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Liberty Media LMCA 1.043338683788122% Liberty Media Corp. Series B U.S.: Nasdaq USD37.77 0.39 1.043338683788122% /Date(1438700400268-0500)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 61 P/E Ratio 96.84615384615384 Market Cap 12853306854.7003 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 1224930 More quote details and news » investors could get a gift this holiday season that instills more than good cheer: the spinoff of Starz. The premium cable channel is one of the most valuable assets owned by Liberty (ticker: LMCA), the Englewood, Colo.-based holding company led by media maestro John Malone, who aims to complete the transaction by year end. Starz's valuation and growth prospects could improve significantly once it becomes a separate public entity. The spinoff also could unlock value at Liberty.
Spearheaded by the popularity of Spartacus, a television series about Roman gladiators, Starz increased its subscriber rolls by 9% in the latest quarter, to a record 20.8 million. Starz is worth an estimated $3 billion, or about $22 per Liberty share, a value that isn't reflected in the parent's $108-per-share stock price.
Liberty trades at a big discount to the estimated value of its portfolio of assets. That discrepancy could mean opportunity in coming months, as the company adds to some holdings and spins off others, beginning with Starz. Liberty management expects a $1.8 billion cash dividend from the spinoff, which could be used to boost other assets.
Barry Konig, a portfolio manager at Cumberland Associates, and his partner Andrew Wallach have been investing in Malone's companies for 15 years. Konig thinks the stock is worth $130 on a sum-of-the-parts basis. "We know him, like him, and trust him," he says.
Canaccord's Thomas Eagan puts the value at $125 (see table below), 16% above the current quote.
Warren Buffett sees value, as well. His Berkshire Hathaway BRKA -0.03747072599531616% Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Cl A U.S.: NYSE USD213420 -80 -0.03747072599531616% /Date(1438700341465-0500)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 18 P/E Ratio 17.651072341516475 Market Cap 351756506435.169 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 626152 More quote details and news » (BRK.A) added to its Liberty stake in the second quarter, according to a regulatory filing. Berkshire, the company's top institutional holder, now controls 5.5 million shares, or 5% of the company's outstanding shares. Malone owns 1.9 million shares.
Liberty Media was split from AT&T t -0.17311021350259664% AT&T Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD34.6 -0.06 -0.17311021350259664% /Date(1438701380335-0500)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2497435 P/E Ratio 34.62 Market Cap 213565619127.039 Dividend Yield 5.430387059503177% Rev. per Employee 525640 More quote details and news » (T) in 2001, with assets such as Discovery Communications (DISCA), the QVC TV-shopping network, and not least, Malone as chairman. Formerly known as Liberty CapStarz, it changed its name to Liberty Media in 2011, when it split off from Liberty Interactive (LINTA), owner of QVC. Malone is also chairman of Liberty Interactive, and his longtime lieutenant Gregory Maffei is chief executive of both companies.
Malone began spinning off assets such as Discovery and a 50% stake in DirecTV (DTV) in 2004. Today Starz is just one of the goodies in a diversified portfolio of equity stakes in profitable public and private companies. Liberty's holdings include a 26% stake in Live Nation LYV 0.41904761904761906% Live Nation Entertainment Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD26.36 0.11 0.41904761904761906% /Date(1438701368417-0500)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 43911 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 5285768382.39006 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 868349 More quote details and news » (LYV), the largest concert promoter in the country, and a 17% interest in Barnes & Noble BKS 3.7703016241299303% Barnes & Noble Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD17.89 0.65 3.7703016241299303% /Date(1438701382235-0500)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 288756 P/E Ratio 148.5 Market Cap 2003297989.53247 Dividend Yield 3.367003367003367% Rev. per Employee 180398 More quote details and news » (BKS). Earlier this year he offered to buy the bookseller outright, mainly to get hold of its Nook e-reader platform. Liberty also has $632 billion, or $5.25 a share, in net cash on its balance sheet.
But the company's most valuable asset is Sirius XM SIRI 0.6313131313131313% Sirius XM Holdings Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq USD3.985 0.025 0.6313131313131313% /Date(1438701380953-0500)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 4238982 P/E Ratio 44.388888888888886 Market Cap 21266379697.0481 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 1870320 More quote details and news » (SIRI), the satellite-radio operator, with 23 million subscribers. Liberty saved Sirius from a bankruptcy filing in 2009 with a $530 million loan, and received a 40% stake in return. That has grown to 49.8%, or more than $8 billion, exceeding 60% of Liberty's market value. Analysts figure Sirius is worth more than $70 per Liberty share.
A bet on Liberty in effect is a bet on Sirius, whose prospects are attractive. Barton Crockett, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets, sees Sirius' market penetration and profit growing sharply in the next few years, as the number of cars with Sirius radio climbs to 150 million from 50 million now. Sirius shares are up 51% this year, to $2.74. Crockett thinks the stock could hit $3.50 in a year.
Liberty is awaiting regulatory approval to take full control of Sirius, which could come this year or early in 2013. It's likely to spin off Sirius, perhaps as early as next year.
LIBERTY SHAREHOLDER Ian Shaffer of Galliant Capital Management in Montreal thinks Liberty Media's shares will trade up as the company gets closer to attaining 100% of Sirius. Investors, he notes, could end up owning shares in three separate companies—Starz, Sirius and Liberty. As spinoffs increase the transparency of all three, investors are likely to accord each a higher valuation. Until then, Liberty shares are likely to sell well below net asset value because the market typically discounts holding companies, given the difficulty in assessing their varied assets.
The Bottom Line
Liberty has been penalized by Wall Street for its holding-company structure, which makes it hard to tease out asset value. Shares trade for $108 but could be worth $130.
Fueled by gains in Sirius and Barnes & Noble, Liberty Media's shares hit a 52-week high of $116 early last month and are up 38% for the year. Shares took a hit recently when the company reported mixed results for the third quarter, with revenue rising 3%, to $555 million, while operating income was flat at $111 million. For the full year, analysts expect the company to earn $940 million, or $6.91 a share. But earnings aren't the point with Malone, who for decades has structured his companies and deals to avoid taxes, making money for shareholders every step of the way.
Says Andrew Weitz of Weitz Funds, which owns several Malone-related vehicles, Liberty is best viewed as a "public private-equity fund" led by managers with a "fantastic" track record. Investing alongside them could yield handsome results once again.
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


text: During our stay at hotel La Butte aux Bois, we decided to have dinner (3 nights) at this restaurant. The food is excellent, a diverse and well balanced menu and in addition a wine list which is outstanding AND affordable for all. Extremely friendly staff which we hope is appreciated by the... read more


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A letter to the editor of the Financial Times from Professor Steve H. Hanke.
Sir, In his response to Benn Steil (January 5), Thomas Willett (Letters, January 11) correctly concludes that Milton Friedman's scholarly work "led to the sharp swing in professional opinion toward floating exchange rates". But Prof Willett implies that Milton Friedman opposed fixed exchange rates and dollarisation. Friedman's positions on exchange rates are clear: for major currencies, central banking and flexible exchange rates; as for developing countries, he opposed central banking and advocated either currency boards (fixed exchange rates) or dollarisation.


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Temporarily Out Of Stock
Item # VHR0020
Don't get too bummed. This item is on the way and will be available for purchase as soon as it rolls into the warehouse.
Can't wait? Consider one of the other Camera Accessories & Mounts we have in stock.
Contour Rotating Flat Surface Mount $0.00
Use the Contour Rotating Flat Surface Mount to attach your Contour helmet cam to your lid ... that is, if you want to give others a peek at your view as you tear down pow-filled chutes, single-track trails, or dive off of 50-story office buildings.
Tech Specs
Reviews & Community
What do you think of the
Contour Rotating Flat Surface Mount
? Share a...
Jeff Guest
Good adjustable sticky mount
- Familiarity: I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions
This is a good mount for sticking on your helmet or another surface and being able to adjust the camera angle with a simple click, twist, click. Put it on the top of your helmet and film forward, backward, or to either side.
Joe Hoffman
It works
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
pretty versatile mount. I have one on my snow helmets, climbing helmet, a firefighting helmet, and water helmet. All the mounts are stuck on tight and not coming off anytime soon.
Mark McDonnell
Works well
- Gender: Male
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
Mounted to my ski helmet. Held tight.
can this mount on a side of a helmet?
can this mount on a side of a helmet?
For others since this is a old question.
Yes this can be mounted just about anywhere, even with some curve on a helmet.
On the side it's up/down and not side to side, which could be easier to mount to get the perfect angle.
Gone Fishing
These work ok if you have a very flat surface to mount them to. You can buy extra adhesive pads so if you want to move them or share it you can. The surface must be clean and little to no curves or it will not adhere to it.


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Ky. police get nearly $60K for body armor
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security has awarded nearly $60,000 in grants to 11 law enforcement agencies to purchase body armor.
The money is coming from the sale of confiscated weapons.
Homeland Security Executive Director Gene Kiser said the goal is to supply law enforcement officers the tools they need to carry out their jobs.
Full Story: Police get nearly $60K in grants to buy body armor


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Shawnee marina upgrade planned
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- The State Controlling Board has approved a $2.3 million project to build a marina at Shawnee State Park in Scioto County, according to State Rep. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott.
The controlling board has approved $2,303,860 for the project, according to a news release.
A public marina near the golf course will be renovated and a new floating dock, anchorage systems, dock utility services and other associated infrastructure will be included in the project.
The current docks have deteriorated due to age and some sections aren't able to be securely reopened to the public, according to the release. Improvements to modernize and allow for better access for the disabled also will be made.
"With Shawnee State Forest and the Ohio River, we have premium natural resources in Southern Ohio and we must do all we can to encourage tourism, development and jobs," Johnson said in a prepared release. "I am also working hard to get much-needed improvements done to the Holiday Point Marina in Franklin Furnace. These key infrastructure improvements will do much to rejuvenate our recreational boating and tourism industries."
The marina has 75 seasonal docks. The state park has 1,095 acres and is located inside the 63,000-acre Shawnee State Forest.
The Herald-Dispatch welcomes your comments on this article, but please be civil. Avoid profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, accusations of criminal activity, name-calling or insults to the other posters. Herald-dispatch.com does not control or monitor comments as they are posted, but if you find a comment offensive or uncivil, hover your mouse over the comment and click the X that appears in the upper right of the comment. If you do not want your comment to post to your personal Facebook page, uncheck the box below the comment.


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South African retailer; Shoprite on Thursday opened its second outlet in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, as part of an aggressive expansion drive.
The store is situated in the Silverbird Entertainment Center, by Musa Yar'Adua centre, Central Business District, Abuja.
When Daily Trust arrived at the store at 9:00 am, tenths of Nigerians were already thronging the mall as it opened its doors.
Private security guards searched vehicles and customers as they stepped in to shop.
The new venture brings to nine the number of Shoprite stores in Nigeria. A further three of the shops which sell food, goods and clothes are slated to open before the end of the year.
The Branch Manager of the store, Vivien Iberi said the company's target was to open 44 branches in Nigeria.
While assuring customers of their safety, she called on Abuja residents to patronize the shop for quality and cheap products.
"Shoprite is known for low prices, Shoprite is known for quality products and we intend to offer our customers that service and much more.
"This is different from the first (store) because it's in the heart of the city. It is located in a place where you come from the North, South, West and East of Abuja to shop," said the Branch Manager.
She assured that the prices of commodity are the same with those of other branches in the country.
All the customers spoken with were excited to have the supermarket in the centre of the city.
Francis Oga said he was attracted to the shop because of the friendly price of commodities while Ugochukwu Nwobi noted that: "With Shoprite, you are sure of better quality and good price. They sell cheaper than most supermarket around."
Another customer; Josephine Abraham said: "I'm shopping here because it is closer to my house. They have the best price for products and I will advise other people to come and shop with them."
Shoprite has 1,800 outlets worldwide and its expansion in Nigeria is a sign of growing foreign interest in Africa's second-biggest economy.


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Greg Park, who came to Xavier as its first-ever athletic business manager in 1988, is the associate athletic director for business. Park came to Xavier after spending 11 years as the internal auditor for the Cincinnati Reds. Park has been an integral part of the athletic department expansion from 27 in 1998 to 85 in 2012.
Park, 64, has the authority and responsibility for the management of the athletic department's business and personnel policies. Other financial activities involve the department's cash flow management, budget controls, departmental purchases, insurance policies, personnel supervision and special projects. Greg also serves as the department's liaison with the business community. He took on additional responsibilities in 1997 through 2005 as the administrator for the rifle team, which finished second at the 2000 and 2003 NCAA Championships.
Park was the College Athletic Business Management Association district six representative from 1997-2002. During 2001 he was elected first runner-up in CABMA's national election for Business Manager of the Year. Park received his master's of business administration degree in management from Bowling Green State University in 1972 and his bachelor's degree in business administration from Wittenberg University in 1970.
Park lives in Anderson Township with his wife, Pam. His son Dr. Logan Park, is married to Dr. Emi Park, a veterinarian. Logan is an assistant professor in environmental studies at Southern Illinois University. His daughter Megan is married and is an elementary school speech pathologist in Anderson Township. Megan and husband Ben, who teaches middle school studies and coaches football, have a son, Peyton, and a daughter, Taryn.


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What about Muriel's? They should have been showcased also. Great food and ambiance. That's is where we are celebrating on Valentine's Day, it is our 31st wedding anniversary.
Lassiez Les Bon Temps Rouler
Hey IowaCajun, I am a Nebraska Cajun, know what you mean.. lol But thye love my cooking anyway. lol
Hey IowaCajun, I am a Nebraska Cajun, know what you mean.. lol But thye love my cooking anyway. lol
My best friend Debbie makes the best peas with a roux. I could eat that as a meal.
My best friend Debbie makes the best peas with a roux. I could eat that as a meal.
To think, 14 years ago we lived on Ave D. That was the one place I always felt safe for my family and myself. At the time, most of our neighborhood was majority elderly and could not imagine anyone wanting to kill anyone on that block. People need to wake up and take stock of their selves, are you really that happy being filled with hate and anger?
This is the real world we have all created ourselves, through not caring about anyone, anything and not taking responsibility for one's actions.
It's a sad sad world we live in today!
Yesterday on the West Bank in Marrero, gas was $1.65 a gallon don't know the names, but one was on Westwood, the other across the expressway in front of the old Nicholson & Loup store. Geez, I just went back ions ago! LOL
Maybe the citizens of New Orleans should file some type of Class Action suit against the City of New Orleans and demand to know where the heck their "hard earned tax dollar's" are going and to whom.
As long as the people allow, it will continue.
The streets are pathetic, education, well, heck won't even go there, I mean what the hell, it seems like everyone just does not give a crap about anything, anyone, or even life itself. This is a city I have loved my whole life, bragged about all it had to offer, the warm southern hospitality we offered to those who came to visit. Now I have to try to defend our City to those that read and see what is going on here. People, Wake Up, we are the laughing stock of the Country.
Ask yourself one question, Do you really care about your home, your City, your Family? This affects everyone, no matter how much you make, whether you are on Public assistance or not, or the color of your skin. You know, I am Native American from both parents along with French ancestry as well. I wish I could call the race card and get what is deserving of our heritage. But hate is fruitless, what does it get you? Not a freaking thing but a miserable life. See what I am getting too, it doesn't matter about the color of our skin, we are all being screwed! The only way good is going to happen if if the hate stops. The cycle has to stop somewhere!
Why does everyone want to be so damned mad all the time? Okay, I am getting off my soapbox, I just get so tired of all this racism BS. I even jump my friends azzes when they do it.
Life is to Short!
One thing I have learned as a child, it does not matter how nice they are, how they help our neighborhoods, how well they are at their job or what job or position they hold, molesters can live in your house and you may not even know it!! Believe me, they hide it good, and make sure they scare you enough that you either to afraid to tell, or that because of who they are no one will believe them and will and can get away with. But above all else, eventually they get their day!! I have seen it first hand. Every damn dog gets his day! They will just love him in prison if he gets convicted, a cop and a child molester, oh yeah, he will get his due!
When it comes to children having their innocence taken from someone whom they place their trust, in my opinion, they are guilty until proven innocent. I can care less what others think of my post, just do you know. I don't get in to pizzing contests on these forums, I just state my opinion and or feelings on certain issues. This one is personal, because I was once a victim of child molestation of a trusted person. 10 years of therapy and building self esteem and realizing that it was not my fault paid off. Everyone can overcome and become a productive citizen after such a horrible experience. Never sweep it under the table and listen to your children when they talk to you.
Posted by destiny08 on 10/22/08 at 10:26AM
I know this officer from my community and to be honest, I'm not totally convinced by this arrest. NOPD has been known to arrest officers for all sorts of things that never made it to court because of various reasons for example the officer they arrested twice for rape and he was cleared twice by DNA. NOPD arrested him on a sketch picture..WTH!
This case could be total "LIE". I would wait to hear the outcome before judging him..
If you have a land line and answering machine or if you have a fax machine. Call your house from a cell phone. If your machine answers, you have power! Told that to a friend of our's. Never crossed their mind to do that!
Good Luck
At least you don't live in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes.... You know what they are going through, this area went through it for Katrina and Rita. Most of you have a home to go to!
Just like Katrina, I have family that has lost everything once again, that live down the bayou.
You also have to realize that most power companies will give you a time span of power restoration only because if they say tomorrow, you expect tomorrow. If it's not restored then, everyone whines.
So put your big boy and girl pants on and be thankful you have a home!
This is our home and where we choose to live, so we have to take the good with the bad and hope for the best. Other than that run for public office and help make it better for everyone!
Amazing, the people's tax dollars at work, once again. It's very, very sad when those that are suppose to enforce the law, don't abide by the same laws. Wonder what would have happened had he caused an accident with injury.. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was late for work and you were in the way", so you will be ticketed, for causing an accident, because you were driving the speed limit!!
With all the traveling we do around the country, you would be amazed of how people think we are so backwards and such a laughing stock.
You would be amazed at who I know and what I know!
I don't mudsling, I call it like I see it and I don't get in pi$$ing contests with know it alls or anyone else for that matter. If only we lived in a perfect world, with perfect people, what a wonderful
life everyone would have.
You know what they say about opinions, well, we all have one!
From what I read after Katrina about the Levee Board and their annual checks on the levees, let's see it was 20 minutes on the levee and most of the rest of the day was at The Red Maple!! Whose dollar do you think they were on? Their own? yeah, right!
Look into the backgrounds of most of these great engineers and business men. Believe me, not all of them are honest law abiding citizens. Why the spouses, well, because, someone has to hide the $$$'s. Not all all scoundrels, but not all are honest either. So what do the people of this state want, to pi$$, moan and groan about what has to be disclosed or do you want to move forward? It won't get right in one day, or year, but it has to start somewhere.
It cost us $300.00 for 2 motorcycle police escorts for our daughter's wedding. Seems it's cheaper to escort larger vehicles than 2 limos from hotel to church, church to reception... Go figure! They have a dept to call specifically for an escort. The church gave us the number.
I would love for it to be my sis in law. She is someone who deserves to have a comfortable life after all her years of raising her 6 children without no help from her husband! She has always been a giving person and never asking for nothing in return.
It's not going to happen until people take responsibility for their driving actions instead of trying to get away with violations with friends of the law enforcement officers and giving BS info to their insurance companies. As long as people get away with it, it will never stop. And you wonder why car insurance rates are out of the wazoo for La, heck all over, because everyone is so much in a hurry they get careless and are very discourteous when on the highways and interstate. No signal lights are hardly used when turning much less when changing lanes, on cell phones talking or texting, reading, eating, has anyone noticed what kind of society we have created with all this?
We are still fighting with a lie on the police report stating there were no witnesses at the accident scene in which my daughter and her fiance' were in. The witness was there for an hour and was never acknowledge by the St Charles Parish deputy and State Police officer whom St Charles called in, and they were told on 3 different occasions, that this person was a witness to the whole incident. He witness the other car speeding down Airline before she caused the accident. He pulled to the side of the road to avoid being hit by her. I guess she never realized she could have been killed herself for such irresponsible driving. When I looked over to where this accident happened
and see the water standing on that side, I just shiver thinking, it could have been my 4 year grandson without a mother or father.
All I can say is "God Does Not Sleep", and one day she might have a child of her own, then let "her" walk in my shoes..
It's time we all slow down and show a little courteousness on the roads. We are all someone's child!!!


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Is Long an elite left tackle now? No. Is he the player he was several years ago? No. Does he deserve 10 million per season? NO!!! Let someone else pay him that much!!!
Please God, let me see 1 Dolphins Superbowl victory before I die.
My question for those who want him is why pay him money when the last 2 seasons he has ended on IR? I could see giving him money if he was not a HUGE injury risk but the reality is this guy is only going to get worse IMO. THe body doesn't typically get stronger the more you play, it weakens. Armando's comparison to Boselli is spot on. Why resign someone who is an injury risk to play an important role on the team? Let him walk and replace him plain and simple.
I gotta go look at some Tackles in the draft now....
1. Melvin Gordon RB
2. Bernardrick McKinney ILB
3. Steve Nelson CB
4. John Miller G
5. Adrian Amos FS
5. Kenny Bell WR
i would love to keep him for 4mill a year for 3 years.other than that i think we over pay.its like going in to the ca dealer and he tells you he wants top dollar for that used car
I'm starting to think good o-line play has as much to do with scheming and play calling than having elite players there. Not saying you can get away with having 5 marc columbo's, you need competent players but I don't think you need 5 all pros either.
I think Martin will be fine at LT. Incogs is probably a goner, he makes too much and doesn't fit the scheme. I'm really curious to see how Jerry handles this offseason, did the new coaching staff get through to him or is he back to eating 100 cheeseburgers a day? Theres a good chance we'll be looking at 3 new faces on the o-line next season.
A lot of you guys need to get over the 15 million dollar tag #. Building a team is not about money it is about managing your cap situation on a year to year basis. I made a post earlier as this being the last possible option of three. The reason teams use the cap and and players hate it is because it is a cap friendly team friendly tool. If the team is not comfortable with the tackle position going into free agency and beyond the tag is a great way to protect yourself. If you have doubts about Jake's health but have concerns about what will happen if he is not here next year you can sign him and attempt to solve the problem for 2014 in the draft, while not causing long term cap issues. Tagging him will cost us cap space in 2013 but there is plenty of room and we need not blow the space on players in 1 year.
I bet you ask any GM what to do with Jake with these following statements in mind, What to do with Jake Long?
1. You can't sign Jake for a 3-4 year deal for 8-10 million per year.
2. Similar talent for same price is not available.
3. Draft is the draft.
4. You have 40+ mil in cap space for upcoming season
5. Have holes at WR, CB, Oline, on your current roster.
95% of them say tag him.


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There was no doubt who the best baseball team in the 3A Tri-Peaks League was after Saturday's crossover was finished at Palmer Ridge.
Lamar (15-4) played like the name across the front of its jerseys. The Savages were relentless in a 12-2 victory over The Classical Academy (14-5) in the championship game to earn the conference title and most likely host a district next weekend.


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The Coles MBA program is extremely flexible. You can tailor your education to your own pace and interests. You can move through the program in 12 months by taking a full slate of classes each term, or in several years by taking just a class or two each semester. You can concentrate electives in one particular field of study, or dabble as your interests lead you.
As such, you control your MBA experience.
Core Courses:
All Coles MBA students take the following seven courses. The first six are the core courses, the seventh is our Capstone course. Two sections of each of these courses typically are offered each academic term. Students should take the core course in a particular discipline prior to taking electives in that area.
Paired Core:
The core courses form the foundation of your MBA degree. To facilitate progress through them, we've set a schedule several semesters in advance.
The six courses are arranged into three pairs:
Each Fall and Spring terms, these pairs will be offered on the same night in the same classroom. The evenings on which they are offered will rotate each term.
By utilizing the paired core, our students can:
Fall '10
Spring '11
Fall '11
Taking Courses Outside of the Coles College of Business MBA Program
All Coles College of Business MBA students are eligible to register for any non restricted KSU offered course. However, all KSU offered courses do not necessarily count as credit towards the MBA program. As stated in the Graduate Catalog, "A maximum of one business-relevant three-credit-hour course may be taken in a Kennesaw State University graduate program outside of the Coles College of Business with written permission from the director of the program and from the academic coordinator of the Coles College graduate programs." In the event that one non MBA course has been transferred into the program, MBA students can still register for courses outside of the MBA program, including undergraduate courses. However, these extra courses will NOT count toward your MBA degree.
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DWTS Season 14: The Top 11
Stars honor their most memorable year
SAN ANTONIO - They made it through the first elimination, now the top eleven couples take on a new dance. I'm hoping the really good scores continue at that we see a perfect score this week. If that doesn't happen, I will write off this cast as a bunch of lucky wigglers who fooled the judges the first two weeks. The theme for the week: the most memorable year. Let's see what happened.
Jack & Anna – Samba
Jack's year is this one. He met his daughter. Trying. Not. To. Cry. Jack is also getting to dance to one of his songs. Oh, this looks like it could go wrong from the beginning. Jack is standing on the judge's table, holding a guitar. Totally not necessary. I want this to be good. It's kind of wild. It was almost like a freestyle dance. It was fun, but I'm not sure it's going to be good enough to climb to the top of the leaderboard.
Len said he had a couple of happy pills before the show. He liked Jack's rhythm. He loved the choreography. He said it was Jack's best dance. Bruno said Jack got the party started. He said Jack's timing is better. Carrie Ann said Jack is a great dancer with clean, neat moves. She wants more.
Maria & Derek – Rumba
Maria's year was her childhood when she would go to work with her parents. Her song is "Material Girl." It's the slowest version of the song I've ever heard. If not for the super close camera shots, I would say these two kissed – but I'm almost certain they didn't. I know this is the second dance of the night, but it's the sexiest so far. And it rocked it! WOW! So pretty and elegant!
Bruno said, "I felt it." Derek said, "I felt it, too." Bruno said, "I bet you did, you naughty boy." Then, he said the dance had fluidity and sensuality to a song that did not have rhythm. He called that the melodic line. I think. Carrie Ann said it was the vertical and horizontal expression of the true horizontal desire. Len said it was a mix of the ballroom and the bedroom. He said Maria's technique was really good.
Gladys & Tristan – Fox trot
Gladys's year was 1957. That was the year of her first tour. She was just 13! She's dancing to Sam Cooke's "Cupid." I could watch Gladys dance forever! She's really good – and I'm not just saying that for her age. She looks like a natural out there. If she has any nerves, she doesn't show it. So much fun to watch her in these light dances!
Carrie Ann said Gladys's frame was elegant and uplifted. She said Gladys dances like she sings – soulful, rich and divine. Len said they're the same age, but he realizes the amount of work and dedication it takes to dance each week. He liked the flow of the dance. He said her frame has improved. Len asked to be a Pip. Bruno stood up to show off Gladys's frame. He said she absolutely gorgeous.
Roshon & Chelsie - Samba
Roshon's most memorable year was 1996 – the first time he saw Michael Jackson on stage. Side note: I. AM. OLD. His song is the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back." I don't know how much samba was in this dance, but I absolutely loved it! Roshon may be my favorite star I've never heard of to dance in this competition! He's just adorable!
Len liked the flair and the Michael Jackson tribute. He wanted to see a little more traditional samba. He liked Roshon's "give it 100% attitude." Bruno said Michael Jackson would love the dance. He said he thought he was watching Michael Jackson. Carrie Ann said it was a great tribute to Michael Jackson. She said some of the moves in the transition threw off Roshon's timing.
Gavin, His Hat & Karina – Rumba
Gavin chose Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" because that reminds him of deciding he wanted to become a musician. Uh oh. Another dance that starts with a star and a musical instrument that is not being played. Thankfully, the dance was better after that. Gavin's best dance so far. His hat might need to work a little harder.
Bruno noticed Gavin has hips. He said Gavin extended his moves beautifully. He said Gavin needs to work on his turns. Carrie Ann said her heart was going all fluttery for Gavin. She said his moves were sexy and strong. Len said the rumba is so slow that every detail is shown. He saw good hips, more musicality through Gavin's arms, he didn't mind the pivots and he saw progression.
Katherine & Mark – Waltz
Her year was 1996 – when Katherine learned her father had lung cancer. SERIOUSLY? I cannot handle tears at this hour! Her song is Josh Groban's "To Where You Are." Wow. This is the kind of dance I expect to see in the final weeks of the competition. Katherine is lovely and graceful. I cannot believe she's not a dancer. She is incredible!
Carrie Ann said, "Your dad is definitely smiling down on you." She was crying. Katherine was crying. Len said the waltz was danced with grace and elegance. He said there wasn't enough dancing in ballroom hold. He said Katherine is great in hold, so if there's another dance like this, he wants Mark to remember that. He said Katherine is a wonderful dancer. Bruno said Katherine is sensational.
SCORE: 29 (Len was the only one to give them a 9)
Sherri & Val – Rumba
Sherri's most memorable moment was when her son was born prematurely – with MANY health problems. DWTS, YOU ARE KILLING ME! I CAN'T CRY BEFORE BED! I WON'T BE ABLE TO OPEN MY EYES IN THE MORNING! Sherri was emotional – but she went from moments of sadness to lip synching to smiling. I think Val might have done more rumba than Sherri. Maybe it was the commercial break between her taped set-up and the dance that lost me (FF can take a lot out of a girl).
Len appreciated the emotion in the dance. He thought she did a great job. Bruno said "Momma can move." He said it was very well expressed. Carrie Ann said Sherri lets every emotion into her dance. She loved Sherri's lines.
Melissa & Maks - Jive
Melissa's most memorable year was 2010. She fell and broke her back. I cannot believe she could hardly walk and now she's dancing! She's dancing to "Dog Days Are Over." I'm waiting for jive. Oh, there it is. I think. Wait. Maks is doing it. Melissa's barely getting her feet up. I think she worked harder to take out her ponytail at the end of the dance. Maybe these stories of personal tragedy are too much for me to love the dances?
Bruno said Melissa put the raunch into the jive. He said she dances beautifully with Maks. Carrie Ann loved it. She said she saw no nerves. Len said Melissa has come into the competition.
Jaleel & Kym - Rumba
Jaleel's most memorable year was the year he played Steve Urkel's alter-ego: Stefon Urkel. He said it showed a new side of himself. If Jaleel's channeling any of his characters in this dance, it's Stefon. This was cool and smooth. And I liked it!
Carrie Ann said it was good. She said Jaleel has a very unique style. Len said he thought it was a competent performance. He said Jaleel had his hips going, but his upper body wasn't expressive enough. Bruno said Jaleel played cool, well and smooth. Jaleel cried before getting his score. He said he loves entertaining people and just wanted to get through this week.
William & Cheryl – Salsa
William's memorable year was 1995 – the year he came to the United States. He grew up in Cuba. William's shirt magically popped open at the start of the dance. See, ladies? If you wish something and you concentrate hard enough, it can happen! I was just about to be sad that they messed up when Cheryl was doing spins under William's legs, but it looked like it was part of the dance. This was one of the happiest performances of the night! (Not just because William was open-shirted)
Len said William put "a whole new meaning into 'Free Willie.'" He said William conquered the salsa. Bruno wanted William to come closer. All Bruno got was a little hand holding. He said it was amazing. Carrie Ann said it was ridiculously hot. She caught Cheryl's mishap.
Donald & Peta – Rumba
Donald's memorable year was 2010. His best friend died from cancer. Annnnnd I'm crying. Again. Jeez. Louise. I'm a mess. I'm so glad this isn't a video blog. This had moments of grace. But there was something about Donald – like he didn't open up or his shoulders were tight. Maybe he wasn't following through all the steps. Or maybe I'm just getting tired. I didn't love it, but I did like it.
Carrie Ann said the passion Donald expressed was mesmerizing. She noticed a turned in toe and a few lifts, but she let it slight. Len said he was surprised by the warmth in the dance. He said the whole evening has been awesome. Bruno said he likes that Donald pushes himself to the limit every time. He said the content was difficult. He said the competition was going to turn into a battle of the hunks.
Tuesday, the Macy's Stars of Dance returns. Seal and Rascal Flats will perform. One couple will be sent home (eyes on you, Melissa).
If you want to see any of the performances, you can watch the show online here.
Copyright 2012 by KSAT.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Yea I know but since I got my 8GB as a gift (because I couldn't go get one myself) I used it to hack my wii. Now it just doesn't load from the SD icon no more.
Here's what I did last:
Install IOS58, used DOP-Shop to network install Wii Shop Channel v19. Everything that requires an SD card works except for the SD icon and the Data Management SD tab.


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BYU Sports
Four BYU players on watch list for Polynesian Player of the Year award
Four BYU football players are among the 34 players from 20 schools on the inaugural Watch List for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award.
The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced the establishment of the award on Wednesday with the release of the Watch List for the 2014 season.
BYU players on the list are linebackers Alani Fua and Bronson Kaufusi and offensive linemen Edward Fusi and Solomone Kafu.
Utah State safety Brian Suite and Utah offensive lineman Jeremiah Poutasi are also on the list.
The winner of the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award will be announced on Dec. 9. The five finalists will be unveiled on Nov. 20.<
Former BYU coach LaVell Edwards and former Utah and Weber State coach Ron McBride are on the Selection Committee.


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The Best Nut to Eat for Rheumatoid Arthritis
There's little doubt that what you eat plays a role in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Here's one nut for arthritis that may help relieve some of the symptoms.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects more than two million people in the United States – causing pain and joint discomfort which can make even casual activities very unpleasant. Most people with rheumatoid arthritis take prescription medications such as anti-inflammatory medications to relieve the pain which can lead to significant side effects. While prescription medications are needed in some cases, an anti-inflammatory diet also plays a role in subduing the symptoms of this common disease. One type of food that may help in the fight against rheumatoid are nuts – particularly walnuts.
Why the Walnut?
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease where the body essentially attacks its own tissue – particularly the joints where it causes considerable pain and inflammation.
What type of diet helps to fan the fires of inflammation and provide some relief to rheumatoid arthritis sufferers? You've probably been told to eat more nuts – and for good reason. Many nuts have anti-inflammatory properties because of the good fats they contain, including brazil nuts and almonds, but if you can choose just one nut for arthritis – make it the walnut.
The Best Nut for Arthritis?
Why is the walnut the king of anti-inflammatory nuts? Walnuts are a rich source of alpha-linolenic-acid or ALA which is the precursor to the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. The body converts the ALA found in walnuts to EPA and DHA – two omega-3 fatty acids that help to calm the inflammation that rheumatoid arthritis sufferers experience on a daily basis. One study showed that eating only four walnuts a day was enough to increase blood levels of omega-3's – and most people can manage that.
Anti-inflammatory Nuts: How Do the Omega-3's Reduce Inflammation?
Omega-3's alter the synthesis of prostaglandins that cause inflammation, and tissue destruction and stimulate production of ant-inflammatory compounds that reduce pain and swelling. They essentially serve as natural ant-inflammatory compounds – without the serious side effects. Taking omega-3's in supplement form can be a problem for people on blood thinners and aspirin since they alter platelet function, but getting omega-3 precursors naturally through anti-inflammatory nuts such as walnuts is a safe way to get their benefits.
Anti-inflammatory Nuts: Other Foods That May Help Rheumatoid Arthritis
Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and sardines are rich in omega-3's, EPA and DHA, and they have the advantage that they don't have to be converted by the body as the ALA in walnuts does. Flaxseed is another good nut for arthritis since it's rich in ALA, but needs to be ground before being eaten so the body can absorb it. Eating foods that are rich in omega-3's and reducing omega-6 fatty acids such as corn oil and soybean oil in the diet helps the body convert to an anti-inflammatory mode to help relieve the pain and discomfort of rheumatoid. Don't forget about eating more fruits and veggies – particularly ones that are high in vitamin C – an antioxidant vitamin which plays an important role in joint health.
Nuts for Arthritis: The Bottom Line?
Eat more walnuts if you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and take steps to add more omega-3's to your diet, while reducing the amount of omega-6's from sources such as corn oil. Do it consistently and you could notice an improvement in your symptoms in as little as six weeks.
Liked it


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eFreightline API
The service aggregates shipping rates and freight ratings along with available capacity from over 50 carriers serving both regional and national destinations. This single data source can deliver rate quotes for full-truckload or less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments, creating a central source where shippers can plan for transportation needs. API methods support submission of load size, items to be shipped, desired ship date, and points of pickup and destination, along with other specifications. The service returns rate quotes and current capacity for potential shippers. Methods also allow completion of the shipping transaction.
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This game
Macromedia Flash 4,
Flash 5 recommended.
Get it here:
This game is
courtesy of:
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goal is simple: Try to get all blocks into a "down"
You do this by pushing a block down, or pulling a block up by
clicking it. This will also alter the state of each ajoining
block. If a block was up, it will move down. If the block was
down, it will move up.
Your score is the number of moves you made. Try to get all blocks
in the down position, in as few moves as possible. Good luck!


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Election Clippings! Watch: President Obama Sings Born In The USA! | BaracksDubs BarackObama
VideoBuzz: Barack Obama sings the classic American anthem, "Born In The USA". A bonus election video by BaracksDubs creator Fadi Saleh for Maker Studios' PoliPop, YouTube's 1st entertainment & politics network.
Follow the Buzz via BaracksDubs | POLIPOP
The Clippings — You just got the buzz from www.DryerBuzz.com — Transforming the way we look — at life.
Guest Blog or Pitch A Story, News or Opinion via http://Pitch.DryerBuzz.com
DryerBuzz Signature Ads
Buzzed by DryerBuzz November 11, 2012 · Browse More Stories Like This In Classic Man, News Clippings .


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Choose from Four Options
- $81.98 for admission for two (up to a $121.98 value)
- $122.97 for admission for three (up to a $182.97 value)
- $163.96 for admission for four (up to a $243.96 value)
- $204.95 for admission for five (up to a $304.95 value)
The park features attractions for kids and adults, including rides, shows, character dining, and unique shopping. Sesame Place is open 9/6/13 and weekends only 9/7/13 – 10/27/13; click here to see days and hours.
Sesame Place
Sesame Place, the nation's only theme park based on the award-winning Sesame Street, combines the spirit of the show with exciting rides and eye-catching shows. And of course, people get to hang out with everyone's favorite furry friends—whether they're Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, and Elmo or newer additions, such as Murray and Honker and Dinger.
Patrons can pose for pictures, soar above the park in the twirling Elmo's Cloud Chaser ride, or head to Cookie's Monster Land. This colorful area of the park, which opened in 2014, contains five rides, a three-story net climb, and a soft play area.
90% of 2,876 customers recommend
"If you have kids, this is the best place if you get deal. "
"Great Fun for kids and Family."
"Great fun for the kids! I like going on two different days: one for dry rides, one for the water rides. "


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Lincoln-Petersen method: Closed populations, single marking event
Schnabel method: Closed populations, multiple marking and recapture events, equal probability of capture within a given sampling occasion but probabilities can vary between sampling periods.
CAPTURE: Closed populations, multiple marking and recapture events, unequal probability of capture due to:
Individual differences in capture probabilities
Differences in capture probabilities associated with a behavioral response to trapping
Differing capture probabilities between sampling periods (Schnabel model)
Jolly-Seber method: Open populations, equal probability of capture, multiple marking and recapture events
Jolly (1965) and Seber (1965) submitted idea separately.
Model estimates population size, "mortality" rates (i.e., deaths + emmigration), and "births" (i.e., births + immigration)
mt = Number of marked animals caught in sample t
ut = Number of unmarked animals caught in sample t
nt = Total number of animals caught in sample t
= mt + ut
st = Total number of animals released after sample t
= nt - accidental deaths or removals
Rt = Number of the st individuals released at sample t and caught again in some later sample
Zt = Number of individuals marked before sample t, not caught in sample t, but caught in some sample after sample t
Example From Krebs, C. J. 1989. Ecological Methodology.
Capture history for field voles:
Řt = Loss rate. Probability of survival from sample time t to sample time t + 1.
= Staying alive in the study area. Individuals which emigrate are counted as losses just as individuals that die.
Population is geographically closed.
Every animal present in the population (marked and unmarked) has the same probability of capture in sample t.
Every marked animal present in the population immediately after the ith sample has the same probability of survival (Ři) until the (t + 1)th sampling time.
Marks are not lost or overlooked.
Sampling time is negligible in relation to intervals between samples (i.e., demographic closure is satisfied during each sampling occasion) and each release is made immediately after the sample.


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After a few e-mails I have managed to get myself on the press panel for Disney. If those individuals are reading this, I would like to thank you for this opportunity.
I know this may be old hat to a many of you, concidering how connected we all are to our company and what its doing, but there are a few new things in here that I haven't seen reported on here yet.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For Further Information
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 23, 2006) – Disney•Pixar's exciting new computer-animated feature "CARS" will stage its World Premiere on May 26th at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina in one of the most unique and elaborate movie events of all-time, it was announced today by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.
Paul Newman, Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip, and others from the voice cast of the film will be joined by a host of stars from the racing world and 30,000 guests that are expected to attend the "CARS" World Premiere, taking place at the same location as that weekend's famous Coca Cola 600 NASCAR race. The screening of the film represents the first multi-screen digital cinema premiere ever, with Texas Instruments and its DLP Cinema® technology serving as Disney's event technology partner in providing the digital cinema projectors. A series of four giant custom-built outdoor movie screens (115-feet wide and 50-feet tall) will be constructed at Lowe's Motor Speedway at Turn #2 of the track. Each screen will have three DLP Cinema 2K digital projectors dedicated to it. A state-of-the-art sound system is also being created and installed for the event. Academy Award®-winning filmmaker John Lasseter ("Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2"), who directed "CARS" will also be attending along with producer Darla K. Anderson ("A Bug's Life," "Monsters, Inc."), and other key players from Pixar Animation Studios and The Walt Disney Studios.
Tickets for the premiere will be made available for purchase by the general public starting today. Proceeds will benefit Speedway Children's Charities, and Association of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps. For tickets, call 1-800-455-FANS, visit the Lowe's Motor Speedway box office, or order online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com.
To cap off the weekend, the #96 DLP HDTV car will be wrapped as the film's lead character "Lightning McQueen" for the NEXTEL Cup series race in Charlotte the same weekend.
Commenting on the announcement, Lasseter said, "We're thrilled to bring the premiere of 'CARS' to Lowe's Motor Speedway and excited to share this film with such a great community of race fans. Humpy Wheeler, the president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway, has become a great friend and helped all of us at Pixar when we were developing the story and characters for the film. In fact, Humpy provides the voice of Tex, a 1975 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. I have loved automobiles and the world of racing for a long time and 'CARS' is a very personal story to me. This premiere event is the perfect way to debut our film to racing and movie enthusiasts."
Cook added, "Pixar has captured the feel and excitement of the racing world in their latest film, 'CARS,' and we felt that it would be great fun to stage the premiere in a setting that would do justice to the film. John Lasseter has done an amazing job bringing the world of cars and racing to the big screen, and combining it with that magic Pixar story sensibility that appeals to absolutely everyone. With the proceeds of this benefit going to two fantastic children's charities, we hope to launch the film in grand style and help some worthy institutions at the same time."
Humpy Wheeler said, "It's a great honor to be working with Disney, John Lasseter, and his colleagues at Pixar in hosting the World Premiere of 'CARS.' This is a fantastic film that celebrates everything that we love about cars, and it also gives us a unique view of the world of competitive racing. All of us at Lowe's are looking forward to the big event on May 26th, and are delighted that we have been chosen to participate."
After taking moviegoers magically into the realm of toys, bugs, monsters, fish, and superheroes, the masterful storytellers and technical wizards at Pixar Animation Studios ("The Incredibles," "Finding Nemo," "Monsters, Inc."), and Academy Award®-winning director John Lasseter ("Toy Story," "Toy Story 2," "A Bug's Life"), hit the road with a fast-paced comedy adventure set inside the world of cars. A Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film, "CARS" is a high octane delight for moviegoers of all ages, fueled with plenty of humor, action, heartfelt drama, and amazing new technical feats.
Lightning McQueen (voice of OWEN WILSON), a hotshot rookie race car driven to succeed, discovers that life is about the journey, not the finish line, when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured in the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. On route across the country to the big Piston Cup Championship in California to compete against two seasoned pros, McQueen gets to know the town's offbeat characters –including Doc Hudson (a 1951 Hudson Hornet with a mysterious past, voiced by PAUL NEWMAN), Sally (a snazzy 2002 Porsche voiced by BONNIE HUNT), and Mater (a rusty but trusty tow truck voiced by LARRY THE CABLE GUY) – who help him realize that there are more important things than trophies, fame and sponsorship.
The all-star vocal cast also includes free-wheeling performances by Tony Shalhoub, Michael Keaton, Cheech Marin, George Carlin, Katherine Helmond, and John Ratzenberger. Delivering more fun and authenticity to the cast for "CARS" are vocal performances from some of the all-time greatest names from the racing world including the legendary Richard Petty, plus "drive-on" roles by Mario Andretti, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Darrell Waltrip (who holds the record for five-wins at the NASCAR Coca Cola 600), and Michael Schumacher, the ace German Formula 1 racing legend, who is a seven-times world champion, and is widely considered to be the best Grand Prix racing driver of all-time.
About Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar Animation Studios (Nasdaq: PIXR, http://www.pixar.com)combines creative and technical artistry to create original stories in the medium of computer animation. Pixar has created six of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Pixar has won 20 Academy Awards® and its six films have grossed more than $3.2 billion at the worldwide box office to date. The Northern California studio's next two film releases are "CARS" (June 9, 2006) and Ratatouille (summer 2007).


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Learn how to craft materials like wood, metal, and glass and light your scene inside the Unity 3D game engine.
Learn basic level design techniques using the Unity3D game engine, and create environments that are fun to navigate, modular and easy to reuse, and highly interactive.
"Your presenters are superb. They work well with the camera, they are eloquent, speak well, and establish a collegial rapport with the learner." —Brian C.
more from our members »


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|Super 8 North East properties are listed below. Search for cheap and discount Super 8 hotel rates in North East, PA for your business gathering or personal travels. We list the best Super 8 North East hotels & motels so you can review the North East Super 8 hotel list below to find the perfect place.
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Booking a group or meeting? Get bids from hotels in North East PA
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|98 posts found
Spotlight Poster
Joined: 2/05/11
Im still playing but there are some issues that dont appear to be easily fixable. The world design is horrible. Walled in rat race mazes would best explain the zone designs. If you want to explore you had better enjoy Hoth and Tatooine...thats extent of the somewhat open worlds. The classes arent very distinct, likely for pvp reasons. This game makes WoW feel like a sandbox. Ultra linear and there is no feeling of being in a living breathing Stars Wars universe. Not sure how much longer people can stay subbed, the replayability factor is very low due to the lack of sandbox elements. I do like the many different tiers of mobs, companions and the ephasis on duo/small group content.
Login or Register to never see this panel
I quit but i am going to return whenever i feel like some kotor? It's literally that simple. There is really nothing more they could do to retain me as they can't turn it into an excellent mmo over night, but they have done enough to keep me coming back ever now and then.
Novice Member
Joined: 10/13/05
I am still playing but starting to feel the ware. Basically I want to try the other class quests but really do not feel like grinding through the same worlds over again to do it.
Apprentice Member
Joined: 11/21/10
Less planets. They should have just made 5 big planets to keep the player base tighter. Player base is way too spread out.
Less ability lag
Chat bubbles
Combat log
Dual speccing within AC
If they had those on launch I would have stuck around.
Advanced Member
Joined: 6/27/11
Only one change do I request before I return and subscribe:
Close ALL the loopholes that are allowing non-consensual PvP on the PvE servers.
All the loopholes, the "AOE" one, the "tag the mob that gets targetted by other faction" one, all of them.
Many player that choose to play on PvE servers on ANY MMO choose to do so to avoid all PvP. I don't care if the SWTOR was made for PvP as well as PvE or not, I purchased SWTOR for the environment, the droids, the Twi'lek Dancers...the PvE content and experience... not PvP.
A rule like the MMO "RIFT" has would be just fine... no PvP on PvE servers unless it is selected in the options. I should be able to stand in the middle of a PvP fight on the high level worlds and watch... but take no damage nor be attacked, nor should I be able to help or harm the PvP players OR THEIR NPC/MOB TARGETS in any way.
If Bioware wants PvP on the PvP servers, or the RP-PVP servers, or the RP servers even... then fine. NOT of the PvE servers.
If Bioware fixes that in accordance with what I put here, then I will return and subscribe. Not until.
Anything less and I will NOT return. Yes I am angry about this issue.
(I don't need chat bubbles, or damge meters, or add-ons, or any of that cheater garbage, I don't need Housing... ship is good enough as long as I can add Crew Quarters to my Corvette..., don't need most of what everyone else is asking for... just the above please.)
Hard Core Member
Joined: 2/17/07
NGE, LOTRO, STO, KOTOR, Lego Star Wars > NGE 2 (SWTOR). SWG>ALL. Above hopefully subject to change.
Not doing maintenance on a Saturday
Novice Member
Joined: 9/28/10
It's quite simple really, I don't care about the bugs or unresponsive combat, it's fixable.
Here's a few things I don't like about the game
Linear Linear Linear /yawn
The spacecombat is just an insult to space combat games
Lack of classes (AC's were obviously a quickfix to the lack of classes, without the need to do more voice acting, melee troopers beating up people with their rifle? seriously?)
The space stations, Dromund kass and coruscant should have been the main cities, because they are
Loading screens, honestly how many times do I need to click stuff to land on Hoth and the likes, what an insult
A place like Nar shadaa was a HUGE dissapointment, it could have been great, it is the worst zone eer sorry planet I've ever seen in any mmo
The game has 0 spirit, first mmo I've cancelled this fast, and I've tried some really shitty ones
Voice acting is cool the first 10 levels, then I began to wonder why they did it for every single quest, the class quests and main storyline for each planet is fine, but they could have spent the money on so many other things, that would have made the game worthwhile
Crafting... or lack thereof, I thought WoW dumbed it down to useless levels, but they might aswell just had left it out
Customer service, worst I've ever seen
Maintenance on midday saturday for Europe, talk about not caring one bit
CE stuff, talk about a ripoff, the ingame items are... useless at best
The planets are just plain boring, I have no idea why people claim that exploring is possible, Korriban is the size of a small mall, exploring corridors on Nar shadar? Even the "large" planets like Hoth and Tatooine arent that big tbh, and gg that we can't attack the other side at their main city on tatooine zZzz
I could go on and on and on.
Heck saying what's good is easier, voice acting for class quests, the rest of the game is extremely dissapointing.
They should have made this game, like they're doing with Archeage, the Star wars setting fits it extremely well, instead they made a Single player game experience, with some terrible pvp and buggy dungeons feature
I did cancel, and they can't do anything to get me back, the core part of the "mmo" game is broken beyond repair.
Novice Member
Joined: 11/10/05
I'll keep playing for several reasons:
-Story line
-Clean interface
-Entertaining PVP
-Game works nicely on my 3yo macbook pro
-I'm a busy person... i can log in a couple hours here and there and have a ton of fun
-Easy crafting/gathering
-Instances makes questing easier
-It has everything i need from an MMO.
Game cannot please everyone and i really hope the dev team stays away from this forum. This game would be a disaster if they used this as a source on how to make a good game, better.
Sandbox games are dead... no one plays them because frankly, no one likes to stand there doing nothing. Average players want to be spoon fed.
Elite Member
Joined: 4/21/06
Let go of my ears, I know what I'm doing!
Originally posted by Gardavsshade
Wow... I didn't know there were so many...
The most annoying one(IMO) is intentional, though.
The "using your hour-buff on a flagged player" bit. Once upon a time I was happily flinging 5% endurance boosts at other players like they were rose petals. Now, by the time I check their flag status, we've already run by each other and are out of range. It's not like somebody PvP'ing will have 3 friends of other classes waiting to sneak that extra 5% crit chance or whatever in just when their opponent doesn't expect it... it's not like you're constantly healing the PvP'er under the protection of being un-flagged.
At least give us a "this will flag you for PvP, are you sure?" prompt.
Elite Member
Joined: 4/21/06
Let go of my ears, I know what I'm doing!
Originally posted by Loktofeit
Agree on the last bit, though I plan to stick with TOR for the foreseeable future.
IMO, the best parts of your class story are those times when it stops following the world story, and has you traveling around the galaxy doing stuff. I find myself way more engaged during those times, in no small part because I don't have a world story and 2-3 sidequests plus a stage-based set of bonus missions plus standard bonus missions to keep track of and sort out.
The more often it would break off on its own from the world quests(and the world, for that matter), the better.
Though that invites another problem to get bigger, namely the loadscreens, and the pointless running through the hangar/ starport over and over. It goes from adding "bigness" to the world to being downright obnoxious, at times.
Advanced Member
Joined: 7/23/08
Originally posted by Kenze
Played - M59, EQOA, EQ, EQ2, PS, SWG[Favorite], DAoC, UO, RS, MXO, CoH/CoV, TR, FFXI, FoM, WoW, Eve, Rift, SWTOR, TSW.
Apprentice Member
Joined: 7/04/06
For me it was / is
-Lack of high resolution textures
-Piss Poor CS and PR
-Lack of basic UI features
- No guild features / tools
-Bland mobs / NPCs ( as in the quest givers, vendors, ect ) static placement, example- Flying mobs that literally stay in one spot hovering and never move at all.
-Poor combat mechanics- ability delay mainly, does not feel fluid or responsive.
Overall the game IMO just feels sort of generic / mediocre in many ways. The instance / phasing of worlds just plain sucks. The number in the left hand corner may show 70 people in the zone, I am lucky to run across 2-3 people an hour in open world.
TO ME this is a great co op game or very small group game to kill some time. I just dont feel the Massive in the SWTOR MMO.
Hopefully they can flesh the game out some in the future. IMO they do have a window to improve, but its getting narrower as new releases approach.
I wish them the best of luck and I may check back in a few months to see if they have improved it some.
Originally posted by DeaconX
Says who? You? You are now the only word to come to what is appropriate in Star Wars games?
Sorry, I disagree... as do many others.
Anyways, sandbox games are not a populat breed. The only one that has shown any success is EvE. And, even then it's a love v. hate relationship with that game. Personally, I think it's an Excell spreadsheet with a gaming GUI attached to it. But, I'm not going to state my dislike on it is the end-all-be-all opinion. Unlike you, I understand that people have games that they like and dislike.
My opinion is just that... mine. Your opinion is just that... yours. Neither of us speaks for what should or should not be. Yet, you did, and you were called out on it.
Novice Member
Joined: 1/07/07
Less restricting worlds, more open in general. With the idea of raiding looming over my head, I was done.
Novice Member
Joined: 3/10/07
Likely any 3 of the following would have kept me around:
But to sum up ( better graphics and more interesting RPG features )
1. HD textures and just overall impressive graphics that a 2012 title should have.
2. More detailed RPG elements regarding companions ( things that were in game at one point )
a. Companions can leave
b. You can kill companions
c. leveleling up your companions yourself
3.More detailed light/dark side consequences
a. kicked out of jedi order for going dark
b. special abilities for dark/light ( not just gear )
4. Open worlds and NON-LInear design
5. Interesting class designs outside of animations
a. The classes are all very similar, this goes beyond the 4 classes and mirrored thing
b. make a BH feel like you are a BH for example, why am i the same as a trooper ?
Advanced Member
Joined: 5/27/05
I did not subscribe because EA/BW removed many armor sets, titles and customization options during beta. Now I am waiting to see if they return them to the game for free or if they are going to roll out a cash shop. I do not play games with cash shops, ever.
2012 is the first year since Kunark released for EverQuest that I have not had an active subsritption to a mmorpg. I left max level characters in EQ/EQ2 and WoW when those games released their cash shops and I left 2 characters with over 60 million skillpoints each in EVE this past year over their roll out of the Nex store.
FUncom putting the FU in fun since 1993.
Elite Member
Joined: 8/21/04
Logic be damned!
I am still sub'd but the 3 things I'd really like to see sooner than later are-
1. Dual spec (within same AC of course)
2. Reward (xp/loot/valor/comendations) for kills in open world PvP outside of Illum quests.
3. Guild leveling / expanded guild features.
After that,
4. Legacy system
5. More/better space content
6. More/better open world PvP content
Still after THAT,
7. More gear customization through oranges/crafting/etc. especially in Visuals/aesthetics.
8. Open world PvE events
9. More dungeons/raids/warzones
10. Continuation of story
I've probably been lurking for way, way too long.
Really what would have kept me is if bioware or EA had any experience at all with making and managing an mmo.
All during beta they had this attitude that they were all that, that they were the professional game designers, and we the beta testers were all idiots and had no right to make suggestions or offer feedback.
They let thier egos get in the way of making the game thier own player base was asking for.
So what would have retained me?
1) Less Attitude
2) More Experience with mmo concept and design
3) A decent engine
4) A game that doesn't release 10 years dated.
5) A game that offers more than its predecessor, not less.
6) An innovative 3rd generation game considering this is the 3rd generation of MMO design.
7) JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HUMILITY! If you screw up suck it up admit it and give a sincere apology.
Honestly bioware's attitude over this whole debacle really makes me question the direction of the company and who the hell these guys think they are. When you get right down to it, thier last few games have kinda bombed because they stopped listening to their players and decided they knew better than us.
Now as far as Mass Effect 3 goes, after all the hell raising over ME2, they say they have listened and put back some of the features that players loved about ME1, but we won't really be able to tell until we get the game,
Novice Member
Joined: 11/01/04
Originally posted by olepi
This. I could have stayed if the worlds were a lot better designed, but they were so bland and empty of life. From the static npcs standing outside the Jedi Temple as if they'd been hit by some sort of stasis grenade mid-action, to the lack of any npc's or major activity where you would most expect it, like Nar Shaddaa casinos.
On top of that is the missing weather, the little flutter of activity as birds or their alien equivalent cross the skies, the rise and fall of the sun and the lack of any weather and it all adds up to just plain bad. It felt like I was walking around a painting rather than a real place.
Apprentice Member
Joined: 11/02/10
Originally posted by Vato26
Methinks this guy didn't read the thread's title. It speficially asks for people's reasons for not subbing.
This is exactly what was requested. No one is trying to shove thier preferences down anyone else's throat.
For me -
MAN do I WISH I could be a Jedi Knight in this and act out my Revan/Bane fantasies. But, alas, I can't.
Here is my list -
1. Graphics - Implement the higher textures, and I will resub at least a month to see if it improves immersion for me and helps give things visual presence in the combat and world interactions.
2. Combat/Gameplay - Make the gameplay more skill based or at east less spongey - This is not likely to be possible. But make things seem like they actually are impacting one another. WoW looks ridiculous with the non-connecting swings and all the spells flying to the same spot on the boss, but somehow they got it just right enough to feel organic in their own cartoon universe. I look for more from SWTOR as it is one shade less cartoony than WoW. Lightsabers oftentimes do hit each other, but there is no collission and it doesn't even matter if you are gettign hit int he back as a tank right now (apparently the shields are all over out bodies), but for force users it would make sense to have the lightsaber be a contributing factor to not being hit.
Other than RNG and being in the somewhat right place at the right time in the right gear and handling your rotation/prioritizaion correctly, there is nothing to be proud of in this kind of game. It is time sunk getting gear and the ability to not zone out. The zoning out which is natural in such a boring and unresponsive, repetitive system. Granted, anything can get repetitive, but you can gain satisfaction from perfecting your gameplay. Currently - in SWTOR and WoW and similar games, there is nothing to be proud of doing well. It's like being a chef making great macaroni and cheese from a box. Yeah, it's possible to mess it up, but the margin of error is high and even if you do it perfectly you are still not impressive. It is just a simple, weak recipe.
TERA is MMO combat at its current best, imo. The old autotarget format is weak.
But even as a mindless backround source of distraction and a chat room (which is what WoW has been for me - despite pushing "Heroic" kills), the combat style of SWTOR could be okay, if it was just crisper. It just feels sloppy even compared to WoW.
3. Better Reconcile the SRPG and MMORPG Aspects - A solid example is the extreme case fo the Jedi Knight. It would help reconcile the 2 sides of the game by changing the end of the Jedi Knight story (SPOILER ____ SPOILER_____ my JK toon should not be able to solo defeat the emperor - even if it's "only a setback". This is very difficult to reconcile this with the fact that JKs can't solo raid bosses and have a hard time with Elites and Champions. So, Karagga the Hutt is WAY stronger than the emperor? The rancor in Karagga's litte Jaba-trap area could manhandle the emperor? Simple logic. It's fun to be told you are heroic in your little single player bubble, but that only underlines the fact that this game is currently 2 side by side games - the srpg and the mmorpg. END SPOILER).
4. Endgame Content -
a. I LOVE RAIDING - it's my favorite and if they fixed the graphics and the combat, the raiding in this game would be great. But there also should be other things to do.
b. PVP -Oh, there is PVP. The SAME PEOPLE you have been killing for weeks. Kill them again. Kill them again. capture the same thing.... Yikes. It's boring. The thing is, getting better at pvp is probably 40% gear, 30% knowing where to be and when (strategy/tactics) and 30% reflexes/doing the right skill at the right time and of course the ever-present guiding force of RNG. But that formula doesn't have enough difficulty tied to player actions to be inspiring. So nailbiters are rare and don't tie directly into this person or that team executing well. Again, the macaroni and cheese example. It's a simple recipe. How can you be proud of getting it right? I have a friend who is almost religiou about SC3, because in that game the better player wins. And the majority of what makes him win is withing him and the time he spent gaining knowledge and refining his gameplay not having a big chunk of it be the margin of error he earns each time her grabs a piece of gear.
c. Exploration - a big world and planets to go visit that don't necessarily have quests or anything but wrap the instanced world in a larger picture which could inspire awe, context and hopefully hours of fruitless exploration with the occasional - "ah, this is cool. I bet not everyone has seen this, because they were not funneled here". Datacrons do this to an extent. Getting the +10 all stats one is way off the beaten path. There is a nod to the bounty hunters on the Ziost ship in the Imp Fleet. Those things are fun, but they mangled the Sarlaac. A huge majority of Star Wars fans, I included, would have gladly searched the ends of Tattione to find the Sarlaac Pit. Wild Rancors being out and about on certain planets. I would go and find them to hunt. Don't tell me when and where, just tell me that I can find one, and I will try my best. The fanbase would pursue these things for their intrinsic joy and for the achievers - toss a title on it.
d. Dailies - Repairs of Rakata level gear are a monster in this game. I have 6 pcs of Rakata on my BH and it cost me 80kish to repair. That is from an hour or so of pushing "difficult" and buggy Hard Mode and NIghtmare mode bosses. The best way/only real viable way to make money (since crafting is crap) is to do dailies. To afford my raid repairs I was having to rehash the couple hours of dailies on Ilum and Belsavis. It was a grind of mindless, boring quests with little context. The only highlight of which is the seeing a Rancor walking around.
e. Alts - Make Legacy remove the non class quests from the alt's journey based on Republic/Emp being completed. If the quests are the same as have been done before by a preceding character, then they are completed and just going to the questgiver will giv ethe requisite XP or better the ability to level is tied into the planet's level range adn is acheived just by doing the new class quest. Example: I have a 50 BH. SO I have done the quests for he Empire sufficiently to have a 50. I have seen the content. As such, when I roll a Marauder, the marauder will only do Korriban and other quests that are separate from the BH quests and of course his/her own class quests. When I get to Tattoine, I immediately am at the mid-leel range for toons there (if I was below it) and when I complete my class quest as a Marauder on Tattoine, I am boosted to the top level of Tattoine's bracket and send tot he next area. When I pick up my class quest on the next planet, I am boosted to mid level and when I complete it, I am put to maxe level. If I grind out mobs or pvp for XP then I won't need the boost, but it will make sure I don't ahve to do stuff I already did. Maybe even state - ooops, your main didn't do all of Tattoine. Sry, you have to do it all. Or go back on your main and finish it out. Whatever. The point is, only about 15% of the tiem spent on a planet is sepcific to a class quest. So why languish repeating the other stuff?
5. Interactivity/Life to the world - Back to that Rancor. He pats around in his little, arbitrary 50 yard loop. He doesn't eat anything around him. He doesn't engage the people around him in combat. He doesn't touch the walls. Nothing. He just walks back and forth. He is indiciative of everything in the game. Rift had the invasions happen and NPC would figth NPC. The invaders would try to take over areas. The mobs would fight them. It game things a sense of life. That is completely missing in this game. All we are statue people locked into an interaction with a predetermined other group of individual statue person or backgound object. One of the things that makes the Elder Scroll games interesting is the way various elements interact with one another using AI. There is very limited AI in this game. It feels dead.
6. Load Screen/Instancing - Why is it that once it takes me an instant to get from Hoth to Ilum but takes a combined minute or so of loading screens to get from my ship to the planets themselves? I press the travel button on Ilum from Hoth - 2 extremes of the knock universe and the starts lengthen to represent hyperspace then a picture of Ilum is there and I can step out of my ship and be in Ilum space. But then I have to load screens for each section.
There ya go. A wall of text.
I will edit it after I post it.
Someone please make a good MMO.


text:
If it has wheels, you can race it. Mike Haag keeps you up to speed on the racing scene in and around South Texas in his Motorsports blog.
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Pro Bracket Racing Series returns to S.A. Raceway on Saturday night
By Mike Haag – San Antonio Express-News The IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Super Series Pro Bracket Racing Series will return to San Antonio Raceway on Saturday night. Drag racers in the Electronic, Footbrake and Junior Dragster classes will be competing in quarter-mile bracket racing competition at the dragstrip near Marion. Gates open at 4 p.m. […] [Read More]
South Texas area motor sports point standings
Updated point standings from the South Texas area tracks and touring series. Area Touring Series Texas Super Racing Series Late Models 1. Bobby Teer Jr. 673 2. Mike Reininger 555 3. Robert Barker 545 4. Austin Self 526 5. Nick Cole 521 Texas Super Racing Series Allison Legacy Series 1. James Huff 621 2. Collin […] [Read More]
San Antonio Raceway to host All Out Big Money Bash
By Mike Haag – San Antonio Express-News Drag racers from across South Texas are expected to flock to San Antonio Raceway in large numbers this Friday and Saturday for the SAR All Out Big Money Bash. More than $20,000 in payouts will be offered to drivers in five racing classes and only 400 cars will […] [Read More]
I-37 Raceway results
Official results from I-37 Raceway at Newsome Motorsports Park. IMCA Modified Feature Race 1. 29 Jamie Campbell 2. 8g Greg Dinsmore 3. 82 Rick Green 4. 37 Bill Pittaway 5. 26 Darin Leonard 6. 24 Tracy Fink 7. 31 Marlin Samford 8. 99 Billy Meyer 9. 67 Robert Liese Jr. 10. 14 Joe O'Bryan 11. […] [Read More]
Racing resumes at I-37 Raceway tonight
After nearly a two-week break from racing, dirt track stock car racing will return to Newsome Motorsports Park at I-37 Raceway tonight at 7 p.m. The race card will feature the IMCA Modified and IMCA Southern SportsMod classes, along with the Limited Late Model, Street Stock, Pure Stock and Front Runner classes. Pit gates open […] [Read More]
South Texas motor sports point standings
Updated point standings from the area tracks and touring series. Area Touring Series Texas Super Racing Series Late Models 1. Bobby Teer Jr. 563 2. Mike Reininger 469 3. Robert Barker 467 4. Austin Self 459 5. Taylor Brandes 452 Texas Super Racing Series Allison Legacy Series 1. Collin Alexander 538 2. James Huff 531 […] [Read More]
NASCAR Trucks returning to Thunderhill on Saturday
By Mike Haag – Express-News KYLE – Thunderhill Raceway's NASCAR Truck division will highlight the A-Line Night at the Races program on Saturday night at the 3/8-mile asphalt track. Jim Albert enters the race having won two of the three NASCAR Truck races this season. He also holds a 54-point lead over Joey Jenkins in […] [Read More]
Formula DRIFT coming to Texas Motor Speedway in June
By Mike Haag – Express-News Texas Motor Speedway officials have announced that Formula DRIFT drivers will display their extreme racing skills prior to the start of the historic Firestone Twin 275s on Saturday, June 11 at the 1.5-mile speedway in Fort Worth. The event, billed as Ultimate Drifting presented by Scion and Motegi Racing, will […] [Read More]
I-37 Raceway at Newsome Motor Park results
Results from Saturday's races at I-37 Raceway at Newsome Motor Park. IMCA Modified Feature Race 1. 8g Greg Dinsmore 2. 26 Darin Leonard 3. 37 Bill Pittaway 4. 38 Dennis Taylor 5. 29 Jamie Campbell 6. 67j Jon Holmstrom 7. 53x Matt Fox 8. 12 Bob Leinweber 9. 31c Marlin Samford 10. 13 Gilbert Amezquita […] [Read More]
Newsome Motorsports Park at I-37 Raceway results
Official results from Saturday's stock car races at Newsome Motorsports Park at I-37 Raceway near Pleasanton, Texas. IMCA Modified Feature Race 1. 8g Greg Dinsmore 2. 37 Bill Pittaway 3.67 Robert Liese Jr. 4. 26 Darin Leonard 5. 82 Rick Green 6. 29 Jamie Campbell 7. 67j Jon Halstrom 8. 99 Billy Meyer IMCA Southern […] [Read More]
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Home > Programs > Education Policy Program
The mission of the Education Policy Program is to capitalize on major ideas and best principles from both business and government, and to enhance education innovations and performance in the United States. Three activities are described below: The First Generation Forum, the Forum for Excellence in Higher Education, and the Young Faculty Leaders' Forum.
What is the Forum?
The First Generation Forum engages highly selective campuses in a search for sustained ways to help first generation students on each campus to succeed. By working in a friendly collaboration, campuses that might not normally share ideas about how to best help students in any subgroup (such as First Gen students) to succeed can learn from one another's constructive findings. By agreeing to use a small group of "shared" questions across campuses, universities can learn both from their own students' experiences and also from students at other universities.A critical feature of this collaboration is vigorous interaction among Forum members. Harvard will host this effort, and Professor Richard J. Light will serve as first Chair.
How large is the target population?
As recently as seven years ago, approximately five to ten percent of undergraduates at America's most selective universities were "first generation" from their households to attend college. The fraction is currently over ten percent, and steadily rising. This means if we look at fifty campuses that most observers would consider highly selective, there are approximately 35,000 - 40,000 such first generation students currently enrolled. They come from broadly diverse backgrounds and family circumstances. Many are white and many are students of color. Many come from low income backgrounds. The one feature they share is that each student will be the first in his or her family to graduate from a four year college or university of any kind.
Why focus specifically on highly selective campuses?
Many less selective universities have done excellent work in helping their First Gen students to "succeed." Yet the reality is that with a national graduation rate of 54 percent of students graduating in six years, most campuses set "simply graduating from college" as the key goal for most of their First Gen students. Data show that at all universities across America, an estimated 30 percent of First Gen students graduate at all wherever they attend a college or university. Meanwhile, highly selective campuses have overall graduation rates usually exceeding 90 percent. Some campuses have rates exceeding 95 percent. Their standards for admission are far higher, their requirements once a student is admitted are tougher than "average." So an ongoing question for the subset of American campuses that are highly selective is what services can each one most productively offer not just to "help First Gen students to graduate" - - they ask what services might a campus offer to help our students to "change the world?" And each campus is entirely aware of the importance of doing this without stereotyping First Gen students on their campus in any way.
What format will this effort take?
The current plan is to have two rounds for this Forum. Round one will engage four campuses to get started, using a pilot study format. The four founding campuses will be Harvard, Duke, Georgetown and Brown. Harvard will serve as host. Leaders from these four campuses will try out several ways of formulating questions, gathering data, and then synthesizing and sharing results that seem to work well and are productive for all three campuses. We expect this first round will take approximately one year. If someone asks, "why only four campuses for the first round?" our response is that we need to start somewhere. We need to learn how to do this work well and so we purposefully start with few campuses.
Round two will engage other campuses that are "highly selective" and that wish to join in our collaborative spirit. We certainly imagine welcoming several dozen such campuses to a second round, approximately one year from now.
What questions will the Forum participants try to answer?
A goal of our first round is to formulate useful questions to guide campus policies. To illustrate, we expect to ask current First Gen students about their experiences now. We expect to ask them about their academic experiences, and also about their outside of classroom experiences including friendships, engagement with campus activities, and commitments outside of campus. We expect each campus to do an inventory of what services it believes First Gen students might benefit from using, and then ask whether those students are in fact using those current services and resources. We expect to learn how many First Gen students on our campuses say quite directly they do not want nor appreciate such services. We expect to invite suggestions from these students about how based on their experiences so far, our selective campuses can best help them to succeed. We expect to identify a profile of challenges that such students face, if such a profile actually exists. And if we learn no such profile exists, and that few generalizations make sense, that very fact will be valuable to learn. We expect to gather information from a sample of Non – First Gen students to become a "comparison group." This will help us to explore differences among the two groups if certain differences do in fact turn up. For example, if thirty percent of First Gen students say they often experience academic stress on a campus, that is worth knowing. And if thirty percent of NON – First Gen students say they also experience academic stress on that same campus, it puts the first finding into a new light.
What is the value of collaboration?
Harvard, Duke, Brown and Georgetown all have significant resources, and campus leaders who are deeply committed to helping all of their students "succeed." The campuses share a goal of not just "helping students to graduate." Rather they emphasize heavy academic demands, and sustained excellence, with of hope of training all students to grow both personally and professionally over a lifetime. By participating in our First Gen Forum, each campus conveys its willingness to share much of what it learns from its First Gen students with other participating campuses. There may be delicate or idiosyncratic pieces of information that a campus will choose not to share. We fully expect that. Yet participants engage with each other in the spirit of each gathering data from its own students, and then sharing useful results so all campuses can benefit.
Forum Meetings
We plan for the Forum to meet formally at Harvard at least once each year. Preliminary work has already taught us the value of having far more frequent informal sessions as we learn to do this work well. So far the planning process has already included more than six sessions among faculty and administrators from the three round one campuses. We anticipate a start date of May, 2012 for a first round Forum gathering.
Who benefits from this program?
There are several beneficiaries. First are the participating universities, where each campus will clearly benefit from what it learns about its own First Gen students and the effectiveness of its own support services. Second, the participating universities, four in the first round and then many more in the second round, will learn from both the successful and the unsuccessful experiences of other selective universities. Third is the higher education system in America, which clearly benefits from an infusion of fresh and innovative thinking about how to best serve First Gen students. Over time, even though this Forum begins solely by engaging highly selective universities, we will not be surprised if other campuses of all types find some of the ideas helpful to adopt for their own students.
Sponsored by a $1 million grant from The Spencer Foundation, this project focused on colleges and universities and their productive interaction with business and government over a five year period. Fourteen of America's leading institutions participated. The goal was to develop a capacity at each institution to become a "learning organization", which involved developing several innovations to enhance students' experiences at each college, implementing them on each campus, and then rigorously evaluating their effectiveness. Several ideas from this forum have been adopted nationally.
The final meeting was held on March 14-15, 2011 . Professor Richard Light is writing a book on the project, describing what colleges and universities can learn from examples in business and government about becoming more productive "learning organizations." Harvard University Press has agreed to publish the volume.
Participating Colleges and Universities
Olin College
Univerisity of California - Merced
Enhancing educational achievement broadly in U.S. public schools has become more important as American students must increasingly compete in a global labor market. Walter Gale Professor of Education Richard Light, along with former M-RCBG Senior Fellow Thomas Healey, established the Young Faculty Leaders Forum to tackle this challenge. With generous support from donors at Goldman Sachs, two anonymous donors, and a grant from the Hewlett Foundation, the Forum has convened six two-day sessions at the Kennedy School, bringing together young, innovative thinkers from 16 of America's leading universities between 2005 and 2009. One initiative developed by group members has already been successfully launched in three of the nation's largest and most diverse school districts.
Harvard's James Kim and the University of Chicago's Jon Guryan crafted an innovative reading program for disadvantaged children in first through sixth grade that emphasizes reading during the summer months and engaging parents throughout the process. Two years after the program was rolled out, a rigorous statistical analysis showed clear gains in reading for lower-achieving students. As a result of the initial trial, which was held in the Fairfax, Virginia school system (the nation's sixth-largest) and funded by two former M-RCBG Senior Fellows, Healey and Robert Steel, Professors Kim and Guryan were invited to continue working with the Fairfax Schools and to collaborate with school systems in Santa Ana, California and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Their work is viewed as so promising that Kim and Guryan recently received a $500,000 grant from the W.T. Grant Foundation to continue this reading program and expand it nationally.
Richard Light
Walter H. Gale Professor of Education
Independent school heads discuss how to create better learning organizations.