text:
Fachbereich Sozialwissenschaften
Document Type
- Doctoral Thesis (20) (remove)
- Allgemeinheit (1)
- Anpassung (1)
- Artefakt (1)
- Austin (1)
- Automobil (1)
- Begriff (1)
- Berufliche Entwicklung (1)
- Besonderheit (1)
- Bewegungsanalyse (1)
- Closure (1)
- Influences of Individual and Contextual Factors on Improving the Professional Development of TVET Teachers in Ethiopia (2009)
- This Dissertation tried to provide insights into the influences of individual and contextual factors on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) teachers' learning and professional development in Ethiopia. Specifically, this research focused on identifying and determining the influences of teachers' self perception as learners and professionals, and investigates the impact of the context, process and content of their learning and experiences on their professional development. The knowledge of these factors and their impacts help in improving the learning and professional development of the TVET teachers and their professionalization. This research tried to provide answers for the following five research questions. (1) How do TVET teachers perceive themselves as active learners and as professionals? And what are the implications of their perceptions on their learning and development? (2) How do TVET teachers engage themselves in learning and professional development activities? (3) What contextual factors facilitated or hindered the TVET Teachers' learning and professional development? (4) Which competencies are found critical for the TVET teachers' learning and professional development? (5) What actions need to be considered to enhance and sustain TVET teachers learning and professional development in their context? It is believed that the research results are significant not only to the TVET teachers, but also to schools leaders, TVET Teacher Training Institutions, education experts and policy makers, researchers and others stakeholders in the TVET sector. The theoretical perspectives adopted in this research are based on the systemic constructivist approach to professional development. An integrated approach to professional development requires that the teachers' learning and development activities to be taken as an adult education based on the principles of constructivism. Professional development is considered as context - specific and long-term process in which teachers are trusted, respected and empowered as professionals. Teachers' development activities are sought as more of collaborative activities portraying the social nature of learning. Schools that facilitate the learning and development of teachers exhibit characteristics of a learning organisation culture where, professional collaboration, collegiality and shared leadership are practiced. This research has drawn also relevant point of views from studies and reports on vocational education and TVET teacher education programs and practices at international, continental and national levels. The research objectives and the types of research questions in this study implied the use of a qualitative inductive research approach as a research strategy. Primary data were collected from TVET teachers in four schools using a one-on-one qualitative in-depth interview method. These data were analyzed using a Qualitative Content Analysis method based on the inductive category development procedure. ATLAS.ti software was used for supporting the coding and categorization process. The research findings showed that most of the TVET teachers neither perceive themselves as professionals nor as active learners. These perceptions are found to be one of the major barriers to their learning and development. Professional collaborations in the schools are minimal and teaching is sought as an isolated individual activity; a secluded task for the teacher. Self-directed learning initiatives and individual learning projects are not strongly evident. The predominantly teacher-centered approach used in TVET teacher education and professional development programs put emphasis mainly to the development of technical competences and has limited the development of a range of competences essential to teachers' professional development. Moreover, factors such as the TVET school culture, the society's perception of the teaching profession, economic conditions, and weak links with industries and business sectors are among the major contextual factors that hindered the TVET teachers' learning and professional development. A number of recommendations are forwarded to improve the professional development of the TVET teachers. These include change in the TVET schools culture, a paradigm shift in TVET teacher education approach and practice, and development of educational policies that support the professionalization of TVET teachers. Areas for further theoretical research and empirical enquiry are also suggested to support the learning and professional development of the TVET teachers in Ethiopia.
- Effekte von englischer Sprachimmersion in der Kindertagesstätte auf die sprachliche und kognitive Entwicklung bei 2- bis 6-jährigen Kindern: Eine Längsschnittstudie (2013)
- In einer dreijährigen Längsschnittstudie wurde der Einfluss eines immersiven englischen Sprachangebots in der Kindertagesstätte auf die Entwicklung der englischen und deutschen Sprache bei 2- bis 6-jährigen Kindern untersucht. Darüber hinaus wurde geprüft, ob der bei bilingualen Personen nachgewiesene Vorteil in den exekutiven Kontrollfunktionen gegenüber monolingualen Personen auch bei Sprachimmersion repliziert werden kann und ob sich ein Vorteil in der phonologischen Bewusstheit durch Sprachimmersion ergibt. Dem Prinzip "Eine Person - eine Sprache" folgend kommunizierte eine Erzieherin in der Immersionsgruppe ausschließlich in englischer Sprache mit den Kindern, während die anderen Erzieherinnen weiterhin deutsch sprachen. In der hinsichtlich Alter, Geschlecht und SES parallelisierten Kontrollgruppe fand einmal wöchentlich ein kindgerechter Englischunterricht statt. Einmal jährlich wurden verschiedene Tests zur Erfassung des sprachlichen Entwicklungsstands (Deutsch und Englisch; Sprachrezeption und Sprachproduktion), der exekutiven Kontrollfunktionen (inhibitorische Kontrolle: Day-Night-Task, Dimensional Change Card Sort Task, Fish-Flanker-Task) sowie ein Test zur Erfassung der phonologischen Bewusstheit durchgeführt. Die Kinder aus der Immersionsgruppe erreichten eine bessere englische rezeptive Sprachkompetenz als die Kinder der Kontrollgruppe. Es waren keine negativen Auswirkungen der englischen Sprachimmersion auf den Erwerb der deutschen Muttersprache nachweisbar. Die vergleichbaren Leistungen der Kinder in der Immersions- und Kontrollgruppe in den drei Aufgaben zur Erfassung der inhibitorischen Kontrolle und dem Test zur Erfassung der phonologischen Bewusstheit weisen darauf hin, dass keine positiven Effekte durch Sprachimmersion auf die Entwicklung der phonologischen Bewusstheit und der inhibitorischen Kontrolle erzielt werden konnten. Mögliche Ursachen für das Ausbleiben eines Vorteils durch Sprachimmersion im Bereich der exekutiven Kontrollfunktionen und der phonologischen Bewusstheit werden diskutiert.
- The role of stimulus complexity in auditory research of speech and non-speech on the behavioral and electrophysiological level (2014)
- According to the domain specific models of speech perception, speech is supposed to be processed distinctively compared to non-speech. This assumption is supported by many studies dealing with the processing of speech and non-speech stimuli. However, the complexity of both stimulus classes is not matched in most studies, which might be a confounding factor, according to the cue specific models of speech perception. One solution is spectrally rotated speech, which has already been used in a range of fMRI and PET studies. In order to be able to investigate the role of stimulus complexity, vowels, spectrally rotated vowels and a second non-speech condition with two bands of sinusoidal waves, representing the first two formants of the vowels, were used in the present thesis. A detailed description of the creation and the properties of the whole stimulus set are given in Chapter 2 (Experiment 1) of this work. These stimuli were used to investigate the auditory processing of speech and non-speech sounds in a group of dyslexic adults and age matched controls (Experiment 2). The results support the assumption of a general auditory deficit in dyslexia. In order to compare the sensory processing of speech and non-speech in healthy adults on the electrophysiological level, stimuli were also presented within a multifeature oddball paradigm (Experiment 3). Vowels evoked a larger mismatch negativity (MMN) compared to both non-speech stimulus types. The MMN evoked by tones and spectrally rotated tones were compared in Experiment 4, to investigate the role of harmony. No difference in the area of MMN was found, indicating that the results found in Experiment 3 were not moderated by the harmonic structure of the vowels. All results are discussed in the context of the domain and cue specific models of speech perception.
- Stimulus-Response Compatibility of Auditory Stimulus Features: Timbre, Pitch, and Number (2014)
- When stimulus and response overlap in a choice-reaction task, enhanced performance can be observed. This effect, the so-called Stimulus-Response Compatibility (SRC) has been shown to appear for a variety of different stimulus features such as numerical or physical size, luminance, or pitch height. While many of these SRC effects have been investigated in an isolated manner, only fewer studies focus on possible interferences when more than one stimulus dimension is varied. The present thesis investigated how the SRC effect of pitch heights, the so-called SPARC effect (Spatial Pitch Associations of Response Codes), is influenced by additionally varied stimulus information. In Study 1, the pitch heights of presented tones were varied along with timbre categories under two different task and pitch range conditions and with two different response alignments. Similarly, in Study 2, pitch heights as well as numerical values were varied within sung numbers under two different task conditions. The results showed simultaneous SRC effects appearing independently of each other in both studies: In Study 1, an expected SRC effect of pitch heights with horizontal responses (i.e., a horizontal SPARC effect) was observed. More interestingly, an additional and unexpected SRC effect of timbre with response sides presented itself independently of this SPARC effect. Similar results were obtained in Study 2: Here, an SRC effect for pitch heights (SPARC) and an SRC effect for numbers (i.e., SNARC or Spatial Numerical Associations of Response Codes, respectively) were observed and again the effects did not interfere with each other. Thus, results indicate that SPARC with horizontal responses does not interfere with SRC effects of other, simultaneously varied stimulus dimensions. These findings are discussed within the principle of polarity correspondence and the dimensional overlap model as theoretical accounts for SRC effects. In sum, it appears that the different types of information according to varied stimulus dimensions enter the decision stage of stimulus processing from separate channels.
- Lebensstile als Instrument zur Segmentierung von Markt und Marken (2009)
- (1) Das Konstrukt des Lebensstils stellt für den Automobilmarkt in erster Linie ein Instrument zur Segmentierung des Marktes dar. Bestimmte Zielgruppen werden identifiziert und der Absatz der Produkte für diesen Personenkreis wird optimiert. Standardisierte Modelle der Sozialwissenschaften werden in der Ökonomie unmittelbar eingesetzt. Untersucht wurde der Lebensstil im Rahmen dieser Arbeit in einem erweiterten Kontext – unter anderem erfolgte eine Betrachtung des Lebensstils neben alternativen Methoden der Marktsegmentierung. (2) Im Mittelpunkt stand eine Fallstudie bei Peugeot Deutschland, einem Importeur französischer Fahrzeuge in Deutschland. Der Nutzen des Lebensstils für diesen Anbieter im Automobilmarkt wurde quantifiziert und in Relation zu weiteren Verfahren der Zielgruppenselektion gestellt. Dazu erfolgte zunächst eine Darstellung des aktuellen Standes der Sozialforschung zum Thema Lebensstil mit den für ein Unternehmen heute relevanten Modellen der Institute und Agenturen. (3) Zu Beginn des empirischen Teils stand eine ausführliche Analyse der aktuellen Rahmenbedingungen im Automobilmarkt. Es folgte die Erörterung der besonderen Situation von Peugeot als deutsche Importortorganisation einer französischen Konzernzentrale. Vier umfangreiche Experteninterviews sowie eine Inhaltsanalyse von Schulungsunterlagen verdeutlichten die aktuelle Nutzung der verschiedenen Möglichkeiten der Marktsegmentierung bei Peugeot in Deutschland. (4) Über eine Diskriminanzanalyse wurde in Folge ein Modell für eine Optimierung der Zielgruppenplanung erarbeitet, welche in Relation zu bestehenden Ansätzen, besonders den Typologien des Lebensstils, gestellt wurde. Es konnte für die Marke Peugeot in Deutschland aufgezeigt werden, dass die Variablen des Lebensstils grundsätzlich eine hohe Erklärungskraft für das Konsumverhalten besitzen, diese jedoch eine geringere Bedeutung als geografische oder soziodemografische Merkmale aufweisen. Weiterhin wurde die Diskriminanzanalyse für die Optimierung in der Media-Planung eingesetzt. Dargestellt wurde am Beispiel der Media-Planung, dass eine Kombination der Kriterien des Lebensstils mit automobilspezifischen Variablen effizienter ist als die Verwendung einheitlicher Lebensstiltypologien der Institute.
- Enhanced information processing of phobic natural images in participants with specific phobias (2014)
- From an evolutionary point of view, it can be assumed that visual processing and rapid detection of potentially dangerous stimuli in the environment (e.g., perilous animals) is highly adaptive for all humans. In the present dissertation, I address three research questions; (1) Is information processing of threatening stimuli enhanced in individuals with specific phobias? (2) Are there any differences between the different types of phobia (e.g., spider phobia vs. snake phobia)? (3) Is the frequently reported attentional bias of individuals with specific phobias - which may contribute to an enhancement in information processing – also detectable in a prior entry paradigm? In Experiments 1 to 3 of the present thesis non-anxious control, spider-fearful, snake-fearful, and blood-injection-injury-fearful participants took part in the study. We applied in each experiment a response priming paradigm which has a strong theoretical (cf. rapid-chase theory; Schmidt, Niehaus, & Nagel, 2006; Schmidt, Haberkamp, Veltkamp et al., 2011) as well as empirical background (cf. Schmidt, 2002). We show that information processing in fearful individuals is indeed enhanced for phobic images (i.e., spiders for spider-fearful participants; injuries for blood-injury-injection(BII)-fearful individuals). However, we found marked differences between the different types of phobia. In Experiment 1 and 2 (Chapter 2 and 3), spiders had a strong and specific influence in the group of spider-fearful individuals: Phobic primes entailed the largest priming effects, and phobic targets accelerated responses, both effects indicating speeded response activation by phobic images. In snake-fearful participants (Experiment 1, Chapter 2), this processing enhancement for phobic material was less pronounced and extended to both snake and spider images. In Experiment 3 (Chapter 4), we demonstrated that early information processing for pictures of small injuries is also enhanced in BII-fearful participants, even though BII fear is unique in that BII-fearful individuals show opposite physiological reactions when confronted with the phobic stimulus compared to individuals with animal phobias. These results show that already fast visuomotor responses are further enhanced in spider- and BII-fearful participants. Results give evidence that responses are based on the first feedforward sweep of neuronal activation proceeding through the visuomotor system. I propose that the additional enhancement in spider- and BII-fearful individuals depend on a specific hardwired binding of elementary features belonging to the phobic object in fearful individuals (i.e., effortless recognition of the respective phobic object via hardwired neuronal conjunctions). I suggest that these hardwired conjunctions developed due to long-term perceptual learning processes. We also investigate the frequently reported attentional bias of phobic individuals and showed that this bias is detectable in temporal order judgments using a prior entry paradigm. I assume that perceptual learning processes might also strengthen the attentional bias, for example, by providing a more salient bottom-up signal that draws attention involuntarily. In sum, I conclude that (1) early information processing of threatening stimuli is indeed enhanced in individuals with specific phobias but that (2) differences between divers types of phobia exist (i.e., spider- and BII-fearful participants show enhanced information of the respective phobic object; though, snake-fearful participants show no specific information processing enhancement of snakes); (3) the frequently reported attentional bias of spider-fearful individuals is also detectable in a prior entry paradigm.
- Visual Processing in Reading and Dyslexia (2015)
- The present research combines different paradigm in the area of visual perception of letter and words. These experiments aimed to understand the deficit underlying the problem associated with the faulty visual processing of letters and words. The present work summarizes the findings from two different types of population: (1) Dyslexics (reading-disabled children) and (2) Illiterates (adults who cannot read). In order to compare the results, comparisons were made between literate and illiterate group; dyslexics and control group (normal reading children). Differences for Even related potentials (ERP's) between dyslexics and control children were made using mental rotation task for letters. According to the ERP's, the effect of the mental rotation task of letter perception resulted as a delayed positive component and the component becomes less positive when the task becomes more difficult (Rotation related Negativity – RRN). The component was absent for dyslexics and present for controls. Dyslexics also showed some late effects in comparison to control children and this could be interpreted as problems at the decision stage where they are confused as to the letter is normal or mirrored. Dyslexics also have problems in responding to the letters having visual or phonological similarities (e.g. b vs d, p vs q). Visually similar letters were used to compare dyslexics and controls on a symmetry generalization task in two different contrast conditions (low and high). Dyslexics showed a similar pattern of response, and were overall slower in responding to the task compared to controls. The results were interpreted within the framework of the Functional Coordination Deficit (Lachmann, 2002). Dyslexics also showed delayed response in responding to the word recognition task during motion. Using red background decreases the Magnocellular pathway (M-pathway) activity, making more difficult to identify letters and this effect was worse for dyslexics because their M-pathway is weaker. In dyslexics, the M-pathway is worse; using a red background decreases the M activity and increases the difficulty in identifying lexical task in motion. This effect generated worse response to red compared to the green background. The reaction times with red were longer than those with green background. Further, Illiterates showed an analytic approach to responding to letters as well as on shapes. The analytic approach does not result from an individual capability to read, but is a primary base of visual organization or perception.
- Knowledge as a mental state? A Study on Oxford Realism (2009)
- Subject of this book is an epistemological consideration - a consideration which could be characterised as a main theme - maybe the main theme - of that part of philosophy we all know as epistemology: the nature of knowledge. But other than the most essays on the subject of knowledge, here I am going to deal with a largely overlooked account to try to find an answer to the epistemological question of knowledge. This is the mental state account of knowledge (Price in his 'Belief' the formulation ``mental acts'' and Williamson talks about a ``state of mind''). Or to put it into the question I chose as title: is knowledge a mental state? We have to concede first that there is only a small group of philosophers who used to explain knowledge in terms of a mental state, particularly the `Oxford Realists'. And secondly, the acceptance of the MS thesis is low and negative. There is an interesting detail here: unlike the poor interest in an epistemic theory such as the MS thesis, philosophers like Prichard or Austin (and their philosophical thinking) are not really living in the shadows of philosophical consideration. Indeed their philosophical impact is high level, if we consider for instance Prichard's moral writings or Austin's theory of speech acts. I think we can conclude from this fact that the reason of the `negative' ignorance in respect of their epistemological point of view was not caused by a negative quality of their philosophy. Now, the question we are faced with (and that should be answered here) is: what is wrong with the MS thesis even though it is held by high class philosophers? Why is the epistemic thinking of Cook Wilson, Prichard and Austin afflicted with such ignorance? I will try to explain this later on with the notion of an unreflected Platonian heritage during 2000 years of epistemic thinking - a notion which is similar to a point Hetherington has called ``epistemic absolutism''. So, there are three main purposes which I am pursuing in this consideration: 1.To explain the reasons why there is such an ignorance towards an assertion of the MS thesis. I am going to pursue this through an analysis of knowledge which will demonstrate the inappropriateness of the JTB thesis as an adequate analysis of knowledge. 2.To describe that it is a mistake to ignore or at least underestimate the MS thesis in the discussion of an appropriate definition of knowledge and to maintain that the MS thesis is the key to a general theory of knowledge. 3.Conclusion: If the first two steps are correct, the JTB thesis is insufficient in order to give an account of the nature of knowledge in general. A consequence from this is: all the epistemic theories which are dealing with the JTB thesis are based on deficient assumptions. Hence their results - notably the well-known externalism/internalism debate - are insufficient, too. So, there is a need for a new theory of knowledge based on the MS thesis. In the course of my consideration I am going to justify the following three theses: i) The JTB thesis as a definition of knowledge in general is deficient, as the JTB thesis describes the propositional aspect of knowledge only. But the propositional knowledge - the so-called `knowledge that' - is merely one element among others that has to be recognized in search of a theory of knowledge. ii) The status of the `knowledge that' is derivative and not ultimate. It is derived from the non- propositional knowledge in order to make the non-propositional knowledge communicable to others. The mode of the `knowledge that' is indirect and thus can be stated in the third person point of view only. This ultimate kind of knowledge - the knowledge which the `knowledge that' is derived from - is the non-propositional knowledge. Its mode is direct and hence it is restricted to the first person point of view. Therefore the basis towards a theory of knowledge in general has to be this non-propositional aspect of knowledge. iii) Hence, taking the first two theses for granted, an appropriate theory of knowledge needs an account of the non-propositional knowledge. The MS thesis will accomplish this task.
- Extended Artificial Memory. Toward an integral cognitive theory of memory and technology. (2013)
- This thesis is a contribution toward an integral cognitive theory of memory and technology. It, furthermore, develops a theory and prototype for technologically extending mind (memory and thinking).
- Exploring Higher Education in Honduras: towards a new learning concept with contributions of biology of knowledge (2013)
- There is growing international concern about the necessity to re-think the university so that it might remain relevant in a modern society. In the traditional task division at universities, knowledge is the main resource. Universities make use of both the cognitive and the informational approach. It was expected that universities use each approach to improve overall university performance. To effectively use the informational approach, universities should apply the tools from knowledge management. To effectively use the cognitive approach, universities must update their teaching-learning strategies to incorporate some of the recent advances in neuroscience and biology of knowledge, specifically from neurobiology and autopoiesis. With this frame, the main contribution of this work is the result of merging pedagogy and biology, towards an ideal future university. This goal was achieved through an exploratory study conducted to identify opportunities and difficulties in improving the teaching-learning process for the future of higher education in Honduras. The Delphi Study was used as a predictive method. Nineteen Honduran experts participated in this study, and two rounds were necessary to achieve consensus. The multi-disciplinary approach of this research addresses three different fields whose core element is knowledge. First, input from the present field of higher education is used to speak about the future. Second, input is taken from the biology of knowledge, and its contributions from neurobiology and autopoiesis that allow modifying and completing the already existing learning theories with a biological basis. Third, input is taken from the knowledge process, which is traditionally used as an organizational tool and know is translated to the individual level. The exploration shows that experts are concerned about all the missions and responsibilities of universities, but they agree that changes should primarily take place in the teaching dimension. Even though they are not aware of the possible contributions of biology, they suggest new forms of teaching that more favor skills development, promotes values, pertinent knowledge, and personal development over short-term contents. The resulting BRAIN Model encompasses the ideal future of higher education regarding teaching and learning, according to experts' answers. It provides a useful guide that any reform in teaching should take into account for a holistic, integral, and therefore more efficient learning task.


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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Dianne I am sorry to hear about your husband. It is interesting that his doctors drain him, since the doc here said they wouldn't - I will definitely mention the paracentesis when I see him today. But i think that the health system here tends to be less interventionist than in the states. perhaps I can push for having it done at least once so she is more comfortable for the journey home.
Marion I agree it seems daft to let her out no better than she got in. I have told them about her being from abroad, and they seemed to suggest that we should make that trip as soon as possible.
I hope I will be wiser after I meet with the doctor. Thanks for your responses they are really helpful.
1 Fri, 28 Dec 2012 00:20:13
Re: Help. Lots of pain- beginning of end? (7 replies, posted in General Discussion)
2 Thu, 27 Dec 2012 15:25:37
Re: Help. Lots of pain- beginning of end? (7 replies, posted in General Discussion)
Hi mark and Lainy
Thanks for your replies. I did take her to the hospital, and after 30 hours, 2 X-rays and a ct scan, they've turned around and said there is nothing they can do. They have explained that her very distended abdomen is caused by fluids which are the result of lesions in the small intestines. Additionally there are lesions throughout the peritoneal cavity. I only got a brief resume from the doctor about it, and am going to get the complete picture tomorrow morning. But he said if they drain the fluid it will only come back tomorrow, and they might introduce an infection. she was in so much misery when I brought her into the hospital (by ambulance) that the idea of bringing her back home in no better state, and then finding a way to fly her back to Israel, is daunting to say the least. I was so hoping they could at least relieve her immediate pain and discomfort.
Is this kind of end a common one? I mean the horrible bowel problems and the pain and the obstruction and the distension? Is there anything palliative that we can do for her? How urgent is it for me to get her back home?
I realise this is clearly the beginning of the end, but if others have had the misfortune to see this kind of ending, it would be useful for me to know what the next few weeks have in store.
3 Mon, 24 Dec 2012 18:12:55
Topic: Help. Lots of pain- beginning of end? (7 replies, posted in General Discussion)
Hi. My mother is in extreme pain for the last week, and it is hard to tell what is caused by the cancer and what is associated with all the meds she's on.
A brief history: my mom was diagnosed as CC (specifically gallbladder cancer, but it is apparently very similar to bileduct, and that is where her initial large tumour was) stage IV in april 2012, went through 4 months of chemo, then abandoned it as it stopped being effective. In November she was told she probably had 4-7 months, but that she could travel if she felt up to it. As I'm in the uk and she was in Israel, we planned for her to come for the holiday season. She travelled a week ago, but hasn't left her bed since she arrived. Her pain levels were increasing a bit back home, and she has lots of meds (mostly codeine based) to control it; but since arriving here she has had to double or triple some doses, and even then it doesnt seem to make much of an impact.
I have seen some discussions here about constipation, and I do think this is playing a role. Her tummy is distended. She is on laxatives although they are not helping much, and I think she can probably shift to taking them more often. She is barely eating and we are struggling to get much fluid in her, so it is hard to know how much we should expect her to 'go'. Similarly she has lots of gas, and she is also taking something for that (simeticone).
What I wish I knew is how much of her current (constant as well as intermittent sharp) pains are to do with cancer and how much are result of constipation? And if she is in as much pain as this, does it signal the beginning of an end? Is this one of the signs?
I have already been in touch with her GP (=family doctor) back home who is monitoring her day to day, and he recommended tweaking some of her meds. That helped a little although now it seems not to be working. If she has a severe obstruction issue, is this something that requires hospitalisation to sort out? Shall I try bombarding her with laxatives first?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
4 Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:06:07
Topic: Any experience with xeloda? (8 replies, posted in Chemotherapy)
Hello. I posted here many months ago when my mom got her diagnosis in April of stage IV gallbladder/bile duct cancer. She had four months of gem/cis from july-October, which initially seemed effective but then a new mass appeared and the oncologist said this was a sign that the cancer had developed resistance to the chemo regimen. That is just as well as the tollof the chemo was really starting to show on her, and as far as I was concerned we had reached a stage of the medicine being worse than the disease (in the context of the disease being incurable). her prognosis is now 4-7 months.
The doc said she wanted to switch to a new chemo medication, one called xeloda, which she can take in pill form (2 weeks on 1 week off).
Has anyone had any experience with it? And specifically, given the dire prognosis, should we be questioning whether to bother at all? Are there any statistics associated with this, like it's effective in x% of patients, while y% experience serious side effects? I know that's a tall order, but I am troubled that the doc just pushed this as the next thing to do, without positioning the alternative very much. My mother is just so whacked from the gem/cis, and it's not like all this is going to cure her, so what is the point of buyng time, if that time is spent in misery??
Apologies for the blather...!
5 Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:09:00
Re: Mom had unsuccessful surgery today, trying to absorb the news (13 replies, posted in Introductions!)
Dear Amy
This is exactly what is happening to me today. In for op, very optimistic, only to be told one hour in that it is inoperable and that there are nodules all over abdomen
Did they not suggest chemo at all to you, to halt the progress of the disease and maybe buy some time?
6 Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:48:53
Re: Bad news, mom not operable (12 replies, posted in Introductions!)
Thanks Lainy. It's obviously so disappointing and really a shock, we didn't allow ourselves to go too far in considering this kind of scenario.
Does this even qualify as a CC?
I feel like I now need to learn about a whole new disease...
7 Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:10:34
Topic: Bad news, mom not operable (12 replies, posted in Introductions!)
Hi everyone,
Well the news was grim. We came full of hope, but one hour into surgery dr.choti came out and said sadly it's inoperable.
He now thinks it is gallbladder cancer which is apparently more aggressive than runof the mill bile duct cancer. When he went in he saw seedlings all around the abdominal area. So now there is no longer a cure, we can only attempt to check the progress of the disease.
Still a lot of unknowns, need to get the results of pathologies, and now need to be transferred to the care of a medical oncologist.
The doctor would not be drawn much on the 'how long' questions, it could be 3 months it could be 3 years.
Any advice?
8 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:49:14
Re: I'm new, mom about to have op (12 replies, posted in Introductions!)
Thanks everyone for these wonderful replies. Gavin, I watched the webinar with dr Choti which was really instructive and interesting, and definitely gave me buckets of confidence in him.
I am curious about the mention of an epidural. Is that something they give pre-op, in addition to a general anasthaetic? Is it common practice or do we need to ask for it?
we are off to the hospital at 4:30 am tomorrow, so will let you all know how it goes during the day...
9 Sun, 08 Apr 2012 11:31:08
Topic: I'm new, mom about to have op (12 replies, posted in Introductions!)
I've been reading through some of these great messages the last few weeks to try to get some idea of CC and what to expect.
My mother (68) has just been diagnosed with it, and they tell us the tumour is just a the bile duct bifurcation, mostly in the right bile duct. they have done 2 ercps, multiple ct scans and a few MRI scans for good measure. Still they can only say with very guarded confidence that they don't think it has spread.
She is being treated by the team at Johns Hopkins medical centre, specifically under the care of Dr. Michael Choti.
She is due to have an operation on Wednesday to resect her bile duct, gall bladder and two thirds of her liver.
First and foremost I was hoping to get an idea from others on this group what I can expect in terms of post surgery. I have been told she will be in hospital approx a week. Is this right? Will she be in great pain, will she be out of it most of the time? Will she be able to sit up in bed after a few days? What advice can you give me about things to have ready for her to make things more comfortable (for example I am getting a bunch of movies loaded onto an iPad for her to watch, is that realistic?). And longer term, how long, assuming all goes well and they are able to do the surgery, until she is on her feet? Is she likely to need a nurse to look after her at home?
Also, has anybody here had any experience of the johns Hopkins team? I think they are supposed to be very good and I got a very positive impression from them. We did go for a second opinion at penn medical centre in philadelphia, but they seemed much more pessimistic in general, about success rates of the surgery, and also about my mothers case in particular. Even though they were looking at the same test and scan results as the other doctors, they seemed to see something different.
Apologies for such a long winded post. And I also apologise if I am asking for info that already appears in another part of the website or message boards. Happy to be directed elsewhere!


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I rode to my folks place today. Stopped for lunch in a small town halfway and had a milkshake and it reminded me of all the great touring milkshakes I've had. The ones where the REAL strawberries keep clogging up the straw. And they give you the stainless steel thing with all the shake that wouldn't fit into the glass. Mmm-Mm!!!
Today wasn't quite one of those... but just the memory of all those milkshakes made me want to go out on a tour.


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Editors' Note: The "Download Now" link directs you to the Android Market where you must continue the download process. This download may not be available in some countries.
Publisher's Description+
What's new in this version:
This version also expands the label of the email 2Thumbz option accessible from the device Menu button


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The European Commission has approved the proposed joint venture by Procter & Gamble (PG) and Teva (TEVA) to sell over-the-counter medicines, Reuters reports. The companies are targeting $1.3B in annual sales from the venture and see the potential to grow to $4B in annual sales towards the end of the decade.
- Finance
- Investment & Company Information
- The European Commission


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Human trafficking a worldwide problem
BYU conference explores widespread human trafficking
PROVO — The flowing-script labels on their necks, backs or legs are hard to miss.
"King Tae." "Property of Laylow." "Daddy's Lil (expletive)."
"Sometimes you hear that trafficking is called modern-day slavery," said University of Rhode Island professor Donna M. Hughes during a recent BYU conference on human trafficking. "I could give an hour-long lecture on how (they are) similar, but I just wanted to give you a few graphic examples."
And with that, Hughes showed a picture of a 16-year-old girl getting her pimp's name tattooed on her arm just three weeks after she met him.
Hughes has interviewed hundreds of women across the globe who have become property. They are modern-day slaves to fulfill the sexual demands of paying clients as arranged by their pimps or owners.
Yet, unlike historical slavery, many of today's slaves are not forced or stolen away. Instead, they're lured by the promise of jobs and financial security for their families.
"Someone feeds upon their economic and social vulnerabilities and lures them in," said Kevin Bales, president of Free the Slaves and author of "Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy."
"All over the world, they've told the same story," he said during the conference, sponsored by the BYU School of Social Work. "'I was in my village, in my fields, I was downtown on the street and someone pulled up in a truck and said, 'Hey, I've got jobs. Who wants a job?' They say, 'I looked at that person and he looked sketchy, but my children were hungry, and we needed medicine for my wife who was sick.'"
Then hundreds or thousands of miles later when they're put to work in dangerous, demeaning tasks, with a violent overseer and late or no paychecks, the people realize they're in trouble. But by then, it's too late, Bales said.
They're either physically restrained or immobilized by a mound of debt they've been forced to incur at the hands of their "employers."
And it's happening in remote villages, affluent cities and everywhere in between.
While it's nearly impossible to generate exact numbers of trafficking victims, UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked every year, said Frank Schmiedel, from the European Union, Delegation of the European Commission to the U.S.A.
The United Nation's International Labour Organization also estimates that at any given moment, a minimum of 270,000 victims are being exploited as a result of trafficking in Europe and North America, he said.
"People just don't think it's possible in the U.S.," said Jessica Woodbury, a first-year masters student in social work at BYU. "Especially (in) Utah, we're more trusting, more tight-knit. People don't think there's a need to learn about it because it may not apply here."
Yet, a federal jury recently indicted officials of the company Global Horizons, for "engaging in a conspiracy to commit forced labor and documented servitude," against nearly 400 Thai citizens who were brought to the United States between 2004 and 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Several of those Thai workers ended up in deplorable conditions in Utah.
But before the trafficking of women will stop, prostitution must be criminalized, Hughes explained.
Some countries regulate or legalize prostitution and benefit from the taxes on brothels and the sex trade. Others countries decriminalize it and eliminate all related laws. When governments try to prohibit it, they often punish the women who have been repeatedly victimized, she said.
Hughes explained that in a study from Chicago, nearly 89 percent of the individuals arrested in a sting were prostitutes, while only 10 percent were male solicitors and fewer than 1 percent were pimps, the men who organize and traffic the women.
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Sanford Children's CARE Clinic
At the Sanford Children's CARE Clinic, we provide a child-friendly environment for kids who may have been injured or abused. CARE stands for Child Abuse Referral and Evaluation. We use a team approach to diagnose, treat and prevent abuse and evaluate injuries without a known accident or cause.
We work with the Red River Children's Advocacy Center (RRCAC) to provide medical evaluations, treatments and recommendations. Our staff works with childcare agencies, medical agencies, law enforcement officials and social service agencies to educate the public about abuse and its prevention.Our team
As a division of Sanford, the CARE Clinic medical team includes:
- Medical doctors with special training in child abuse pediatrics
- Family nurse practitioners
- Child life specialists
- Other medical specialists who can help with diagnosis and treatment
How we can help Through the CARE Clinic, we offer a number of services including:
- Child-appropriate exams and medical evaluations for sexual abuse
- Forensic medical evaluation for other abuse types
- Evaluations involving child pornography
- Expert testimony in court cases
- Referrals to agencies, including social services and law enforcement
- Education for other medical and community agencies regarding diagnosis, treatment and prevention of child abuse
- Telephone consultation to medical providers, law enforcement, schools, child protection services and hospital emergency departments
- Hospital consultation
100 4th Street S
Suite 308
Fargo, ND 58103 US
(701) 234-4585


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when the 6 disk cd changer is inserted into the holding area in the center console, it displays "CDE" on the head unit display. The radio, tape player works fine. You can hear the changer make noises likes it trying to work, but just wont play the cd's.
by Visitor in Castleton, VA on June 29, 2010


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English Flock North for Cheaper Degree; Thousands of 'Fee Refugees' Apply to Scots Universities
Byline: GRAHAM GRANT
STUDENTS from England are flocking north of the Border to avoid paying thousands of pounds in top-up fees.
From next year, those attending English universities face paying an extra [pounds sterling]3,000 per course.
As a result, many are choosing to study in Scotland, where the Scottish Executive has ruled out imposing the controversial levy.
Statistics published yesterday by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) show that 4,289 students from England were accepted on to Scottish higher education courses this year - a 5.5 per cent increase on last year.
They also show that, across the UK, record numbers failed to get places this year as thousands scrambled to beat top-up fees.
Ucas said 106,430 students eligible for clearing - where they By Graham Grant Home Affairs Editor try to find a course after failing to get into their chosen degree - did not receive offers, about 10,000 more than in 2004.
Just over 9,600 gave up looking for a place altogether, 2,000 fewer than last year.
University chiefs suggest the record competition for places - applications were up by 37,000 - was in part due to students trying to get into university before having to pay top-up fees.
A higher education source said: 'There is a perception among many students in England that Scottish universities are a cheaper option. This means Scottish universities are becoming more popular.' From next year, tuition fees will rise from the current levels of about [pounds sterling]1,200 to [pounds sterling]3,000 a year in England.
Overall, 404,670 students across the UK were accepted on to courses, an increase of about 7.8 per cent on last year. …


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Read the articles below to help make your selections.
Bank on a storybook ending, by Pete Robbins
Pick offshore specialists for BASSfest, by Kevin Hawk
Go with momentum and local flavor, by Thomas Allen
Think "deep thinkers" on Lake Texoma, by Ronnie Moore
Finish strong with strong finishers, by Coy Greathouse
By Pete Robbins
Wow, what an Elite Series season it has been so far! Every 2016 tournament winner has in some way been a sentimental favorite, a throwback to history or a shout out to the future. More than any other year I can remember, this has been one where the yearbook will need to contain some extra pages.
After watching Rick Clunn, Britt Myers, Randall Tharp, Takahiro Omori and Kevin VanDam hoist their trophies, I really don't know how you could have written a better story, (although I'm sure that a hundred-plus Elite Series pros might disagree). In order to make it even more compelling and more unbelievable, you'd have to have Roland Martin, Shorty Evans, Emmanuel Lewis, Ryan Leaf and Sidd Finch in your brackets. Alas, I could not find them in mine, so I'll have to go with more conventional choices.
B.A.S.S. does not have much recent history on Texoma. There were three Central Opens on the Texas-Oklahoma border lake in 2007, 2008 and 2010, but comparatively few of the current Elite Series pros fished them, and even fewer did well. The winners were Brian Clark, Terry Butcher and Mike Pharr, none of whom fish the Elite Series today. If you go back to the last B.A.S.S. event there before that trio, it took place in 1998, when Jordan Lee was still carrying a lunchbox and watching Saturday morning cartoons.
I'm making my picks with an eye toward who's fishing well and likely to adapt, but also with the hope that these storybook endings will continue.
I said it before Toledo Bend and I'll say it again. The old saying is right: "Don't mess with (Keith Combs in) Texas!" While he's hit one or two speed bumps along the way, his record in his home state is truly amazing. While we think of him as being deadly on east Texas lakes like Rayburn and Toledo, and south Texas lakes like Falcon and Amistad, he's an assassin any time the water smells of Shiner Bock. He finished third here in 2010, 12th in 2008, and has multiple top finishes at Texoma with FLW. If you want a longshot, bet on him to fail. If you like safe bets, bet on him to excel.
I almost picked Jason Christie, who finished 17th here in 2007, and he is also semi-local. More importantly, he's a winner, and after at least one B.A.S.S. win every year from 2012 through 2014, he's gone winless since Dardanelle in May of 2014. He'll change that soon.
Like Christie and Combs, Stephen Browning is a proven winner. Right now, he's inside the Classic bubble in 28th, but previously he made Classics by winning two Opens at the Red River. That route to the big dance isn't available, but I'd be surprised if he doesn't make the Classic after missing it in 2016. He's one of those sneaky-good anglers who makes it almost all the time – four of the last six – and he'll need to feast on some relative home cooking (Texoma is only about four hours from his Arkansas residence) before heading north. He finished 10th at Texoma in 1998, and while that's a long way back, it shows that he gets how the game is played here.
I was tempted to pick Brent Chapman, another Classic bubble boy who did well here in '98, or KVD, who tends to win in streaks, but the latter's ownership percentage is going to be too high for my comfort.
I've had numerous Fantasy Fishing fans come to me in the past week and say that just when they finally gave up on KVD, he burned them and won. I picked Todd Faircloth at Toledo Bend, where there was every reason to believe that he'd be a hammer, and he just missed the money. That comes on the heels of a horrific 88th place finish at Wheeler. Right now he's 48th in the AOY standings, but if you'll remember last year he made an incredible late-season surge. He'll do the same this year, and it will start on the northern edge of his home state. I can't abandon him now and you can bet that tears will flow if he wins.
It was tough for me not to pick Tommy Biffle for this one, as it is every time we play this game. While his limited B.A.S.S. finishes on Texoma have been poor, he's due to win after going three years without one, an extra-long streak for one of the greatest winners in Elite Series history. It wouldn't be a comeback of Clunn proportions, but it would show once again that the old guard is still a threat.
How do you solve a mystery like Jeff Kriet? I've been in the boat with dozens of Elite Series pros, and few have impressed me with their understanding of the game like Kriet. If firing on all cylinders, he should be in the Classic every year, yet he hasn't been there since 2012. He earned the lone win of his B.A.S.S. career on Texoma in 1998, and there would be no place better to get things truly back on track than his home waters. In a season full of inspirational wins, it might be the best of them all.
Billy McCaghren is another angler whose personality gets in the way of us understanding his talents. It's not that he's ornery or difficult, just quiet. To borrow Don Barone's words, "a working stiff." After four straight misses, he needs a check – and a good one, at that – to get back on track to fish consecutive Classics for the first time in his career.
There are lots of proven sticks in Bucket E – guys like John Murray, Chad Morgenthaler and David Walker who've shown an ability to win but who generally haven't performed up to their abilities this year. Luke Clausen is a proven winner who has gotten smoked so far on the Elite Series, with four straight finishes of 82nd or worse. Of course, the horrible finish at Wheeler is attributable to being disqualified, and while I have no need to go into the "what ifs" of that situation, I have to rely on the fact that at some point he's going to break out of the slump and demonstrate the talent that has made him one of the few pros to win both the Bassmaster Classic and the Forrest Wood Cup. If he were to win, it might explode the bass blogosphere with stories of redemption and theories of conspiracy.
We've seen rookies like Derek Remitz and Casey Ashley earn victories in the past, but it might be the hardest feat the sport has to offer. Obviously, Bucket E has a lot of rookies. Some of them are cannon fodder while others will go onto long careers in the sport. If Jay Brainard wants to fall into the latter category, and I'm sure he does, he'll need to get the ball rolling in his home state but his record wasn't quite lengthy enough for me to pick him.
By Kevin Hawk
As a former Elite Series angler I thought I'd have no problem assembling strong Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing rosters this year, because I feel I know most of the Elite Series anglers strengths and weaknesses better than most. I'd almost consider it inside information. Well, I was wrong. I've only had one strong roster (Bull Shoals) so far this year. Every other event has been a disaster. I'm not giving up though, especially as we get ready for BASSfest on Lake Texoma.
Lake Texoma is a massive man-made reservoir on the Texas/Oklahoma border, and most of the Elite Series field will be idling and graphing offshore in search of postspawn bass. While there'll be anglers who find shallow-water patterns, like flipping vegetation (if the water level is up) and boat docks, the winner and most of the Top 12 will be focused out deep.
The entire Elite field has experience fishing offshore, but there are certain anglers who are better at it than others. I'm picking anglers who I feel specialize in offshore fishing — the ones who will gladly idle and graph from daylight to dark for three practice days in a row knowing that's what it will take to find the winning school(s).
I don't know of any angler in the field, except for maybe KVD, who has as much confidence in their deep-cranking skills as Keith Combs does. He's coming off a fourth-place finish on Toledo Bend where he used a Strike King 6XD and 10XD to catch postspawn largemouth. He'll be fishing the same pattern on Texoma in June.
I also like that Combs pre-fishes most of the events prior to off-limits. He made a trip to Toledo Bend prior to the cut-off to look for areas that should be holding fish during the tournament and I'm sure he did the same at Texoma.
Seriously considered: Takahiro Omori
Omori is an accomplished deep-water angler who already has a win this year fishing for offshore postspawn bass. I expect him to be hunting hard bottom areas and schools of postspawn bass on Texoma, just like he did at Wheeler.
Kevin VanDam has won back-to-back Elite events before, and I could easily see him doing it again. He has both confidence and momentum coming into Texoma after his win on Toledo Bend last week, and he'll be catching them the way he likes best — deep cranking.
I realize KVD might be the obvious pick in Bucket B, but he may be so obvious that Fantasy Fishing players intentionally leave him off their roster. Not me.
Seriously considered: Brent Chapman
After two Top-5 tournaments to open the year Chapman has struggled the last three events. I however, see a lot of similarities between Lake Texoma and Toledo Bend, where Chapman won in 2012, and had a good finish in 2014. I know he didn't fish well on the Bend last week, but I still feel he has the offshore skills required to make the Top 12 on Texoma.
Micah Frazier is an angler that's not going to be on many Fantasy Fishing rosters at this event, but he should be. Even though he doesn't carry the name recognition of Skeet Reese or Dean Rojas, Frazier is a talented and experienced angler who fished the FLW Tour for several years before qualifying for the Elites.
Frazier has a strong offshore fishing skill-set with experience on big water. He's spent many days fishing the Tennessee River chain, and while Texoma sets up differently than the lakes on the TVA chain, he's acquired the offshore dedication it will take to be successful here.
Seriously considered: Josh Bertrand
Bertrand started fishing the Elite Series in 2013 and he has proven he belongs by qualifying for two Classics — not to mention finishing in the Top-50 in half of the events he's entered. Coming from Arizona, Bertrand has spent a lot of time fishing offshore and is well-rounded with the techniques that I think will be effective on Texoma, like throwing weighted swimbaits, deep-diving crankbaits, and dragging football jigs.
Like Combs and KVD, Timmy Horton is another deep-cranking specialist who loves to fish offshore. I know he hasn't fished very well this year, but his strengths give him an advantage on Lake Texoma in early June. If he's able to find the quality school(s) of fish needed to compete, he can certainly catch them.
Seriously considered: Brandon Card
Card is an offshore specialist who loves to fish deep. He's spent considerable time fishing places like Douglas and Kentucky lakes during the summer months. Not only does he know how and where to search for offshore bass, but he has the ability to catch them as well.
There's no rule against picking an angler twice in a row, so I'm picking Chad Morgenthaler again. I know he's best known for his shallow grass fishing skills, but he has the ability to find and catch them out deep as well. I feel he'll use the same approach as he did on Toledo Bend — sticking to one area of the lake for the entire practice and figure out how best to catch those fish. By staying committed to one area of the lake he won't be running all over Texoma's massive 89,000 surface acres, which means he'll have more time to find the fish it will take to compete.
Seriously considered: Paul Elias
I know Elias is currently in last place in the AOY race, but he's proven his offshore prowess when he cranked and Carolina rigged his way to the podium on Lake Falcon in 2008. With more tournament experience than any angler in Bucket E, Elias might surprise some Fantasy Fishing players with a Top-12 performance.
By Thomas Allen
I'd love to tell you that I had a good showing at Toledo Bend, but to remain consistent with my season thus far, my picks tanked. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record … scratch that, I AM a broken record that is titled "Woe was me". Want to join the pity party?
Nah. I'm not loosing any sleep over it, but I do plan on turning things around at the Texas/Oklahoma border reservoir, Lake Texoma.
What makes this event difficult is lack of recent history on the lake. There really isn't much to go on, which will make the end result very interesting. I'm inclined to go along with Pete Robbins' insight about this being another storybook ending.
I'm throwing out all statistical logic, and I'm making my selections based on living proximity and season momentum. Like I said before, I can really only go up from here.
Gerald Swindle is one of bass fishing's favorite personalities, and that often overshadows his world-class ability to catch bass across the nation. He's having a solid year, and I don't think you'd find many fans, pundits or critics who wouldn't like to see the G-Man take one home. He's making a very strong showing in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race, and is way overdue for a title. Not only do I want him to win, I think he's got a great chance to build on his momentum and climb the AOY leaderboard.
Dark Horse: Matt Herren just won the annual Toyota Texas Bass Classic. And, he's done well in every Elite Series event this year; he is probably the most underrated stick in Bucket A. Herren will finish strong here, especially because he seems to excel in unfamiliar bodies of water.
A pair of Alabama boys in Bucket A for me.
I have no idea if Kelly Jordon of Flint, Texas, has even seen Lake Texoma before. But, he doesn't' live too terribly far from the lake, and he's coming into this event in 25th place in the AOY race. He's not way inside the Classic-bid bubble, but he's having a solid year and looking to build on his AOY standing. It's been a while since the veteran has won an event, and he's certainly capable of doing so at Texoma.
Dark Horse: Stephen Browning is not only one of the nicest guys on tour, he's a consistent angler who's due a big win. Remember the storybook ending that Robbins mentioned? This could be the guy who makes that happen — wouldn't' surprise me in the slightest.
Todd Faircloth is the kind of angler who will get my support in Fantasy Fishing nearly every time. He's had an uncharacteristically difficult season, but he's known for making checks and ending his season on a high note. He needs a good showing at this event, and with little history on this lake, like Herren, he also excels on unfamiliar bodies of water that might be a little extra difficult. Texoma is high and dirty, which could be a perfect combination for the Jasper, Texas, resident.
Dark Horse: Josh Bertrand is really coming into his own as a Bassmaster Elite Series pro. I think he's fished very well this season, and he is due to crack one of these events wide open for his first major victory. One of the classiest guys on tour could make a big name for himself at Texoma.
This is an easy pick for me. Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Okla., lives right up the road, and is easily one of the most underrated sticks on the tour. Just like most of my other selections, he's due for a good showing. This would be the best storybook ending possible at Texoma. Not only and am I confident in Kriet, I'm also rooting for him.
Dark Horse: Mark Davis is a veteran in this game, and he's the kind of pro angler who could show up at any tournament and win. He's been pretty quiet over the past few years, but the Old Guard is still very strong in a pool of young, hot sticks. Davis could shock them all at this tournament.
I've had Chad Morgenthaler selected more than once this year only to swap him out with a different choice before the event took place. Each time, it bit me. Not this time. I think he's underrated this year and in the wrong bucket, which makes choosing him an easy decision. I bet he rights his ship at this tournament and surprises the field.
Dark Horse: Matt Lee is a very talented, young bass angler, and finding him in Bucket E is uncharacteristic. He knows that the time to change his luck will be at Lake Texoma.
By Ronnie Moore
Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing can be a fickle game at times, a game that isn't for the feint of heart. Some days are up, some are down — and some are up and down at the same time. With two of my selections at Toledo Bend in the Top 12 and two that placed below 90th, this accurately sums up my season. Ish Monroe and Tommy Biffle were the stars of my team on The Bend.
Lake Texoma should be dominated deep, and that is where I'm placing all of my confidence. The high water level is a concern for all the field, but those who are proficient with a big worm or deep-diving crankbait. Numerous anglers took advantage of the week between Wheeler and Toledo Bend to pre-practice on Texoma, but with the water over seven feet above full pool, they will see a different lake a couple weeks from now.
As of this writing, the water has dropped only a foot. That fact alone makes me shy away from the anglers who will be depending on a shallow bite.
Safe Bet: Keith Combs
With the water dropping to just above full pool, those fish that were shallow will have pulled off into deeper water in the coming weeks. Who better to find and catch deep schools of bass? Combs is one of the best in the game under those conditions.
Worth a Risk: Edwin Evers
Evers fished his first Top 12 of the regular season at Toledo Bend, and I think he is on track for another good showing just several hours northwest of the Bend at Lake Texoma. I bet he finds four days of solid limits offshore.
Gut tells me: Combs
I need a good finish in Bucket A, (yes I'm still snake-bitten in Bucket A) so Combs is the safest bet I can think of.
Safe Bet: Kevin VanDam
KVD has to be feeling good after an exciting win at Toledo Bend. Every year someone catches fire during the summer months, and patterns the fish from lake to lake — I bet VanDam does just that at Texoma.
Worth a Risk: Brent Ehrler
I've never been to Lake Texoma, but there aren't many lakes where I don't trust Ehrler to do well on. From what I've heard Texoma can fish small, especially offshore, but I know crowds of anglers won't shake Ehrler. I personally believe the time for Ehrler to hoist a trophy above his head is very near.
Gut tells me: VanDam
Over 80 percent of fantasy fishing players could pick KVD and I still wouldn't care. This is that one time of the year when I'll pick with my heart and disregard ownership percentage. VanDam, crankbaits and Texoma sound good to me.
Safe Bet: Adrian Avena
It seems that in his first five tournaments on the Elite Series, Adrian Avena is still finding himself and adjusting to the competition during his rookie season. He has two Top 20's this year, one finish in the mid-50's and two worse than 80th. One thing is for sure: Avena puts in the work needed during practice. He's not shy about practicing daylight to dark, which will pay off big time for him going forward.
Worth a Risk: Josh Bertrand
Arizona angler Josh Bertrand seems to be chomping at the bit for the deep-water summer events. Deep water seems to be his specialty, and I think that will play BASSFest.
Gut tells me: Bertrand
Both Avena and Bertrand have a low ownership percentage at the moment, so I'm fine with both anglers in this situation. I am going with Bertrand because of his overwhelming excitement for fishing deep over the next few months, plus he's on the rise and really settling in as a pro.
Safe Bet: Jeff Kriet
Jeff Kriet knows Texoma well, and lives just up the road in Ardmore, Oklahoma. You can't get much safer than an angler who likes to fish deep on a lake that should setup to his strengths.
Worth a Risk: Tim Horton
Fishing offshore is Timmy Horton's deal. Numerous people have said it before, but his ability to catch multiple fish on a crankbait continually impresses me. I bet that he will take advantage of a good offshore bite and finish strong. There is no doubt that he is one of the best when it comes to scanning deep water with his electronics. It's only a matter of time until he puts it together deep this year.
Gut tells me: Kriet
Kriet knows this tournament is big for the rest of his season. He will show up and do well at this event.
Safe Bet: Chad Pipkens
There is something about Chad Pipkens and late season success that makes him a great pick from here on out. Last season Pipkens made a charge to qualify for the Classic after a slow start. It'll be hard to dig his way out of the hole this year, but you've got to start somewhere, and Texoma will setup in his favor.
Worth a Risk: Matt Lee
Matt Lee did pretty well at Toledo Bend. Good mojo can go a long ways for an angler's confidence, and although most anglers in Bucket E are "struggling," someone does well in this bucket at every event. Why not the eldest Lee?
Gut tells me: Pipkens
This was a coin flip because both guys are in a similar situation this year, but they each have the ability to do well at Texoma.
By Coy Greathouse
When I set out to take on all of you Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing players out there, I had every intention of wreckin' shop like I have in past years. Except this year, I'm the one on the bottom.
However, I can say that I finally pulled out a tournament with more than 1 angler in the top 50! Since we were short on time between events, there wasn't enough room to squeeze in my picks, but my team and there finishes were as follows:
Bucket A: Chris Zaldain – 67th, 141 points
B: Todd Faircloth – 57th, 161
C: Skeet Reese – 31st, 213
D: Tommy Biffle – 9th 264
E: David Walker – 100th, 75
Total: 854 points
I gave myself a little bit of freedom with my picks, and I decided I would see how changing at every whim panned out for me. I have to say, I posted the best score of the season … which is pitiful. I made some good gut choices and some bad ones. I had KVD for a short stent, which would have helped by almost 150 points. I felt really strongly about Todd Faircloth and David Walker because they are absolute studs when it comes to postspawn and grass. How they didn't do better, I'll never know
So here's where we stand: (It hurts to even share it with you, but for the sake of science, I will.) I am currently in a cool 26,100th place and around 11.7 percent.
Moving forward, I think I need to do two things. First, from a season standpoint, just like any tournament angler who might find himself near the bottom, I need to pick myself up by the britches and try to hammer out a solid finish.
Like my buddy Sean Devos said on the Facebook page, it might be time to bust out the dartboard and start throwing darts at anglers' names. While it is painfully obvious that going solely on history doesn't work, I can't think of a better way to choose my picks. I am going to continue to narrow it down to the 10 to 15 anglers who historically and technically have the best chance, and then choose based on my gut. Very few of these anglers have any recorded history on Texoma, so I'm basing this more off of techniques than anything.
Initial Pick: Keith Combs
Second Guess: Randy Howell
When I think of Texoma, I think of rocky, deep and mostly clear, however there is a ton of shallow, dirty water to be found the further from the dam you get. It is definitely going to be 95-percent postspawn, and I think topwater prowess and deep, slow-moving lures will come into play.
When I think postspawn, I immediately think of Combs. His ability to find transition spots is unreal. He typically shines in dirty water, so if he can find a concentration moving out like he did at Toledo Bend, he'll have a shot.
Howell is almost guaranteed to have a crankbait rod in his hand, cranking rocks. I could see this being a similar technique to his prespawn cranking spot in the Guntersville Classic. Both of these guys have some momentum this season, minus Howell's 73rd-place finish at Toledo Bend. I have to give the edge to Howell though.
Initial Pick: Brent Ehrler
Second Guess: Cliff Pace, Ott Defoe
I really see two tournaments happening here. There are lots of 2- to 3-pound largemouth and some really nice 4-to 5-pound smallmouth bass down on the south end of the lake, but there are a lot more 3- to 4-pound largemouth further up the lake. It will be a battle of the mixed bag verses a largemouth limit caught further up the lake. A 15 to 16-pound bag should play well here. In fact, I think if one can manage 14 pounds per day, an angler should finish in the top 30.
With the stout population of sizable smallies on the lower end, I'm going to call on my clear-water fellas to make it happen. I think Cliff Pace could make a run at this one. Climbing jigs around rocks and throwing a jerkbait will be right in his wheelhouse. I also think Ott Defoe could make a showing too.
Brent Ehrler is an absolute hammer when it comes to clear water and finesse. I am confident he will show up. I have to stand by my gut and give this bucket to Ehrler.
Initial Pick: Mike McClelland
Second Guess: Josh Bertrand
Deep rock and jigs = McClelland. If he can find bass doing that, I guarantee he'll end up in the money.
I think an overlooked angler will be Josh Bertrand. When you get access to some clear water and have smallmouth in the picture, Josh Bertrand shines. He's another one of those that my gut twists a little harder when my mouse scrolls over his name.
Tommy Biffle is one other one who is riding some pretty sweet momentum here. I picked him at Toledo Bend and he did me proud! He could get that ole Biffle Bug out and go to work on these clear-water bass. I have to go with his momentum on this one.
Initial Pick: Mark Davis
Second Guess: Jeff Kriet
There are almost zero picks in this bucket that can compare to Mark Davis. He is a well rounded postspawn master who can do it all. I have leaned on him once this season and it didn't pan out. However, this is too far into his wheelhouse for him not do well at this event.
If I were to give someone else the nod in this bucket, it would be Kriet. I nearly picked him at Toledo Bend, which would have cost me a few spots, but I think this lake sets up well for Kriet's style.
Initial Pick: Bernie Schultz
Second Guess: David Walker
Bucket E has been extremely tough for me this year… but then again, so have A, B, C and D. When I think of Floridian, Bernie Schultz, I immediately think of shallow-water flipping. However, he has proven that he can flat-out catch bass in a clear-water situation. I expect he'll stay near the dam and try to find the big smallmouth.
The big pick in this bucket is David Walker. After his tough tournament last week, I am surprised to see he is owned by 51 percent at this point. I know how good of an angler he is, and I'm sure he will pull his season together. This needs to be his season's turning point. I'm going to go against the masses though and stick with Schultz on this one.
There's really no chance for me to make it back to a top 50 percent at this point, but I'm sure going to try my best. Here's to a better second half of the season!
MANY, La. — Ranked as America's top bass lake in 2015 by Bassmaster magazine, the ARE Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend didn't disappoint. Between the Bassmaster Classic and the first four Elite Series events of 2016, there have been a total of 38 20-pound bags weighed-in, but at Toledo Bend alone there were 35 limits brought to the scales that exceeded 20 pounds.
It was assumed that the tournament would be a slugfest, and that the anglers who excel with traditional postspawn bass tactics would be solid picks for Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing players.
Be it a surprise or not, legendary Kalamazoo, Mich., angler Kevin VanDam went wire-to-wire for his first victory since the 2011 GEICO Bassmaster Classic. Toledo Bend is a lake renowned for giant bass that love to eat big crankbaits, which really set up perfectly for VanDam —and he capitalized with dominance, and was the best Fantasy selection.
While nobody had a perfect roster, the best one for this event was set by "choochoo1159" who earned 1,428 points, ranked 7,304th and in the 75.3 percentile.
"choochoo1159's" picks:
Bucket A: Hank Cherry, 276 points
B: Aaron Martens, 243
C: Kevin VanDam, 360
D: Chris Lane, 295
E: Morizo Shimizu, 254
Total: 1,428
The current No. 1 ranked Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing player following Toledo Bend is "camo21" with a total of 5,962 points.
"camo21's" picks for Toledo Bend:
Bucket A: Gerald Swindle, 207 points
E: Matt Lee, 179
Total 1,284
Toledo Bend's perfect team:
Bucket A: Keith Combs, 285 points
B: Ish Monroe, 290
E: Paul Mueller, 280
Total: 1,510
Keith Combs held the second most support in this bucket with 8.1-percent ownership, which paid out 285 points due to a solid fourth-place finish. After a strong showing, Combs is now holding down the eighth place in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race.
Second-best choice: Hank Cherry had a tremendous tournament that bumped him into fourth place in AOY. He finished in sixth place at Toledo Bend earning his 0.2-percent ownership 276 points
Worst choice: Brent Chapman endured an uncharacteristic finish of 85th place, which was the least productive selection in Bucket A. Despite having won on Toledo Bend in 2012, he produced only 105 points for his 2.3-percent ownership.
Ish Monroe came to Many, La., with only 1.9-percent ownership in Bucket B, but he managed to finish in third place earning his fans 290 points.
Second-best choice: Edwin Evers earned his 5.7-percent ownership 260 points with a 10th-place finish.
Worst choice: Cliff Prince owned 0.3 percent of the bucket, but ended up finishing the tournament in 99th place earning his ownership only 77 points.
Those who have been consistently betting on Kevin VanDam to make a dramatic comeback were finally rewarded with a win and 360 points. The legendary angler captured his 21st victory after several difficult seasons. He had the strongest ownership in Bucket C with 18 percent.
Second-best choice: Brett Hite earned his 4.2-percent ownership 272 points after finishing the event in seventh place.
Worst choice: Carl Jocumsen was the lowest-scoring angler in this bucket after finishing in an uncharacteristic 108th place earning his 1.6-percent ownership only 59 points.
Chris Lane turned his struggling season around at this event. He came into Toledo Bend dominating Bucket D with 59.9-percent ownership and after all was said and done, he earned his supporters 295 points after a solid second-place finish.
Second-best choice: Tommy Biffle finished in ninth place earning his 4.3-percent ownership 264 points.
Worst choice: Randy Allen finished near the bottom at 107th place earning his 2.5-percent ownership only 61 points.
Mueller surprised his 1.8-percent ownership with a fifth-place finish and 280 points.
Second-best choice: Morizo Shimizu fished well and finished in 12th place granting his 1.3-percent ownership 254 points.
Worst choice: Fabian Rodriguez finished in 106th place granting his 0.1-percent ownership only 63 points.
Want to discuss your picks? Join the Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing group on Facebook!
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Compete for a chance to win great prizes, including a boat and motor, and $2,500 gift cards.


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Admission: Free
Meeting Place: Wonder House
There are different wonders of nature to see, touch and even smell. This is a fun interactive way of exploring things found in our park. Join the park interpreter to discover the natural world.
Explore Queen Wilhelmina State Park with our helpful maps and brochures! Just click on an icon to view, or right-click on your mouse to save a
copy to your computer.


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To accomplish this mission our officers go through an extensive training program and many are former or retired police from neighboring agencies. The officers patrol our campus by foot, vehicle, and an IMPBA trained bike patrol.
The university police department provides several services as part of its uniformed patrol. These services include:


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Hello, college football kickoff
One of America's great sporting institutions, college football, kicks off tonight. But you wouldn't know it.
Something like its basketball brothers, who open the season not in the spotlight but in the shadows, football slips in without making a sound. Six major-college games will be played tonight, including some decent matchups.
North Carolina State at South Carolina. Wake Forest at Baylor. Oregon State at Stanford. Not exactly Ohio State-Michigan, but not bad ballgames.
Yet where is the revelry? Where is the celebration? Even Saturday's full lineup of games seems void of the party befitting the end of a long, hot summer with no football.
Only two sports launch their seasons with a boom, and baseball isn't one of them. Baseball once began with a carnival. Parades and parties and opening pitches by presidents. Cincinnati, the oldest of baseball towns, was the traditional season opener. But now, tradition has been trumped, with games opening somewhere on Sunday night, and this season even almost a week before, with games in Japan. Japan!
The only two sports that trumpet their arrival are the NFL and NASCAR. NASCAR cuts out all the preliminaries by going straight to the Daytona 500, the great American race. And the NFL has embraced its product by spotlighting an opener. The NFL season now begins on a Thursday night, with a marquee matchup and a street party and a loud pronouncement that all pretenders can step aside. Our nation's favorite pastime has arrived.
College football opens its season the way a poor hosts throws a party. Sends out a form letter without making personal contact. College football's marquee time slot has become Labor Day, with a Monday night matchup of powers. Miami-Florida State held that slot for several years but backed out. This year, it's UCLA-Tennessee, which isn't half bad.
But why not set up a showdown on Thursday night? Why not ask Missouri-Illinois or Alabama-Clemson to move their game up a couple of days and take the national spotlight. Throw a party. Both those games this year are in big cities (St. Louis and Atlanta) on neutral fields. Have the world's biggest tailgate today in Atlanta or St. Louis. Play a game the whole nation is waiting. Even huge games sometimes get lost on a Saturday, because there are so many games. A Thursday night season opener won't.
Some schools are loath to move games off Saturdays because of campus traditions, but these games already are off campus. And some schools don't mind playing Thursdays.
Let's celebrate Opening Day. Let's celebrate college football. Don't let the sport come in like a lamb.


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A Franklin College student thought she had her future all figured out with plans to work at the Statehouse and attend law school.
Instead, she's headed for Japan to help students learn English for two years.
Shanice Myers will spend the next two years in Kuji, Japan, helping students there learn English and assisting the city's mayor. Her trip is part of the college's partnership with Kuji, a sister city of Franklin. But before packing her bags in July, Myers will receive her political science degree from Franklin College on May 24.
A few months ago, Myers expected to be preparing for law school. But now she's learning the basics of the Japanese language and important customs of that country, such as bowing before the mayor when he enters the room.
Myers worked with the Indiana Senate during this year's legislative session and thought she would continue that job full time. At the time, she thought working in the Statehouse would be perfect: She likes helping constituents and would get a tuition reimbursement to go to law school.
But she received an email about the program in Kuji and decided to apply. She was chosen from a group of six students, all of whom submitted a resume, transcript and a letter detailing why they were interested in the program. All candidates were then asked to participate in an interview.
Franklin College has been sending two students to Kuji, a city of about 30,000 people in northeastern Japan, for about 25 years. Participants assist instructors who teach students English, while also helping Kuji's mayor with planning events and accommodating guests.
Students develop enhanced global skills and the ability to interact with different cultures. They also develop a greater self-reliance, often having to communicate nonverbally. Many students slowly learn Japanese during their time in Kuji, an area that does not have many people who speak English, said Jennifer Cataldi, current program organizer and director of global education at the college.
"Simply, I expect our students
to be involved deeply in foreign culture and diversification," said Franklin College professor Hisaya Kitaoka, the previous organizer of the program. "I want them to relate to a different culture, and they are expected to learn when there."
Myers meets with Kitaoka about once a week to learn the basics of the Japanese language, such as asking where the bathroom is located. She also is learning about the currency and logistical issues, such as how she will get to her apartment, Myers said.
She is nervous about going to a country where she does not speak the language but is excited to try new foods and learn about a different culture.
"Franklin College really emphasizes the importance of being culturally aware," Myers said. "They want us to strive to do anything and everything in terms of different groups and organizations."
Students are required to live in Kuji for two years and have the option to renew for a third year. The program is unique because students do not have to be fluent in Japanese or even be an education major, Cataldi said.
Cataldi's husband, for example, participated in the program, and he was an American studies major, she said. Myers is a political science major who doesn't speak Japanese. She began college as a biology major but switched to political science with thoughts of going to law school. That led to internships with Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind.; the U.S. Army Legal Services department; and the Indiana State Senate.
Myers will receive an apartment and vehicle, round-trip airfare to Japan, paid sick leave and an annual salary of $33,000, according to the Franklin College website.
She knew little about Indiana, and much less the city of Franklin, when she visited Franklin College as a high school senior. Myers is from Clinton, Maryland, which is about 20 minutes from the nation's capital. She decided to visit Franklin after meeting an admissions recruiter at her high school.
"I fell in love with the hospitality of the Midwest and Indiana," Myers said.


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Fleming's Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Woodland Hills
6373 Topanga Canyon Boulevard
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
View Map | 818-346-1005
Cost: $35
Posted By: Sahlman Williams
Contact the Poster | View Other Events by this Poster
Event ID #304274
You can find current events for Los Angeles by clicking here.
LocalWineEvents.com is the #1 ranked website for consumers who ARE ACTIVELY seeking local wine & food events to attend.
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Queens Arms
Venue Details & Map
Queens Arms
- Address
42 Orford RoadWalthamstowLondonE17 9NJ
- Public transport:
- Walthamstow Central, Underground
A decent enough gastropub which we stopped by for a quick drink. Nice selection of beers and ales at ok prices. Vibe is slightly unusual for my likely. A bit simple and too clean cut. I feel like it's lost some of it's character. However, it does seem to match the general vibe of the other establishments on the same street. Food menu looked good and may be worth a try next time I'm in the area...more
Fantastic food, friendly vibe, and a great neighborhood pub to have in Walthamstow's trendy village. Although my husband's main did not impress, my delicious burger was one of the best I've ever had - the tangy, crunchy pickle and sauce made all the difference! Skinny fries were perfectly cooked. Definitely worth stopping by if you're in the area.more
On a day of rather nice looking pubs, this one wasn't the most attractive. The Brentwood IPA was alright though and apparently the beer range has been improving of late!more
Had another great lunch here recently. Roast Beef salad with Artichokes, Rocket and Parmesan. Perfect Roast Beef with perfect accompaniments.
Highly recommended.more


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Specialized understands that while cyclocross races are intense, they also can be fun. So, for the 2012 season, the company gave former world champ Zdenek Stybar a pink CruX to race. The frame shares some carbon technology with the Tarmac SL4 road frame, but has plenty of tire clearance to better accommodate thick, sticky mud. It also sports an oversize down tube and a grip on the top tube for easier shouldering that Specialized calls the "love handle."
Price: $3,000
Info: specialized.com
Buyer's Guide: Best Cyclocross Bikes
Through mud, across gravel, and over barriers, these versatile cyclocross bikes, tested by our gear experts, are ready for any race or adventure
Copyright © 2016 Rodale Inc.


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Revitalising America's Downtowns in the Twenty-First Century
Kemp, Roger L., Stephani, Carl J., Contemporary Review
MANY citizens have left downtown areas for the suburbs over the years. Also, many businesses have moved to the shopping mall over the years. Much of this was brought about by the development and expansion of the Interstate Highway System, a product of the mid-1950s, which is still evolving today! Traditionally, a family wanted to raise its children in a single-family house with a yard, away from the traffic and noise of the downtowns. This seemed like the 'American Dream' for many years, and is now changing.
A quick overview of history would reveal that, as the highway system expanded, many residential subdivisions were developed in the suburbs. Families moved there for the reasons noted above. This trend went on for several decades. In the 1950s there was typically one car in a family. As mothers went to work over the years, they acquired cars too. Nowadays, it seems many children over the legal driving age in every state have cars. Older citizens recall seeing old homes with single car garages, newer homes with two-car garages, and more recent homes with three-car garages. A colleague was recently visiting one of the nation's growth states, and saw some new homes with four-car garages.
Things are now changing! There are families where the children have grown, and they would like to relocate in urban downtown areas. There are young professionals who would like to focus on their respective jobs before starting a family. They wish to locate in inner-city areas and relocate to the suburbs later in life. There's also another group, consisting of people who would like to live their lives without having a vehicle. Hence the new type of residential developments around public transit stations called Transit Oriented Developments (TODs). There is also a rapidly developing market for condominiums and townhouses that are located next to light-rail public transit systems.
There is a national need, a community one too, to make downtowns attractive, which requires a redevelopment effort to make them more livable. Such positive movements require states, and their local governments, and especially those officials who are responsible for managing downtowns, to advocate changes that will benefit downtown areas. We think history has gone, or is going, full circle in this regard. We were recently looking at a picture of a high-rise residential area in the Lower East Side of New York City from a century ago. Individuals and families lived in several storey residential structures, with an assortment of commercial businesses located on the ground floor. All of the restaurants, markets, and other types of commercial activity, took place at street level. Then over the years we separated our land uses as we imposed pyramidal zoning on our cities. After all, you would not want citizens living in commercial or industrial areas. This way of thinking is now rapidly changing.
If communities want to revitalize their downtown areas, they must change their zoning laws to allow for mixed uses of commercial (on the ground floor) and residential (on the floors above that). Also, arts, entertainment, and culture are coming back to downtown areas. Lately, citizens have seen their city officials using libraries and museums as tools to stimulate economic development. Also, cities are trying to lure educational institutions and non-profit organizations back downtown. We recently read some states are even relocating some of their offices from the suburbs back into their downtown areas.
There's also a big trend to preserve what's left of nature in our downtown areas, and to restore what's been removed over the decades, as well as to expand various aspects of nature. This includes parks, wetlands, waterways, and also enhanced pedestrian access and movement through the use of walkways, bikeways, plazas, and the widening of public areas to accommodate people as opposed to cars.
Many citizens have thought that their downtowns were designed by cars. …


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ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- The dangerous temperatures continue today, making outdoor work and activities almost unbearable. Some local residents found ways to beat the heat.
This worker used an umbrella for shade while surveying the roads. some took a rest in the shade., while others just soaked up the sun. At least for a little while we're still under a heat advisory so we're urged not to be outside too long unless we have to be.


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The moose is an iconic species of the northen hemisphere and one of our largest ungulates. The global moose populations provide a substantial amount of meat for human consumption, but also recreation, rich experiences and a platform for a growing ecotourism industry. Thus, the health of our moose population is of great societal concern.
Carl-Gustaf Thulin
Göran Ericsson
Invitation & Program
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