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Commentary by Surjit Singh Flora in Brampton
A few weeks before Brampton Council begin debate on the latest budget, the city and province delivered a big lollipop to the citizens of Brampton in the form of a University to be built in our city.
At the risk of sounding cynical, I can't help but suspect this little bit of theatre is meant to divert the attention of Bramptonians away from the poor economic performance of our city, the recent tax increases, stagnant municipal services, and the provinces' ruinously expensive and incompetently handled hydro mismanagement.
Now, don't get me wrong, I, like many, believe a university campus is something Brampton needs, and needs badly. In fact, I know many parents are excited at the thought of their children obtaining a quality post-secondary education in their own city.
Downloading to taxpayers
But for anyone who listened to what was said at the Brampton press event, while Brampton has been chosen as the site of one of two new university campuses, there was no specific timeline or details about where or when this facility will be built, how it will be funded, or how much of the cost the province will download onto the backs of Brampton taxpayers in order to make the announcement a reality.
What we do know is that there is a $90 million allotment for each of the two municipalities approved in this round of funding. Let's remember that when then Premier Dalton McGuinty wrote his infamous letter to the Brampton citizens promising that Peel Memorial Hospital would not be closed – just before he closed it − the replacement facility's phase I costs were over $300 million and Bramptonians were practically extorted into paying $60 million towards the project.
If you think this is an isolated occurrence, think again. When the province promised to finish highway 410 north to highway 10, it was only accomplished after the Region of Peel was forced to pony up over $40 million to the province.
Citizens in the dark
Will $90 million build a university campus? I highly doubt it. I am convinced we are going to be put in the position of shelling out millions more from municipal coffers – your tax money – to provide land and capital funding in order to make this happen. How sweet does that lollipop taste now?
Let's face it, we have no idea what we are getting out of this latest deal. We know from the past the province promised to keep our original hospital open, then closed it, then tore it down. The slogan for the new Peel Memorial was "More than a Hospital," but in fact this too was a lie. The new Peel Memorial will be much less than a hospital. It will house outpatient services, clinics, dialysis, and will not have an emergency department. Instead, it will have an urgent care centre that closes down at night, and while some services now housed at Brampton Civic are moving to the new building, Brampton is getting much less than it deserves in terms of health care services. This does not bode well for our university.
Brampton Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon says this council worked hard work to make this university happen and Mayor Linda Jeffery maintains this is exciting news for Bramptonians. This from a council that turned down $300 million in funding for a light rail line up Main Street that over 70 per cent of the citizens wanted.
I think the citizens of Brampton have some fundamental issues with trusting this council and these concerns are well justified.
So, I think we can all look forward to a future that will see more tax levies for health care, our university, and whatever other lollipop the city or province thinks up to throw at Brampton, in an attempt to win our votes with our own money. That makes us all a bunch of suckers.
Brampton-based Surjit Singh Flora is a veteran journalist and freelance writer.
by Our National Correspondent
Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) was appointed Chair of the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU) earlier this month. New Canadian Media conducted an interview with him by e-mail.
Q: You obviously bring a strong international outlook to the new position given your own early background and education in Egypt. How do you think your immigrant background will help as Chair of the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU)?
A: Together the presidents of Atlantic Canadian universities share a diverse range of experience and we are stronger because of it. Having been an international student that immigrated to Canada, I would not claim to understand the needs and hopes of all international students. Everyone's experience is unique, but that does not prevent me from drawing on my experience when I approach an issue.
I believe the key to success for both international and Canadian students stems from good relationships. At the University of Prince Edward Island, we strive to keep this at the core of everything we do, and it is emphasized during new student orientation and mental health and well-being initiatives. Interactions with friends, family, professors, staff, employers, and strangers affect our day-to-day lives, and building good relationships with these people can make all the difference.
International students will almost always have smaller networks of people in their lives so providing those services and opportunities to build those relationships when they come to Canada is key.
Q: As you say in your news release, foreign students are a particular focus. How do you think the current population of international students is fitting into Atlantic campuses? Are they contributing to the overall campus experience or do they tend to keep to themselves?
A: The culture of Atlantic Canadian universities is one in which the larger community and the campus are integral to one another. The cultural and social influences of students and their communities impact each other positively and benefit the overall experiences and success of everyone.
International students play a very important role on Canadian campuses as they are ambassadors for their respective countries. In Atlantic Canada, we strongly believe that integrating our international students into our campus communities not only benefits international students, but also Atlantic Canadian students.
Q: What does your early experience in Canada as a student/researcher tell you about what more Canada – particularly the Atlantic universities – can do to make foreign students feel more welcome? What advice do you provide to international students that you run into?
A: Canada has been, and is, welcoming to students of all cultures, and international students arrive in Canada with great appreciation for our country and its diversity. Having been an international student myself, I can say that there were many Canadians who made me feel at home by demonstrating support, kindness, and sincerity.
I personally have worked with and supervised dozens of international students and I tell them all, "In Canada you have the opportunity to be yourself, talk about your culture, interact with your community, and embrace Canadian values while enriching them with those of your own home." This is advice that can truly help to make the best of an international student's experience while studying in Canada.
Q: In your view, should international students have a pathway to Canadian citizenship? Would that help the Atlantic region address its demographic challenges?
A: When I think of immigration and encouraging our international students to stay and pursue citizenship, I recognize the many benefits that would have for our region. As our governments are actively working to attract talent and youth to help build our economy and society, an obvious group of people to attract would be the international students who are currently studying, researching, and honing their skills here in Atlantic Canada. In addition, I have to think about it from the point of view that even if our international students decide to return to their home country, they will forever be linked to Atlantic Canada. This too will have positive results, because if our international students are looking for opportunities to build bridges globally, there is a good chance that their first thought will be Atlantic Canada.
Q: Your time in Canada appears to have taken you to institutions from coast-to-coast. Can you please share with our readers your views on Canadian multiculturalism?
Having arrived as an international student and lived in Canada for over 30 years, I have seen many examples of how Canadians welcome, appreciate, and support the benefits of multiculturalism. We consist of people from all over the world, and yet we are probably one of the best examples of embracing differences. This makes us unique as we pour an incredibly strong foundation that embraces and respects the values of everyone.
Commentary by Salim Valji in Edmonton
Memorizing adjectives and pronouns did little more than create a resentment for having to learn French in the first place. Meanwhile, speaking the language took a backseat.
The sentiment above is true for many students who grew up learning French in Alberta, including myself. Lessons often consist of listing the gender pronoun (le, la, les) of nouns, and writing simple, declarative sentences.
Entire classes would be spent learning, relearning and being tested on memorization techniques like DR MRS VANDERTRAMP. Homework was more of the same … verb charts, fill-in-the-blanks and vocabulary.
See a trend here?
Throughout elementary and junior high, the method was always memorize first, ask questions later. Speaking French was never a priority until high school and accent training was seldom mentioned.
Learning to hate French
I queried my friends on social media: I was not alone.
"My experience was terrible as well! I took French for eight years and can't speak a word if it," one friend wrote. "It was all memorizing nouns and watching videos. It's such a beautiful language. I really wish they had taught it better. I'd love to know it."
Another added: "I learned more German in four months than I did French in eight years in school. I think using an online program like Duolingo and setting goals might help. Also, so many BS tests on conjugating verbs made me hate French."
The most profound comment came from someone somewhat older who said that like hundreds of others, she hated going to French class as a student. It speaks of a system that doesn't know how to educate its students on Canada's other official language.
Moving to a bilingual setting
When I was 20, I moved to Montreal. Despite taking French courses for 13 years, I was completely unprepared to live and work in a bilingual environment. It took me minutes to form short phrases, my vocabulary was extremely limited and I barely understood what was being said to me.
My perspective changed even further when I moved to France to work as an English Language Assistant at a high school in the Parisien suburbs. Alberta, and the rest of Canada, can learn much from how the French teach second languages.
From my first sessions with 12-year-old students, I could tell that they already spoke better English than I did French. Their sentences were clear, vocabulary strong and they knew how to express ideas.
Communication of ideas is what my role was focused on. I'd take groups of 10 to 12 students to my classroom, and, in my authentically Albertan accent, speak English to them. Often times, the lessons were planned with their English teacher, based on what they were learning in class.
The topics we talked about included the civil rights movement, the lives of historic figures like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi and differences between North American and European culture.
Sometimes, I'd pose an open-ended question on the whiteboard and cross my fingers hoping that my students would pipe up. That method usually led to great, enjoyable conversations —like the time where we spent an entire class talking about the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" and how Robin Scherbatsky embodies certain Canadian stereotypes.
My students would speak their ideas and I'd correct them in real time. I was always amazed at how well they could speak about complex subjects in English.
The two most common mistakes they made were not pronouncing the h sound for words like "home" and "happy," and saying "the" as zee or "there" as zerre. Beyond the simple correcting of grammar, my students received a language education I never had as a student … speaking and writing with someone fluent in the other language.
They learned to understand my accent. They questioned my usage of certain vocabulary and mimicked how I said things.
Need for spontaneity
So much of communication is situational and spontaneous: Where an event took place, what the score was, why someone was late for something.
The method of memorization forces students to retrieve information they retained and disposed of years ago. It also fosters a distaste of learning the language — the second anything becomes a chore, it becomes something we detest. It's impossible to expect students, in the middle of conversation to recall what they were force-fed in some classroom years back.
It's understandable that revamping the province's French curriculum may not be high on Alberta Education's priority list. Opportunities to speak the language organically are extremely limited—less than 25 000 of the province's 3.6 million people identify French as the language the speak most often at home.
That being said, we need a conversation about whether the memorize-at-all-costs approach should be retired. Right now, that approach is leading Alberta students to despise — as opposed to appreciate — the French language.
Salim Valji is a media professional based in Montreal, Quebec. He is originally from Edmonton and has worked in Paris and New York City.
Historical wrongs faced by East and South Asian immigrants and Aboriginal people to be taught
THE world is changing and parents expect their kids to be taught the skills they need to succeed in that changing world. That's why, for the past few years, the Ministry of Education has partnered with teachers and […]
Indo-Canadian Voice
Commentary by Peter Halpin in Halifax
Atlantic Canada could become a field of dreams for entrepreneurs, immigrants and international students.
And, if we give talented newcomers an incentive to move to the region and stay here, they will help build its economy.
Those themes were heard loud and clear at the June 24 Atlantic Leaders' Summit on Talent Retention and Entrepreneurism, an event sponsored by the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU) that attracted 75 business, community, government, student and academic leaders from across the region.
Federal Treasury Board President, Scott Brison, M.P. (Kings-Hants), set the tone in a keynote address that opened the Summit. Minister Brison said entrepreneurial immigrants boost the economy and help address the region's "terrifying" demographic challenge — too few workers supporting too many retired people.
The starting-over advantage
"Starting over (as immigrants do) is inherently an entrepreneurial experience. Immigrants see opportunities that others don't."
The Minister said the growth of the wine industry in Nova Scotia underscores this point. The leading pioneers in Nova Scotia's wine industry – Hans Jost (founder of Jost Vineyards) and Hanspeter Stutz (founder of Domaine de Grand Pré) - both migrated to Nova Scotia from Europe. Pete Luckett, an immigrant from the United Kingdom and founder of Luckett Vineyards, is also a leader in the sector.
Due in part to the leadership of this trio, the wine business has grown from a fledgling industry into a major success story over the past two decades. Today, Nova Scotia boasts 22 wineries, 70 grape growers who cultivate more than 800 acres of vineyards, seven distinct grape growing districts, and its own white wine appellation, Tidal Bay.
Despite the benefits that immigrants like Messrs. Luckett, Jost and Stutz have brought to the region, Brison said there is "little upside" to supporting immigration as a politician.
Too often, voters see immigration as a "zero sum game" – one in which newcomers take jobs from long-time residents.
Role for universities
He said universities have an important role to play as "thought leaders" in leading a "culture shift" towards "accepting and welcoming new Canadians."
The AAU has largely succeeded at persuading stakeholders that universities are the best source of new immigrants to Atlantic Canada.
Minister Brison's challenge "to lead the culture shift" among Atlantic Canada's communities and citizens towards greater acceptance of new Canadians is the natural next step for the region's universities in their support of regional population growth strategies.
Indeed, the AAU's 2016 Graduate Retention Study showed 75 per cent of international graduates would remain in their province (of study) after graduation if given a choice.
Not that Brison is a pessimist. He says the region's positive response to the recent influx of Syrian refugees may be a "game-changer." He also says Atlantic universities are leveraging federal research grants to boost immigration to the region and build "a more innovative Canada."
For instance, the Tesla lithium battery lab project led by Dr. Jeff Dahn at Dalhousie University has assembled a team of 22 researchers, 12 of whom came from other nations.
"These investments in … research are incredibly important to bringing immigrants to Canada." They "are part of an overall integrated" strategy in which universities play a key role. "Creating a world-class research environment … is critically important to our region."
The Trudeau government would like to attract more global talent to universities in Atlantic Canada, and keep them here once they graduate.
Ditch "Come from Away"
"Can we take a Team Atlantic Canada approach to attracting foreign students?" The Minister suggested a pan-university mission to China is one idea worth considering. The current contingent of the nearly 13,000 international students at AAU universities already represents a significant industry.
Less than two weeks after the Summit, Brison was also part of the team of federal cabinet ministers and Atlantic premiers who announced a three-year pilot project under which immigration to the region would increase significantly.
At that meeting, Minister Brison was blunt in his assessment of current attitudes toward newcomers to the region: "I have been told repeatedly by people who have moved to Atlantic Canada – that it takes a while to fit in. We've got to do more to welcome people here".
Minister Brison quite rightly encourages Atlantic Canadians to ditch the "come-from-away" label often affixed to newcomers to the region. He went further by saying that, "it's in our collective interest, economically and socially, to not use terms that reflect a negative view of people who choose to make Atlantic Canada their home. We've got to do more to welcome people here".
Building on the success of attracting more and more international students to our campuses; warmly welcoming them to communities across the region; helping place them in co-op education and internships during their studies; introducing them to alumni networks and employers and encouraging them to stay are just a few of the things our universities are doing to help lead the required "culture shift" across Atlantic Canada.
Minister Brison's call to action to our universities to help lead the creation of a more welcoming environment to newcomers has not gone unheeded.
Peter Halpin is executive director of the Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU). This comment is the second in our series on immigration to the Atlantic region.
by Justin Kong in Toronto
While many Americans may be declaring their intent to immigrate to Canada if Donald Trump becomes President, this migratory trend towards the north is not a new phenomenon.
Historically, everyone from runaway slaves to draft dodgers and individuals of the LGBTQ community could be found among the different waves of American migrants coming to Canada. In more recent years, this flow has remained sizeable, with Americans being the sixth-largest source of immigrants in 2013.
Yet, Americans in Canada don't fit most popular notions of immigrants and public discussions usually portray them as invisible immigrants or "expats." They also appear to perform economically better than other immigrants, and many are also taking up key positions in the fields of arts, culture, and politics.
Higher cultural-economic capital
There is some belief that this stems from the fact that American immigrants have higher cultural-economic capital than other immigrants. A sector where this is particularly apparent is within Canada's post-secondary education system.
Ongoing research on the changing landscape of academia in Canadian universities by PhD students at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Francois Lachapelle and Patrick John Burnett, has found that among Canada's U3 universities (UBC, University of Toronto and McGill University) almost 66 per cent of tenured professors in 2015 were American-trained.
Rougher approximation tests conducted by Lachapelle suggest that half (33 per cent) of these are American immigrants.
Effects on Canadian academics
Rima Wilkes, who researches immigration at UBC, suggests looking back to the 1960s to understand the phenomenon of American academics in Canadian universities.
"[That was] when the Canadian university system saw a massive expansion," she explains. "There weren't enough Canadian-trained PhDs to fill the jobs. So it made sense to hire people from other countries [such as the U.S.] because we didn't have the skills base."
Wilkes notes that since then, however, Canadian universities have produced more and more PhD candidates. "So now [even though] we have the skill base, in some cases Canadians with PhDs still don't get those [tenured] jobs."
All of this is happening in a context where academic employment in both Canada and the U.S. is becoming more precarious. With the intensification of competition and fewer tenured and economically secure academic jobs in the U.S., aspiring American academics look abroad. Canadian institutions, such as the U3, have been eager to receive them.
Louise Birdsell Bauer, who researches precarity in academia at the University of Toronto, says that the preference of hiring American-trained academics stems "from institutional traditions combined with a growing inequality in prestige and training" between Canadian-trained and U.S.-trained academics.
These factors, Birdsell Bauer explains, do in fact contribute to the "increas[ing] academic precarity for Canadian-trained PhDs," who face intensified competition with American-trained academic immigrants for these jobs.
'Colonial inferiority complex'
Other researchers say that the preference and prevalence of American academics in Canadian universities actually speaks to broader attitudes in Canadian academia.
Thomas Kemple is an immigrant from the United States. He has been a professor at UBC for more than two decades and now serves as an executive member of the UBC Faculty Association.
"In some ways, Canadian universities suffer from a kind of 'colonial inferiority complex' where 'our own' could never be quite as 'excellent' as academics produced in the U.S.," he says. "We hear versions of this argument from deans and department heads who value degrees from certain U.S. universities over their Canadian counterparts, [and] often without checking the content and quality of the applicant."
Unlike the experiences of many immigrants who come from regions such as Asia, Africa or Latin America who are unable to turn their credentials into positive labour market performance and economic well-being, academic immigrants from the U.S. sometimes experience the reverse.
Kemple says whether or not the prevalence of American academics in Canadian universities should be an issue of concern is something to think about.
"There has certainly been some discussion in recent years among faculty – but I've never heard it among administrators – about whether an affirmative action or diversity policy should be implemented for Canadian-born or Canadian-educated applicants for university positions."
Wilkes similarly notes that she has seen some discussion around this trend stating "that it is often American-born or trained scholars who are leading this [discussion]."
There is some evidence to suggest that American academic immigrants in Canadian universities appear to be on the statistical upswing.
Lachapelle, who continues his research at UBC, is finding that amongst the U3 and many other Canadian universities there has actually been a "small, but statistically significant increase in the number of American academic immigrants in Canadian universities between 2008 and 2015."
It seems American academics will continue to come to Canada, regardless of who becomes the next president of the United States.
The writer of this article was mentored by Toronto-based journalist, Ranjit Bhaskar, through the NCM Mentoring Program.
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by Shan Qiao in Toronto
A campaign to collect books and other resources to enhance educational opportunities for black children in Toronto is gaining support, while the Black Lives Matter Toronto continues to challenge anti-Black racism in the city.
A book drive took place recently at A Different Booklist, an independent bookstore in Toronto. It encouraged people to purchase books and donate them to Black Lives Matter Freedom School, a summer program focused on teaching black children aged four to 10 about black liberation history.
"[Children of African descent] do not get exposed enough, if at all, to the history of blacks in Canada or North America and around the world during the regular school year," said Natasha Henry, an elementary school teacher and author. "The book drive is a way to engage them in their learning, contributing to the community, and really empowering them with knowledge that will help them to continue their education, whether at school or in the community."
Movement targets education, police
LeRoi Newbold, a director of Black Lives Matter Toronto and the organizer of the book drive, said the black community should have control over what black children are learning, independently from school boards.
"In Toronto, 40 per cent of black children did not graduate from high school," said Newbold. While that number has decreased recently, black students still experience high suspension rates and low graduation rates.
"It's alarming and unacceptable," said Newbold. "We're not waiting for that system to change. We're creating our own schools, our own institutions."
Black Lives Matter Toronto is also collecting resources for the school through an online Indiegogo fundraising campaign. To date, the campaign has raised $10,361.
Not far from the upbeat book drive that had a few dozen people packed into the tiny single-unit bookstore, Black Lives Matter Toronto protested for the seventh day in-a-row outside Toronto Police Service headquarters to draw attention to anti-black racism in the city.
The demonstrations began in part to protest the Special Investigations Unit's decision not to lay charges against a Toronto officer who fatally shot 45-year-old Sudanese immigrant Andrew Loku. The group also announced a lawsuit against the Toronto Police Service for allegedly raiding and searching the home of Jean Montaque, a black mother, without warrant.
"We're fighting for justice, freedom and dignity for all black people, and the right for black people to not experience violence [at] the hands of the police force," Newbold said of the protest.
Teaching the history of black activism
[Block quote: sharing a pioneering black activist's accomplishments and legacy show how the struggling for freedom has evolved over time.]
Henry was one of the presenters at the book drive, held on Mar 24. She wrote Firsts and African Diaspora as part a 15-book series on black heritage in Canada and around the world.
"Often of times, historians are very interested in the past, yet young people will say 'What does that have to do with us today?'" Henry told the crowd. "So it's very important that we provide the historical context, but mix it with what is going on today in our communities and around the world."
In Firsts, Henry focuses on many "firsts" in the African-Canadian community and other African diaspora communities. The cover features an image of Michaëlle Jean, the first black person to serve as Governor General of Canada.
"When we're looking at the markers of 'the first' African descent, it gets us to think critically about why some of these 'firsts' are just happening in the 21st century, despite the fact that Africans have been in Canada since the 16th century," Henry said. She described how the stories of "firsts" began a legacy of anti-black racism and how that is manifesting itself today.
"Whether it is over-policing, police brutality, the unemployment rate of young black people – which is much higher than the general population – student dropout rates… these are all a legacy of how black people have been marginalized," she says.
Henry read a part from the book about Viola Desmond, who was a black businesswoman born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In the 1940s, Desmond fought for her right to sit on the main floor of a movie theatre after being told it was reserved solely for white patrons. Henry stressed that sharing a pioneering black activist's accomplishments and legacy show how the struggle for freedom has evolved over time.
Community's struggles not isolated
Another presenter, Nadia Hohn, demonstrated traditional African songs and dances during the book drive. Born to Jamaican parents, she is now an elementary school teacher and author and uses traditional music as a teaching tool for kindergarten children.
"We want our freedom and to live in dignity," she sang to the crowd, holding one wrist with the other hand, then taking them apart to demonstrate freedom.
"There are many different groups in Canada that have experienced different degrees of discrimination," Hohn said. "What happens to one group affects all of us in different ways. It might not be a direct impact, but it has ripple effects on others."
Similarly, improvements in one community also have a positive impact on others, she added.
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by Tazeen Inam in Mississauga
When you think of integrating refugees into a society, providing them with access to higher education is often considered less of a priority than food, shelter and medical care.
Some experts believe, though, that it's especially important both for the economy of the host country and for the long-term recovery of war-torn communities and states.
Over the past many years, the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa have displaced a large number of refugees aged 18 to 25 years old. These conflicts have resulted in crackdowns on universities in Egypt, closures of campuses in Yemen and Libya and bombings in Syria and Gaza, all of which have aggravated the plight of the educated youth.
According to Hans de Wit, professor and director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College, higher education for these refugees should not be considered a challenge, but an opportunity.
De Wit explains, "Higher education in particular plays an important role in stimulating the possibilities for alternative pathways [for] refugees rather than putting them into camps, where they cannot learn, work or do anything."
He continues, "The alternative is to use their pre-educational skills and educate them further."
"[With] education, you give them perspective. The trauma is worst when you don't give them any hope," he adds. "Many of them have lived in camps for years and the end result is that they cannot go back."
Refugees as an investment
De Wit's report, "The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Higher Education," suggests that politically-displaced victims, unlike economically-displaced refugees, are better educated and potentially easier to integrate in the labour market in receiving countries.
This label applies to the current refugees escaping Syria, Iraq and Kurdistan, many of whom have been forced out of their countries due to violent conflict.
The report, coauthored by research professor and founding director of the Center, Philip Altbach, further suggests that while these refugees are often seen as victims and an economic burden, they offer new talent to the host country in the long run.
"Many media reports feature articulate, English-speaking young professionals from the Middle East expressing their hopes to continue their education or obtain skilled jobs and contribute to European economies," it states.
The researchers argue that this is not merely advantageous for the refugees, but for the profile of the university they attend as well. It is a way to internationalize the campus, making it more competitive as a higher education institution.
Nadia Abu-Zahra from the University of Ottawa, says that be they students, researchers or professors, Syrian refugees are often top quality academics, and calls them an "intellectual wealth."
"Refugees either landing in Norway, Denmark or Canada — whoever gets the highest number of these academics will have an incredible increase in their intellectual wealth" she says.
She insists, "If you are wise you will incur them. Those [academics] fled their home countries, will stay connected to international trends and will not only give back to the host country, but to the world."
Importance of the "lost generation"
In another report on Syrian students and scholars living in Lebanon, Keith David Watenpaugh describes them as the "lost generation" of college-age students.
"The War Follows Them" states that there are up to 70,000 displaced university-age Syrian students in Lebanon. It estimates that only 10,000 of them are enrolled in Lebanese universities. Another 60,000 college-age Syrian refugees are living in Jordan and 70,000 are in Turkey.
Watenpaugh highlights the need for international policy changes regarding higher education and its role in the rebuilding of war-zones.
He states that "the war will end, but the young people who would be integral in rebuilding the country are being left behind."
Watenpaugh stresses the need for increased research and aid for these populations to help post-conflict countries rebuild successfully.
"The focus on elementary education is important, but we must ask who the Syrian teachers in the future will be if we neglect the university students now," says a UNESCO education specialist in the report.
Rebuilding for the future
In their report, "The Importance of Higher Education for Syrian Refugees," Sansom Milton and Sultan Barakat speak about the challenges of restoration and the importance of higher education for refugees: "The severe toll that regional conflicts have taken on higher education is further compounded by a failure to appreciate the strategic role of the sector in stabilizing and promoting the recovery of war-torn communities and states."
Their paper further emphasizes the abilities of the younger generation and says, "Higher education, properly supported, is able to act as a catalyst for the recovery of war-torn countries in the Arab world, not only by supplying the skills and knowledge needed to reconstruct shattered economic and physical infrastructure, but also by supporting the restoration of collapsed governance systems and fostering social cohesion."
Milton and Barakat are advocating for international policy changes regarding higher education.
These changes would involve greater protection of academic institutions in times of war, augmented university networks to promote academic solidarity and more funding to rebuild higher education in the aftermath of conflict.
This question will be debated by education leaders at the British Council's Going Global 2016 conference in Cape Town in May.
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by Amanda Connolly in Ottawa
On International Women's Day, equal rights experts say that cabinet gender equality, a prime minister who calls himself a feminist and social media campaigns such as #HeForShe help in the fight for women's rights in Canada and internationally, but that there is still a long way to go toward policy parity that translates into real progress.
In interviews with iPolitics, the heads of the United Nations Population Fund and Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights say that while there's greater awareness around issues of gender inequality than in the past, that still needs to translate into concrete action to improve the lives of women in Canada and abroad on issues like access to education, career opportunities and sexual and reproductive rights.
"It's not just about wearing a badge and saying 'He For She,'" said Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in reference to the viral social media movement spearheaded by UN Women and actress Emma Watson over the past two years."We have to do things — what are we doing at home and in the workplace environment to make sure that women are treated equally? We need to keep pushing."
Time to stop 'skirting around' the issue
Since the election of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his gender-balanced federal cabinet, there's been renewed attention domestically on the issues of gender equality and women's representation in politics.
Cabinet ministers including Environment Minister Catherine McKenna have sparked discussions over work-life balance and the challenges faced, particularly by women, by, for instance, late votes in the House. Former NDP MP Sania Hassainia, prompted debate on how to make public and work spaces more family-friendly when she brought her baby into the House of Commons during a vote in 2014.
It's these kinds of discussions that are vital to putting the issue of gender equality on the public radar, Osotimehin says, so that leaders prioritize "creating child-friendly spaces around the world and making sure that women don't lose their career growth."
"We have skirted around it for too long," he said. "We can talk about gender equality, but until we actually start doing things and confronting things, we aren't going to get there."
With a prime minister who calls himself a feminist, Canada is better placed than it's been in years to lead initiatives on gender equality not just at home but abroad, says the executive director of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights.
Sandeep Prasad says Monday's announcement for greater funding for sexual health education and family planning is an indication that the government isn't going to shy away from supporting gender equality globally, and the language used in the announcement of $81.6 million in funding for the UNFPA is a welcome change from how the past government approached women's sexual and reproductive health.
"This is the first time I can recall of the government referring to sexual and reproductive rights in full and indicating its support for those issues," Prasad said. "We're waiting for more steps forward, but we're taking note of this one and we're going to enjoy it."
While the former Conservative government's Muskoka Initiative on Maternal and Newborn Health was a strong step in helping save the lives of mothers and children, Prasad says it didn't pay equal attention to women who are not or do not want to become mothers.
"We saw a lot of [focusing on] women as childbearers and the initiative also prioritized the lives of mothers over other women," he said. "Agency and autonomy as central principles of sexual and reproductive rights are critical."
Canada poised to be leader around sexual rights
While International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Monday the government is having discussions around other initiatives specifically involving abortion, there was no timeline set for when or how the government plans to act on its support for the topic abroad.
Prasad said his organization is hopeful the government will commit to advancing abortion rights as part of its support for sexual and reproductive rights over the long term, but also pointed to things they can do at home in the short term.
In particular, improving access to RU-486 — otherwise known as the abortion pill — would be a significant step towards showing their commitment to women's reproductive rights, he said.
Health Canada approved the combination of drugs known commercially as Mifegymiso — which is really two pills of Mifepristone and Misoprostol — in June 2015 but imposed several restrictions on how it can be used.
Although the World Health Organization approves the drug combination for pregnancies up to nine weeks, Health Canada set the limit for use in Canada at seven weeks.
As well, doctors seeking to prescribe the drug must undergo specialized training to do so and there must be a registry kept of the doctors prescribing and pharmacists dispensing it.
Prasad says allowing Mifegymiso to be used up to ninth week of pregnancy would bring Canada in line with other allies and mark an important step in the government's willingness to ensure access to abortion services in Canada over the coming year as it continues to brand itself as a government bringing Canada back as a leader in the international community.
"I'm hoping that we will be moving towards a Canada that reasserts its place on the global stage and in Canada on the issues of women's rights and sexual and reproductive rights as well, and we can see more evidence-based discussion on these movements and what Canada does at home and abroad," he said.
"There's ample scope for greater political leadership for Canada in advancing sexual and reproductive rights."
Republished in partnership with iPolitics.ca.
by Tazeen Inam in Mississauga
The World University Service of Canada (WUSC) will double the number of refugee students it will sponsor in the coming academic year, which is good news for Syrian refugees seeking post-secondary education in Canada.
Michelle Manks, manager of the Student Refugee Program and Campus Engagement at WUSC says the number has been raised to accommodate students affected by the Syrian crisis.
"Each year, we usually sponsor about 80 students, but next year we are expecting over 160 students. Half of them will be coming from Middle East," she says.
One of the challenges in bringing Syrian refugees into the Canadian school system is that their academic strengths and needs are not the same. A majority of refugees have been living in camps for decades or were born in camps, whereas most Syrian students have been displaced more recently and as such have often spent more years in school.
Reem Alhaj, a WUSC sponsored student at York University in Toronto, feels fortunate that she was accepted into the program after escaping Syria six years ago, while her brother was trapped by the regime forces.
"I wanted to get my education. I have all my documents with me and my English is good," she says, commenting on why she was accepted to the program.
Universities' collaboration with WUSC
WUSC is a non-profit agency with headquarters in Ottawa that partners with dozens of Canadian universities and colleges. It has sponsored over 1,500 refugee students since 1978 from refugee camps all over the world.
Since 2010, it has worked with camps in Jordan and Lebanon, taking in students from Iraq, Palestine, Sudan and Somalia. It plans to target asylum-seekers in Malaysia and expand its services for Syrian students over the next few years.
"Syrian nationals are not from camps necessarily, because they are largely in urban contexts," Manks clarifies.
In response to the Syrian displacement, York University has agreed to contribute its own resources to sponsor an additional five WUSC refugee students starting in September 2016.
"It is a significant increase and likely to match the historic commitment of [the] University of British Colombia," says Don Dippo, faculty member and local adviser to the WUSC committee at York University.
At Ryerson University, these students are called "WUSC Scholars" says Abu Arif, coordinator for international student support at Ryerson University.
"We do not lower our academic standard to accept the students because if we do that they won't be successful here," says Arif.
Every year, Ryerson University absorbs one or two WUSC sponsored students. Next year it plans to accept more students from Syria.
"It depends on how much levy we have in our funds. It has to make financial sense," he adds.
Syrian students more prepared for higher education
After the finalization of applications, these students are invited to take a language test — either in English or French — and an interview to gauge their strengths.
"People studying in universities, for instance living in Damascus, are more prepared to begin studies here," says Dippo.
In terms of language, it's relatively tough for Syrian students who followed Arabic language curriculum to transition to school in Canada, but easier for students coming from camps that teach English or French.
For Syrians coming from an urban background, the transition process for them is often less jarring since they likely have attended school more recently and might already have university experiences.
In addition to upholding tough academic standards, the program does not have much leniency when it comes to missing documentation such as transcripts.
"Unfortunately, we are not able to accept students who don't have documents. It's the requirement of institutions," added Manks.
Support for students upon arrival
Universities and colleges have their own structures to provide academic support for arriving refugees. Faculty members and student committees often help them throughout their transition to Canada, meeting them at the airport and assisting them during their settlement period both on and off the campus.
"We also offer various programming and workshops for the students' transition period," says Arif.
This scholarship is unique in the sense that these students come in as permanent residents who are allowed to work in Canada or opt for student loans. This is important for those who hope to send money back to their families. Other international students require work visas to earn money in Canada and often return home after completing their studies.
While these refugee students do receive significant support, many still face challenges settling down at the institutions and in a new country.
After arriving in Canada in August 2014, Alhaj appreciated the WUSC team and says that they made her feel accepted; however, her fellow students struggled to understand her experiences.
"They have over-generalized the diverse crisis of Syria," she says.
"I had to face classification. I had lots of sympathetic responses, which are sometimes humiliating and lack empathy," Alhaj says.
Now in Canada without her family, Alhaj is working towards self-healing and is motivated to become involved in international affairs. Her dream is to become a member of a decision making body that can help her people back in Syria.
"I will try to do something about it. Syrians have suffered and fought too much for democracy," she concludes.
This content was developed exclusively for New Canadian Media and can be re-published with appropriate attribution. For syndication rights, please write to email@example.com
This content was developed exclusively for New Canadian Media and can be re-published with appropriate attribution. For syndication rights, please write to firstname.lastname@example.com
-- Canada's economic development minister Navdeep Bains at a Public Policy Forum economic summit


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Uses of GBIF in scientific research
For all researches, please visit our "Peer-reviewed publications" page.
List of publications
Bacon C, Look S, Gutiérrez-Pinto N, Antonelli A, Tan H, Kumar P et al. (2016)
Species limits, geographical distribution and genetic diversity in Johannesteijsmannia (Arecaceae)
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.
Four species are recognized in the understorey palm genus Johannesteijsmannia (Arecaceae), all of which occur in close geographical proximity in the Malay Peninsula. We hypothesize that overlapping distributions are maintained by a lack of gene flow among species and that segregation along morphological trait or environmental axes confers ecological divergence and, hence, defines species limits. Although some species have sympatric distributions, differentiation was detected among species in morphological and genetic data, corroborating current species delimitation. Differences in niche breadth were not found to explain the overlapping distribution and co-existence of Johannesteijsmannia spp. Four species formed over the last 3 Mya, showing that diversity accumulated within a short time frame and wide range expansion has not occurred, potentially due to a lack of time for dispersal or the evolution of traits to facilitate movement. An assessment of genetic diversity is presented and, as expected, the widest distribution in the genus harbours the highest genetic diversity.
Keywords: Malesia, Palmae, niche, phylogenetics, speciation
Huang D, Hoeksema B, Affendi Y, Ang P, Chen C, Huang H et al. (2016)
Conservation of reef corals in the South China Sea based on species and evolutionary diversity
Biodiversity and Conservation.
The South China Sea in the Central Indo-Pacific is a large semi-enclosed marine region that supports an extraordinary diversity of coral reef organisms (including stony corals), which varies spatially across the region. While one-third of the world's reef corals are known to face heightened extinction risk from global climate and local impacts, prospects for the coral fauna in the South China Sea region amidst these threats remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyse coral species richness, rarity, and phylogenetic diversity among 16 reef areas in the region to estimate changes in species and evolutionary diversity during projected anthropogenic extinctions. Our results show that richness, rarity, and phylogenetic diversity differ considerably among reef areas in the region, and that their outcomes following projected extinctions cannot be predicted by species diversity alone. Although relative rarity and threat levels are high in species-rich areas such as West Malaysia and the Philippines, areas with fewer species such as northern Vietnam and Paracel Islands stand to lose disproportionately large amounts of phylogenetic diversity. Our study quantifies various biodiversity components of each reef area to inform conservation planners and better direct sparse resources to areas where they are needed most. It also provides a critical biological foundation for targeting reefs that should be included in a regional network of marine protected areas in the South China Sea
Keywords: IUCN Red List, Marine biodiversity, Phylogenetic diversity, Rarity, Scleractinia, Species richness
Moyes C, Shearer F, Huang Z, Wiebe A, Gibson H, Nijman V et al. (2016)
Predicting the geographical distributions of the macaque hosts and mosquito vectors of Plasmodium knowlesi malaria in forested and non-forested areas.
Parasites & vectors 9(1) 242.
BACKGROUND: Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonotic pathogen, transmitted among macaques and to humans by anopheline mosquitoes. Information on P. knowlesi malaria is lacking in most regions so the first step to understand the geographical distribution of disease risk is to define the distributions of the reservoir and vector species. METHODS: We used macaque and mosquito species presence data, background data that captured sampling bias in the presence data, a boosted regression tree model and environmental datasets, including annual data for land classes, to predict the distributions of each vector and host species. We then compared the predicted distribution of each species with cover of each land class. RESULTS: Fine-scale distribution maps were generated for three macaque host species (Macaca fascicularis, M. nemestrina and M. leonina) and two mosquito vector complexes (the Dirus Complex and the Leucosphyrus Complex). The Leucosphyrus Complex was predicted to occur in areas with disturbed, but not intact, forest cover (> 60 % tree cover) whereas the Dirus Complex was predicted to occur in areas with 10-100 % tree cover as well as vegetation mosaics and cropland. Of the macaque species, M. nemestrina was mainly predicted to occur in forested areas whereas M. fascicularis was predicted to occur in vegetation mosaics, cropland, wetland and urban areas in addition to forested areas. CONCLUSIONS: The predicted M. fascicularis distribution encompassed a wide range of habitats where humans are found. This is of most significance in the northern part of its range where members of the Dirus Complex are the main P. knowlesi vectors because these mosquitoes were also predicted to occur in a wider range of habitats. Our results support the hypothesis that conversion of intact forest into disturbed forest (for example plantations or timber concessions), or the creation of vegetation mosaics, will increase the probability that members of the Leucosphyrus Complex occur at these locations, as well as bringing humans into these areas. An explicit analysis of disease risk itself using infection data is required to explore this further. The species distributions generated here can now be included in future analyses of P. knowlesi infection risk.
Keywords: Entomology, Infectious Diseases, Parasitology, Tropical Medicine
Diesmos AC, Watters JL, Huron NA, Davis DR, Alcala AC, Crombie RI, Afuang LE, Gee-Das G, Sison RV, Sanguila MB, Penrod ML, Labonte MJ, Davey CS, Leone EA, Diesmos ML, Sy EY, Welton LJ B (2015)
Amphibians of the Philippines, Part I: Checklist of the Species
Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 62(20) 457-539.
The herpetological fauna of the Philippines Islands is high in diversity and endemism, yet faces threats suc as habitat modification and loss, natural catastrophes, invasive speciesm hunting for food or the pet trade, and the spread of chytrid fungus. New species descriptions have been steadily rising since the early 1990s due to the increased sampling, an aareness of species boundaries based on phylogenetic studies, and changes in our understanding of what definesa species. Developing a complete species list for amphibians is essential for conservation planning and informed management decisions. Previous lists were derived in part from working compendiums, developed and distributed separately by RIC and ACD; these simpe lists focused on taxonomic and conservation status of the included species, respectively, but were of limited us for other purposes.
Keywords: Entomology, Infectious Diseases, Parasitology, Tropical Medicine
Ningthoujam S, Choudhury M, Potsangbam K, Chetia P, Nahar L, Sarker S et al. (2014)
NoSQL Data Model for Semi-automatic Integration of Ethnomedicinal Plant Data from Multiple Sources
Phytochemical Analysis 25(6) 495-507.
INTRODUCTION: Sharing traditional knowledge with the scientific community could refine scientific approaches to phytochemical investigation and conservation of ethnomedicinal plants. As such, integration of traditional knowledge with scientific data using a single platform for sharing is greatly needed. However, ethnomedicinal data are available in heterogeneous formats, which depend on cultural aspects, survey methodology and focus of the study. Phytochemical and bioassay data are also available from many open sources in various standards and customised formats. OBJECTIVE: To design a flexible data model that could integrate both primary and curated ethnomedicinal plant data from multiple sources. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current model is based on MongoDB, one of the Not only Structured Query Language (NoSQL) databases. Although it does not contain schema, modifications were made so that the model could incorporate both standard and customised ethnomedicinal plant data format from different sources. RESULTS: The model presented can integrate both primary and secondary data related to ethnomedicinal plants. Accommodation of disparate data was accomplished by a feature of this database that supported a different set of fields for each document. It also allowed storage of similar data having different properties. CONCLUSION: The model presented is scalable to a highly complex level with continuing maturation of the database, and is applicable for storing, retrieving and sharing ethnomedicinal plant data. It can also serve as a flexible alternative to a relational and normalised database. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords: ethnomedicinal plants, mongodb, nosql databases
Polgar G, Zane L, Babbucci M, Barbisan F, Patarnello T, Rüber L et al. (2014)
Phylogeography and demographic history of two widespread Indo-Pacific mudskippers (Gobiidae: Periophthalmus)
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 73 161-176.
This study provides a first description of the phylogeographic patterns and evolutionary history of two species of the mudskipper genus Periophthalmus. These amphibious gobies are distributed throughout the whole Indo-Pacific region and Atlantic coast of Africa, in peritidal habitats of soft-bottom coastal ecosystems. Three sequence datasets of two widely distributed species, Periophthalmus argentilineatus and P. kalolo, were obtained by amplifying and sequencing two mtDNA markers (D-loop and 16S rDNA) and the nDNA rag1 region. The three datasets were then used to perform phylogeographic, demographic and population genetic analyses. Our results indicate that tectonic events and past climatic oscillations strongly contributed to shape present genetic differentiation, phylogeographic and demographic patterns. We found support for the monophyly of P. kalolo, and only shallow genetic differentiation between East-African and Indo-Malayan populations of this species. However, our collections of the morphospecies P. argentilineatus include three molecularly distinct lineages, one of them more closely related to P. kalolo. The presence of Miocenic timings for the most recent common ancestors of some of these morphologically similar clades, suggests the presence of strong stabilising selection in mudskippers' habitats. At population level, demographic analyses and palaeoecological records of mangrove ecosystems suggest that Pleistocene bottlenecks and expansion plus secondary contact events of the studied species were associated with recurrent sea transgressions during interglacials, and sea regressions or stable regimes during glacials, respectively.
Keywords: Bayesian analyses, Fish morphology, Mangrove habitat, Molecular evolution, Periophthalmus argentilineatus, Periophthalmus kalolo
Wijedasa, L., Shee, Z. Q., Chia E (2014)
Conservation status and lectotypfication of Alangium ridleyi (Cornaceae) in Singapore | Lahiru Wijedasa - Academia.edu
Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 66(2) 233 - 239.
Alangium ridleyi King is lectotypied and the conservation status updated from Nationally Extinct to Endangered in Singapore and Endangered in Peninsula Malaysia
Keywords: Alangium ridleyi King, Endangered, lectotypicatio
Polgar G, Jaafar Z, Konstantinidis P (2013)
A New Species Of Mudskipper, Boleophthalmus Poti (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Oxudercinae) From The Gulf Of Papua, Papua New Guinea, And A Key To The Genus
The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 61(1) 311-321.
Boleophthalmus poti, new species, is described from the Gulf of Papua, Papua New Guinea. It is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of characters, including: un-notched, fl attened and horizontally disposed dentary teeth; pelvic-disc length ~10% of SL; D1 base length ~15% of SL; D2 base length ~40% of SL; ~5 interdorsal scale rows; ~110 lateral-scale rows; and the shape and colour pattern of the fi rst and second dorsal fi ns.
Keywords: amphibious gobies, boleophthalmus, fly river delta, oxudercine gobies, taxonomy
Record S, Charney N, Zakaria R, Ellison A (2013)
Projecting global mangrove species and community distributions under climate change
Ecosphere 4(3) art34.
Given the multitude of ecosystem services provided by mangroves, it is important to understand their potential responses to global climate change. Extensive reviews of the literature and manipulative experiments suggest that mangroves will be impacted by climate change, but few studies have tested these predictions over large scales using statistical models. We provide the first example of applying species and community distribution models (SDMs and CDMs, respectively) to coastal mangroves worldwide. Species distributions were modeled as ensemble forecasts using BIOMOD. Distributions of mangrove communities with high species richness were modeled in threeways: as the sum of the separate SDM outputs, as binary hotspots (with .3 species) using a generalized linear model, and continuously using a general boosted model. Individual SDMs were projected for 12 species with sufficient data and CDMs were projected for 30 species into 2080 using global climate model outputs and a range of sea-level rise projections. Species projected to shift their ranges polewards by at least 2 degrees of latitude consistently experience a decrease in the amount of suitable coastal area available to them. Central America and the Caribbean are forecast to lose more mangrove species than other parts of the world.We found that the extent and grain size, at which continuous CDMoutputs are examined, independent of the grain size at which the models operate, can dramatically influence the number of pseudo-absences needed for optimal parameterization. The SDMs and CDMs presented here provide a first approximation of how mangroves will respond to climate change given simple correlative relationships between occurrence records and environmental data. Additional, precise georeferenced data on mangrove localities and concerted efforts to collect data on ecological processes across large-scale climatic gradients will enable future research to improve upon these correlative models.
Keywords: climate envelope, community, global, mangal, sea-level rise, species richness
Harris J, Yong D, Sheldon F, Boyce A, Eaton J, Bernard H et al. (2012)
Using diverse data sources to detect elevational range changes of birds on Mount Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo
The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology(25) 197-247.
Few empirical studies have measured the effects of climate change on tropical biodiversity, and this paucity has contributed to uncertainty in predicting the severity of climate change on tropical organisms. With regards to elevational changes, most studies have either re-sampled historical systematic survey sites or analyzed time series of occurrence data at long-term study sites. Such data sources are unavailable for most tropical mountains, so other methods of detecting elevational changes must be sought. Here we combine data from published checklists, recent fi eld work, peer-reviewed literature, unpublished reports, birdwatchers' trip reports, databases of birdwatchers' observations, audio recordings, and photographs to compare historical (pre-1998) and current (post-2006) bird distributions on Mt. Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Records were carefully checked by experts on Bornean birds. More species are now known from Mt. Kinabalu, but historical data provided elevational range estimates for more species than current data because of extensive mountain-wide collections and surveys. Most elevational comparisons for this study had to be limited to the 1450–1900 m elevational band, where most of the recent work has been done. Information was compiled into an annotated list of 342 species from 200–4095 m. We present this list to encourage refi nement of the dataset and future work on elevational distributions on the mountain. Of 58 species with suffi cient data from 1450 m to the summit, 38 appear to have shifted their ranges (24 species upslope and 14 downslope). A total of 22 resident species have recently been observed above their published maximum elevation for Borneo. Some species that have shifted upwards, such as Chalcophaps indica and Pellorneum pyrrogenys, are now common or breeding at elevations above their published maximum. Fifteen species appear to have declined on the mountain, probably as a result of habitat loss outside the protected area. Several of the upslope shifts are probably attributable to climate change, but many downslope shifts may be artifacts of incomplete recent sampling. The upward shifts agree with the few other tropical range comparisons that have been published. Our approach demonstrates the viability of combining diverse data sources (of varying accuracy and bias) to detect distributional shifts from climate change.
Keywords: checklist, citizen science, climate change, habitat loss, range limit

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|Tampa, Fla.
|High School:
|Strawberry Crest HS
2017 (Junior): Appeared in the first five games on the season before a season-ending injury…was batting .364 with a .545 slugging percentage.
Sophomore (2016): Appeared in 61 games, starting 58…Ranked second on the team with nine home runs…Ranked third with a .539 slugging percentage…Set career highs in runs (37), hits (41), RBI (29) and walks (23)…Led the team in walks with 23…Went 2-for-3 with a run and RBI against Fordham…Was 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, a double and a home run against Jacksonville. Hit a home run in three straight games…Recorded 21 extra base hits.
Freshman (2015): Made first-career appearance in season opener against Hampton (Feb. 5) ... Collected first-career hit, run and RBI to go along with three steals in 9-1 win over Jacksonville (Feb. 7) ... Hit first-career home run against Marshall (Feb. 20) ... Posted first-career multi-hit game in 7-0 win over Maine (March 3) ... Had two hits, two runs and an RBI in 7-1 win over Portland State (March 6) ... Had a hit and scored two runs in 8-0 win over Boston University (March 13) ... Posted two-hit games against Hartford (March 17) and Houston (March 22) ... Hit three-run homer to set a new single-game high for RBIs in 8-7 loss at UConn (April 3) ... Had two hits and recorded third home run of the year in 3-2 win over No. 15 UCF (May 2).
High School:2013 Tampa Bay Player of the Year… Earned All-Suncoast First Team Honors … First Team Western Conference honors (2010-14) … Holds the record for most stolen bases for Hillsborough County Schools … Posted a .533 batting average her junior year and a .440 batting average her senior year… Honor Roll student at Strawberry Crest High School.
Personal: Full name is Mia Chantel Fung … Daughter of Angela Hernandez and Ryan Fung … Has one sister Bianca … Hobbies include softball and watching funny videos.


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Lil Durk Says He Ran Into Lil Jay and Was Outnumbered 4 vs 15 !
Description:DJ Akademiks Speaks on Lil Durk Saying he ran into Lil Jay in court and was outnumbered 4 vs 15.
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Higher Standards was a play written by Sander Cohen advertised as coming soon to Fleet Hall. It was most likely one of the propaganda-orientated plays produced by Cohen for Andrew Ryan, promoting the image that Rapture was on the "rise."
Advertisements can be seen in the multiplayer versions of Fort Frolic and the Kashmir Restaurant.


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His calming presence just before bedtime has been a godsend to the weary parents of young children.
Igglepiggle - a rising star of the BBC's CBeebies channel - helps lull toddlers to sleep with his songs and stories in the daily episodes of In the Night Garden.
Scroll down for more...
But families hoping to buy a replica Igglepiggle as a Christmas present are likely to be disappointed.
Shops are selling out of the cuddly toys as soon as they arrive and few extra shipments are planned.
Hasbro, which makes Igglepiggle, is said to have underestimated demand when placing orders with Chinese manufacturers earlier this year.
"The huge demand is beyond what the industry can supply," said Gary Grant of the Toy Retailers Association.
"The manufacturer has just never been able to catch up. They are selling out as soon as we get them in.
"The industry just cannot predict what is going to sell until the consumer walks in and asks for it."
He said the frenzy was similar to that seen for Teletubby toys at Christmas 1997.
The toy version of Igglepiggle, who always carries a comfort blanket and is described as energetic but vulnerable, costs £34.99.
Scroll down for more...
Toys based on other characters from his television show, In the Night Garden, are also selling well. They include Upsy Daisy and Ninky Nonk the train.
The programme, which is screened at 6.20pm, was dropped from CBeebies two weeks into its run earlier this year.
Complaints from parents led to the commissioning of two further series.
In the Night Garden, narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi, is described by its creators as a "magical picture book place that exists between waking and sleeping".
Its surreal content has seen it likened to The Magic Roundabout.
The show, aimed at children aged one to three, is made by Ragdoll Productions which is also behind Teletubbies, another CBeebies favourite.
The BBC will earn royalties for each Igglepiggle sold.
Mr Grant said toys associated with a summer movie hit, Transformers, are also in short supply.
Scroll down for more...
The Optimus Prime, which changes from a truck into a robot, sells for £39.99, while the Bumblebee car, with robotic movements and sounds, costs £79.99.
"The film's impact has been way beyond our expectations in terms of the volume of toys being sold," said Mr Grant.
His association released its list of the top 12 toys for Christmas yesterday. The roster is dominated by hi-tech gadgets which some traditionalists think can stunt children's imaginations.
That claim was rejected by Mr Grant who said: "A box of plastic bricks isn't enough now. The creative, imaginative side of play has embraced technology.
"It has moved toys into an arena where children are going to play with an item for much longer than in the past."
Among the current best-selling toys are figures from the BBC's Doctor Who television series. The company behind them, Character Options, is likely to have another hit with the release next month of a voice-controlled Dalek.
Costing £99, it recognises up to 40 commands and can stand guard outside a room.
Two board games have also been launched in time for Christmas. Are you smarter than a ten-year-old?, which is based on a Noel Edmonds TV series, competes for shelf space with Golden Balls, based on an ITV show fronted by Jasper Carrott.


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10. Waterfall Braids
These braids keep your hair out of your face, making that awkward growing stage easy to deal with. They look cute, but can also look sophisticated. They pair well with denim and flowing clothes. Add some flowers for a more bohemian look.
9. Fake Fringe
If you have enough hair to pull it off, a fake fringe is a great hairstyle that lets you enjoy shorter hair, but also puts all your mid-length hair to good use. This is a great look for date night.
8. Side Swept With Decorations
Mid length hair tends to look amazing when you sweep it all to one side. Put some texture in and hang a few beads or add some hair jewelery. You can even tie items into you hair for the ultimate fun and free look.
7. Beach Texture
Mix sea salt and water into a spray bottle before applying to your hair. Squirt and scrunch with a towel to get that beach look. This style also works well if you spritz lightly before walking out the door on a hot day.
6. Half Ponytails
Keep your hair out of your face but let it fall around your shoulders with a half ponytail. Make it look a little more professional by making it a half bun, or have fun with the texture. This is a perfect style for nights that need a light sweater.
5. Straight And Pulled Back
Leave the hair completely straight but pull parts of it back with bobby pins. Cross them over each other for better hold. Try and match the colors to your hair, or use the bobby pins to make a small statement.
4. Small Twin Tails
Twin tails or ponytails are super cute, they also work really well with mid length hair. Tease the ends a bit to make them super fluffy, or smooth them down for a much simpler look. These work great with flannel shirts and shorts.
3. Half Curled
Start curling below your ears, making sure to keep the curls at the same height all the way around your head. This is a fun style that runs very little risk of burning yourself when you are attempting it. You can pull the curls back into a quick ponytail or leave them loose.
2. Twists
Twist your hair around itself for a fun style that anyone can do. Loop them up with bobby pins or tie them off with small bands. Try not to do your whole head, but allow them to add flair to your normal hair.
1. Cascading Buns
Pull some of your hair into a bun and secure it with a ponytail holder. Then pull the rest of your hair back and arrange it around the bun so it cascades down and around. This looks different at every length, but can be very beautiful or super playful.


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A new TV ad backing Texas Gov. Rick Perry for president is bound to get some attention when it starts airing today in Iowa.
"What if we had a better option for president?" asks the ad from Jobs for Iowa, a new super PAC.
Perry, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, says he'll decide soon whether to make a White House bid in 2012. His supporters are already trying to gin up support for him in Iowa, home to the nation's first presidential caucus.
The ad was first reported this morning by Politico, which says the new group is spending less than $40,000 for two weeks of airtime on Fox News.
The spot stresses Perry's record of job creation, stating he "created more jobs" in Texas than "the other 49 states combined."
It's a direct shot at the rest of the already announced Republican field that includes former governors Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman, all of whom have touted their job-creation records in the campaign.
Perry told the Associated Press this weekend that if he runs for the White House, he'll emphasize job creation more than any other issue -- including issues such as abortion and gay marriage that have won him support over the years from social conservatives.
"The issue that is most important and most on people's minds is jobs," Perry told the AP.
"The candidate that Americans can get excited about, that truly understands that and can deliver that, I think, is a candidate that is really going to excite the imagination and get the juices flowing of the electorate out there," he said in the interview.
Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.
USA TODAY's Jackie Kucinich (@jfkucinich) and Fredreka Schouten (@fschouten) also contribute to the OnPolitics blog.


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Should any incorrect information be provided at the point of order (including but not limited to: Name, Address, Post Code) then we cannot be held responsible for any additional costs or non delivery.
No cannabis seeds
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text:
Living in Vancouver Canada playing bass guitar and taking pictures while developing (a) small video game(s) among other things.
Favourite genre of music: It would be faster to say what I don't like.
Operating System: Win 10 / Ubuntu
MP3 player of choice: Android phone atm
Wallpaper of choice: New one every week


text:
Afterwards we were attacked by three more Goblin groups. Each group had around 10 Goblins. During those attacks, Medea and I also joined the battle with our magics and repelled them. It was going smoothly until now but finally what I feared the most happened. The Main Street has been broken through. More than 300 Goblins was rushing towards the Lieber's Mansion. I said they would be fine before but I wondered if Surges and Chris were really fine?
"Rabbids-san, you focus on the ones who would attack from sides or rear gate. Give introductions to the females who are being hunted and drive them away."
Rabbids-san gave a response with a nervous voice.
I started the preparations for my magic as I stared at the front gate.
Goblins who saw the females with immodest outfits started to rush towards them without even blinking their eyes. When they entered the range of our magic, Medea and I defeated several of them with our Wind attributed magic. Five of them fall over because they stumbled on the defeated Goblins but when they were stepped on by their kins afterwards, they stopped moving. It was more effective than I expected but on the other hand, some of the Goblins could still break through with the momentum thus we had to face them head on.
When a Goblin was about to attack Kite, I finished the preparations of my next magic and fired it off. When I saw the Goblins who stumbled on the corpses of their kins and fell over, I came up with the idea of creating little ramps on the Main Street using Earth attributed magic. I managed to execute that plan and they started to fall over one after another. They were amusingly falling over and stopping moving when they were stepped on by their kins. However it was only only at the harrasment level thus it wasn't effective enough to affect the general situation.
Several minutes passed. Medea already used up her MP and was resting mentally. And also Goblins finally woke up from their excited state and started to detour the front gate.
"Kite, Larcus, around 20 Goblins started to detour the front gate and head to the sides."
Rabbids-san reported.
Damn it. Was Surges and Chris really defeated? If they didn't come soon, we wouldn't be able to hold up anymore.
Don! Don! Tto!
Sounds of Goblins smashing their bodies to the barriers were resounding. There were nobody who could support the barriers except for females and children. Thus it was only a matter of time before they were destroyed.
Furthermore, the worst possible situation happened.
Some of the Goblins broke into the Cystea's home. Cystea's family was one of the founding members of the Collet Village thus their house was at the center of the village where also Lieber's Mansion was located. Thus it was visible from our location.
I could clearly hear the gasping sound of Kite.
And then Cystea jumped out the window holding her sobbing younger brother in her embrace. However there were Goblins waiting there as well.
Kite's scream resounded around.
Just at that moment, unfortunately I had fired off my Fire attributed magic and created a gap between Goblins. Thus Kite abandoned his position and started to run towards her using that gap.
"Kite, wait!"
Kite probably didn't hear my voice. He kept on running while shouting the name of Cystea.
After she glanced back at me who was dumbfounded for a while, Tanya replaced Kite's position as a vanguard. However Tanya was not capable of standing the pressure of the Goblins.
"Step aside, Tanya. I will act as a vanguard."
"Young Master, please you concentrate on your magic. Young Master can defeat his enemies the most efficiently with his magic. Young Master is someone who will accomplish great things in the future. Please survive no matter what."
I had heard the words of "Young Master will accomplish great things." from Tanya after a long while. I had figured out Tanya's true intentions from these words. She was definitely planning to die.
I wanted to at least create a barrier around her thus I started the preparations of casting Earth attributed magic.
Meanwhile, Kite had arrived at the front of Cystea's house safely. He was swinging around his sword crazily and killing the Goblins that swarmed around Cystea. Cystea had sat down and tried to cover her body with her ragged clothes.
"Kite, thank you."
"No need to thank. How could I call myself man if I couldn't protect my bride?"
2-3 Goblins attacked again. The moment one of the Goblins smashed down its club, Kite moved and cut off its throat and faced the remaining two Goblins. This was a movement which was naturally performed thanks to his warrior instincts that were formed by his continuous repeated trainings.
However even though the Goblin died, his club didn't stopped falling down. And where it was falling…
Cystea emitted a mumbling sound after her face was smashed down with the club.
A desperate facial expression appeared on Kite face as he turned around. Even I could clearly see it. Kite was distracted by the sight behind him. But one of the Goblins thrusted his rusty sword at Kite's back without missing the chance. Furthermore the other one landed its club on his head. Kite collapsed beside Cystea.
Tanya was distracted by Kite's collapse for a second. She was already lacking the required ability and strength thus Goblins didn't miss Tanya's opening and pierced their swords into her stomach deeply.
"Young Mas…"
Before she could finish her words, sword and clubs rained on her and turned Tanya into a lump of meat.
"Kite! Tanya!"
My screams resounded around.
Currently there were many emotions whirling around inside me such as hatred, grief or dread. All kind of negative emotions were crowded around.
I was feeling hatred towards the Goblins who killed two of them. I was feeling grief for the deaths of those two. I was feeling fear for Medea and myself because it might have been our turn to be killed next.
Because of the torrent of my extremely emotions, my five senses were numbed. I could hear the crushing sounds of the barriers, I could hear the screams of the females and I could hear the sound of the approaching Goblins' footsteps but they were like coming from a far distance. However I knew this feeling.
It was the same feeling when I first used the Darkness attributed magic. Currently my magical power was wearing the Earth attribute but I started to pour my magical power into the Darkness Chakra without a care about it.
I was aware of what kind of spell it was going to be just like that time.
I projected it before both of my palms and I fired off the Darkness attributed magic as black laserbeams. The black beams penetrated through their bodies and created an unusual phenomenon at the Goblins in that straight lines. I started to turn my body around in order to kill more of them with the lasers but after turning around about 15 degrees, I was out of magical power.
(TL Note: Wow! Ironman appeared!)
The Goblins that were hit by my magic started to pull their faces out of dread and emit sounds similar to shrieks. They stopped moving, knelt down powerlessly, started to stare at the empty space with unfocused eyes and drools from their mouths. And then they started to gradually petrify in that state and in the end they turned into dust and disappeared into the thin air, only leaving behind their Monster Cores.
Apparently Goblin King was also hit by my magic. Thus Goblins fell into the confused state and started to be flustered. In this state, even females can repel them.
I heard Surges' voice. Apparently he was still alive.
When I looked towards there, I saw a person. He had a horn grown from his head, had wings behind him and had pointy ears. His ears were more pointed than an Elf. He had lost one of his arms and blood was dripping from his wound. He must be from Demon Race.
I lost my consciousness after that since I was out of magical power.
In my hazy consciousness, I recalled the prayer for the deaths which mother had chanted in the past.
(Oh mighty God Shiva who rules over the death! These people lived and died like that. They became souls and departed to God's realm. Cover up their sins with their merits and bless them in the other world.)
(I wish a safe trip for both of you. Tanya, thanks for everything you've done for me until now. Kite, be happy with Cystea in the other world.)


text:
Can't get home page to update (CMS)
Hi all,
I'm a complete beginner when it comes to WordPress and CMS so forgive my naivety!
I have a ready-made site (home grown!) that I want to equip for CMS to let a client easily update it. I downloaded WordPress after hearing great things about it and uploaded it to the server. Then, following a tutorial I set about creating a single editable page to test out.
I created homer.php from index.html and applied the following code in the relevant places:
<?php /* Template Name: Homer */ ?>
<?php if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?> <div class="post" id="post-<?php the_ID(); ?>">
<?php the_title(); ?>

 <?php the_content('
Read the rest of this page »
'); ?> <?php wp_link_pages(array('before' => '
Pages: ', 'after' => '
', 'next_or_number' => 'number')); ?>

 <?php endwhile; endif; ?> <?php edit_post_link('Edit this entry.', '
', '
'); ?>
I then went uploaded homer.php to wordpress/wp-content/themes/twentyten and went to Add New Page via WordPress, gave it the name Homer, type some random text into the body and chose Homer as a template. When I chose to preview it I saw the page aa intended however, index.html does not change at all.
I'm sure I'm missing something obvious but once I crash through this initial barrier I'm confident WordPress will become second nature to me!
Eager awaiting your much appreciated reply (and ham-fistedly introducing myself to the world of WordPress),
- The topic 'Can't get home page to update (CMS)' is closed to new replies.


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StartUpHire is the place to find jobs at Glendale startups. Review the list of Glendale career opportunities to the left. These Glendale, AZ jobs at startups represent some of the most rewarding careers available.
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Department:Support Services Location:Mesa, AZ START YOUR APPLICATION Edupoint Educational Systems, a "Top Companies to Work For" recipient is currently seeking a Customer Service Specialist (Level I) to join our growing team of professionals. This position will be responsible6/26/2017 Mesa, AZ Save This Job
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text:
10 October 2008,
London, King Street
Price realised GBP 15,000
Estimate GBP 12,000 - GBP 18,000
Localised spots of wear, some losses and damage, backed
9ft.4in. x 3ft.5in. (283cm. x 104cm.)
New York +1 212 636 2000
London +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Hong Kong +852 2760 1766
Shanghai +86 21 6355 1766
The overall repeat design of the double headed stepped arrow-head in the present rug is more often found as a secondary scatter motif. Despite the rarity of the motif, another rug within the Christopher Alexander collection employs the same motif within a primary repetitive design, (Christopher Alexander, op cit., pp.232-3). Both rugs use the same motif but through the use of colour create a further layer of interpretation. The apparent random selection of colours in the present rug leaves it open as to what might follow. The endless repeat design on the other rug however, has a definite rhythmic structure that is created through the use of diagonal lines of the motif but in just two colours; yellow and blue.
The lower part of this runner was in the Kircheim Collection (Heinrich E. Kircheim, Orient Stars, A Carpet Collection, Stuttgart and London, 1993, no.148, p.220) and was later sold in The Orient Stars Collection, Rippon Boswell, 2 October 1999, lot 62.
Special Notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
Christopher Alexander, A Foreshadowing of 21st Century Art, New York and London, 1993, pp. 259-262
San Francisco, 6th ICOC Exhibition, November 1990


text:
Wonderful time
Sail Date: January 01, 2007
Reviewed: 10 years ago
Traveled As: Couple
Room Type: Inside
Pros: The fun things to do
Recommends Carnival Victory? Yes!
Category Ratings
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|Service and Staff
|Malcolm our cruise director was the best but all staff were great.
|Food and Dining
|Ship Quality
|Cabin / Stateroom