinese population whose members had worked hard at being accepted by the white community One such resident was Gong Lum, whose grocery store was frequented by both blacks and whites. Lum had numerous white friends, and his family was active in the local Presbyterian Church. A white couple served as godparents to his two daughters, Berda and Martha, named for two prominent white women in Bolivar County The two girls, along with some other Chinese children, attended the white schools of Rosedale, and had been doing so without incident for some time.
In the fall of 1924, the school district called the Chinese children in and told them they could no longer attend the white school. The catalyst for the decision is in dispute, but it was most likely prompted by state authorities responding to complaints from a few local white residents, some of whom were concerned about the influx of Chinese into the community. (55) Many white citizens of Rosedale were upset with the decision, including some of the school trustees charged with enforcing the order. (56) Even when the Lums decided to file suit against the school district, white support persisted. Brewer, Brewer, and McGhehee, a well-known law firm from nearby Clarksdale, accepted the case, mostly on a pro bono basis. (57) The fact that a prestigious white law firm would accept the case affirmed evidence of white support. The subsequent suit, Gong Lum v. Rice, was filed on October 28, 1924. (58)
The case was first heard in the circuit court of Bolivar County shortly after the suit was filed in the fall of 1924. The plaintiff lawyers argued that the Lum children were not members of the colored race or of mixed blood but, rather, pure Chinese. Moreover, they argued that "separate but equal" facilities did not exist in Rosedale, as required under Plessy v. Ferguson. The judgment in the case favored the Lums. Judge William Alcorn criticized school officials, pointing out that Martha Lum was not "a member of the colored race" and therefore deserved to go to the white school. (59) The defendants--namely, the school authorities and State of Mississippi--filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Mississippi. (60)
The appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court appeal was heard during the March term of 1925. E. C. Sharp, Assistant Attorney General for the State of Mississippi, argued that the clear intent of the framers of the Constitution was to separate the education of whites from all other races. Moreover, he maintained that the classification of Chinese as non-white was
indisputable. He stated that "the status or classification of this race (Chinese) has been declared and fixed by our legislature. It has in unmistakable terms placed the Chinese or Mongolian race in the same category with the Negro." (61)
The Lums' family attorney Earl Brewer, argued that the 1890 Constitution's requirement of separate schools applied only to two races--black and white: "The purpose of the constitution was to make it certain that Negro children should not attend the same school with white children." He pointed out that the exclusionary doctrine failed to apply, stating that "the Chinaman is not a colored person within the meaning of our laws." (62) The Mississippi Supreme Court rejected Brewer's argument. The Court defined the term "white" as referenced in the 1890 Constitution to mean "members of the Caucasian race." The Court cited the intent of the framers of the Mississippi Constitution that separate schools were needed "so as to prevent race amalgamation."
The Court concluded that the state was not "compelled to provide separate schools for each of the colored races." In ruling that the Lums were not entitled to attend a white school, the decision of the lower court was reversed. (63) The Lums' attorneys filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1927, the Supreme Court of the United States heard the Lum family's appeal of the state ruling. Chief Justice William Howard Taft delivered the opinion of the high court. In it, Justice Taft affirmed the ruling of the Mississippi Supreme Court. He rejected the notion that Chinese citizens were denied equal protection of the law by being classified among the colored races. He cited Plessy v. Ferguson as affirmation of "separate but equal" and concluded that Chinese were provided with an "education equal to that offered to all, whether white, brown, yellow, or black." (64)
The unanimous ruling in Gong Lum v. Rice clearly defined the placement of Chinese students within the dual school structure in Mississippi. It also served as a landmark case, As one legal writer put it, "The validity of school segregation clearly was settled." (65) Another landmark case, the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education, would be needed before the Court
reversed its position. Although the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Mississippi Supreme Court ruling that Chinese were "entitled to have benefit of the colored public schools," (66)
The Chinese chose not to accept that option. Instead, they again sought alternatives based on financial resources and what was available to them in their areas. Some parents were able to enroll their children at private religious schools, others sent them to out-of-state schools or back to China, and still others employed private tutors. In a very few cases,
Chinese students continued to attend the white public schools in communities where they were allowed to do so. The Lums refused to accept what they saw as a demotion in social class and moved to Arkansas. (67)
Fortunately for the Delta Chinese, they still had access to the white churches in which they had become involved. In the
Tate 1920s and 1930s, these churches offered another post-Lum school alternative: as part of their missionary efforts and in collaboration with local school officials, they established Chinese mission schools in some Delta communities, most notably Cleveland, Rosedale, and Greenville. These were residential schools with no set grade levels for different ages, and with a blended curriculum based on a traditional U.S. model and some Chinese education. Fay Dong remembers it as "everybody from five to eighteen all in the same room and trying to teach them." (68)
A teacher at the Chinese Mission School in Cleveland, Mississippi, recalled in an interview that local school officials would usually provide some financial support for a teacher while the sponsoring church supported construction and maintenance of
school facilities. Chinese children attending these schools usually received instruction from a white teacher during the regular school day and supplemental instruction in, and from, Chinese tutors in the evenings. In return for their financial support, the local churches, which were usually Baptist, required inclusion of religious instruction in the curriculum and decision-making responsibility over the school. (69)
These schools provided an educational lifeline for Chinese living throughout the Delta, where few acceptable educational
alternatives existed. They proved successful in giving Chinese children an education comparable to that of whites, providing further evidence to the white community that, by refusing to attend the black schools, the Chinese were deserving of social acceptance. The success of the mission schools allowed Delta Chinese a victory over the defeat they had suffered in the Gong Lum case. They had once again proved themselves worthy of white admiration, a seemingly elusive goal.
In the post--Lum period, the Chinese again showed their resilience. Instead of pursuing legal action and/or claiming the role of the victim, they found an alternative that was embraced by the white community. In the words of Audrey Sidney, "I think
through hard work, endurance, and believing in yourself, we will get there." (70) The mission schools represented a partnership between the white community and the Chinese. The church bound the two together in a common cause that transcended their racial differences. It is not surprising that a New Deal researcher doing a Works Progress Administration survey in the
late 1930s commented in her report that the Delta Chinese, though not completely accepted by white society, "are liked and respected, nonetheless, by all who cannot fail to admire their honesty and integrity." (71) The mission schools had made their mark.
The advent of World War II gave the Delta Chinese further opportunities to prove themselves worthy of white acceptance. Some
enlisted in the armed services, others engaged in rigorous fund-raising in support of the war effort, and all demonstrated their patriotism. The alliance between China and the United States cemented a special bond against a common enemy, Japan. The enthusiasm with which the Delta Chinese embraced the war effort made a favorable impression on the white community. The participation of numerous Delta Chinese was documented and appreciated. When U.S. President Bill Clinton proclaimed October 26, 1998 as Chinese Veterans of World War II Day, longtime Delta resident Kenneth Gong was one of the White House honorees. (72)
When the war was over, attitudes toward the Chinese seemed to have changed. A teacher at the mission school in Cleveland
remembered that it "no longer seemed fair to treat the Chinese differently." (73) Edward Joe's recollections, based on his father's war experience, were that "a war is bad, but after the Second World War, a lot of people came back. They accepted Chinese a lot more." (74) After World War II, Delta Chinese children gradually began to attend the white public schools, with the timeline for doing so dictated by the benevolence of the individual school district. Mae Wing recalls attending the Chinese mission school in Greenville and then transferring to the white high school after World War II. Thus the Delta Chinese "Baby Boomer" generation was, for the most part, a product of Mississippi's white public schools.
The significant increase in access to high-quality public education for post--World War II Chinese children proved to be a
double-edged sword for Chinese families. On the one hand, the commitment to education in Chinese culture was affirmed. On the other hand, increased educational access both at the K-12 and post-secondary levels, accompanied by assimilation with the majority white culture, caused an increase in social mobility The idea of taking over the family grocery store and remaining insulated from the outside world became less attractive and was replaced by the desire to pursue economic and educational
For Delta Chinese who saw the family grocery store as their economic, social, and cultural linchpin, the prospect of its demise was particularly sad. The families interviewed for the oral history project unanimously identified those stores as the single most important factor exemplifying the rigorous work ethic that defines Chinese culture, That work ethic was integrated into every aspect of Chinese life. Families recalled eighteen-hour work days in the grocery store. Bobby Jue commented that the thing he regretted most was "that the grandkids won't know what it's like to run a grocery store." (75) The Delta Chinese view the work ethic learned in those stores as their legacy to later generations who have left the stores but retained the work ethic as the basis for new and successful careers elsewhere.
The peak population of about 1,200 Delta Chinese in 1960 (76) had declined to 782 by 1990. (77) In 1994 the Clarion-Ledger, the largest newspaper in Mississippi, printed articles on the Chinese that highlighted their accomplishments but depicted a culture in demise. The Chinese mission churches, which "upheld Chinese traditions and gave people a place to gather, talk, and worship," were dying out. The Greenville church, with 200 or more members in the 1970s, was down to 30 in 1994. The mission church in Clarksdale had closed, and the one in Cleveland had only a handful of members. The older Chinese pointed to
Americanization as the catalyst for the decline. Chinese have joined mainstream white churches, and "the old corner grocery store operated by the Chinese family is dying out."
Young Chinese college graduates were moving away to bigger cities for better jobs. One young Chinese merchant from Greenville lamented the decline, stating that "future generations will lose out. Two hundred years down the road, my bloodline won't exist anymore. We'll lose our heritage as we become more Americanized." (78)
The fear of losing Delta Chinese culture is compounded by a new wave of Asian immigrants arriving in the state. The 2000 Census revealed an increase of 50 percent in Mississippi's Asian population. Many of them are from China, Taiwan, and other Pacific Rim countries. Some have settled in the Delta. Like their predecessors, many of these newcomers have become merchants, opening take-out restaurants and grocery stores. Native Delta Chinese view themselves as Americans, so some of them think of their new neighbors as foreigners because of their different cultures and languages. One longtime resident
suggested that "they look like us, but that's about it. We don't have much in common." (79)
As Chinese leave the Delta and new Asian residents take their place, Chinese Americans fear that the legacy of their unique
culture will be lost and their sacrifices forgotten. The Mississippi Humanities Council is providing grants to support oral history projects as a method of archiving the stories of people, groups, and cultures of Mississippi.
One of these projects, which targets the Chinese in the Mississippi Delta, is reflected herein. There is also an effort underway to establish a Chinese heritage museum in Greenville, Mississippi. The hope is that these and other efforts will be
successful in preserving the important historical and cultural legacy of the Chinese in the Mississippi Delta. The Chinese have made invaluable contributions to the quality of life in the Delta. Chinese have served as town mayors, leaders of civic clubs and churches, and in all facets of community life in the Delta, and have a strong record of philanthropic support for community causes. Their stores and businesses have contributed significantly to the Delta economy. Their commitment to educational excellence has been a model for all the citizens of the Delta. Generations of Chinese now work side by side with
white and black leaders to make the Delta a better place to live. Although their numbers are small, they continue to enrich the Delta. That enrichment has earned--and will continue to preserve--a unique place for the Chinese in the Mississippi Delta.
(1.) James C. Cobb, The Most Southern Place on
Earth: The Mississippi Delta and the Roots of Regional Identity (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992).
(2.) Lucy M. Cohen, Chinese in the Post--Civil War South (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1984), 64, 77-79.
(3.) Robert Seto Quan, Lotus Among the Magnolias: The Mississippi Chinese (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1982), 6.
(4.) Jeannie Rhee, "In Black and White: Chinese in the Mississippi Delta," Journal of Supreme Court History: Yearbook of the Supreme Court Historical Society (1994): 119.
(5.) Edward and Annette Joe, interview by Kimberly Lancaster and Jennifer Mitchell, 1 May 2000, transcript, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(6.) Rhee, "In Black and White," 119-20.
(7.) Rhee, "In Black and White," 120.
(8.) Bobby and Laura Jue, interview by Kimberly Lancaster, February 4, 2000, transcript, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(9.) Quan, Lotus Among the Magnolias, 10-11.
(10.) Sam Chu-Lin to John Thornell, September 20, 2001, transcript of letter in the hand of author, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(11.) Freeda and Hoover Lee, interview by Kimberly Lancaster, April 24, 2000, transcript, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(12.) James W. Loewen, The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971), 25.
(13.) Somini Sengupta, "Cleveland Journal: Delta Chinese Hang on to a Vanishing Way of Life," New York Times, November 1, 2000.
(14.) Rhee, "In Black and White," 120.
(15.) Jim Crow laws legally mandated separation of the races. Schools, housing, shopping, theaters, medical services, and transportation were just a few of the areas in which the laws were strictly enforced. In these and all other areas of Southern society, there had to be a dual structure in place to avoid mixing of the races.
(16.) Luck and Mae Wing, interview by Kimberly Lancaster and Jennifer Mitchell, March 1, 2000, transcript, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(17.) Lillie Woo, interview by Kimberly Lancaster and Jennifer Mitchell, February 14, 2000, transcript, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(18.) Sam Chu-Lin to John Thornell, March 9, 2001, transcript of letter in the hand of the author, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(19.) Sam Chu-Lin, "Down South: Chinese Americans in Mississippi Looking to Build Museum," Asianweek.com, November 2--8, 2001.
(20.) Joe interview, May 1,2000.
(21.) Audrey Sidney interview by Kimberly Lancaster, February 4, 2000, transcript, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(22.) Wing interview; March 1, 2000.
(23.) Joe interview, May 1,2000.
(24.) Sidney interview, February 4, 2000.
(25.) Lee interview; April 24, 2000.
(26.) Warren Lancaster, interview by Kimberly Lancaster, May 21, 2000, transcript, Delta State University Cleveland, Miss.
(27.) Sidney interview; February 4,2000.
(28.) Jue interview, February 4, 2000.
(29.) Lee interview, April 24,2000.
(30.) Fay and Juanita Dong, interview by Kimberly Lancaster and Jennifer Mitchell, May 1, 2000, transcript, Delta State University Cleveland, Miss.
(31.) Delma Furniss, "Rena Lara Folks Hope 'Joe' Still Using Watch," Clarksdale Press Register, July 29,1988.
(32.) Dong interview, May 1, 2000.
(33.) Joe interview, May 1, 2000.
(34.) Jue interview, February 4, 2000.
(35.) Audrey Sidney interview by John Thornell, 10 December 10, 2001, Delta State University Cleveland, Miss.
(36.) Sidney interview, February 4, 2000.
(37.) John Quon, interview by John Thornell, December 13, 2001, Delta State University Cleveland, Miss.
(38.) Dong interview, May 1,2000.
(39.) Jue interview, February 4,2000.
(40.) Dong interview, May 1, 2000.
(41.) Wing interview, March 1, 2000.
(42.) Jue interview, February 4, 2000.
(43.) John Quon, as quoted in Chu-Lin, "Down South," November 2-8, 2001.
(44.) Sam Chu-Lin to John Thornell, March 9, 2001, transcript of letter in the hand of author, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(45.) Rhee, "In Black and White," 121.
(46.) Jesse O. McKee, Mississippi: A Portrait of an American State (Montgomery: Clairmont Press, 1995), 140.
(47.) Loewen, The Mississippi Chinese, 65.
(48.) Sau-Fong Siu, "Toward an Understanding of Chinese-American Educational Achievement: A Literature Review" (Boston: Center on Families, Communities, Schools and Children's Learning; Wheelock College,
1992), 2, ED 343 713, microfiche (database online, available from ERIC).
(49.) Siu, "Chinese-American Educational Achievement," 13.
(50.) Dong interview, May 1, 2000.
(51.) Francis Wong, interview by Kimberly Lancaster and Jennifer Mitchell, 19
January 2000, transcript, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(52.) Lee interview, April 24, 2000.
(53.) Lee interview, April 24,2000.
(54.) Paul Wong to Martha Miller, September 11, 1993, transcript of letter in the hand of author, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss. For more on the Chinese mission schools, see the discussion later in this essay.
(55.) Florence Ogden, "Excluded Chinese Form School in Rosedale," Commercial Appeal, November 19, 1933.
(56.) Rhee, "In Black and White," 122.
(57.) Rhee, "In Black and White," 122.
(58.) Loewen, The Mississippi Chinese, 66.
(59.) Rhee, "In Black and White," 123.
(60.) Loewen, The Mississippi Chinese, 67.
(61.) Cases Argued and Decided in the Supreme Court of Mississippi at the March Term, 1925 (Columbia, Missouri: E. W. Stephens Publishing Co., 1926), vol. 139: 763-64.
(62.) Cases Argued, 766, 770, 774.
(63.) Cases Argued, 779, 780, 787.
(64.) Harold W. Horowitz and Kenneth L. Karst, Law, Lawyers and Social Change: Cases and Materials on the Abolition of Slavery, Racial Segregation and Inequality of Educational Opportunity (n.p.: Bobbs-Merrill Company 1969), 159.
(65.) Horowitz and Karst, Law Lawyers and Social Change, 160.
(66.) Cases Argued, 787.
(67.) Rhee, "In Black and White," 126.
(68.) Dong interview, May 1, 2000.
(69.) Martha Miller, interview by John Thornell, June 15, 1997. Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(70.) Sidney interview, February 4, 2000.
(71.) Rhee, "In Black and White," 129.
(72.) Kenneth Gong, interview by Eddie Gong, February 19, 2000, transcript, History Department, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
(73.) Miller interview, June 15, 1997.
(74.) Joe interview, May 1, 2000.
(75.) Jue interview, February 4, 2000.
(76.) Sengupta, "Cleveland Journal," 1 November 2000.
(77.) "New Era Challenges Chinese Heritage," Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger, September 9,1994.
(78.) "New Era," September 9, 1994.
(79.) Sengupta, "Cleveland Journal," November 1, 2000. John Thornell is professor of History and vice
president of Academic Affairs at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. He earned a Ph.D. from
the University of Texas. His scholarly interests include research on the Delta and the ethnic groups therein. Recent works include oral histories of the Civil Rights movement, the Chinese, and the Italians.
©Copyright 2005 by jkjue, all rights reserved
last updated 10/01/2005 | sociology |
http://www.warwickconsultants.net/2016/02/17/oakland-resilient-cities/ | 2019-01-24T09:50:25 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547584519757.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20190124080411-20190124102411-00367.warc.gz | 0.924686 | 596 | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2019-04__0__219880028 | en | By Alex Laplaza
From Sea Level Rise to Homelessness: Developing Resilience with Equity
Oakland’s population of over 400,000 faces a daunting list of threats: sea level rise, earthquakes, and major droughts are among the many. In response to these vulnerabilities, the Bay Area city emerged as a national leader in community-based resilience planning. Oakland is planning for and mitigation of both acute disasters and chronic threats earned the city a spot in the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities Network.
Oakland employs a multi-pronged resilience initiative that not only addresses natural threats, but engages social and economic stresses as well. The city aims to foster community-level resilience to conventional threats such as coastal flooding, drought, and earthquakes, as well as socioeconomic challenges such as social inequality and lack of affordable housing. The city’s priorities include upgrading planning strategies for pre-disaster seismic mitigation, protecting Oakland’s residents and infrastructure from rising seas, extreme heat and precipitation events, and evaluating impacts of climate change on utility and food costs, especially for low-income residents.
The dynamism of Oakland’s resilience priorities derive from efforts to establish groundbreaking and multifaceted community partnerships. For example, the Oakland Climate Action Coalition, an alliance of nearly 40 low-income community organizations, worked to effectively and equitably develop Oakland’s Energy and Climate Action Plan – an effort to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Other NGOs and think-tanks such as the Pacific Institute and Bay Localize developed hazard mapping and outreach tools for community residents by producing multiple studies on the impacts and vulnerability related to sea level rise, coastal and storm flooding, and seismic hazards in soft-story housing.
Since receiving the $1 million dollar grant from the 100 Resilient Cities Network, Oakland appointed Victoria Salinas as its first Chief Resilience Officer (CRO). Salinas previously held disaster relief and risk management positions at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the World Bank, the U.S. Department of State, and the United Nations Development Programme. As Oakland’s CRO, she’ll lead the city in its efforts to prepare for and respond to the city’s vulnerabilities.
Neighboring San Francisco and Berkeley also earned a spot in the 100 Resilient Cities Network. The three Bay Area cities face similar threats and vulnerabilities, yet engage with them differently. San Francisco leverages its innovative tech industry to dramatically improve building codes and educate communities on how to advance personal resilience. Berkeley utilizes its world class research facilities to develop resilience performance and tracking programs that are replicable worldwide. This multifaceted approach enables the Bay Area cities to share key ideas and resources, ultimately fostering a broader regional resiliency with equity.
For further information, please contact Alex Laplaza at [email protected]. | sociology |
http://www.fathomresearchgroup.com/investigation-services/victims-rights-advocacy-service/ | 2018-11-14T16:10:08 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039742117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20181114150002-20181114172002-00364.warc.gz | 0.927482 | 584 | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2018-47__0__105526590 | en | On July 23, 2015, the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights Act came into force. The Act provides victims of crime with statutory rights to information, protection, participation, restitution and a complaint process that gives them a voice in the criminal justice system. The Bill defines a victim of crime as any individual, their relatives, spouse or dependant, who has suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage, or economic loss as a result of a criminal offence and certain other acts.
Although the Bill provides rights, victims may have difficulty understanding complex procedures, accessing information, or self-advocating. Fathom’s victim advocacy service supports victims by educating, facilitating access, and navigating complex or bureaucratic procedures on the victim’s behalf.
Our victims’ rights services
Fathom Research Group is a professional investigative agency with expertise in investigative protocol, file management and disclosure. Our investigators have extensive experience in criminal investigations and are able to audit and review the progress of the file. In partnership with Vancouver-based criminal law firm, Johnson Doyle and Sugarman, Fathom Research Group will act on behalf of the victim by:
- Educating victims on their rights pursuant to the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights
- Applying on the victims behalf for access to information
- Reviewing/auditing investigative disclosure, updates and status of an investigation/prosecution
- Ensuring the victim’s right to protection
- Ensuring the victim’s right to information and participation throughout the criminal justice system
- Assisting in seeking restitution
- Filing a complaint and follow up on behalf of the victim
- Providing any further representation as required
Canadian Victims Bill of Rights Overview
A victim can now exercise their rights while an offence is being investigated, prosecuted and throughout the process where an offender is subject to criminal justice, corrections or conditional release processes. For cases in which an accused has been found unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible due to mental disorder, the victim can exercise their rights while the accused is subject to the jurisdiction of a court or Review Board. The Canadian Victims Bill of Rights supersedes all other federal Acts. Where inconsistencies arise between the Canadian Bill of Rights, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Official Languages Act, the Access to Information Act, or the Privacy Act, the rights under the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights will be balanced with these other quasi-constitutional statutes.
Victims of crime
Criminal victimization has far reaching negative consequences on individuals, their families, and society at large. No one expects to be a victim of crime and there are many resource centers that exist offering counseling and therapy, but mostly a victim wants answers, accountability and justice. It can be a daunting task to understand and properly assess a criminal investigation and prosecution. In serious matters, it is best left to professionals.
Read more about the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights. | sociology |
http://mlnr.gov.gh/index.php/two-million-palm-seedlings-to-be-planted-in-mining-communities-amewu/ | 2018-12-16T14:24:04 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376827727.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20181216121406-20181216143406-00065.warc.gz | 0.961444 | 534 | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2018-51__0__48488454 | en | Over two million palm seedlings are to be planted in communities in the country where the environment has been depleted through illegal mining activities (galamsey).
The plantation project is being funded by the Minerals Development Fund (MDF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, as part of the alternative livelihood support initiatives under the Multi-Sectoral Mining Integrated Project (MMIP).
It is being executed by Richie Plantation in Dunkwa-on-offin in the Upper Denkyira East municipality in the Central Region.
One million five hundred seedlings are to be distributed to farmers and former illegal miners by the end of August this year, while a remaining 500,000 will be ready before the end of 2018.
The Hon. Minister, Mr. John-Peter Amewu, announced this when he inaugurated the Richie Plantation oil palm seedlings project aimed at providing alternative livelihoods for illegal miners.
The distribution of oil palm seedlings to communities that have been affected by illegal mining have started and over 8000 farmers and former illegal miners will benefit from the oil palm seedlings to start a new life, Hon. Amewu noted.
“We know that whatever they derive instantly from palm seedling may not match what they get from illegal mining, but what we fail to realize as a country is the fact that the environmental cost or the cost of damages that are as a result of illegal mining we do not quantify that into our returns”.
Hon. Amewu also urged traditional authorities to make land available for the youth adding that if the land is not available all that we are witnessing today will be in vain”. He stressed.
He also explained that the extended period of the moratorium on small-scale mining was not meant to deprive small-miners of their livelihood but was rather aimed at weeding out illegal miners to sustain the sector.
He expressed satisfaction with the extent of work done at the Richie Plantation and directed the managers of the MDF to increase funding allocation to the non-governmental organization (NGO) to scale up the initiative to other mining communities in the Ashanti, Eastern and Brong Ahafo regions.
Richie Plantation has done a very good job in barely one and half years and so we need to support it to scale up, because in the next 10 years it should be possible to get a milling plant and job opportunities from these efforts, he concluded.
The Minister was accompanied to the plantations sites at separate visits with his Deputy Ministers and officials of the Ministry, Minerals Commission and Monitory Development Fund (MDF). | sociology |
https://www.jwseagon.com/cq-q1-2019/ | 2021-05-09T11:21:40 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243988966.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20210509092814-20210509122814-00266.warc.gz | 0.977077 | 250 | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-21__0__119197840 | en | We were delighted to see so many of you at our recent breakfast seminar. It was an eye-opening session for all those that attended as we outlined key learnings about the importance of dealing with mental health in the workplace, as well as some ideas on the necessary changes required to reduce stress in the workplace.
Dr Yolande Coombes our first speaker addressed the topic of stress in the workplace and the impact this has on organisations in terms of damaging their work culture but also the financial implications. She revealed to us some astounding stats that made HR managers and company directors perk up and pay attention to what they were potentially losing out on by not addressing this issue more closely. She also educated us on the science behind stress and the automatic ‘fight or flight’ reaction and the power of the ´chimpanzee´ brain, both of which are not particularly useful in the context of an office! Finally, she proposed some easy fixes and small changes we can make to our everyday lives in order to help minimize the impact of stress. Very simply, we all need to spend less time on our phones!
It was great to see all delegates enjoying the delicious breakfast on offer in the relaxing environment of the Southern Sun Mayfair! | sociology |
http://www.panasd.org/campaigns-1 | 2017-09-26T21:38:17 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818696696.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20170926212817-20170926232817-00539.warc.gz | 0.921585 | 336 | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2017-39__0__124117498 | en | On a Thursday night, over 350 San Diegans from the interfaith community, civil and human rights groups, labor and social service organizations, and compassionate individuals came together to affirm our commitment to make San Diego a safe haven for refugees and immigrants from around the world, especially those fleeing a crisis of violence and terror.
Refugees and immigrants in San Diego are at the forefront of the regional housing crisis, often forced to live in substandard conditions, fighting slumlords and living as ‘hidden homeless,’ crowding homes to ensure families and friends have a place to stay. The #RightToARoof campaign will focus on improving housing for all, especially our most vulnerable.
At the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA), we’re standing for positive, responsible, and fact-based policy upholding our fundamental American values. Because we know, when refugee communities are a part of our democracy, enriching diversity, and strengthening our economy, we all win.
Thanks to the hard work of our PANA leaders, in 2016 we:
- engaged over 6,000 New Americans through our leadership development program,
- published the 2016 report on refugee experiences,
- registered 731 new voters,
- contacted over 6,400 voters,
- and have began to change the conversation in San Diego.
We can't afford to stand by as our society scapegoats Muslims or be spectators as our country turns its back on refugees. We need you to #ShowUp4Refugees.
Now is the time to invest on the ground. Please consider supporting our work by becoming sustaining donor to grow our movement. | sociology |
https://www.communityminds.org.au/community-minded-leaders.html | 2020-10-01T16:13:09 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600402131777.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20201001143636-20201001173636-00645.warc.gz | 0.966345 | 211 | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2020-40__0__257843298 | en | At Community Minds, we believe that no genuine community development can happen without the inclusion of children and young people. We also strongly believe that young people are not the leaders of tomorrow but the change agents of today, and that their actions today can change their lives and communities.
Community Minds has designed a program, Community Minded Leaders, that aims to encourage young people to lead change with others in making their community a better place. The program aims to inspire, identify and recognise young people 15-18 years old, as Community Minded Leaders. It’s a sponsorship program that then links young people to local community organisations, to be supported, mentored and inspired to pursue change in their communities.
Post engagement is important to keep the momentum of being an active change agent, creating positive change in communities.
This program is designed to educate and engage children in community centred thinking and living. Inspiring young minds to become more community minded in all areas of their life to ultimately create resilient, resourced and well-connected communities. | sociology |
https://kathyrobertsforde.substack.com/p/making-sense-of-the-violent-attack | 2021-06-24T02:16:58 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623488550571.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20210624015641-20210624045641-00424.warc.gz | 0.962614 | 1,628 | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-25__0__2822528 | en | Making sense of the violent attack on the Capitol
with some historical perspective on white supremacy and the press
The past is always with us.
Well after Reconstruction, white supremacists—organized and incited to violence by the leaders of the Democratic Party—overthrew the duly elected bi-racial government of Wilmington, North Carolina, in an orgy of violence. They murdered Black men in the street, exiled successful Black citizens and their white allies, burned the office of the Black newspaper, and installed an all-white government of political partisans. Just two days earlier the Democrats had stolen the state election through electoral fraud and anti-Black violence, all in the name of white supremacist rule.
At the middle of it all was the white press, used to spread vicious anti-Black lies across the state and radicalize the white community.
They say that history rhymes.
In 1898, Wilmington was a thriving port city in North Carolina, a shining city of promise for Black people across the South. A majority Black city with a thriving Black middle class, Wilmington was the largest municipality in the state. And its government was composed of both Black and white men.
These men, like the North Carolina governor and the state legislature, were members of the interracial Fusionist political coalition that swept into power across the state in 1894. During the depression of the 1880s, struggling white farmers became disenchanted with the elite white Democrats, who enriched themselves (and no one else) with state policies favoring railroads, industrial interests, and banks. The white Populist Party emerged and soon realized it shared existential economic interests with Black Republicans. The two groups aligned forces in the Fusionist Movement, focusing their agenda on free public education and the enfranchisement of Black men.
Just one generation removed from the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery, Black Southerners by 1898 had made impressive gains. Many had gained valuable political experience during Reconstruction’s radical experiment in building multiracial, truly democratic governments across the states of the former Confederacy. And the Black community had knit itself together through establishing and promoting schools, literacy campaigns, churches, businesses, newspapers, and strong kinship networks of mutual help. In 1898, Wilmington was a showcase of Black achievement in the New South, with Black men’s literacy rates outstripping those of white men.
But the white Democrats, used to holding the reins of both political and economic power, were determined to regain control. The Fusionist coalition was vulnerable, and Democrats knew it. In 1898, the so-called leading men of North Carolina put together a brilliant if evil campaign plan to drive a wedge between the white Populists and the Black Republicans and bring the Populists back into the Democratic fold.
What wedge issue to use? White fear of Black political and economic power.
How to weaponize the issue? Tie these fears to propaganda about “Negro rule” and “Negro domination” and lies about Black men as sexual predators of white women.
How to spread this propaganda across the state, in every hamlet, town, and city, and whip white anxiety and fear to a fever pitch? Through racist news articles, editorials, speeches, and noxious political cartoons, run day-after-day-after-day in the most powerful white daily newspapers in the state.
The newspaper at the middle of it all was the Raleigh News & Observer in the state capital, initially funded by wealthy industrialist Julian Carr (a founder of Duke University and Ku Kluxer) and published and edited by Josephus Daniels, a key ally of the state’s Democratic Executive Committee (later secretary of the Navy and ambassador to Mexico).
Daniels understood the power of visuals, and he ran his cartoonist’s racist depictions of Black people on the front page.
Other white newspapers across the state ran stories and cartoons the News & Observer published. Hardly a person in the state could escape the propaganda demonizing Black citizens of North Carolina as criminals, loafers, vagrants, and sexual predators. The Democrats sent their best orators around the state to tell dark tales of Black malfeasance and paint a bleaker picture still of what awaited white people if Black people continued to make political and economic advances. Their most incendiary material was the lie that Black men posed a dangerous, ever-present threat to white female virtue.
Alexander Manley refused to let the lie stand. And as the editor of Wilmington’s successful black newspaper The Daily Record, believed to be then the only daily Black newspaper in the country, he had a forum to make his voice heard. When Rebecca Latimer Felton, a prominent Georgian, gave a speech advocating the lynching of Black men who, she said, harbored a “brutal lust” for white women, newspapers across the state printed it. Manley responded with a fiery editorial that told the plain and obvious truth: some white women actually courted the attentions of black men and such liaisons too often ended with black men accused of rape and lynched.
Manly, the descendant of a white governor and a Black woman he enslaved, had another truth to tell:
“Every Negro lynched is called a ‘big burly, black brute,’ when in fact many of those who have thus been dealt with had white men for their fathers, and were not only not ‘black’ and ‘burly’ but were sufficiently attractive for white girls of culture and refinement to fall in love with them as is very well known to all.”
The Democrats seized on Manly’s editorial, printing it repeatedly in newspapers across the state, using it as “evidence” of Black insolence and sexual interest in white women and warning endlessly of the danger of “black beasts” and “black brutes.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Party leaders made corrupt deals with wealthy industrialists, bankers, and railroad tycoons, promising to cut corporate taxes in return for the financial support needed to fund their campaign.
As the November election neared, the Democrats turned their attention to Wilmington. They had a plan to make sure they won the state legislature. They would intimidate black voters with violence to keep them from the polls. If that somehow didn’t work, they would stuff the ballot boxes. But Wilmington was not slated for an election. And they wanted to crush the Fusionist coalition everywhere in the state. Nowhere was it more successful than Wilmington.
Alfred Waddell, a former Confederate soldier and US congressman, was the Democratic ringleader in Wilmington, giving fiery speeches that riled up his white crowds. “We will never surrender to a ragged raffle of Negroes, even if we have to choke the Cape Fear River with carcasses,” he said. Red Shirts, a white paramilitary group known for the red shirts they wore, roamed the city attacking Black residents and warning Black men not to vote.
On November 10, two days after the Democrats successfully stole the state election and a white mob forced the Fusionist governor to flee the state for his life, the violent coup in Wilmington began.
By the end of the day, Waddell had installed himself as mayor, the bodies of Black men lay strewn throughout the city, Black business areas and communities had been burned and ravaged, the Fusionist government had been overthrown, and thousands of Black citizens had fled for their lives. Many never returned.
One of the first acts of the new legislature in North Carolina was to disfranchise Black men through a constitutional amendment.
Note: much of this narrative is taken from Timothy Tyson’s brilliant account “The Ghosts of 1898: Wilmington’s Race Riot and the Rise of White Supremacy,” Raleigh News & Observer, 11-17, 2006. Read it here. | sociology |
https://media-feeds.extracoding.com/2023/07/10/musics-impact-on-emotions-and-society/ | 2024-02-23T09:57:00 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474377.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20240223085439-20240223115439-00076.warc.gz | 0.930698 | 819 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__65820324 | en | Since the dawn of human civilization, music has been an integral part of human culture, evoking powerful emotions and shaping societal dynamics. Whether it’s the rhythmic beats of a tribal drum, the soulful melodies of a symphony orchestra, or the catchy tunes of a popular song, music has a unique ability to connect with our emotions and influence the way we interact with each other and the world around us. This essay explores the profound impact of music on emotions and society, delving into its therapeutic benefits, social cohesion, and its role in shaping cultural identities.
Emotions are an essential aspect of the human experience, and music has a profound ability to evoke and express them. Different types of music can evoke a wide range of emotions, from joy and excitement to sadness and nostalgia. The use of specific musical elements like tempo, rhythm, and harmony can be deliberately employed by composers and artists to elicit particular emotional responses in listeners. For instance, fast-paced, upbeat music may induce feelings of happiness and energy, while slow, melancholic melodies might evoke a sense of sadness or introspection. This emotional connection to music can be deeply personal, allowing individuals to find solace, express their innermost feelings, and create a sense of emotional release and catharsis.
Furthermore, music’s impact on emotions extends beyond individual experiences to influence the fabric of societies. Throughout history, music has played a significant role in bringing communities together, fostering social cohesion, and reinforcing cultural identities. In many cultures, music is an essential part of communal gatherings, rituals, and celebrations, uniting people through shared experiences. Traditional folk music, for example, often carries the history and values of a community, serving as a way to pass down stories and traditions from one generation to the next. In this sense, music becomes a powerful tool for preserving cultural heritage and strengthening social bonds.
Moreover, music’s influence on society can extend to behavioral aspects as well. The phenomenon of “group mentality” is amplified by shared musical experiences. Concerts, festivals, and even national anthems can evoke a sense of national pride and unity, leading individuals to feel a stronger connection to their fellow citizens. On the other hand, music can also be used as a tool for protest and social change. Throughout history, musicians and artists have used their craft to voice dissent, inspire revolutions, and advocate for social justice. Iconic songs like Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” and John Lennon’s “Imagine” have become anthems for peace and societal transformation.
Beyond its social impact, music also holds significant therapeutic potential. Music therapy is a well-established form of treatment used in various settings, from hospitals and mental health facilities to schools and rehabilitation centers. Research has shown that music can alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression, improve mood, and enhance cognitive functions. In healthcare settings, music can be used to help patients manage pain, reduce the need for medication, and provide comfort during difficult times. Moreover, in educational environments, music has been linked to improved learning outcomes, memory retention, and overall academic performance.
In recent times, with the widespread availability of music streaming platforms and digital technology, the reach and impact of music on emotions and society have expanded exponentially. With just a few clicks, people can access a vast array of musical genres and artists from around the world, exposing them to diverse cultural experiences and perspectives. This global accessibility has the potential to promote cross-cultural understanding, tolerance, and empathy.
In conclusion, music’s impact on emotions and society is a testament to its power as an art form. From eliciting deep emotional responses within individuals to fostering social cohesion and shaping cultural identities, music holds an influential role in our lives. Its therapeutic benefits further demonstrate its potential to heal and uplift individuals. As we continue to explore the realms of music, it is essential to recognize and harness its transformative power for the betterment of individuals and society as a whole. | sociology |
http://reiter.radio.cbssports.com/2016/07/15/ricky-williams-marijuana-helped-me-get-a-sense-of-who-i-am/ | 2018-01-21T12:48:28 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084890582.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20180121120038-20180121140038-00572.warc.gz | 0.976319 | 625 | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2018-05__0__26050173 | en | Ricky Williams smoked marijuana during his NFL career. In fact, it cost him the entire 2006 season. But the 39-year-old maintains that marijuana has done him more good than harm.
He just wants others to feel the same way.
“It has helped, yeah,” the former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL rushing leader said on CBS Sports Radio’s The Doug Gottlieb Show. “I love having this conversation. People look at me and they say, ‘Oh, he’s a football player,’ and they have certain assumptions about who I am. At the core, I’m a healer and I’m a spiritual person. What I find with cannabis is it helps me detach from when I over-identify with labels that don’t work for me. It gives me this space to introspect and get a sense of who I really am and move forward.”
Williams, the subject of the SI.com documentary “Ricky Williams Takes the High Road,” wants to help change the way people view marijuana, especially in terms of healing.
“I think the way we grew up, there was such a negative stigma on marijuana,” he said. “People find themselves using it and at the same time beating themselves up – and also getting beat up from their parents and people who don’t understand. My experience of what I went through, I think, is a perfect example of how you can use cannabis and you don’t have to be stuck on the couch watching TV all day. You can still live your life and have a really high-quality life. If you’re going to use it, why not use it consciously and use it in ways that will enhance your life?”
While the NFL is yet to embrace medicinal marijuana as a means to help players with concussions, the government has decriminalized and legalized marijuana in several states.
Williams, it is worth nothing, believes the NFL is making strides in this area.
“I think it’s already moving in that direction,” he said. “The NFL is tough on people who fail multiple drug tests. If you fail one drug test, they put you in the program and they test you a bunch. If you stay clean for two years, then you’re out. The NFL has also changed their drug-testing policy. When I failed a test, it was 0.15 nanograms a milliliter. Now they’ve tripled it all the way 0.5. Even with that change, if those laws and those rules were in place in the NFL (when I played), I never would have been in the drug program. We wouldn’t be having this conversation. So it’s moving. But the NFL, a big business, a bit of a bureaucracy, it just moves slower. I think not until public opinion shifts all the way is the NFL going to take a stand.” | sociology |
https://karenfranceseng.medium.com/covid-19-the-view-from-rabat-9cd446afff7a?source=post_internal_links---------0---------------------------- | 2021-03-06T04:04:37 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178374391.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20210306035529-20210306065529-00036.warc.gz | 0.966907 | 3,325 | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-10__0__151497014 | en | COVID-19: the view from Rabat
Why would an American choose lockdown life under martial law in Morocco? A conversation with Iranian-American global health physician Nassim Assefi on different cultural approaches to COVID responses, coping as a single mother in quarantine, and navigating the precarious line between safety and sanity.
When the pandemic hit, Iranian-American physician and global health expert Dr Nassim Assefi actively chose to stay put in Rabat with her 8-year-old daughter rather than return home to Seattle, despite Morocco’s strictly enforced lockdown measures. The country’s major cities have seen the longest and strictest quarantines in the world: starting on March 16 and ending just a few days ago, on July 11.
As a self-described global nomad, Nassim has been to more than 60 countries, including to Iran for public health research, to Afghanistan to reduce maternal and infant mortality, and most recently to Rabat — where she was living at the time of this interview — to work with refugees and immigrants.
During the height of the pandemic last May, I called Nassim to get her uniquely global perspective on the crisis as a doctor — and as a fellow single mother trying to stay sane. An edited version of our conversation follows.
How did you come to live in Morocco, and why did you choose to lock down there?
Morocco was a happy accident on a yearlong, midlife sabbatical that I took at age 45 to do a deep, reflective dive on my professional future. The plan was to spend a trimester each in Asia, Africa, and Europe, and I had lined up projects on each continent. Morocco was nowhere on the itinerary. Based on a letter from one friend in Rabat and a spontaneous decision, I decided to visit. Within a week of being there, my daughter and I fell in love with the place. Living there made sense on many levels.
My professional goal was to work with refugees and immigrants, particularly on refugee integration in Europe and in southern Spain. Morocco is physically proximate to those projects and also allowed me to study Arabic, which I’d always wanted to do. We found a good, international school for my daughter, where she was happy. When the pandemic struck, we decided to bet on Morocco.
How well has the Moroccan government handled the pandemic, in your view?
The king of Morocco and the Moroccan government are science driven, and they acted swiftly and decisively to enforce a strict sheltering in place order as soon as cases were soaring in Italy, Spain, and France (its principal European traffic). Moroccans respect their king and are a generally obedient population when the government makes decrees.
We have had one of the longest, most stringent lockdowns in the world. It will be 90 or so days by the time deconfinement comes (if it comes) June 11; Wuhan was 76 days in comparison.* We’re not allowed outside to exercise — even to take a walk. We’re only allowed outside to grocery shop, seek medical care, visit a pharmacy, or do essential work, and an official permission slip is required at all times. Violations are punishable by prison sentences of up to three months. Masks have been mandatory in public for some time now, and we’ve had a martial-law enforced curfew at 7pm (to be lifted post-Ramadan). Police are on every major intersection, stopping all cars and even pedestrians.
Though it’s a blunt tool to shut down most of society, it’s worked. According to the Ministry of Public Health, as of May 26, Morocco has around 7,500 cases with a 5.2% test positivity rate, which is amazing when you consider that our European neighbors have hundreds of thousands of cases. Morocco has also been producing its own masks and disinfecting gels, and even exporting these. Right now, testing is adequate, though I’m not sure of the future supply chain. I don’t know to what extent Morocco can do widespread testing, contact tracing, and isolation once we open up, but I do know we have a voluntary contact tracing app. Finally, the Moroccan government has acted expediently to financially support those whose businesses have suffered.
How have you been spending your time during the pandemic?
Partially like a caged tiger, desperate to break out and help! I’m practicing clinician and internist in the States, but given I’m in Rabat under a tourist visa, it’s not so easy to work. I’ve found it incredibly frustrating to find myself unable to help at a time of emergency, when my skills could be deployed.
I reached out to international organizations here to see if I could volunteer. I’ve been offering free telemedicine consults, mostly for friends, family, neighbors, and friends of friends. I’ve been doing some COVID-19 content advising for some of the organizations and companies that I work with. (For example, I contributed to a TED-Ed lesson on the COVID-19 pandemic.) I’ve also been advising NGOs on the ground in other low-resourced countries and fragile settings. I’ve occasionally consulted with groups like the ventilatorproject.org that are trying to solve the shortage of ventilators in lower- and middle-income countries by hacking commonly available CPAP and BiPAP machines, which are used to treat sleep apnea.
Meanwhile, I’ve been reading COVID-19 science an average of four hours a day since this started. My fellow clinicians and public health workers who are on the front lines may not have as much time to read, so I’m trying to do as much as possible, while distilling, filtering, and curating the content for them and the public. I’ve been tweeting the best articles and the most impactful science that I’ve come across.
This is a wake-up call for us to promote scientific literacy, critical thinking, and a respectful engagement with those who may not trust or understand the science.
Lately I’ve been obsessed with the disinformation, misinformation, and conspiracy propagation that the UN has deemed an “infodemic” — a serious, dangerous casualty of the actual pandemic. This is a wake-up call for us to promote scientific literacy, critical thinking, and a respectful engagement with those who may not trust or understand the science.
As a clinician and student of science, watching the pandemic unfold has been a fascinating experience. Although the political response to COVID-19 has been bungled by major governments worldwide (most notably the US, the UK, and Brazil), global scientific cooperation has been quite strong. It’s been exciting to witness our rapid scientific progress in real time.
Do you feel safer from COVID-19 in Morocco than you would in the United States, both as a doctor and a mother?
Yes, I do. But this situation is not sustainable. It’s very, very difficult to be confined to an apartment for three months, no matter how nice it is, and not to be able to go outside. I have started running hundreds of laps a day on our small, shared rooftop, dodging the laundry. This pandemic, house-arrest experience has caused a totally new emotion for me: homesickness. So I’ve decided to return home to Seattle as soon as the borders open and air traffic resumes. Being back in Seattle will also allow me to do more professionally to fight COVID-19.
This pandemic, house-arrest experience has caused a totally new emotion for me: homesickness.
Washington State has many more cases than Morocco does. But despite gross federal incompetence in the United States, the Seattle response to COVID-19 has been excellent. It hasn’t run out of ICU beds or ventilators. Morale is pretty positive among health care workers. There has been great community cohesion. People are, for the most part, respecting physical distancing.
However, the United States, being non-authoritarian and quite individualistic in spirit, allows walking, running, and hiking as long as people maintain distance. People are seeing friends and family from a distance outdoors. There’s also no curfew. So it still leaves some room for personal-level decision making, which could put the community at greater risk than in Morocco. But at this point, that’s where I want to be — even with the risk of contracting COVID-19 through my travels.
What is it like to be locked down as a single woman, and as especially as a single mother, in Morocco? Are you finding the culture welcoming?
Oh, yeah. I feel so at home in Morocco. I love the culture. It feels like the very best of my Iranian culture merged with Western European flavors. So it’s very warm, generous and caring, but at the same time, there’s a sense of privacy and tons of French bakeries! I feel very supported here. I started off in 2018 in Morocco with one friend, and now I have a little village’s worth of beloveds. So I feel incredibly blessed for that.
On the other hand, I’ve never struggled with being a single mother before. I’m in a position of privilege: I’m a single mother by choice, of means, with thriving health, and with a kid who has really never been sick in her life. I have a nanny part of the time, so that makes a huge difference. But being at home with my child 24/7 for over two months, all of the schooling and organization of her time falls on me, as well as her mental health. So I am feeling that responsibility acutely. And I’m finding it very difficult to be productive with work; I’m at about 50% efficacy pre-pandemic.
I intentionally curate joy and whimsy every day. Doing something delightful changes things up.
How do you maintain your mental health?
I intentionally curate joy and whimsy every day, not just for my daughter, but for our nanny as well. It’s incredibly helpful for maintaining our mental health when every day is like Groundhog Day. Doing something delightful changes things up.
We exercise. We have dance parties and play piano duets. One day we did laugh yoga. The other day we did a little showing of old videos of when she was a baby. We do crazy cooking experiments. The latest is beet juice, lemon juice, cinnamon and hot pepper kombucha. We put on comedy shows and turn pillows into stuffed animals. We cut up clothes and make purses and masks. Anything funny, fun, and creative.
By the way, I’m probably the least talented arts and crafts person I know! But I have found some refuge in this, and certainly my artsy daughter loves it.
Given that you’ve lived within so many different cultures and societies, how would you characterize the social inequities that this pandemic is revealing?
Unfortunately, pandemics exacerbate the inequalities that were already there. Almost only the privileged can afford to shelter in place, and it’s the privileged who are more likely to be able to work from home. It’s the privileged who have savings and don’t even necessarily have to work while they are sheltering in place. It’s the privileged who can pause, take sabbaticals, and reflect upon who they are, how they want to move forward through this, how they might contribute. The less privileged are just trying to survive.
There are potential silver linings. On my brighter days, I try to focus on those. The pandemic has illuminated how fragile we all are in the face of this crisis. We could consider a universal basic income, universal health care coverage — which we should have had in the US years ago. We could democratize education, internet access, and a whole host of other basic infrastructure. It has become painfully clear what is and what isn’t essential.
However, the potential to create a more equitable society, and one that’s friendlier to the Earth, is more likely to be in countries wealthy enough to afford economic stimulus plans. In countries suffering the ravages of war, embargoes, sanctions, and political strife on top of a pandemic — I’m thinking about my native country of Iran, in particular — I think those will likely come out of this experience weaker and more fragile.
What do you think life after the pandemic will look like for the world? Will there be such a thing as returning to normal?
That’s a hard question to answer. It’s going to depend on different contexts and populations. In general, we may become hyperlocal for a time until there’s a widely distributed vaccine. We won’t take travel for granted anymore, or big concerts and sports events and in-person conferences. Any large gathering of people, particularly indoors, will now come with a very real risk of spreading the virus. So we may not widely engage in these activities for some time. And then there is the global economic depression that’s to come.
Shakespeare may have written his best work during a pandemic — but a woman sheltering with others will likely be doing the bulk of cooking, cleaning, remote schooling, and childcare.
What should we, as women of color, be doing and thinking about during this time as we prepare for a post-pandemic world?
Women are more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19 in general, though men are more likely to die if they become ill. Women are more likely to be the care-givers, frontline workers, less economically self-sufficient. Shakespeare may have written his best work during a pandemic — but a woman sheltering with others will likely be doing the bulk of cooking, cleaning, remote schooling, and childcare. We’re also more likely to suffer consequences of domestic violence during a pandemic. Meanwhile, people of color in the US and Europe (we don’t have that equivalent here in Morocco) have been at higher risk of getting and dying from COVID-19 — partly because they’re less likely to be able to shelter in place, have more comorbidities (including the physical and mental effects of racism) and fewer economic safety nets — though may have more community relations.
For women of color with privilege, I hope we use every platform we have to speak out on behalf of those who don’t have as loud a voice, help each other out, and remember that, while pandemic stress is not a competition, some people are suffering more than others. As an Iranian-American woman who’s been given a very privileged and wonderful life, I feel a responsibility and existential need to help those who are less fortunate than me, particularly vulnerable women.
*Update: as of 17 July 2020: “Morocco has increased its testing and decreased its positivity rate: of almost a million tests, there is 1.75% positivity as of 17 July 2020,” says Nassim. “These numbers are a tenth of Morocco’s closest neighbors in Europe — with far fewer deaths. The whole country of 35 million has 3x fewer cases than Washington State, which has 7 million — and 6x fewer deaths.”
POSTSCRIPT: Since our conversation, Nassim chose to return to Seattle. While she would like to return to Rabat in the fall, that may no longer be possible given that Morocco is only allowing citizens and those with residency permits.
Subscribe to Nassim’s vetted, evidence-based sources for COVID-19 globally: https://twitter.com/i/lists/1238811564095963142 | sociology |
https://dailymorocco.com/seville-andre-azoulay-received-by-the-president-of-the-andalusian-government/ | 2023-03-26T10:05:06 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296945440.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20230326075911-20230326105911-00281.warc.gz | 0.924868 | 268 | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-14__0__41115625 | en | The President of the Andalusian Government, Juanma Moreno, received in Seville, André Azoulay, Councilor of King Mohammed VI and Deputy President of the Foundation of the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean.
During this interview, the President highlighted the role of the Foundation of the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean in the rapprochement between Morocco and Spain, noting that his government is determined to further develop cooperation with Morocco, says a statement from the Andalusian government.
Moreno emphasized the cultural, economic and political co-operation relations between Morocco and Andalusia, linked by a solid and long history of friendship and fraternity, recalling their shared past, shared challenges and prospects for promising future cooperation.
The President of the Andalusian Government welcomed on this occasion the efforts of the Foundation of the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean to bring closer the cultures and the societies around the Mediterranean, to build bridges between the three monotheistic religions and to promote peace, fraternity and living together.
Moreno underscored the important contribution of this institution, placed under the patronage of King Mohammed VI and King Felipe VI, and its contribution to the promotion of the culture of dialogue and the dissemination of the universal values of tolerance, peace and coexistence between the peoples and cultures of both shores of the Mediterranean. | sociology |
http://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1013?articleID=221749 | 2019-06-26T00:53:12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627999964.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20190625233231-20190626015231-00487.warc.gz | 0.961954 | 356 | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2019-26__0__31585117 | en | IDW Publishing, with support of DC Comics, has reported that the Love is Love graphic novel has raised over $51,000 in 2018. Published in response to Orlando’s Pulse nightclub tragedy, the donations were given to the Trevor Project, the suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for people in the LGBTQ community.
Curated by writer Marc Andreyko, Love is Love is an anthology that was published in December 2016. By the following March, it had already raised $165,000 for the OneOrlando Fund, supporting victims and families of the Pulse tragedy. Each year proceeds have been donated to LGBTQ charities, with the 2018 donations given at the recent TrevorLIVE LA gala.
“The Trevor Project hears from LGBTQ young people every day who fear violence, victimization, and bullying just for being who they are,” Amit Paley, CEO & Executive Director of The Trevor Project, said. “The support of Love Is Love and its prolific editors and contributors sends a message to LGBTQ youth everywhere that they are loved, valued, and never alone.”
“It is incredibly humbling to see how Love Is Love continues to resonate with readers around the globe and continues to raise money for the LGBT community, and I could not think of a more deserving organization than The Trevor Project. Helping at-risk LGBTQ youth is a beautiful way to honor the 49 lives lost at Pulse and celebrate their too short lives,” Andreyko said.
“We’re grateful that so many have embraced Love Is Love’s message of awareness, acceptance, and support, and that the project continues to benefit vital organizations helping the LGBTQ community,” Greg Goldstein, IDW President and Publisher, said. | sociology |
https://kruegercs.com.au/other-services | 2024-02-27T19:07:10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474686.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20240227184934-20240227214934-00532.warc.gz | 0.918544 | 1,669 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__120124829 | en | Krueger Consultancy Services offers expert assistance in crafting your Indigenous Engagement Strategy, tailored to meet the unique needs of your organisation while honouring the cultural heritage and values of First Nations communities. Leveraging their deep understanding and extensive experience in working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, they provide a comprehensive approach that encompasses cultural sensitivity, effective communication, and sustainable relationship building. Their strategy not only focuses on meeting compliance requirements but goes beyond to ensure meaningful engagement, fostering mutual respect and collaboration. Whether your goal is to enhance community relationships, integrate cultural knowledge into your business practices, or develop inclusive employment strategies, Krueger Consultancy Services can guide you in creating a robust and respectful Indigenous Engagement Strategy.
Krueger Consultancy Services excels in developing First Nations Employment strategies, offering a tailored approach to enhance your organisation's inclusivity and diversity. Their expertise lies in creating strategies that not only attract and retain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander talent but also foster an environment where cultural differences are respected and celebrated. Utilising their deep understanding of First Nations communities and their needs, Krueger Consultancy Services will assist you in implementing practical measures, such as culturally appropriate recruitment processes, supportive workplace environments, and professional development opportunities. Their approach ensures that your First Nations Employment strategy is not just effective but also aligns with your organisation's values and the aspirations of First Nations communities, leading to a more diverse, inclusive, and enriched workplace.
Krueger Consultancy Services is skilled in crafting First Nations Communication Strategy documents that are bespoke to your organisation's specific needs. Their approach is grounded in a thorough understanding of the cultural subtleties and preferred communication styles within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Working closely with you, they ensure that the strategy not only aligns with your organisational objectives but also genuinely connects with First Nations groups. This strategy includes developing culturally appropriate messages, selecting the right communication channels, and employing engagement methods that promote mutual respect and understanding. With Krueger Consultancy Services, your First Nations Communication Strategy will effectively bridge the communication gap between your organisation and Indigenous communities, enhancing relationships through respectful and meaningful dialogue.
Krueger Consultancy Services specialises in setting up social impact projects that provide significant benefits to First Nations peoples and communities, perfectly aligning with your business's corporate social responsibility objectives. They're adept at organising meaningful initiatives like sending books to remote Indigenous schools, sports equipment to isolated Indigenous communities, or donating books and laptops to Indigenous kids in remote areas. Their approach is deeply rooted in understanding the specific needs and priorities of First Nations communities, ensuring these projects are not only well-executed but also make a real difference. Krueger Consultancy Services handles everything from pinpointing the community needs, liaising with suppliers, to ensuring the resources are delivered effectively. Their commitment and expertise in these projects guarantee that your business's contribution is both impactful and respectful, aiding in the empowerment and growth of First Nations communities.
Krueger Consultancy Services provides access to cutting-edge Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Reporting Software, aiding organisations in Australia to effectively track and manage their reconciliation deliverables. This innovative tool is designed to streamline the monitoring and reporting processes, making it simpler for businesses to stay on top of their RAP commitments. With this software, organisations can easily track their progress, set future goals, and ensure they are meeting their objectives in a structured and efficient manner. Krueger Consultancy Services not only offers access to this software but also provides the expertise and support needed to maximise its use, ensuring that organisations can fully realise their reconciliation potential in a systematic and impactful way.
Krueger Consultancy Services offers specialised assistance in incorporating First Nations artwork into a range of merchandise for your organisation. This unique service includes the customisation of work uniforms, stationery, office furniture, and much more, all adorned with authentic First Nations designs. Their approach ensures that the artwork is not only aesthetically pleasing but also culturally respectful and meaningful. Working closely with First Nations artists and communities, Krueger Consultancy Services facilitates the creation of merchandise that not only enhances your organisation's branding but also pays homage to Australia's rich Indigenous heritage. Their expertise in this area ensures that your organisation can celebrate and showcase First Nations culture in a respectful and authentic manner.
Krueger Consultancy Services is adept at organising celebrations and events to commemorate significant First Nations key dates, providing a comprehensive service tailored to the cultural significance of these occasions. Whether it's planning events for NAIDOC Week, National Sorry Day, or other important dates in the First Nations calendar, their team ensures each event is respectful, authentic, and truly representative of Indigenous culture. They handle all aspects, from conceptualising themes that resonate with First Nations history and values, to coordinating with Indigenous performers, speakers, and caterers. Krueger Consultancy Services' expertise ensures that your organisation's events not only honour these key dates but also provide an immersive and educational experience for all attendees, fostering greater understanding and appreciation of Australia's rich Indigenous heritage.
Krueger Consultancy Services excels in organising 'Cultural Immersion on Country' experiences, specifically tailored for senior leadership teams. This service involves facilitating immersive and educational visits to Indigenous lands, offering leaders a unique opportunity to engage directly with First Nations culture, history, and people. The experience is designed to deepen understanding and respect for Indigenous heritage and current community realities. Krueger Consultancy Services takes care of all aspects, from planning the itinerary and liaising with local Indigenous guides to ensuring culturally sensitive interactions. These immersions are more than just educational trips; they are transformative experiences that can profoundly impact leadership perspectives and approaches, fostering a more inclusive and culturally aware corporate ethos.
Krueger Consultancy Services offers expert assistance in researching and evaluating projects that focus on First Nations people, emphasising Indigenous methodologies and best practice ethical approaches. Their team, proficient in both contemporary research techniques and traditional Indigenous knowledge systems, ensures that every project is conducted with the utmost respect for cultural sensitivities and ethical standards. They specialize in blending these methodologies to provide insightful, culturally informed evaluations and research outcomes. Whether it's a community development project, a cultural heritage study, or policy research, Krueger Consultancy Services ensures that the processes and results are not only academically rigorous but also deeply respectful of and aligned with First Nations perspectives and values. Their approach guarantees that your research projects contribute meaningfully and ethically to the understanding and advancement of First Nations communities.
Krueger Consultancy Services is adept at enhancing First Nations recruitment and retention within your business, boasting a proven track record of increasing First Nations employee representation from 0 to 10% in organisations they have partnered with. Their approach is comprehensive, focusing not only on attracting First Nations talent but also on creating a supportive workplace culture that encourages retention. They offer expert guidance in tailoring recruitment strategies to appeal to First Nations candidates and in developing initiatives that foster an inclusive work environment. This involves cultural competency training for existing staff and the implementation of policies that respect and support the unique needs of First Nations employees. By collaborating with Krueger Consultancy Services, your business can achieve significant improvements in both the recruitment and retention of First Nations staff, contributing to a diverse and culturally rich workplace.
Krueger Consultancy Services offers specialised project management assistance for all your First Nations-related projects, ensuring they are executed efficiently and respectfully. Their expertise lies in handling projects that require a deep understanding of First Nations cultures and communities. From the initial planning stages to the final execution, Krueger Consultancy Services provides guidance on culturally appropriate practices, stakeholder engagement, and effective communication strategies. Their hands-on approach ensures that your projects not only meet their objectives but also foster positive relationships and outcomes within First Nations communities. By partnering with Krueger Consultancy Services, your organisation can confidently navigate the complexities of these projects, ensuring they are managed with the utmost cultural sensitivity and professionalism.
In the spirit of reconciliation KCS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today. | sociology |
http://nechesriverfestival.com/about.asp | 2017-09-20T09:02:55 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818686983.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170920085844-20170920105844-00522.warc.gz | 0.963342 | 555 | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2017-39__0__117536503 | en | For over six decades, the Advent of Spring has been welcomed by Beaumont’s Good Neighbor event – the Neches River Festival. The purpose of the Festival is to celebrate two of Beaumont’s most precious resources – our youth and our river.
The beautiful, cypress lined Neches River, on whose banks our community rests, supplies us with life-sustaining natural resources, economic vitality and boundless recreational opportunity. Similarly, our children are indeed our future and our most precious resource. The Festival honors our High School Seniors, as they embark on their lives ahead and reflect on the benefits of living in this community. Through the Festival we thank them, we engage them to be ambassadors of our community, and we also encourage them to return as leaders of tomorrow.
The heart and soul of the Festival reside within the Knights of the Neches. These men are invariably leaders of the community, all dedicated to the vitality of our community and the Festival, as well as to the children who we honor each year. The dues paid by the Knights are used to fund many of the activities and events of the Festival. The Knights raise funds for the Neches River Festival Otho Plummer Scholarship to Lamar University. Likewise, they operate our Board of Directors and through literally thousands of hours of volunteer time they help make the Festival great.
Princesses come from within Beaumont. They are sponsored by local business and civic organizations. From the Princesses, a Queen, First Lady in Waiting and Second Lady in Waiting are selected.
Duchesses elect to participate in the Festival from all around the country. Frequently, Duchesses are friends of Princesses, relatives of Knights or their friends, or relatives of Past Queens. From the Duchesses, a Grand Duchess is selected.
Escorts are young men from area High Schools. Their character and involvement in the community help them stand out as representatives of the community. From the Escorts, a "Best Escort" is selected by their peers among the young men and women in the Festival.
In recognition of the renewal our community receives through its river and its youth, younger children also participate in the Festival as Pages, Attendants and Junior Escorts. These children enjoy a fairy-tale like adventure, and frequently grow to return to the Festival when they are seniors in high school.
Our gratitude to the Knights of the Neches and the many volunteers without whom the Festival would not exist. They are responsible for the success of this week of merriment and pageantry. To the many businesses who have generously supported the Festival, we are indeed grateful. Your support has made these events possible. To all who participate – a heartfelt Thank You. | sociology |
https://www.internetbehavior.com/copy-of-delmonico | 2023-12-05T03:11:03 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100540.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20231205010358-20231205040358-00372.warc.gz | 0.935563 | 189 | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-50__0__247409209 | en | Elizabeth J. Griffin, MA, LMFT
Elizabeth Griffin is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over thirty-five years experience assessing and treating adults who struggle with problematic sexual behaviors, including sexually compulsive behaviors and sexual offense behaviors. She specializes in assessing and treating individuals who have engaged in online sexual offense behavior.
Ms. Griffin has worked in a variety of settings including in-patient, out-patient, military, prison, and civil commitment. She lectures and consults nationally on the assessment and treatment of problematic online sexual behaviors, sexual offending behaviors and sexual compulsivity. Ms. Griffin has published numerous academic articles on issues related to problematic sexual behavior. She is co-author of several books and workbooks including In the Shadows of the Net, Cybersex Unhooked, Cybersex Unplugged and Illegal Images. Ms. Griffin is the founder of Internet Behavior Consulting, a company focused on issues related to problematic online behavior. | sociology |
https://purplewhiteandgreen.com/ | 2017-04-27T07:00:54 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917121893.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031201-00428-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | 0.970133 | 150 | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2017-17__0__261944303 | en | I particularly like to work on the late 1800s/early1900s: plenty of surviving documents (always useful), great social mobility, a ferment of political and social ideas, buildings where it all happened still around… and I was lucky enough to know my two grandmothers and one grandfather, for whom this time was their youth.
No-one writes history without a perspective, and mine is unashamedly left wing. There is huge scope in local history for unearthing the proud achievements of working people, and I would encourage anyone who feels the interest to get digging.
Finally, thank you, Merrick and my dear daughter, Alice, without whom all this would never have seen daylight.
– Pat Heron, December 2010 | sociology |
https://www.arvideotech.com/police-crack-drug-peddlers-coke-games/ | 2019-09-22T05:39:05 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514575168.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20190922053242-20190922075242-00261.warc.gz | 0.941402 | 213 | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2019-39__0__94224090 | en | Police has warned drug peddlers not to manipulate or take advantage of the thousands of students who will converge in Suva for the Coke Games.
Police Chief of Operation, Maretino Qiolevu says a high number of police officers will be at the game’s venue as youngsters head to Laucala Bay for the biggest athletic event in Fiji.
Qiolevu says with drug cases on the rise, officers will be out to ensure that the students are not taken advantage of.
“For peddlers who wish to take advantage of the situation I must warn you do not ever try and do something, try and peddle drugs or even come in drunk because we will be taking strict action.”
He adds officers and even the K9 unit will be stationed at Laucala Bay to ensure the students, old scholars and parents have a safe time at the event.
About 80 police officers will be deployed for traffic control around the Suva area.
They will also be patrolling the vicinity of the ANZ Stadium. | sociology |
http://louisianaoldstatecapitol.org/programs-exhibits/freedom-journey-remembering-martin-luther-king-jr/ | 2018-03-24T13:48:16 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257650685.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20180324132337-20180324152337-00628.warc.gz | 0.9291 | 132 | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2018-13__0__79509301 | en | An exhibit of Stephen Somerstein’s photographs from the 1965
Selma-Montgomery march led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Open Jan. 23 - April 14, 2018
Freedom Journey: Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. honors King for the 50th commemoration of his tragic assassination in 1968.The exhibit features iconic images by Somerstein who documented King and thousands of activists on the last day of the march that demanded free-and-clear voting rights for African-Americans. The images remind us of the work of MLK and represent the impact that documentary photos have on the politics of protest as well as public opinion. | sociology |
https://www.hud.govt.nz/residential-housing/housing-affordability/housing-accord/rotorua-housing-accord/ | 2021-09-18T23:59:33 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780056578.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20210918214805-20210919004805-00466.warc.gz | 0.951553 | 100 | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2021-39__0__59482661 | en | Rotorua Housing Accord
The Rotorua Housing Accord was signed in August 2017.
About the Accord
The Housing Accord and Special Housing Areas legislation enabled the streamlining of new housing developments, and allowed special housing areas to be designated under accords between the Government and Council.
The Rotorua Housing Accord set targets and priority actions to increase the immediate and longer-term supply of land, and therefore improve the affordability of housing in Rotorua.
Published: May 18, 2020 | sociology |
https://www.uduakfortx.com/platform | 2022-05-22T20:56:15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662546071.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20220522190453-20220522220453-00523.warc.gz | 0.958478 | 480 | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2022-21__0__168962965 | en | "I am a firm believer in doing what is best for the people. This is not a political game to me, this is real life, real issues, and real decisions that affect real people."-Uduak Nkanga
In the last 10 years, Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured people in the nation. I want to fight to ensure that all residents have access to a health care system that provides them with the full range of health services. We need to come together and participate in the fight so that all Texans have access to needed healthcare.
Cost Of Living Is No Longer Livable
The cost of living is hitting Texans harder than before. I want to fight for providing a living wage for Texas Residents. Our current cost of living does not equate to the States' minimum wage ($7.25).
It is becoming more and more expensive to live in the state of Texas each year. No one working full time should live paycheck to paycheck. We have to fight for a livable wage for all Texans.
With Texas being one of the fastest-growing states in the country, it pushes a supply and demand on our housing, resulting in higher rates. The need for more housing options continues to grow, while our property taxes also continue to go up.
We can do better by the residents of district 113. We need to advocate for stricter policies when it comes to our housing market, including rent stabilizations to prevent further pushing residents out.
Our education system is this country's driving force, carrying so much importance. We need to make sure that our public school teachers are being cared.
Teachers are coming out of their pocket year after year to provide the best experience for their students. We need to fight not only for a better wage for our public school teachers but also we need to fight to provide teachers with a budget stipend each quarter.
We have to make sure we put racial disparities at the forefront of our agendas. There needs to be action behind our words, or it will just be a never-ending cycle of taking "baby steps."
We have a broken criminal justice system, economic disparities, a financial gap, and more that still needs work. I am willing to fight for racial justice to even out the playing field. | sociology |
http://www.quantisoft.com/Articles/Managers.htm | 2023-03-21T21:31:15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943746.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20230321193811-20230321223811-00647.warc.gz | 0.969954 | 680 | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-14__0__233806490 | en | The Impact of Difficult Managers
When responding to employee satisfaction surveys and employee engagement surveys
, employees sometimes describe their managers as "difficult to work for". Employee comments typically refer to these hard-to-work-for managers as "difficult managers/supervisors", "the boss from Hell" or "bully". Survey results that identify difficult managers should be looked at as an indication that there may be a problem with the effectiveness of the manager, especially when two or more employees in the same organizational unit describe their manager as difficult to work for.
Surveys should include a range of questions about "the manager you report to" in order to determine if the manager is really a "difficult manager". The objective is to determine if the organization has difficult managers that are negatively impacting the performance of their direct reports through one or more types of abuse, if they are making it uncomfortable for employees to work for the organization, or if they are acting in a way that is unethical or illegal. It is important to differentiate between "difficult managers" that are abusive, and managers that are "tough and demanding, but fair and not abusive to employees".
Why employee satisfaction and engagement surveys are useful in identifying the existence of "difficult managers":
Employees working for difficult managers are often fearful of talking with human resources or a more senior manager about the abusive situation their manager has established. Other employees may know of the difficult manager and their unacceptable behavior, but they may avoid getting involved for fear of retribution. That's where employee surveys come in.
Employee satisfaction surveys
provide employees with an opportunity to tell management and human resources about their "difficult manager" anonymously, at least when surveys guarantee that responses will be handled on an anonymous basis. Employee comments in numerous surveys we have conducted have said thank you to their management for conducting the survey and giving employees the opportunity to provide their opinions anonymously. We have found that employees are more likely to respond to surveys and to provide honest, open feedback when surveys are conducted by an outside, independent organization.
Difficult managers typically act in one or more of the following ways:
- They verbally, physically or sexually abuse, intimidate or threaten specific employees
- They take advantage of employees, company policies or company assets for their own benefit
- They block promotions and requested job transfers
- They play favoritism with employees
- They turn down reasonable requests for vacation time, attendance in training programs, etc., or they make employees afraid to make these requests
- They cause workplace tension
- They usually act in an appropriate manner with all or most of their peers and superiors, masking their behavior with some or all of their direct reports
Difficult managers can negatively impact an organization in many ways:
- They can be the cause of costly law suits against the organization they work for
- They lower morale for some or all employees in the organization, sometimes including employees that do not even report to them
- They negatively impact communications within the department and with other departments
- They negatively impact the emotional health and well being, and personal life of employees
- Their difficult behavior negatively impacts employee performance, productivity, quality and customers
- They can be the reason that valued employees work at reduced performance levels, or decide to leave the organization
- They hurt their company's reputation as an employer of choice | sociology |
https://shamsedu.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-homeschooling-what-you-need-to-know/ | 2024-02-25T22:53:54 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474643.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20240225203035-20240225233035-00627.warc.gz | 0.972999 | 1,089 | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2024-10__0__185538116 | en | As the world continues to evolve and adapt to the changing times, one of the areas that have seen significant changes is education. The traditional method of attending school and getting an education is no longer the only option for children. Homeschooling is a rapidly growing trend that has gained significant momentum in recent years. With the rise of online learning and the COVID-19 pandemic forcing schools to close, many parents are turning to homeschooling as an alternative to traditional education. In this article, we’ll explore all you need to know about homeschooling, including its benefits, challenges, and how to get started.
What is homeschooling?
Home schooling has been around for decades, but it has gained significant momentum in recent years. Parents who choose to homeschool their children take on the responsibility of designing and delivering a curriculum that suits their child’s needs and interests. They have control over the materials, textbooks, and the pace at which their child learns. This method of education has become increasingly popular due to a variety of reasons, including religious or cultural beliefs, dissatisfaction with the public school system, or the desire for a personalized education.
For parents who have religious or cultural beliefs that conflict with the values taught in public schools, homeschooling offers a way for them to pass on their beliefs to their children. Homeschooling allows parents to tailor the education to their specific needs, values, and beliefs. Parents can choose materials that align with their beliefs and values and ensure that their children are taught in a manner that reflects their family’s values.
Discover how to implement active learning into your teaching by reading about the concept in ‘Active Learning: How to Incorporate it into Your Teaching‘.
Another reason why parents choose to homeschool their children is dissatisfaction with the public school system. They may feel that the curriculum is not rigorous enough, or that their child is not receiving the attention and support they need to succeed. Homeschooling allows parents to provide a personalized education that addresses their child’s unique strengths and weaknesses.
Benefits of homeschooling
There are many benefits to homeschooling, including:
Personalized education: Home schooling allows parents to tailor their child’s education to their specific needs and interests. This means that children can learn at their own pace and in a way that best suits their learning style.
Flexibility: Homeschooling provides families with the flexibility to create their own schedules and routines. This allows children to pursue their passions and interests while still receiving a quality education.
Family bonding: Homeschooling can bring families closer together as they work together to achieve educational goals. Parents have the opportunity to spend more time with their children and build stronger relationships.
Safe learning environment: Homeschooling provides a safe learning environment for children. They are not exposed to negative influences or harmful situations that can occur in traditional schools.
If you’re interested in the latest education trends, you may find gamification and its role in education intriguing. This article, ‘Gamification in Education: Theory and Practice,’ covers its significance, how to integrate it into your learning, and more.
Challenges of homeschooling
While there are many benefits to homeschooling, there are also some challenges that parents should be aware of. These include:
Traditional schools provide a structured environment that helps children learn time-management and organizational skills. When children are homeschooled, they may lack the same level of structure, which can be overwhelming for some children. Homeschooling parents need to create a structured environment that provides a routine and helps children develop good habits.
One of the most significant challenges of homeschooling is the lack of socialization. Children who are homeschooled do not have the same opportunities for socialization as their peers who attend traditional schools. They may miss out on important social skills that are learned through interaction with peers, such as conflict resolution, communication, and teamwork. Parents who homeschool their children need to be intentional about providing opportunities for their children to interact with other children their age.
While homeschooling is often cheaper than private school tuition, there are still costs involved, such as textbooks, materials, and resources. Homeschooling parents also need to consider the cost of extracurricular activities and field trips. Additionally, homeschooling parents may have to sacrifice income to be able to dedicate time to educating their children.
Learn more about distance learning, its advantages and obstacles, by reading about the benefits and challenges of distance learning.
Homeschooling can be a challenge for parents who are not qualified to teach. While some parents may have the necessary skills and qualifications to homeschool their children, others may not. Homeschooling parents need to be able to teach a wide range of subjects and topics, which can be daunting for some. They may need to invest time and money in training or hire tutors to help teach subjects they are not proficient in.
Home schooling can be a rewarding and effective form of education for children. By understanding the benefits and challenges of home schooling and taking the necessary steps to get started, parents can provide their children with a personalized and flexible education that meets their specific needs and interests. If you’re considering home schooling, take the time to research and plan to ensure a successful experience. | sociology |
http://www.ghanaianlondoners.org/ | 2015-10-04T21:13:40 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443736676092.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001215756-00182-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | 0.940128 | 282 | CC-MAIN-2015-40 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2015-40__0__120389384 | en | Welcome To GL Network
Ghanaian Londoners (GL) is a social enterprise which unlocks the potential of individuals with a core focus on enterprise education & networking for community development.
We run programmes, projects & events which encourages and supports Diaspora Entrepreneurship, Networking, Women Empowerment and Youth Development.
GL was launched on 6th February 2009 in London as a networking membership organisation, with the aim of sharing, supporting and inspiring members to achieve greater personal, professional development and business success through networking.
Our vision has since evolved with a mission to reinforce the Ghanaian Identity, Culture, Economic Prosperity and promote stronger ties between Ghana, London & the Diaspora.
We seek to promote greater ties between Ghana and the Diaspora by providing a platform for networking home and aboard, encouraging and supporting Diaspora Entrepreneurship, Women Empowerment and Youth Development.
We are committed to providing opportunities, information and the necessary skills for people to realise their full potential.
Through our services, projects and initiatives we want to enhance the quality of life of the Ghanaians in the Diaspora. We aim to do this by equipping people to achieve their economic and social aspirations. One of our goals is to establish service support centres in both the UK and Ghana, which will provide information and advice in line with our aims and objectives of enriching lives. | sociology |
https://mosaic-vt.org/about/ | 2020-07-04T10:27:31 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655886095.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20200704073244-20200704103244-00282.warc.gz | 0.953191 | 1,799 | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2020-29__0__23408521 | en | Who We Are
Mosaic Vermont, a 501c3 non profit agency, is Washington’s County’s sexual violence prevention and response agency and one of the state’s only service providers solely dedicated to ending sexual violence. We are a small team of dedicated staff and volunteers with an office and shelter located in the heart of Barre, Vermont.
Mosaic Vermont’s mission is to heal communities and end sexual violence. We envision a world with resilient communities, free of sexual/gender-based violence, where all people are supported in healing from harm.
Mosaic was founded in 1984 as the Sexual Assault Crisis Team of Washington County (SACT). SACT was the first organization in Vermont to have specialized sexual violence response services and shelter for people who were male and/or LGBTQ+, and received international recognition for work done to serve those traditionally left out of sexual and domestic violence response services.
In 2020, SACT became Mosaic Vermont, Inc., marking a powerful period of transition in our work. This new chapter begins a redoubling of our commitment to provide services that are approachable, intersectional, trauma informed, using best practice, preventative, and person-centered.
A mosaic is an art form created by taking small pieces of material, typically stones or tiles, and arranging them into patterns or images. In a mosaic, each piece of material may not be beautiful by itself, or even match the other materials, but when the piece finds its place in the mosaic, it becomes a critical and valuable part of something wonderful and whole. In renaming ourselves Mosaic Vermont, we are recognizing that all parts of ourselves and our community are beautiful, valuable, and important. Our work is the practice of recognizing the pieces of ourselves and others that have been harmed and finding a place where those pieces can make us shine.
Before It Was Called Vermont, This Land Was and Is Ndakinna. Acknowledging [the History of] the Land the Mosaic Vermont Occupies.
Ndakinna is Abenaki for “our land,” and at Mosaic, we recognize that the land we live and work on is the traditional homeland of the Abenaki peoples. We understand that the state of Vermont, and the United States as we know them, were founded in a more-than five hundred year process of violent colonization and land theft. As an organization committed to ending sexual violence and building safer communities, we believe it is crucial to acknowledge the history of the place we work and recognize that our long term work of ending sexual violence is inextricably connected to justice for Indiginous people. We know that acknowledging the history of genocide and land theft is not enough. Healing this foundational wound will be a long term, collective process that requires truth telling, reconciliation with the past, and the rematriation of land, wealth, and power to the indigenous communities it was stolen from. We aim to be humble, and continue to learn, as an organization and as individuals, how to support Abenaki tribal sovereignty and decolonization as elements of our work
Meet The Staff
Anne Ward, M.ED. (she/her or they/them)
Anne Ward, M.Ed. is the Executive Director of Mosaic Vermont. She is committed to a lifestyle of least harm and most good, and believes in a community where all people are valued. Anne has worked with people who have experienced sexual harm for more than eight years and has trained and educated teachers, foster and adoptive parents, parents, grandparents, and caregivers, child care providers, medical and law enforcement professionals, and more, in sexual abuse prevention and healthy relationships.
With a Master’s of Education in Humane Education, Anne seeks to be a Solutionary: a person who is able to identify inhumane and unsustainable systems and then develop solutions that are healthy and just for people, animals, and the environment. Her early career included over fifteen years in animal welfare and sheltering, where she continued to learn about the complex challenges of violence, poverty, discrimination, and more.
Cynthia Marsha (she/her)
Born here in Barre VT, Cynthia believes that one should do something of value with their life, and that doing so brings joy. At the age of 14 she started on a mission, which continues to unfold over 40 years later. In 1990, she completed Johnson State College’s Adult Non-Degree Program and has since achieved a number of certifications, licenses, and college credits.
Cynthia has over 30 years of varied experience, including business management, healthcare services, domestic violence advocacy, certified medication technician, residential care facility management, and as a direct service provider for children with disabilities, adults, and seniors. Cynthia has worked in schools, care facilities, and in private homes.
Mary Mackie (she/her)
Mary has a degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia where she concentrated on Criminal Justice and Gender Studies. Her specialty lies in exploring the history and role that sexual harm plays in society to better understand how these systemic structures of inequality and harm can be broken. She comes to Mosaic as a Community Advocate working with the intersections of sexual violence and homelessness. She hopes to empower those impacted in the community to find again their freedom of choice and autonomy in their own bodies. After work you can find Mary baking something new every day and eating Adin’s innovative cheese creations
Adin Buchanan (they/them)
Adin Buchanan was born and raised in occupied Abenaki land / central Vermont, just over the hill from Mosaic’s offices. With five years of varied experience in education for social change and a degree from Hampshire College in Education and Sociology, they find joy and purpose in creating spaces for community learning and transformation. As a Community Advocate at Mosaic, they especially enjoy supporting young people to create healthy and empowered relationships that dismantle the interpersonal fabric of sexual violence and oppression. Outside of work, you can probably find them training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or finding innovative ways to incorporate cheese into their diet.
Jan Lloyd (they/them or she/her)
Director of Outreach
Jan has been teaching sex education to youth and adults in schools, colleges, and community for 6 years. They are committed to helping make deeper connections within the community that help us build how we teach consent-based and prevention education. In their role with Mosaic, Jan seeks to network with other local organizations to build a more comprehensive holistic approach to sex education, healthy relationships, and prevention education. In her spare time, Jan enjoys hiking, going on motorcycle rides, and being crafty with leather, paper, or fabric.
Lescha Carpenter (she/her)
Lescha is a lifelong learner on the path of balancing radical tolerance with the quest for inclusive social justice. She has interest and acquired skill in spelling bees, criminal justice reform, civil litigation, disability rights, international conflict management, sculpture in the round, culinary performance art, and survival gardening. Through Mosaic and its partners, she has advocated for an end to systemic violence and exploitation against all genders since 2004.
The Mosaic helpline is staffed by a variety of part time staff and volunteers. Call (802) 479-5577 to speak with one of our advocates!
Board of Directors
- Chair: Jamie Moorby
- Vice Chair: Sarah Cannon
- Secretary: Kelli Gile
- Treasurer: Dillon Burns
- Johanna de Graffenreid
- Deborah Sanguinetti
Volunteering with Mosaic can take a variety of forms! Some volunteer opportunities include significant training while others help us manage the day-to-day operations of our office and shelter.
Our Strategic Plan
Mosaic Vermont will be thrilled to share our July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2025 Strategic Plan! This plan aims to guide our work in becoming a more proactive, collaborative, engaged, and sustainable organization.
The goals in this plan will allow Mosaic Vermont to further its mission by supporting the healing of each person and community that has been impacted by sexual violence, proactively engaging in culture-changing work, keeping itself a healthy and sustainable organization, and integrating both presence and programming throughout all of Washington County.Coming soon! Our 2020-2025 strategic plan!
We are located in Barre and our office hours for phone calls and scheduled appointments are Monday through Friday 9 am to 4 pm.
If you have questions about us, are interested in our services, or want to schedule a meeting, give us a call at 802-476-1388.
To speak with an advocate any time, call our 24-hour helpline at 802-479-5577. | sociology |
http://londonwebnews.com/2018/10/06/american-plastic-waste-will-be-sent-to-developing-countries-after-being-banned-in-china/ | 2020-09-26T12:19:06 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400241093.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20200926102645-20200926132645-00541.warc.gz | 0.96073 | 426 | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2020-40__0__228801354 | en | The import of American plastic waste has increased sharply in developing countries in South-East Asia during the first six months of this year. According to Greenpeace, the US dumps its waste in the poorer countries, because China refuses to accept it any longer.
China decided to close its doors for “foreign waste” at the end of last year. The country was the largest importer of plastic for decades: for example, since 1992 it has absorbed around 45 percent of all waste worldwide, to process it. In 2017, for example, the United States sent 70 percent of all their plastic waste to China and Hong Kong.
Experts say countries like Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia will be given millions of dollars in donations by the US government so they can start taking in shipments of waste from the United States.
The drastic decision to stop there now appears to have major consequences for other countries in the region. Figures from the American trade office show that poorer countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are the victims.
While China and Hong Kong accounted for more than 637,000 tonnes of plastic waste in the first six months of 2017, this figure has dropped to ‘barely’ 90,000 tonnes in the same period this year. Exports to Thailand, on the other hand, increased from 4,000 tons to more than 91,000 tons, an increase of 1,985 percent. Malaysia saw 42,000 tons of American plastic coming in last year, more than 157,000 tons this year.
The total export of plastic waste has fallen sharply worldwide, because the global market has become much smaller because of the Chinese decision. Other Western countries are also struggling with the question of where they can send their waste.
Greenpeace complains with the study that the US is trying to dump their waste in countries where there are few legal standards to process the plastic in an environmentally friendly way. “Instead of taking responsibility, outside of US companies, the developing countries have no rules to protect themselves,” said John Hocevar, campaign director for Greenpeace USA.
Sources: Guardian, GreenPeace | sociology |
https://theruralpatriot.wordpress.com/2006/11/11/digesting-the-2006-election-cycle/ | 2017-03-28T08:13:01 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189686.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00558-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | 0.966904 | 656 | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2017-13__0__261640851 | en | I admit it. I’m still digesting and decompressing from the events of the past week. Some results were expected, such as the Democratic take-over of the House of Representatives. Some were not, such as the additional Democratic take-over of the Senate. Locally, I am not surprised that the Republican candidates in our area, (Kuhl, Giglio, Burling, and Young – who had no Democratic opponent), were re-elected to their respective positions.
There is a strong Republican political tradition in this area, no matter the circumstances or condition of the federal and/or state government, no matter that their own party’s actions over the past five years have led to the abandonment of some key republican core values (smaller government, states’ rights, privacy rights, fiscal conservancy). I do wonder, though, if voters here still flip that republican lever because of deep-rooted, traditional ties to political affiliation, or is it because of the lack of availability to informative media. Perhaps it is even the lack of time, motivation, and/or interest in political events that plays a part in casting their votes. Or, perhaps they are knowledgeable and are in complete agreement with their representatives’ views.
Regardless, the political wave that hit many parts of the country didn’t make much of a dent in this area. That point interests me, especially since our area is not a wealthy, economically booming area. We are rural, poor, and depressed. We need sustainable jobs. Many of the federal laws passed in the past five years did not benefit most of us to any great extent; in fact, some of these decisions had a direct, negative effect.
So, I’m curious to see how the next two years play out, and what it may or may not mean to this area’s voters. We will now have a Democratically controlled Congress and a Republican president who doesn’t have Congress at his beck and call anymore. Will this area’s traditional Republicans be angered if or when Congress passes legislation that will make the government negotiate drug prices for Medicare, when the minimum wage increase passes, when congressional oversight hearings take place and “accountability” is a word that will mean something again, when habeas corpus is restored, and when stronger ethics legislation is passed? Will they be pleased with President Bush when he vetoes or attaches another signing statement on new legislation that he does not agree with, or will they even notice or care?
New York State also has a new governor who ran on a platform of change. If those promised changes prove to be effective and greatly beneficial for this state and its citizens, will this area’s voters recognize and accept these changes – or will none of these issues be reflected in their votes two years from now. Will all democrats still be those “bad, extreme liberals”, or will some here be informed and honest enough to give credit where credit is due?
We shall see. At any rate, the next election cycle will be more than interesting. And, fate be willing, we’ll still be here to help keep you informed every step of the way. | sociology |
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=50796 | 2023-06-07T02:19:46 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224653501.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20230607010703-20230607040703-00099.warc.gz | 0.959273 | 535 | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-23__0__87040961 | en | March 27, 2000 (Berkeley, Calif.) -- Most sexual assaults simply don't fit any stereotype. Among the most common misconceptions are these:
- Most women are raped by strangers. Justice Department statistics indicate that fewer than 25% of rape victims are assaulted by a person they do not know. Other studies indicate an even lower percentage.
- Most rapes affect adult women. Rape is a crime that primarily affects women during childhood and adolescence. Of the estimated 12.1 million American women who have been raped, nearly 30% were assaulted when they were younger than 11 years old. Another 32% of women were raped between the ages of 11 and 17, and 22% more were raped between the ages of 18 and 24. Only 6% of rapes occurred in women over the age of 29.
- Only women are raped. While they certainly happen much less frequently, male-to-male and female-to-male rapes do occur and are no less traumatic to those men who are assaulted.
- Most rapists only rape once. In fact, most rapists are recidivists -- a compelling reason to find ways to encourage victims to report assaults and to pursue the rights and remedies available to them.
- Sexual assault is a crime of passion and lust. Sexual assault has nothing to do with passion; rather it uses power and control to dominate and humiliate victims of both sexes.
- Most rapists are "dirty old men." Fifty percent of rapists are between the ages of 15 and 24 years old.
- Sexual assault is a spontaneous, impulsive act. Studies consistently conclude that 75% of all assaults are planned. When three or more assailants are involved, the number climbs to 90%.
- Most rapes are committed against white women by men of color. The National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence found that 90% of all rapes occur between people of the same ethnic or racial background. In a majority of the 10% of rapes that are interracial, white men rape black women.
- There are many phony rape reports. Women rarely lie about rape. The FBI reports that false accusations account for only 2% of all reported sexual assaults, a number that is no higher than false reports of any other crime. A National Victim Center Study of l992 confirms this percentage.
- It can't happen to me. Rape is the most frequently committed violent crime in America.
Jolie Ann Bales is an attorney based in Berkeley, Calif. She has written for a number of legal and business publications.
©1996-2005 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.
Health Solutions From Our Sponsors | sociology |
https://www.mendocinoinstitute.org/events-projects/affordable-housing/ | 2023-12-09T22:08:09 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100972.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20231209202131-20231209232131-00851.warc.gz | 0.954617 | 7,654 | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-50__0__4984356 | en | Supervisor David Colfax (Fifth District), speaking at the MC4 (Mendocino Coast Community Coordinating Coalition), “Affordable Housing on the Mendocino Coast,” described the housing situation on the coast as an “emergency.” (1) This sense of urgency was shared by virtually all those in attendance; indeed, it is the view of an increasingly large segment of the coastal population.
What, briefly, are the indications of this “emergency”?
There is widespread homelessness in Mendocino County, including on the Coast. In 2001, the Ford Street Project and Hospitality House in Fort Bragg counted 117 families (99 women, 18 men and 159 children) reporting homelessness, as well as 496 single individuals (406 men and 90 women) for a total of 772 men, women and children. (2) Project Sanctuary, the shelter for battered women and their children, also reported significant numbers of women and children seeking shelter. (3)
Social workers and county planners report the widespread existence of substandard housing. Earlier this year two young girls were killed in a fire in a mobile home in Redwood Valley – the cause of the fire was faulty wiring. Similar conditions exist on the Coast. Social workers report families living in filthy, moldy apartments with inadequate heating and plumbing. Some families are reported to be doubling up in apartments and mobile homes, where landlords charge them by the number of people. This is a problem particularly for Latinos without documentation.
Subsidized housing for individuals and families is in short supply. When the Community Development Commission (CDC – the County Housing Authority) reopened its waiting list of section 8 vouchers (rent subsidies), more that 1000 people called in the first day. This waiting list includes several hundred coastal residents. It is, again, closed. The CDC reports 101 people on the waiting list for the public housing it manages in Fort Bragg. (4)
Seniors comprise a large segment of the coastal population – 21.5% and growing – and there is a great demand for senior housing. Yet, according to Joe Curren, executive director of Redwood Coast Seniors, Inc, “Virtually all market area senior housing facilities are at or near capacity, and most maintain a significant waiting list of seniors who cannot find senior housing appropriate to their needs.” (5) The average wait for affordable senior housing is 1.7 years. (6)
There is an acute shortage of rentals, both apartments and family homes. Vacancy rates all along the coast are low. (7) Real estate agents working in the unincorporated areas report “endless requests” for rentals. Outside Fort Bragg, one and two bedroom rentals usually begin at $1000 a month. Moreover, they typically require thorough credit and income checks and substantial deposits that often make these rentals unavailable to working class renters, even when they are willing to pay.
In Fort Bragg, where the California Department of Finance predicts a 6% vacancy rate this year, available rentals are also few and rents are rising. (8) Very small houses rent for $800 to $1000 a month. The impact of Caltrans workers employed on the Noyo Bridge is not clear, but in a tight market any influx is problematic.
Purchasing a home is now all but impossible for any but the well to do. In July 2002, the Mendocino Coast Association of Realtors reported listed only 16 houses on sale for less than $300,000 – all but one of these was in Fort Bragg. Of the homes listed as sold in the preceding year, the Association reported only 25 homes sold for less than $175,000. (9)
In Mendocino Village, there is support for maintaining a residential component in the community. The Association reported four houses for sale in July 2002. They were priced, respectively, at $1.15 million; $1.2 million; $1.4 million and $2.9 million. (10) The current downturn in the economy market is reported to have made sales “sluggish”, but buyers also are said to be more interested in a good investment than shelter.
Now, of course, it is well known that Mendocino Village is an expensive place to live, but these prices have driven up others. In 2001, the title company’s account of home sales in the unincorporated coastal areas listed sale prices that averaged $365,791.67. The median sales price was $288,250.00 (11)
Here are several more indications of the seriousness of the situation: farm workers drive from Fort Bragg to work at the Stornetta Farm on the Garcia River; this past spring, several students at Albion school were homeless; a district school teacher lives in a “cabin” without indoor plumbing.
“Out of Reach”
The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) calls its report on affordable housing, “Out of Reach.” (12) This is clearly the case on the Mendocino Coast. How did we get to this point?
First, it should be said that we are not alone.
The startling conclusions of the NLIHC report indicate that the shortage of affordable housing is a national crisis. While the number of homeowners in the US continues to rise, affordable housing is disappearing. The falling poverty levels in the 1990s failed to alleviate this crisis – in fact, the growing disparity between rich and poor aggravated it.
Now we again face an uncertain economic future, but at a time when California already ranks as the least affordable (for housing) state in the nation – indeed the four least affordable counties in the entire country are in the Bay Area. This has to concern the residents of Mendocino County, as population growth and economic development pushes up the 101 corridor. The estimated growth for Cloverdale is 4.2%, in the next year, more than double the statewide average. (13) While the immediate danger posed by this “sprawl” is to the Ukiah Valley, there is no reason to think the Coastal communities will remain untouched.
In the year 2000-2001, the “housing wage” in California grew by more than 20 percent. (14) The “housing wage” is the amount a worker has to earn in order to work a 40-hour week and afford a two-bedroom home at the Fair Market rent. (15) A housing unit is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30% of the renters’ income. Yet in California 47% of renter households pay more than 30% of their income for rent. The housing wage in California is $18.33 – this is the amount a worker would have to earn per hour in order to afford two-bedroom unit at the area’s Fair Market rent – in California, $953. (16) A minimum wage worker in California (earning $6.25 per hour) can afford monthly rent of no more than $325. (17)
In Mendocino County, the worker has to earn $12.56 an hour (annual income $26,120) for a comparable unit – a two-bedroom unit renting for $653 per month. (18)
Whatever problem this poses for Mendocino County residents, our housing costs are attractive to workers in Marin and Sonoma counties. And hence the market pushes the Bay Area housing crisis northward.
These statewide trends are compounded by local circumstances.
Mendocino County is growing, but not at the pace of neighboring counties to the south, nor as fast as the state as a whole. Since 1992 California has seen an 11% increase in population, although new housing starts are up only 4%. The state’s population is expected to grow by 1.9% in the next year. This compares to 1.4% for Sonoma County and 0.7% for Mendocino County. Fort Bragg is predicted to grow by 0.4% and the unincorporated areas of the County by 1.0%. (19) The population of the County is predicted to increase by 30% by 2020, and this growth will be concentrated primarily among the low-income category. (20)
The population of Mendocino County still remains small, 86265 in 2000, up from 80345 in 1990. The population of Fort Bragg rose to 7,026 in 2000, up from 6078 in 1990. (21) The coastal villages are very small indeed. Here are the populations in 1990 and 2000 by zip code:
|Census 1990||Census 2000|
(22) Census 2000 P1
Population growth, then, is not the most pressing issue on the Coast, at least not in the unincorporated areas. Indeed, some communities seem to be in decline.
Poverty, however, persists in the County, including on the Mendocino Coast. The median family income in California is $60,800. The median family income in Mendocino County is $42.168. The median family income in Fort Bragg is $36,000. (23) In Fort Bragg, approximately 29% of households are very low income and approximately 14% are low income. (24) This contrasts with Mendocino’s (95460) $60,000 median income. (25)
These contrasts are not new. Mendocino County has been, and remains a poor county, similar to other rural counties in California. The economy is of course changing. There is no point in romanticizing the past, however. Whatever the benefits of the traditional industries, fishing and timber in this case, communities in the West based on these industries have always been poor. The work was seasonal and dangerous; unemployment was always widespread. Anyway, there is no going back.
What is new is the growth of tourism and the influx of wealth. Jobs in the tourist and related industries replaced traditional employment, and these new jobs – in accommodation and retail sales – overwhelmingly pay low wages. They will not alleviate poverty; in fact, they may contribute to it. They certainly will be a factor in the widening gap between rich and poor on the Coast.
A footnote here: housing construction brings economic benefits. The construction of 1,000 single-family homes generates 2448 full-time jobs in construction and construction related industries; 79.4 million in wages and $42.5 million in combined federal, state and local revenues and fees. The construction of 1000 multifamily units generates 1,030 full-time jobs in construction and construction related industries, $33.5 million in wages, and $17.8 million in combined federal, state and local revenues and fees. (26)
Vacation Rentals and Second Homes
Two other developments help explain the background to our housing crisis. The first is that a high percentage of our housing stock is owned by people who live elsewhere, that is, these homes are second, or vacation homes. Then, there are the large numbers of houses that are vacation rentals. These categories sometimes overlap and are difficult to disentangle. Real estate agents report that as much as 30% of the housing stock in the coastal area is used for vacation rentals; in some areas, Cypress Drive in Point Cabrillo, for example, the figure is over 50%.
A quick visit to the offices of the specialists in vacation rentals is revealing. Between them, Shoreline Vacation Rentals, Coast Getaways, Mendocino Coast Reservations, Seacrest Properties, and Century 21 manage hundreds of such properties. Most often, they rent for $300 per night, more in the peak seasons. (27) The economics here are clear enough – $300 a night equals $2100 in a week, a high income, probably more than a month’s rent from a steady tenant. Of course, there are expenses, but there are also tax breaks and other incentives for landlords.
The title companies and the realtors also list the addresses of property owners. I looked at addresses for Mendocino and Caspar, 1603 in all. 584 – more than a third – of these were owned by absentee landlords, people and companies found elsewhere, often in the Bay Area but also throughout the country and a few places beyond. Once again, there will be an overlap with vacation rentals. Still, it is clear that a considerable portion of the housing stock is not available to those who would like to live and work on the Mendocino Coast.s
The second important local development is the changing demographic composition of the Coast, in particular the unincorporated areas. First, of course, is the natural aging process in the resident population, accompanied by falling birthrates and complicated by the fact that for younger people both jobs and housing are scare. But second, the Mendocino Coast has become a popular place to retire, particularly for well-to-do couples and individuals. This, again, helps to consume the existing housing stock and means that when new retirement homes are built, they are built at the high end of the scale, also driving housing prices upward.
The median age in the United States is 35.3. In Mendocino County it is 38.9 years. In Fort Bragg the median age is 40.9 years. In Mendocino (zip code 95460), it is 50.0 years. (28)
These figures relate to more than housing. Gary Evans, a member of the Mendocino United School District’s Board, found that in the School District, 81% of the residents were over the age of 45. 73% of the people had no children under the age of 18. Moreover, the results of his study revealed that the number of children in the District was in rapid decline. Comparing the 1990 and 2000 Census results, Evans found that in the Census tract 110 (the coast from just south of Fort Bragg to Elk), the decline in the age group 5 year olds was down 37.71%; the age group 5-9 year olds down 37.29%; the age group 10-14 year olds down 3.73%. The age group 65 and up increased by 19.05%. (29)
Thus, we see how housing relates to broader issues, and, in turn, how our housing crisis is also a crisis in education – there are rapidly declining enrollments in both the Fort Bragg and the Mendocino districts. In fact it is a community crisis.
The report of the Mendocino Coast Habitat for Humanity Conference summarized the situation this way: “The 90s brought great prosperity to enough people to put tremendous pressure on prices: remaining parcels and limber costs, driven by scarcity and demand, rose sharply. Tighter code enforcement, larger homes, more second homes and retirees in a global economy spiraled housing costs far beyond the means of those earning wages eroded by the replacement of well-paying jobs with service scales.” (30.)
Linda Ruffing, the Community Development Manager for Fort Bragg, speaking at the Supervisor’s Conference in Ukiah, explained what needed to be done. She reported that the state Department of Financing estimated that the population of Mendocino County would increase by 33,000 people in the next twenty years. She estimated that this would require 15,000 new housing units. Perhaps a third of this total would need to be built on the Coast. The Fort Bragg Housing element reported 54.5 acres of residentially zoned vacant land, which could accommodate approximately 555 dwelling units. Real Estate agents report that of these only a few parcels are actually for sale. In addition, the Fort Bragg housing element notes that there are significant housing needs still unmet from the 1993 Housing element. (31)
Yet the County’s coastal planning office shows fewer than five hundred new housing starts on the Coast since 1997 – and this includes mobile homes and the area all the way to the Sonoma County line. There were no permits issued for multi-family units on the North Coast, and the planner I spoke to said he knew of no affordable units built in his tenure of five years on the job. And, again, the new houses were overwhelmingly on the high end. I saw none smaller than 1000 square feet. (Habitat’s single-family homes in Fort Bragg are typically 800 to 900 square feet). Few were smaller than 2000 square feet and a significant number were over 3,000 square feet. In addition, there were several “trophy” homes, 5000 plus square feet. One bluff top resident received a permit to build a 1,000 square foot “accessory building” – a guest cottage and a three-car garage. (32)
Here we can consider the extent of affordable housing, that is, housing created specifically for low income and working class people.
There is a tradition of developing and maintaining decent, affordable housing on the Mendocino Coast. The Community Development Commission (CDC) manages 43 units of public housing in Fort Bragg – at Glass Beach, Sanderson Way and Sea cliff. The CDC also offers rental assistance, Section 8 vouchers, to eligible people. About 250 people use these vouchers on the coast, despite the fact that many landlords will not accept tenants with vouchers. CDC also owns subsidized rental units at Holly Ranch, 28 dilapidated apartments and family units North of Fort Bragg. The Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation (RCHDC) owns and manages Cypress Ridge, 48 units of senior housing in Fort Bragg. It also developed 27 self-help houses at Glass Beach and is attempting to purchase and renovate River Gardens, low income housing at 421 South Street. (34)
Habitat for Humanity of the Mendocino Coast, Inc., has built ten “basic” homes (in ten years) for low-income families in Fort Bragg. It has land for an additional 5 or 6 homes, though a conflict with the city concerning zoning has slowed plans. (35)
The Moura homes, also on South Street in Fort Bragg, offer affordable housing for seniors. These are now for sale. In addition, there are also subsidized housing units on Walnut Street. The Woods is the only facility for seniors in the unincorporated area, though it can not be considered affordable senior housing.
CDC and RCHDC have space for “in-fill” in Fort Bragg but there are no current plans to begin construction.
These organizations have the potential to take the lead in developing significant new affordable housing on the Coast, They can also partner with both non-profit and for profit organizations in the County and beyond – for example, Burbank Housing in Santa Rosa and Danco Builders in Arcata are both experienced builders with relevant experience for the North Coast – both sent representatives to the MC4 Housing Conference. However, as of now, there are no specific plans for future construction that I know of.
(It should be noted that the tradition of public housing and support for affordable housing – in particular HUD – has been undermined by years of federal and state policy favoring private development and home ownership. There is little sign of change coming in Washington, D.C., though Senator Burton’s housing bill, SB1227; a $2.1 billion affordable housing bond is very promising.)
Local initiatives and Conferences
Across the country, the initiative for affordable housing development seems to be developing in the localities. This has been the case on the Mendocino Coast.
There is considerable agreement that we have a housing crisis and the demand for affordable housing is growing. This was shown at MC4’s community meetings in Mendocino and Fort Bragg.
Three major affordable housing conferences in the past two years have underscored the extent of the crisis. The League of Women Voters on the Mendocino Coast has decided to make affordable housing a priority in its work.
Here, we can summarize the key recommendations of these conferences. On March 1 and 2, 2001, Habitat for Humanity convened a meeting at Preston Hall in Mendocino. This well-attended conference brought housing advocates together for two days of discussion.
The Habitat conference recommended:
- looking at the possibilities of inclusionary zoning
- exploring more equitable tax sharing between the City and the County
- creating a round-table of non-profits
- encouraging second homes outside the coastal area
- conducting a survey of landowners to determine their interest in developing affordable rentals
- marketing the concept of a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) (36)
On October 18, 2002, the Mendocino Supervisors (along with other County agencies) convened a countywide housing forum at the Conference Center in Ukiah. One hundred and seven people participated. The conference consisted of two main panel discussions. The morning panel focused on problems related to the dearth of affordable housing, and the afternoon panel focused on solutions to this problem. Marc Brown, Co-Director, California Housing Law Project, Sacramento, and John Lowery, Executive Director, Burbank Housing, Santa Rosa, were keynote speakers.
The conference steering committee made the following recommendations:
- develop a Mendocino County Housing Coalition
- develop an annual process to report to the community on the achievement of the goals and polices of local housing elements
- organize an annual Housing Forum with continued sponsorship by the County, cities, private industry, non-profit agencies and individuals
- encourage local governments to exercise their responsibility to reduce barriers and provide incentives to the development of affordable housing. (37)
The third conference was sponsored by MC4 and organized by the Mendocino Institute. Its goals were to build on the preceding conferences, to focus on the Mendocino Coast and to develop action plans.
Fifty people participated in the daylong conference at the College of the Redwoods, Mendocino Coast Campus. Local activisists were joined by Dianne Spaulding, Director of Non-Profit Housing of Northern California; Betty Pagett, Education Director of EAH Housing in Marin County; Rob Weiner, Director California Rural Housing Coalition, and John Lowry of Burbank Housing.
The Conference was organized as a roundtable discussion. In addition, there were two workshops: one on affordable senior housing, the other on the affordable housing in Caspar community.
Diane Spaulding began the conference with the statement, “Communities that have done best have focused on production – increasing housing production.”
The discussions that followed concerned how to initiate housing production and how to make new affordable housing units on the Coast a reality.
Conference recommendations included:
- establish a low-income housing coalition involving the Latino community
- establish a broad coastal housing coalition
- create coastal community housing committees as part of a coastal collaborative
- connect housing and conservation needs, as Vermont has done
- develop plans for scattered sites, “cluster pods”
- zoning changes to allow rental units on coastal properties
- create a regional housing trust fund
The Conference also stressed the importance of involvement in the development of the County Housing Element, the importance of encouraging the City of Fort Bragg and the County Supervisors to identify suitable land for affordable housing and to look into the possibility of rezoning timber land for affordable housing, as the timber companies begin to divest themselves of exhausted forests. One provocative idea was to approach Jackson Demonstration State Forest and CDF with the suggestion that heavily logged areas adjacent to coastal neighborhoods be converted to affordable housing developments. (38)
In addition, there were two proposals for immediate action: 1) find a buyer for the Moura property (senior housing) in Fort Bragg; 2) work with the Caspar Community to help develop plans for affordable housing in Caspar.
The three conferences all stressed the need for local action. Again, Dianne Spaulding put it this way, “Engage local citizens. Take back local control. Don’t wait for the government.”
The three conferences all stressed the need for organization and “political” action. We need to change the climate and make the production of affordable housing a priority – for the citizens of the Coast, for the County agencies, for community and business leaders, and for the elected representatives. We need to create the political will necessary for the production of affordable housing.
I want to suggest a perspective for doing this. But first there are several issues that need, briefly, to be clarified.
We need a definition of affordable housing; we need an understanding of the importance of rental housing; we need to know what housing trusts are; and, finally, we need to emphasize that affordable housing is a community issue – an indispensable foundation for sustainability in any community.
What is affordable housing? Policymakers say that housing is affordable when a family pays no more than 30% of its total income on rent and utilities, or if they own their own home, 30% on their mortgage payment, utilities, insurance and taxes.
This definition is widely used by local state and federal governments and recognizes that households must use their incomes to pay for other expenses such as food, clothing, health care, childcare and transportation.
When we use the term affordable housing we also mean housing that is affordable to people with low or moderate incomes. The definition of “low income” is established by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development as a percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and varies region by region and by household size. (39)
Why rental housing? There is wider support for the development of single-family homes today than there is for the development of rental units. For a start, the federal government and federal housing funding prioritizes home ownership. This fits, of course, with our national culture; it is part, for better or worse, of the “American Dream.”
On the Mendocino Coast, many residents want places where their children – and all the young people who have grown up here – can live. They want affordable homes for teachers, artists, and “middle” class people. Others are worried about the impact of temporary neighbors on communities.
Home ownership has many advantages. But it also has risks. Today’s homeowners need to provide smaller down payments than people did as recently as the 1980s. Today’s buyers are often deeper in debt and susceptible to downturns in the economy. The loss of a house due to mortgage foreclosure creates a serious obstacle to obtaining credit subsequently and can cause a downward spiral for families on the financial edge.
Low-income home owners (80% or less of area median income) face substantial challenges. The upkeep and maintenance of the homes can easily surpass their financial capacity. Low-income owners tend to live in older houses that have more physical problems than other homes. Fifty-five percentof low-income homeowners have housing problems, including cost burdens, substandard housing, overcrowding, or some combination of these.
In addition, there are many people who prefer apartments, who want rental housing: young people, students, seniors, individuals and families who are living in our community temporarily.
While home ownership is an important opportunity for stability and wealth creation, policy development must also take into consideration the segment of the population for whom home ownership is not desirable. Policy proposals must recognize this and not come at the expense of rental housing. (40)
What are housing trust funds? There are now more than 250 housing trust funds in cities, counties ands states throughout the country. These funds secure a dedicated source of public revenue to support critical housing needs. They add a way to fund affordable housing by providing a continuing stream of funding that is not dependent on political tides and annual budget battles. Housing is so basic to the health of every American community that it deserves the kind of funding commitment a housing trust fund can provide.
Most housing trust funds are administered by a public or quasi-public agency because trust funds involve public funds. Local boards oversee this – representative boards of the housing community, including bankers, realtors, developers, non-profit organizations, housing advocates, environmentalists, service providers and low-income residents.
Created locally to address most critical housing needs – housing trusts decide what activities can be funded, what are the requirements and regulations, applicant eligibility – they provide loans and grants to eligible applicants. These typically include non-profit and for-profit developers, government entities, Native American tribes, and housing authorities. Some housing trusts provide rental assistance.
Housing trusts develop funding in varying situations – in Vermont affordable housing advocates joined with conservationists and created a housing/land trust. Sources of revenue include – tax credits, linkage programs, impact fees on non-residential developers, inclusionary zoning in lieu of fees, property taxes, real estate excise taxes hotel/motel taxes, document recording fees, sales taxes, developer fees, and real estate transfer taxes (41)
A Community Issue
Finally, we need to be clear why housing is “a community issue.” What does this mean?
As an example, consider how housing affects our children. Children who live in substandard housing are more likely to suffer from debilitating conditions such as asthma and lead poisoning that can lead to learning and behavioral problems.
Children who live in poor housing conditions are also at greater risk for injuries and infectious diseases. Homelessness can be devastating on the mental and physical well being of a child. Frequent moves in search of stable, affordable housing also can affect a child’s ability to succeed in school.
And schools? The shortage of affordable housing is putting our schools in peril. It is already a factor in declining enrollments in both the Fort Bragg and Mendocino school districts. At the same time, it is difficult to recruit teachers and school staff to work in a place where there is a severe shortage of affordable housing.
But what kind of a community will we have without healthy children and quality schools? On the contrary affordable housing is a central part of any program to counteract poverty, maintain healthy families and create dynamic public schools. Along with rewarding employment, a good environment, proper health care, and fostering youth development, quality affordable housing plays an indispensable role in making any community truly healthy and sustainable.
There are other reasons. People on the Mendocino Coast value diversity, tolerance and independence. Some would prefer more of each. The threat to the people of the Mendocino Coast and their way of life comes not from the modest development of the affordable housing we need, but from developments already well underway – the development of a society without economic and ethnic diversity, a society with wide gaps between rich and poor, a society dominated by absentee owners and occasional residents, a society without the energy and creativity of children and young people.
To summarize, we need quality affordable housing that fits with and compliments our environment and our communities. We need temporary housing for the homeless and people in crisis. We need affordable multi-family housing and rentals. We need affordable senior housing. We need affordable homes for working families. And we need these throughout the Coast so that people can live where they work, where their children go to school and close to the health and social services on which they depend.
Cal Winslow for the Mendocino Institute
A Note on the Report
This report itself is a part of MC4’s project on affordable housing, a project that developed out of community forums held in Fort Bragg and Mendocino in 2001, where coastal citizens identified the crisis in affordable housing as one of their major concerns. As a result of these community forums, MC4, as one of its activities, began a project on affordable housing. The first step was to identify the key individuals and organizations on the Coast working in the area of affordable housing and then to gather information concerning the nature and scope of their activities (see Cal Winslow, “Affordable Housing on the North Coast: Advocates and Organizations,” MC4, November 2001) Second, MC4 organized a conference, inviting representatives of these organizations, plus local officials, representatives of the affordable housing movement in Northern California, and concerned citizens, with the purpose of sharing ideas and information and comparing problems and practice. The Conference also narrowed the focus of affordable housing to the Mendocino Coast – from Elk to Westport. This conference was held February 23, 2002 at the College of the Redwoods, Mendocino Coast Campus, in Fort Bragg.
The MC4 conference was charged with developing an action plan (see attached “Action Plan”), part of which involved the production of this report and a perspective for action. The MC4 Conference followed – and built on – two other important housing conferences. I have also attached the reports of these conferences: Habitat for Humanity’s “Working Together for affordable Housing,” (Preston Hall, Mendocino, March 1-2, 2001); The County of Mendocino’s Conference: “Housing in Mendocino County: The Next Endangered Species?” (Ukiah Conference Center, October 18 2001). In addition, I have attached a directory of housing organizations and advocates in Mendocino County and Northern California, as well as a list of websites that feature information on affordable housing.
A note on sources. The US Census 2000 includes considerable information concerning population, housing, incomes, family size, etc., all relevant to this discussion. There exists, however, considerable distrust concerning the accuracy of this information; in fact we are in the midst of a national debate on the purpose and future of the Census. This distrust is found among the census takers themselves, including those who worked in this area. They frequently report that their findings are unrepresentative of the communities they investigated. In addition, I have found that the statistics that appear concerning local communities are sometimes contradictory or at least inconsistent. Still, statistics quoted can be taken as estimates and used for comparative purposes as well as to help us establish trends. Moreover, a report from the Mendocino Council of Government is expected by the end of the summer, as is a draft of the County’s updated Housing Element. There will be no shortage of evidence. In any event, the suggestions in the conclusion of this report are not dependent on the absolute accuracy of the 2000 Census.
1. MC4 Conference Minutes
2. Mendocino County Continuing Care
3. Mendocino County Continuing Care
4. CDC Annual Report
5. Joe Curren, Senior Housing Market Report
6. MC4 Conference Minutes
7. US Census 2000
8. California Department of Finance
9. Mendocino Coast Association of Realtors
10. Mendocino Coast Association of Realtors
11. CDC Minutes, January 2002
12. National Low Income Housing Coalition, “Out of Reach”
13. California Department of Finance
14. National Low Income Housing Coalition
15. National Low Income Housing Coalition
16. National Low Income Housing Coalition
17. National Low Income Housing Coalition
18. National Low Income Housing Coalition
19. California Department of Finance
20. Mendocino County Housing Conference Report
21. US Census 2000, US Census 1990
22. US Census 2000
23. US Census 2000
24. Fort Bragg Housing Element
25. US Census 2000
26. National Low Income Housing Coalition
27. Realtors brochures and websites
28. US Census 2000
29. Gary Evans, “Demographics” (report in author’spossession)
30. Habitat for Humanity Conference Report
31. Mendocino County Conference Report. Fort Bragg Housing Element.
32. Mendocino County Coastal Planning files
33. CDC Annual Report
34. RCHDC Annual Report
35. Habitat for Humanity, information from Pat Dunbar
36. Habitat for Humanity Conference Report
37. Mendocino County Conference Report
38. MC4 Conference Minutes
39. National Low Income Housing Coalition
40. National Low Income Housing Coalition
41. National Low Income Housing Coalition
Community Development Commission of Mendocino County
Rural Communities Housing Development Commission
Habitat for Humanity of the Mendocino Coast
Ford Street Project
National Low Income Housing Coalition
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
California Coalition for Rural Housing
Rural Communities Assistance Corporation
EAH (Ecumenical Housing, San Raphael, Marin County)
http://housing.hcd.ca.gov (California Department of Housing and Community Development).
http://urbanpolicy.berkeley.edu/main.htm (Berkeley Center on Housing and Urban Policy)
http://www.dof.ca.gov (California Department of Finance)
http://www.hcd.ca.gov/ (Demographic Research Dept. HCD)
http://knowledgeplex.org (Fannie Mae knowledge base)
http://www.nlihc.org (National Low Income Housing Coalition)
http://www.realto.com (Realtor, MLS and Houses for sale info)
http://www.huduser.or (HUD databases) | sociology |
https://sportlife.news/2023/soccer/peru-star-arrested-for-allegedly-hitting-police-officer-in-eye-as-players-and-cops-clash-in-shocking-bust-up/ | 2023-10-04T10:42:19 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233511364.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20231004084230-20231004114230-00553.warc.gz | 0.98215 | 710 | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2023-40__0__292271658 | en | SPANISH police fought with players from Peru’s national football team in astonishing scenes outside a Madrid hotel.
The footballers were trying to greet fans waiting for them when the violent scuffle started.
Local reports blamed the fracas on the fact some of the officers failed to recognise the stars as professional footballers and confused them with supporters in the bust-up.
A Peruvian fan could be overheard shouting: “Calm down, calm down, they’re players,” as tempers flared and the pushing and shoving threatened to boil over into a full-scale punch-up.
A spokesman for Spain’s National Police confirmed a Peru player had been arrested for allegedly hitting an officer in the eye.
The spokesman said he could not confirm reports claiming the arrested man was 33-year-old goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, who is believed to have been released after being taken to a nearby station for questioning.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
The incident happened outside the NH Collection Eurobuilding.
A police statement read: “Around 300 fans started gathering outside from about 7pm onwards.
“Some began to let off flares and officers from a rapid response unit called the UIP were called in as back-up.
“Just before 10pm local time the players arrived.
Most read in Football
“The fans tried to reach the players and the police got in the middle between the players and the fans to avoid an avalanche of people endangering public safety.
“A player was arrested for hitting an officer in the eye. He was taken to a nearby police station and the officer received medical attention at the scene.”
One local report said the problems had started after a police officer tried to push back footballer Yoshimar Yotun, who plays for Peruvian outfit Sporting Cristal, after confusing him for a supporter.
Police refuted reports saying several people had been detained, saying only one arrest had been made.
Keeper and captain Gallese, who plays for MLS club Orlando City, complained: “We wanted to greet the fans and they began to punch us.”
The incident occurred on Monday evening as the Peruvian team reached the hotel where they were staying after their last training session ahead of tonight’s friendly against Morocco in Athletico Madrid’s stadium.
Peru’s goalie could be seen showing off his torn top as he was pushed back towards the hotel entrance moments after he became caught up in the violent confrontation.
The Peruvian Football Federation said in a statement overnight: “We regret the incidents that occurred in Madrid where fans of the team had gathered in traditional fashion to wave flags.
“The Peruvian Football Federation is totally supportive and backs our player and captain Pedro Gallese and have accompanied him since the incident occurred outside the hotel where the team were staying ahead of their friendly against Morocco.
“We reiterate that we are respectful of the authorities and the procedures of each country that we visit.
Read More on The Sun
“For this reason we are at the full disposal of both the internal and external enforcement authorities and supervisory bodies to try to clarify what occurred.”
Urging their fans not to react in an inappropriate way in the coming hours, the federation added: “We call on them to remain calm and we express our firm rejection of violence.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk | sociology |
http://www.caje-co.org/about/mission-statement/ | 2015-08-02T00:12:51 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042988924.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002308-00001-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | 0.957951 | 114 | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2015-32__0__137125015 | en | The mission of CAJE is making Jewish life sacred through learning. CAJE shall identify and endeavor to fill Jewish educational needs in the community, and shall provide centralized programs and services that individual institutions could not realize as effectively.
As an advocate for Jewish education in all its diverse forms, CAJE shall support and promote lifelong Jewish learning. CAJE shall provide assistance to the entire Jewish community, with sensitivity to differing ideologies and bias towards none. CAJE shall also serve as a bridge to non-Jewish educational institutions, promoting understanding and multicultural appreciation. | sociology |
http://www.zszn.com/category/news/ | 2017-03-30T06:46:25 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218193284.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212953-00014-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | 0.970477 | 494 | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2017-13__0__167405551 | en | It was a video that received over a million views every hour. A video that took Facebook and Twitter by storm; one that proved the power of social media. KONY 2012 will go down in history, whether you saw it as good or bad. Critics claimed that Invisible Children, the not-for-profit organization behind the film, was bending the facts and in it for their own good. Whatever you may believe, the viral video made its mark.
The power of social media is undeniable and in today’s world, there isn’t much that goes under the radar. People who once never knew what truly existed in the world are fighting for their own rights. Inherent rights that are meant to be protected and defended by governments that cover our globe. In 2005, there was a unanimous decision by the United Nations to put the Responsibility to Protect initiative into effect, which would protect these inherent rights. But often times, this doesn’t always happen.
Invisible Children and KONY 2012 is a modern-day example of a group fighting for these rights. We sit here on our computers day by day, doing what we must or please, but we cannot deny the fact that there is injustice in this world. The atrocities in Uganda and its surrounding areas is a norm, one we are not familiar with. Regardless of what you may believe about KONY 2012, the fact is people are now aware. Today, Invisible Children released Part II of their Kony awareness initiative.
“KONY 2012: Part II – Beyond Famous” gives more incite on how it all started. It dives into the organization’s infancy stages and you see how the individuals behind the film first came to the realization of the Ugandan struggles with Joseph Kony. You see how they first made a commitment to the people of Uganda and follow them through the years that lead up to this day. Initially it began with simple presentations at various middle schools and high schools. Now, today, it’s full fledge. People have taken notice.
As a result of this campaign, many favorable outcomes have risen. Resolutions in Congress have been signed. A force of 5,000 soldiers has been assembled and designated to track down Joseph Kony. Even a comprehensive approach has been designed to help the people of Uganda protect themselves from LRA invasions. See what you think, and check out the newest addition to the KONY portfolio. | sociology |
https://nl.bridgethegapp.ca/service-directory/service_directory_tag/adult/ | 2022-12-03T09:13:43 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446710926.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20221203075717-20221203105717-00613.warc.gz | 0.932503 | 310 | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | webtext-fineweb__CC-MAIN-2022-49__0__299147559 | en | Provides support for youth ages 12-18, offering programs and services that focus on the needs of youth and assisting with the development of health families and communities.
Corner Brook / Bay of Islands: (709) 639-9676 Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Stephenville: (709) 643-5399 Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Port aux Basques: (709) 695-6901 Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
This Facebook support group is for parents/primary caregivers of LGBTQ kids and youth - with a particular focus on support for parents with kids who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual or questioning their sexuality. This group is private and only people in the group can see who is a member or what is posted. If you are interested in joining this group simply click on “Join Group” and you will be asked a few screening questions or email [email protected] for more information.
Community Centre offering programs and services to the greater Corner Brook area with a focus on NL Housing tenants and low-income families and individuals.
Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed for lunch
Call (709) 634-0050 or visit their Facebook page | sociology |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.