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Dates, Location, and Congress Highlights
Registration, Fees and Deadlines
Hotel Reservations
Education Sessions, CEUs and Online Library
Special Events
Chapter Dinners
APWA Blood Drive
Congress will be held August 25 - 28, at McCormick Place, Lakeside Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Education Sessions by Date
Education Sessions by Subject
Special Events
The Expo Experience
Back by popular demand! Again this year we simplified the registration options and added value to what you get as a fully-registered delegate. Not only will you continue to have access to all education sessions, the exhibit floor, all special events, and lunch on the exhibit floor Sunday and Monday, your full registration will also include:
Register online today. Click here for registration fees.
Yes. Click here to register online.
Yes. You can mail your Pre-Registration Forms* to:
American Public Works Association
PO Box 843742
Kansas City, MO 64184-3742
You can also fax your Pre-Registration Forms* to:
You can also register onsite during Congress.
Saturday, August 24, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday, August 25, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Monday, August 26, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Tuesday, August 27, 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Wednesday, August 28, 7 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
*Times are subject to change.
Yes. The cost is $35 per day. Register here.
To register for the Public Works Stormwater Summit only, please fill out the registration form PDF*, or call APWA's registration company at 708-486-0705.
All questions regarding registration or payment should be directed to APWA's registration company at 708-486-0705, Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. CST, or e-mail email@example.com.
Yes. You may have a colleague substitute for you. Send a fax to: 708-344-4444. Or e-mail your substitute to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Click here to see registration fees.
APWA offers you two ways to join APWA and save money!
By joining APWA, you'll be tapping into a network of thousands of public works experts, some in your neighboring communities and others halfway across the globe.
To join, go to www.apwa.net or call 800-848-2792 to talk with an APWA membership specialist.
APWA must receive payment for membership dues before you can take advantage of the member registration rates for Congress. Membership payment should be sent to APWA, P.O. Box 802296, Kansas City, MO 64180-2296, or you can pay by American Express, MasterCard or VISA. Call 800-848-2792 or click here to join online today.
Yes. The Early Bird Discount has been extended to Wednesday, July 10, 2013. If you register before then, you can save $50 on full Congress rates. Click here to see registration fees. Click here to register online today.
The deadline for pre-registration is August 16, 2013. After that date, registration will be onsite only.
You can add a guest/spouse to your registration either online or on the downloadable registration form*, which you can either mail or fax. Or, once you have completed your registration, you can visit Attendee Dashboard to register your guest/spouse. Children under the age of 18 must be registered onsite.
All cancellations or requests for refunds must be made in writing. A full refund, less a $100 administrative fee, will be issued if written notice is postmarked by July 19, 2013. No refunds will be issued on requests made after July 19, 2013 or for an amount less than $50. All refunds will be issued no later than 30 days after Congress.
Stay at one of the official Congress hotels and save money on your Congress stay. To take advantage of the special APWA rates, please make your reservations online, or fax or mail this form or call 1-800-445-8667, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. CDT until Monday, August 5, 2013. When calling be sure to tell the agent you are attending the APWA International Public Works Congress and Exposition in Chicago. After this date, the discounted APWA rates may no longer be available. Beginning Monday, August 5, 2013, all reservations must be made directly with the hotels and special APWA rates are on an availability basis only, hotels going rate may apply.
You can download a PDF map* of the area for hotel locations.
The Hilton Chicago Hotel is the headquarters.
Hilton Chicago Hotel
$175 single/double
Palmer House
$175 single/double
*Note: All rates are per room and are subject to 16.4% occupancy tax (subject to change.)
Book your hotel room now.
Distance from McCormick Place
Average Taxi Rate to Downtown
CTA "L" Train to Downtown
Shuttle from Airport to Downtown
Car Rental Agencies
O'Hare International Airport
20 mi.
Blue Line
(24 hours)
Single Trip from airport to downtown: $2.25.
Shared van from airport to downtown:
$32 one way for one passenger to any major hotel downtown.
Avis, Alamo, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National
Please contact Car Rental Agency for quote
Midway International Airport
11 mi.
Orange Line
Single Trip from airport to downtown: $2.25.
Shared van from airport to downtown:
$27 one way for one passenger to any major hotel downtown.
Avis, Alamo, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National, Thrifty
Please contact Car Rental Agency for for quote
Buses will be running to several of the Workshop sites on Wednesday. Please refer to the descriptions for those workshops that include bus transportation. If you need accessible transportation for the workshop you are participating in please call Dana Priddy, APWA at 816-595-5241 or by email at email@example.com. On-site requests will be handled as expeditiously as possible.
You may also view all current sessions by date or sessions by subject.
What is a CEU?
The Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is a nationally accepted measure of participation in continuing education activities. It is a valuable tool for showing employers and professional licensing authorities that you are adding new skills and staying current with today's ever-changing workplace. APWA is an International Association for Continuing Education & Training (IACET) Authorized Provider of CEUs. This designation demonstrates that APWA's Continuing Education programs comply with recognized standards for program development and learning outcomes and are recognized by multiple state licensing boards and certifying bodies.
AGAIN THIS YEAR—You can earn CEUs for attending the Exhibitor Solution Theater presentations on the exhibit floor!
The Professional Development Hour (PDH) is a term established by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) "Continuing Professional Competency Guidelines" for Professional Engineers (PE). In these guidelines, NCEES defines the equivalency between CEUs and PDHs as: 0.1 CEU (1 hour of instruction) = 1 PDH. (Important note to Florida and New York Professional Engineers: APWA is an approved Florida Board of Professional Engineers provider of Continuing Education. The State of New York recognizes APWA as an approved training provider by virtue of APWA's standing as an IACET Authorized Provider of CEUs.)
Yes. CEUs will be awarded for attending Congress education sessions, workshops, Exhibitor Solution Theater presentations and workshop/tours.
Good news! The fee for obtaining a CEU Transcript is included in your Congress full and daily registration fees! So no additional payment is necessary.
APWA uses an electronic system to track attendance at education sessions. The Congress name badge has a bar code on it that contains identifying information specific to each person. To obtain CEUs for the sessions you attend, you MUST have your badge electronically scanned by the room monitors at the end of each session. You must attend the entire session or workshop to be eligible to receive CEU credits.
To comply with CEU recordkeeping standards, those wishing to have their scan data entered into the APWA CEU system must complete a CEU Request Form. A CEU Request Form will be distributed inside the onsite Congress Registration Bags or you may download a form at APWA's CEU webpage. You may turn in your completed forms either at the onsite APWA Congress Bookstore prior to leaving Congress, or by mailing the form to:
APWA CEU Program
2345 Grand Blvd., Suite 700
Kansas City, MO 64108
Within four weeks of receiving your CEU Request Form, APWA will enter all of your data into the system and then send you an e-mail notice with instructions for downloading your CEU Transcript from the APWA CEU web page.
One of the benefits of registering for the full APWA Congress (Sunday–Wednesday) is free access to the 2013 APWA Congress Online Library. You can download or stream the audio and view the PowerPoint slides of those Congress speakers who have given permission to have their presentations recorded. Within 4 weeks ofyour return home, all full registrants will receive an e-mail with notification of your download access code for the online library. This is a wonderful way to share the important information learned at Congress with your employees and co-workers. For daily registrants or those who cannot attend the 2013 Congress, you will have the option of purchasing either individual session recordings or the full Congress package by using the online order form at www.ProLibraries.com.
Click here for a detailed list of the special events planned for this year.
Most chapter dinners are Tuesday, August 27. For information on chapter dinners, contact Rhonda Wilhite at 816-595-5261 or e-mail email@example.com. Current information on chapter dinners will be available in the APWA Congress registration area at the McCormick Place Lakeside Center.
The 2013 exhibit floor isn't your ordinary exhibit floor—it's an EXPERIENCE. Yes, we'll still have the great lineup of vendors you're used to seeing with outstanding product displays covering over 80,000 square feet, fabulous prize drawings, lunch on the floor, and exhibitor solution theaters every hour.
We've added so much more to the experience, you might have a hard time leaving! When you're not in an education session, you'll want to check out all of the action at the EXPO EXPERIENCE. We'll be bringing you live interviews with session speakers throughout the week, you'll have multiple opportunities to connect with your colleagues, we'll have more prize drawings than ever, you can discover the newest "Apps in Public Works" and, as always, you can keep up with your friends and colleagues at the cyber stations.
If that isn't enough to get you on the exhibit floor to enjoy the EXPO EXPERIENCE, then how about this—
The 2013 EXPO EXPERIENCE will be a place to LEARN, DISCOVER, and HAVE FUN! So put it in your plans now—we know you'll want to spend a few more hours at the EXPO EXPERIENCE.
Sunday, Noon – 4 p.m.
Monday,10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Tuesday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sunday, Noon – 3 p.m.
Monday, 11 – 2 p.m.
Tuesday, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Yes. APWA allows children to visit the exhibit floor during regular exhibition hours. For safety, anybody under 18 must be registered onsite and be accompanied by an adult. The parent/guardian must assume all risk and is responsible for the safety of the child. Children can only be registered onsite beginning Saturday, August 24. No children will be allowed on the exhibit floor during installation and dismantling of the exhibits.
Yes! The blood drive will be on Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. If you have 45 minutes to spare, give blood and save the life of another person! Did you know that every three seconds someone needs blood? One single donation can save as many as three lives—and there is NO substitute for human blood. Anyone age 17 years or older, who weighs at least 110 pounds and is in good general health may donate. Photo identification is required before beginning the donation process. (Some health conditions or medications may temporarily or permanently prevent persons from donating blood.) Prospective donors must first complete a health history questionnaire and go through a screening process. During the screening process, a technician will take important vital signs such as blood pressure, temperature, and an iron check. If all the requirements are met, a unit of blood is drawn from the donor. The actual blood collection takes approximately 15–20 minutes. The entire process, from when you sign in to the time you leave, takes between 45–60 minutes.
Please join APWA—proud partners with the American Red Cross —in this vital effort. Roll up your sleeve and save a life!
*If your download doesn't start, please right-click (or control + click on a Mac) and select "Save As…", or try using a browser other than Google Chrome.


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Not sure if any of you guys have heard much of the new xbox one or PS4 that is coming out but so far and as a huge xbox fan, it sure is disappointing to hear this but PS4 sounds like it's going to blow Xbox one out.
From what I have found out about Xbox one, is you will not be able to buy used games. Fees required to play any game on a second Xbox, which is a huge disappointment for me and my friends. Required Kinect, and this is the biggest hassle of them all I believe, you need to have Internet connectivity to play. You will not be able to play offline.
Now onto PS4, Supports used games, will have to pay for online but it's just under $5 dollars, has extensive and free high quality streaming features for all users. It will be sold for 100 dollars cheaper then Xbox One.
NHL 14 already announce they will not make it for both of these systems, COD: Ghosts will be.
Granted this is just some things that have been said about each console. It's tough to choose which one I will be getting but it sure sucks Xbox took a big step back while PS4 seems to be running away with it.

subset: commoncrawl


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SALEM - The case of a former Salem high school teacher who resigned last month after being investigated for an alleged inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old female student is now in the hands of state education officials.
Salem City Schools Superintendent Tom Bratten said he received notice from the state on Friday that "the case has been reviewed in its entirety and they will be launching an investigation on their end."
The Ohio Department of Education's Office of Professional Conduct investigates allegations against teachers that may involve conduct unbecoming the teaching profession or criminal conduct. If determined it's warranted, disciplinary action can result, including suspension or revocation of a license to teach.
Brian D'Angelo, 42, of Poland, had taught social studies and did some coaching for the Salem district since being hired in 2003, but was placed on paid administrative leave on March 20, the day allegations were made by some of the female student's classmates and brought to the attention of school officials.
During the criminal investigation of the allegations, Salem Police Det. Dave Talbert said biological evidence linked D'Angelo to the girl's bedroom, but they ended up closing the case because the girl refused to disclose any criminal conduct by the teacher. Talbert said the case could be reopened if new information came to light.
D'Angelo resigned effective Aug. 18, a move which was accepted by the school board. At the board's special meeting regarding the resignation, Bratten said the former teacher's personnel file and the investigative file related to the allegations would be sent to the Ohio Department of Education Office for Professional Conduct, as required by law.
He confirmed Tuesday that the information was sent to the state and he received the notice back from the state last week.
When contacted earlier last week, John Charlton, ODE Associate Director of Communications, said he couldn't confirm or deny whether there was an investigation of allegations against the teacher, saying that nothing becomes public until a disciplinary hearing is placed on the schedule or the disciplinary action is taken.
He said the process of investigation usually includes talking with everyone involved and at some point that would include a conversation with the educator. If it gets to the point where disciplinary action is decided, the discipline could range from a formal letter of admonishment to suspension of the teaching license for a set period or permanent revocation of a license, barring the person from ever teaching in Ohio.
The ODE website includes eight principles teachers are expected to follow according to the licensure code. One of the principles says "Educators shall maintain a professional relationship with all students at all times, both in and out of the classroom."
Information about the Office of Professional Conduct and how it operates can be found on the ODE website at education.ohio.gov. Click on teachers, then educator conduct. Information on a teacher's licensing can also be found there by going to educator conduct search and typing in the teacher's name.


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Author Affiliations: Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Colorado, Boulder (Dr Miklowitz); Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, Mass (Dr Otto); Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pa (Drs Frank and Thase); Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston (Drs Reilly-Harrington, Nierenberg, and Sachs); Epidemiology Data Center, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh (Dr Wisniewski and Ms Araga); Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Community Care Behavioral Health Organization (Dr Kogan); Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine/University Hospitals of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio (Drs Calabrese and Shirley); Menninger Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, and VISN 16 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, Houston, Tex (Dr Marangell); Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Dr Gyulai); and Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio (Dr Gonzalez).
Psychosocial interventions have been shown to enhance pharmacotherapy outcomes in bipolar disorder.
To examine the benefits of 4 disorder-specific psychotherapies in conjunction with pharmacotherapy on time to recovery and the likelihood of remaining well after an episode of bipolar depression.
Randomized controlled trial.
Fifteen clinics affiliated with the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder.
A total of 293 referred outpatients with bipolar I or II disorder and depression treated with protocol pharmacotherapy were randomly assigned to intensive psychotherapy (n = 163) or collaborative care (n = 130), a brief psychoeducational intervention.
Intensive psychotherapy was given weekly and biweekly for up to 30 sessions in 9 months according to protocols for family-focused therapy, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, and cognitive behavior therapy. Collaborative care consisted of 3 sessions in 6 weeks.
Main Outcome Measures
Outcome assessments were performed by psychiatrists at each pharmacotherapy visit. Primary outcomes included time to recovery and the proportion of patients classified as well during each of 12 study months.
All analyses were by intention to treat. Rates of attrition did not differ across the intensive psychotherapy (35.6%) and collaborative care (30.8%) conditions. Patients receiving intensive psychotherapy had significantly higher year-end recovery rates (64.4% vs 51.5%) and shorter times to recovery than patients in collaborative care (hazard ratio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-2.00; P = .01). Patients in intensive psychotherapy were 1.58 times (95% confidence interval, 1.17-2.13) more likely to be clinically well during any study month than those in collaborative care (P = .003). No statistically significant differences were observed in the outcomes of the 3 intensive psychotherapies.
Intensive psychosocial treatment as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy was more beneficial than brief treatment in enhancing stabilization from bipolar depression. Future studies should compare the cost-effectiveness of models of psychotherapy for bipolar disorder.
Trial Registration
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: "http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00012558">NCT00012558
Bipolar disorder is an extremely debilitating illness, in large part because of the difficulty in treating bipolar depressive episodes. Patients experience significantly greater impairment and longer times to recovery from depressive than manic episodes and high levels of residual depressive symptoms between episodes.1- 7 The limited efficacy of pharmacotherapy alone8- 11 has motivated the study of adjunctive psychosocial interventions. Randomized controlled trials support the efficacy of adjunctive cognitive behavior therapy (CBT),12,13 family-focused treatment (FFT) or similar forms of family psychoeducation,14- 18 interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (IPSRT),19 and group psychoeducation20,21 in preventing depressive and manic recurrences, stabilizing symptoms, or enhancing functioning in 1- to 2-year periods. One multicenter effectiveness trial22 found no main effect of CBT on time to recurrence, although post hoc analyses revealed benefits in patients with fewer than 12 episodes.
Despite these important advances, it is unclear whether psychosocial treatments are effective for the acute treatment of depressed bipolar patients in routine practice settings. Family and interpersonal interventions have typically been initiated during or shortly after an acute manic, mixed, or depressive episode to prevent further recurrences,14- 17,19 whereas CBT and group psychoeducation have generally commenced after lengthy periods of remission.13,20 Moreover, most studies have been single-site investigations of single treatments compared with routine care conducted in the academic center where the treatment was developed.
We examined the effectiveness of adjunctive intensive psychosocial interventions in the context of the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD), a National Institute of Mental Health–sponsored study of the effectiveness of treatments for bipolar disorder. Across 15 study sites we randomly assigned patients to receive intensive psychosocial treatment (up to 30 sessions of CBT, IPSRT, or FFT in 9 months) or a minimal psychosocial intervention, collaborative care (CC), consisting of 3 sessions in 6 weeks. All 4 psychosocial treatments included psychoeducation, relapse prevention planning, and illness management interventions. Collaborative care was designed to provide a brief version of the most common psychosocial strategies shown to offer benefit for bipolar disorder.23,24 In contrast, the intensive treatments represented enhanced versions of these core psychoeducational interventions combined with additional treatment targets: disturbances in family relationships and communication in FFT, cognitive distortions and activity and skill deficits in CBT, and disturbances in interpersonal relationships and social rhythms in IPSRT. Consistent with the STEP-BD objective of evaluating interventions in routine practice, therapists were given modest levels of training (a weekend workshop and low-intensity ongoing monitoring) appropriate for a large-scale practical clinical trial.
We hypothesized that compared with adjunctive CC, adjunctive intensive psychosocial intervention would hasten time to recovery from bipolar depression and increase the likelihood of remaining well for 12 months. Secondarily, we explored whether the 3 intensive interventions (FFT, IPSRT, and CBT) differed in their impact on depressive symptoms.
Participants (N = 293) were enrolled in STEP-BD and provided additional separate informed consent to participate in this study. All consents were approved by the respective site's human research committee and the STEP-BD Data Safety Monitoring Board.25 Initially eligibility was limited to participants who had entered a 26-week double-blind placebo-controlled comparison of a mood stabilizer (defined in the "Pharmacotherapy" section) plus placebo or a mood stabilizer plus a standard antidepressant agent (bupropion or paroxetine) and were also willing to accept randomization to psychosocial treatment (randomized acute depression [RAD] study; n = 236). When it became apparent that these requirements excluded many otherwise appropriate candidates for psychosocial intervention, we initiated the psychosocial acute depression (PAD) study (n = 57), which included patients who were ineligible for the pharmacotherapy trial by reason of previous poor response to both of the study antidepressant agents.
Participants in the RAD and PAD psychosocial studies met the following eligibility criteria: 18 years or older; meets the DSM-IV26 criteria for current bipolar I or II disorder and a current major depressive episode but does not meet the criteria for a DSM-IV mixed episode or depression not otherwise specified; currently being treated with a mood stabilizer or willing to initiate such treatment; not currently undergoing psychotherapy, or, if so, willing to discontinue nonstudy psychotherapy or taper sessions to 1 or fewer per month; speaks English; and willing and able to give informed consent. Patients were excluded only if they required immediate treatment for a current DSM-IV substance or alcohol abuse or dependence disorder (excluding nicotine); were pregnant or planning pregnancy in the next year; had a history of intolerance, nonresponse, or medical contraindication to paroxetine or bupropion; or required initiation of or dose changes in antipsychotic medications.
At the patient's initial evaluation for STEP-BD, certified study psychiatrists administered the Affective Disorders Evaluation, a semistructured interview adapted from the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, Patient Version.27,28 A second certified clinical interviewer (psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or psychiatric nurse) independently interviewed patients using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (version 5.0).29 Study diagnoses were based on a consensus between the 2 interviews.
Eligible participants were randomly assigned to intensive psychosocial treatment (FFT, CBT, or IPSRT) or to the CC control condition. Block randomization included site, bipolar I or II status, and, if also participating in the RAD study, pharmacologic treatment assignment (mood stabilizer with or without a standard antidepressant). All the sites offered CC and 2 of the 3 intensive psychotherapies. Each site chose 1 intensive psychotherapy based on its clinical expertise; the other psychotherapy was assigned randomly.24,25 Of the 15 sites, 10 offered CBT, 9 offered FFT, and 11 offered IPSRT. At the sites offering FFT, randomization was stratified further by whether family members (typically spouses, parents, or siblings) were willing to participate in family treatment. Patients without available family members could be assigned only to IPSRT, CBT, or CC.
In each stratum, 60% of the eligible patients were randomly assigned to intensive psychotherapy and 40% to CC, resulting in 163 patients being assigned to intensive psychotherapy and 130 to CC (Figure 1). Because only 159 (54.3%) of the 293 patients had family availability, the number randomly assigned to FFT (n = 26) was lower than the number assigned to IPSRT (n = 62) or CBT (n = 75).
Consort diagram. CBT indicates cognitive behavior therapy; CC, collaborative care; FFT, family-focused therapy; IPSRT, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy; PAD, psychosocial acute depression study; RAD, randomized acute depression study; and STEP-BD, Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder.
The 236 patients in the RAD study were randomly assigned to double-blind pharmacotherapy with mood stabilizers (lithium, valproate, and carbamazepine) plus placebo or plus adjunctive antidepressants. The protocol was amended in 2004 to define a mood stabilizer as any Food and Drug Administration–approved antimanic agent. The 57 patients in the PAD trial received treatment in accordance with physician-patient agreement and the STEP-BD guidelines for best-practice evidence-based pharmacotherapy.25
This control intervention consisted of three 50-minute individual sessions conducted in the 6 weeks after randomization. Participants received a psychoeducational videotape and a workbook that included information about (1) the diagnosis, management, and treatment of bipolar illness; (2) the importance of medication adherence; (3) schedule management (including daily mood charting); (4) typical biases in thinking relevant to mood states; (5) improving relationships through communication skills; and (6) developing a treatment contract geared toward preventing episodes. The CC sessions focused on review of these materials and developing a treatment contract.
All intensive treatments consisted of up to thirty 50-minute sessions conducted in 9 months. Individual CBT sessions consisted of (1) psychoeducation regarding the course of bipolar disorder, medication adherence, and stress management; (2) life events scheduling for alleviating inactivity or reducing overstimulation; (3) cognitive restructuring; (4) problem-solving training; (5) strategies for early detection of and intervention for mood episodes; and (6) selected interventions for comorbidities, if relevant.30 Early sessions focused on monitoring activity and challenging negative thoughts; later sessions focused on challenging dysfunctional beliefs.
In early sessions of IPSRT, therapists conducted an illness history with a focus on mood episodes associated with disruptions to social routines and sleep/wake cycles (social rhythms).31 A primary problem area was then chosen (ie, grief, role disputes, role transitions, or interpersonal deficits). Therapists acquainted patients with the Social Rhythm Metric,32 a self-report instrument for recording the timing of daily activities (including arising and going to bed), moods, and levels of social stimulation. As treatment progressed, therapists encouraged patients to keep stable social rhythms (eg, when to sleep, exercise, and eat), anticipate events that could disrupt rhythms, and develop plans for continued mood and social rhythm stability. Later in treatment, patients and therapists worked toward interpersonal problem resolution and rehearsed strategies for preventing similar interpersonal problems or social rhythm disruptions in the future.
Family-focused therapy began with psychoeducational sessions focused on the symptoms, cause, life course, treatment, and self-management of bipolar disorder.33 Patients and relatives were encouraged to (1) develop a common understanding of precipitants of the index depressive episode, the patient's vulnerability to future episodes, the need for continuous pharmacotherapy, and the role of stress in provoking episodes and (2) develop a relapse prevention plan involving early intervention for prodromal signs of mania or depression (eg, arranging a pharmacologic reevaluation or de-escalating stressful verbal exchanges). In the intermediate treatment phase, patients and family members participated in communication enhancement exercises designed to reduce levels of negative expressed emotion and rehearse adaptive communication skills.34 In the final phase, families identified, defined, and attempted to solve problems related to the illness (eg, methods to enhance drug adherence) or the home environment.
Training of STEP-BD therapists was supervised by nationally recognized experts with allegiance to the specific intensive treatments (D.J.M. for FFT; E.F. and Debra Frankel, LCSW, for IPSRT; and M.W.O. and N.A.R.-H. for CBT and CC). Training involved 6-hour workshops supplemented by treatment manuals. After training, therapists could practice any of the modalities assigned to their site. Treatment specialists provided telephone supervision to therapists for the first 2 patients treated in a specific modality. Therapists sent up to 6 audiotaped sessions to the treatment specialists. For CC patients, only 1 session was supervised.
Training was supplemented by monthly case conference calls and ongoing supervision (an average of 2 hours per case). Using modality-specific fidelity scales, treatment specialists judged that 85.6% (143/167) of the CBT sessions, 86.4% (57/66) of the FFT sessions, 82.0% (114/139) of the IPSRT sessions, and 88.8% (79/89) of the CC sessions were acceptable or better in fidelity to the respective treatment models. Low fidelity ratings were evenly spread across the modalities (χ23 = 2.12; P = .55). However, 2 study sites accounted for most of the low ratings: of 55 session tapes rated at these sites, 28 (51%) were rated below acceptability thresholds.
The treating psychiatrist assessed clinical status at each outpatient visit using the Clinical Monitoring Form.25 Intraclass interrater reliability coefficients (referenced to gold standard ratings for Clinical Monitoring Form depression and mania items) ranged from 0.83 to 0.99. Clinical status designations were based on the presence or absence of DSM-IV criteria for syndromal depression or mania/hypomania, subsyndromal states (≥3 moderate mood disorder symptoms that did not meet the full DSM-IV criteria for a manic, mixed, or major depressive episode), or recovered status (≤2 moderate symptoms for ≥8 of the previous weeks). These designations allowed for computation of time to recovery and total time in recovery across the year of observation.25,35
At study intake and at quarterly follow-up intervals, independent evaluators conducted interviews with patients covering the previous week to complete the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale36 and the Young Mania Rating Scale.37 These ratings were for quality assurance only and were too infrequent to inform the longitudinal analyses planned for the RAD and PAD studies.
All statistical analyses were performed by 2 of us (S.R.W. and M.A.). We used t tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests to compare continuous variables and χ2 tests to compare discrete variables across the RAD vs PAD or intensive vs CC treatments. Time to recovery from major depression was calculated as the number of days from randomization until the patient met the recovery criteria. Analyses were by intention to treat: all randomized patients were included in the at-risk sample, and individuals who did not recover or who terminated prematurely were censored at the point of their final assessment.
Survival curves for time to recovery and time to study dropout (interval from randomization until the last research observation) were compared using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit formula.38,39 Cox proportional hazards models40 were used to assess the independent effect of treatment after controlling for potential confounding effects (site, RAD vs PAD study, family availability, and bipolar I or II status) and included an assessment of the proportionality of the treatment effect.
We hypothesized that patients receiving intensive psychotherapy would be proportionately more likely to be well in any given month of the protocol than patients undergoing CC. We classified each patient, at each monthly interval up to month 12, as well (recovered: ≤2 moderate symptoms on the physician-rated Clinical Monitoring Form for ≥8 weeks; recovering: ≤2 moderate symptoms for <8 weeks) or unwell (subsyndromally or fully manic, depressed, hypomanic, or mixed on the Clinical Monitoring Form). Ordinal logistic mixed-effects regression models41,42 were used to examine this repeated ordinal variable (well, unwell) as a function of treatment group in the intention-to-treat sample, including patients who did not recover during the study year. Secondarily, exploratory analyses examined whether patients in the 4 interventions (CBT, FFT, IPSRT, and CC) differed in time to recovery or the proportion well across time.
The 293 participants (mean ± SD age, 40.1 ± 11.8 years; range, 17-65 years; 120 males [41.0%] and 173 females [59.0%]) (Table 1) were a subset of the 423 patients who were randomly assigned to experimental treatments for acute depression in the 15 STEP-BD sites (Figure 1). Of 366 patients randomly assigned to pharmacotherapy in the RAD study, 236 (64.5%) agreed to randomization to psychosocial interventions as well. Patients who agreed to psychosocial randomization did not differ significantly from those who refused (n = 130) in age, sex, education, self-identified race/ethnicity, bipolar I or II status, number of previous episodes, or age at onset.
Baseline medication data were available for 263 (89.8%) of the 293 patients. Of these, 244 (92.8%) began the psychosocial study taking 1 or more mood stabilizers, and 19 (7.2%) were not taking any mood stabilizers; 79 (30.0%) were taking atypical antipsychotics, 85 (32.3%) were taking adjunctive antidepressants, and 56 (21.3%) were taking adjunctive anxiolytics. There were no differences between the RAD psychosocial (n = 236), RAD pharmacotherapy-only (n = 130), and PAD (n = 57) study subsamples on demographic or illness variables except that patients in the PAD trial were less likely to be of minority origin (P = .03) and pharmacotherapy-only patients were more likely to have an income less than $29 999 (P = .005).
Table 2 lists the psychosocial treatment assignments as a function of study site. The intensive psychotherapy and CC groups did not differ significantly at the time of psychosocial randomization on demographic, diagnostic, illness history, or current clinical state variables. The 2 groups also did not differ significantly in the proportion of patients being treated at the time of randomization with lithium, divalproex sodium, carbamazepine, lamotrigine, atypical antipsychotics (olanzapine, quetiapine, or any other atypical agent), adjunctive antidepressants, or anxiolytics.
Patients in the intensive group began psychosocial sessions a mean ± SD of 17.9 ± 16.1 days after randomization, and those in the CC group began 17.0 ± 10.9 days after randomization (P = .48). Patients in CC attended a mean ± SD of 2.2 ± 1.3 of 3 protocol-specified sessions (median, 3.0; range, 0-5; 4 patients received extra sessions for emergencies), whereas patients in the intensive psychotherapy group received a mean ± SD of 14.3 ± 11.4 of 30 protocol-specified sessions (median, 13.0; range, 0-30). The mean ± SD number of months of intensive psychosocial treatment was 6.8 ± 3.8. Patients in the CBT group attended a mean ± SD of 13.3 ± 11.3 sessions (median, 11.0) in a mean ± SD of 6.5 ± 4.0 months; in the IPSRT group, 16.7 ± 11.2 sessions (median, 18.5) in 7.2 ± 3.7 months; and in the FFT group, 11.5 ± 11.4 sessions (median, 11.5) in 6.5 ± 2.9 months. Neither the number of sessions (P = .09) nor the months in treatment (P = .53) differed across the intensive groups.
Of the 293 patients, 195 (66.6%) finished the full year of follow-up. Patients in the CC group were as likely to complete the study year (90/130; 69.2%) as patients in the intensive psychotherapy group (105/163; 64.4%) and did not differ in time to study dropout (log-rank χ21 = 0.86; P = .35). Likewise, there were no differences among any of the 3 intensive psychotherapies in time to dropout (log-rank χ23 = 3.28; P = .35). One-year rates of study completion were as follows: FFT, 19/26 (73%); IPSRT, 42/62 (67.7%); CBT, 44/75 (58.7%); and CC, 90/130 (69.2%).
Patients received a mean ± SD of 22.6 ± 14.0 sessions of pharmacotherapy from STEP-BD psychiatrists during the study year. The mean ± SD frequency of these sessions did not differ between the intensive psychotherapy (22.7 ± 13.5) and CC (22.5 ± 14.6) groups or across the CBT, FFT, IPSRT, or CC groups (P>.10 for all).
Of 293 patients, 172 (58.7%) recovered from their depressive episode by the end of the study year, whereas 121 (41.3%) did not recover (n = 60) or terminated before a determination of recovery was possible (n = 61). The median ± SD time to recovery among the participants who recovered was 122 ± 79 days.
Survival analysis using the Kaplan-Meier method revealed that the cumulative proportion of recovered patients in the intensive psychotherapy conditions was higher than in the CC condition (1-year recovery rate: intensive psychotherapy group, 105/163 [64.4%]; CC group, 67/130 [51.5%]; log-rank χ21 = 6.20; HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.08-2.00; P = .01) (Figure 2). Median ± SD time to recovery among patients who recovered was 113 ± 78.2 days in the intensive psychotherapy group and 146 ± 80.0 days in the CC group. The proportionality of risk assumption for the survival curves was upheld (χ21 = 0.17; P = .68).
Time to recovery among 293 bipolar depressed patients assigned to intensive psychosocial intervention or collaborative care. For the intensive group, 50% median time to recovery for the full sample (n = 163), including patients who did not recover, was 169 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 138-230 days); the 25% median was 98 days (95% CI, 88-112 days). For the collaborative care group (n = 130), the 50% median time to recovery was 279 days (95% CI, not calculable); the 25% median was 125 days (95% CI, 105-168 days).
Including study site, assignment to the RAD or PAD study, family availability, and bipolar I or II status as covariates in a Cox proportional hazards model did not alter the main effect of psychosocial intervention on time to recovery (HR, 1.53; log-rank χ21 = 6.93; P = .009). Across treatment conditions, RAD trial participants recovered faster than PAD study participants (HR, 1.59; log-rank χ21 = 4.55; P = .03), and patients with family members (n = 159) (Figure 1) recovered more rapidly than those without family members (n = 134) (HR, 1.38; log-rank χ21 = 3.96; P = .047). There were no independent effects of site or bipolar I or II status or interactions of treatment group with these variables on time to recovery (P>.10 for all).
There was a main effect of type of intensive treatment (FFT, CBT, or IPSRT) on time to recovery (log-rank χ23 = 8.02; P = .046) (Figure 3). Within the 1-year timeframe, 76.9% (20/26) of the patients in the FFT group recovered (HR relative to CC, 1.87), 64.5% (40/62) of the IPSRT patients recovered (HR, 1.48), and 60.0% (45/75) of the CBT patients recovered (HR, 1.34). In comparison, 51.5% (67/130) of the CC patients recovered. The median ± SD time to recovery among patients who recovered was 103 ± 94.1 days for FFT, 127.5 ± 76.8 days for IPSRT, 112 ± 72.9 days for CBT, and 146 ± 80.0 days for CC. Results remained significant when site, RAD or PAD study status, and bipolar I or II status were included in a Cox model.
Time to recovery among 293 bipolar depressed patients assigned to cognitive behavior therapy, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, family-focused therapy, or collaborative care.
Pairwise comparisons of the 3 intensive modalities revealed no significant differences in time to recovery in the intention-to-treat sample. When considering the subsample of patients with family availability, we observed recovery by 1 year in 76.9% (20/26) of the FFT patients (HR relative to CC, 1.40; median ± SD days to recovery, 103 ± 94.1), 56.7% (17/30) of the IPSRT patients (HR, 1.16; median ± SD days, 105 + 62.2), 59.0% (23/39) of the CBT patients (HR, 0.98; median ± SD days, 106 + 70.5), and 57.8% (37/64) of the CC patients (median ± SD days, 119 + 74.6). Finally, among the 3 intensive modalities (n = 163), there was no main effect of number of therapy sessions (P = .21) and no interaction between modality and number of sessions on time to recovery (P = .34).
An ordinal logistic mixed-effects regression model revealed that in any given study month, the odds of a patient being well were 1.58 times greater (SE = 0.15; 95% CI, 1.17-2.13) in the intensive psychotherapy group than in the CC group (F1,283 = 9.13; P = .003) (Figure 4). Independent of treatment assignment, patients were more likely to be well in later study months than in earlier months (F11,283 = 15.65; P<.001). When site, RAD or PAD trial assignment, family availability, and bipolar I or II status were included in the regression model, intensive psychosocial treatment remained associated with a greater likelihood of being well (F1,270 = 8.80; P = .003; adjusted odds ratio, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.17-2.17), but there were no independent effects of the covariates (P>.10 for all).
Proportion of patients rated well during each of 12 monthly assessment intervals: intensive psychosocial treatment vs collaborative care.
When the intensive psychotherapy group was stratified according to form of psychotherapy, a main effect of treatment modality was observed on the proportion well (F3,281 = 3.02; P = .03). Almost identical main effects relative to CC were observed for FFT (odds ratio, 1.60; SE = 0.27; 95% CI, 0.94-2.72), IPSRT (odds ratio, 1.61; SE = 0.20; 95% CI, 1.09-2.37), and CBT (odds ratio, 1.55; SE = 0.19; 95% CI, 1.07-2.25). The main effect of treatment modality was unchanged after adjusting for the effects of site, RAD or PAD study, family availability, and bipolar I or II status (F3,268 = 3.33; P = .02).
This large multisite randomized trial of bipolar patients treated with mood stabilizers compared 3 types of psychotherapy—CBT, FFT, and IPSRT—with a brief psychosocial treatment in hastening recovery from a depressive episode and maximizing the probability of remaining well during a 1-year period. In contrast to previous trials, patients entered the study early in the development of a major depressive episode (mean Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale score, 21.9) and, thus, may be more representative of the population of bipolar patients seen for acute care in clinical practice.
Given the increasing acceptance of adjunctive psychosocial interventions for bipolar disorder,43,44 we developed a 3-session comparison condition composed of the many common elements found in existing empirically supported treatments rather than choosing a medication-only control. We found that substituting any 1 of the 3 intensive, specialized, manual-driven interventions for this minimal treatment resulted in clinically significant improvements in time to recovery. Overall, patients were 1.58 times more likely to be well in any study month if they received intensive psychotherapy than if they received CC in addition to their pharmacotherapy.
The present results are consistent with those of previous efficacy trials13- 15,19,20,23,24 that found that adjunctive psychotherapy delays recurrences in patients with bipolar disorder. Most of these were single-site randomized controlled trials that required therapists to undergo lengthy periods of training and certification and used time-consuming methods of fidelity monitoring. The benefits observed in the present study were achieved across sites with relatively minimal training and low-intensity supervision. Given the limited benefits of antidepressant medications in patients with bipolar depression who are taking mood stabilizers45 (see also G.S.S., A.A.N., J.R.C., et al, unpublished data, 2007), referral for intensive psychosocial treatment seems to be an especially important addition to clinical care.
In secondary analyses we found no differences among the 3 intensive psychosocial treatments in their capacity to aid and sustain recovery. However, the study was underpowered to detect small effect size differences between each of the intensive modalities. With the observed sample size of 293, a type I error rate of 0.05, a Bonferroni adjustment for 3 comparisons, and 80% power, the intensive modalities would have had to differ from each other by an HR of 3.23 to obtain a statistically reliable treatment effect. Moreover, the sample size needed to identify a statistically significant difference between each of the intensive psychosocial treatments and CC based on the smallest observed effect size of 1.34 (CBT vs CC) would be 445 per group. Focused studies of much larger samples are needed to explore whether the potentially meaningful numerical differences observed between the groups are replicable.
The lack of statistically significant differences between the intensive modalities may also reflect the effect of shared components of the treatments, which are in many ways more striking than their differences.23,46,47 Possibly, future studies will combine the most effective components of the modalities and evaluate hybrid models of psychotherapy.48
Patients in the intensive therapies attended fewer than half (mean, 14.3) of the 30 scheduled sessions. This rate is similar to the frequency that bipolar patients typically obtain in randomized trials (mean, 14 sessions), even when study protocols dictate greater frequencies.22,49 Without an attention control, we cannot determine whether these results are attributable to the specific focus of the intensive psychotherapy sessions or simply the greater number of therapist-patient contacts and, by extension, more opportunities to recognize clinical exacerbations and institute rescue strategies. However, there was no main effect of number of sessions and no interactions between treatment modality and number of sessions on time to recovery. Furthermore, a naturalistic study50 of psychotherapy use in the first 1000 patients to enter the STEP-BD indicated that additional sessions of nonspecialized psychotherapy do not necessarily improve outcome.
Consistent with the evidence-based treatment recommendations of the STEP-BD, approximately 80% of the participants received pharmacologic care concordant with national guidelines (E. Dennehy, PhD, written communication, May 9, 2006); however, the STEP-BD guidelines allowed considerable latitude in drug and dosage selection. The intensive psychotherapy and CC groups were balanced at the time of randomization on the proportion of patients taking each type of mood stabilizer, atypical antipsychotic, or adjunctive agent. Furthermore, the 26-week STEP-BD pharmacotherapy study revealed no differences in time to recovery among patients taking mood stabilizers with or without antidepressants (see G.S.S., A.A.N., J.R.C., et al, unpublished data, 2007). Nonetheless, differences between the intensive and nonintensive psychotherapy conditions in drug choice or dosages might have emerged during the 1-year follow-up. Masking psychiatrists to psychosocial treatment assignments might minimize this source of bias in future studies.
Most of the patients were under the care of a psychiatrist and were receiving mood stabilizers at the time of randomization, and a subset (n = 236) were willing and eligible to accept randomized treatment without a standard antidepressant agent. Although few participants were treatment naïve and nearly 70% had a history of more than 10 episodes, it is possible that by pairing the entry criteria for a controlled pharmacotherapy study with a psychosocial intervention study we excluded patients who were highly treatment refractory. Consistent with this possibility, patients who participated in the RAD study had better outcomes than those who did not.
Finally, future trials need to examine the cost-effectiveness of psychosocial interventions. Intensive treatments such as IPSRT, FFT, and CBT, although seeming to be more effective than brief treatments in hastening recovery from episodes, maintaining stability, and delaying recurrences, are also more costly. Treatment-associated costs must be carefully balanced against the potential gains for patients in functioning and quality of life and, possibly, reductions in rates of hospitalization or polypharmacy.
Correspondence: David J. Miklowitz, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Muenzinger Bldg, Boulder, CO 80309-0345 (firstname.lastname@example.com).
Submitted for Publication: May 23, 2006; final revision received July 19, 2006; accepted August 4, 2006.
Author Contributions: Dr Miklowitz verifies that he had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.
Financial Disclosure: Dr Nierenberg has been a consultant to Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genaissance, GlaxoSmithKline, Innapharma, Janssen, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Sepracor, Shire, Somerset, and Sumitomo; has received grant support from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cedexroth, Cyberonics, Forest, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Lichtwer, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Wyeth; and has received honoraria from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cyberonics, Forest, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, and Wyeth.
Funding/Support: The STEP-BD was funded in part by contract N01MH80001 from the National Institute of Mental Health (Dr Sachs). Support for the development of the psychosocial treatments was provided by grants MH29618 (Dr Frank), MH43931 (Dr Miklowitz), and MH55101 (Dr Miklowitz) from the National Institute of Mental Health and by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (Dr Miklowitz).
Disclaimer: Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Institute of Mental Health. This article was approved by the Publication Committee of the STEP-BD.
Acknowledgment: We thank Debra Frankel, LCSW, for her supervision and coding of the IPSRT sessions.
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Dear all ,
i have one production order with CNF & DLV , TECO status . When we are calculating the Variance for the production order
Target Cost Actual Cost Allocated Actual WIP SCRAP VARIANCE
153,000 149,000 0 0 0 149,000
How come the variance is 149,000 , ( actually it is supposed to be 4000 rs ).
Pl guide .
Can you please mention what is your Planned cost?
Where to check the Planned cost ? Prodn order -->goto --> Cost --> Analysis. ?
Yes you can track the Planned Cost through Cost analysis.
Target cost is the cost of goods which u have actually produced but planned cost is the cost of total production order. for example you created a production order for 1000 PCs but you produced 40 PCs uptill now so target cosr would be the cost of 40 Pcs and planned cost would be the cost of 100 Pcs. so i think your planned cost is 298,000 that's why variance is 149,000. Hope you are clear now
Actually The production order Qty is 50 & delivered is 50 qty .So how to track the planned cost now ?
Check the std cost estimate in material master(costing tab 2) of finished goods for the current period. If not then you have to first create standard cost estimate (CK11N) and then have to do costing run and release for current and future period(CK40N).
After doing this, your standard cost estimate will appear in material master.
Then do the production cycle from GI of raw material to GR of finished goods.
Then do the variance calculation.
You will find the variance as Variance = Allocated Actual - Actual cost.
Please check and revert.
So here as per my Question input : Variance = Allocated Actual - Actual cost.
Variance = 0 -149000
Variance = -149,000 but it is +149,000 why is it so ?
You have to analyse the process order through KKBC_ORD.
There are several reasons for the variance.
Kindly go through the blog "Understanding Production Order Variacne Part - 1" and let me know whether you are able to crack down from where the variacne is posted.


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Popular Diets
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It's been a while since Sylvester Stallone has had a hit movie. But it looks like the streak is up. In its first week or so in release, The Expendables has already brought in more than $48 million, passing the worldwide gross of 2008's Rambo, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
While I wouldn't call myself much of a Sly fan, I can see why this time around people gave a hoot. The Expendables is an old-fashioned shoot-em-up popcorn movie for guys. And it was marketed as such. Not to mention that it rounded up most of the big names in the genre (Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Terry Crews, and with small appearance from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger).
It was a stroll down memory lane for many fans of the '80s action films, and a reminder that you're never too old to be fit! (more…)


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Fast-Tracked Disability Process Includes 200 Conditions
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced 35 new Compassionate Allowances conditions, bringing the total number of disabling conditions that qualify for Social Security's expedited disability process to 200.
"We have achieved another milestone," said Commissioner Astrue. "Nearly 200,000 people with severe disabilities nationwide have been quickly approved, usually in less than two weeks, through the program since it began in October 2008."
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'Tis the Season to Protect Your Identity
December is National Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness month — a time to remind people, retailers, and businesses to protect themselves, their employees, and their customers from identity theft.
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Protect your personal information, such as your Social Security number, date of birth and other identifying information, and only share it when you absolutely need to. Shred documents instead of putting them in the trash. Store the important documents, such as your Social Security Statement and card, in a safe, secure place.
Learn more by reading our publication, Identity Theft And Your Social Security Number, at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10064.html.
Subscribe to Social Security Update today and you'll always be in the know when it comes to Social Security news. All we need is your e-mail address.Subscribe here.


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Rolling out the solar barrels in Kyrgyzstan
13 January 2010
The technical skills were provided by the Ecological Movement BIOM at a two day workshop held over 21-22 August 2009. In this joint project, participants learned about the value of solar heaters in rural areas as cheap, clean providers of hot water for domestic use. Each volunteer constructed a solar barrel heater to be taken back to the villages in which they work and used to teach others to build their own solar heaters locally.
Solar barrel heaters are ideal for heating water for domestic purposes such as for showers, doing laundry or washing dishes and floors, particularly in rural areas where access to other power sources may be limited. They are easy to use, year-round, and can be constructed at home from materials readily available in the markets of Kyrgyzstan.
Materials cost about 1500 som (about US$ 33), but this can be reduced by using 'scrap' materials from around the home (like a broken mirror and an old oil barrel). The costs in terms of money and damage to the environment which can be saved by using solar heaters instead of electricity, gas, coal or firewood, fulfill the aims of the UNV programme in Kyrgyzstan by promoting socio-economic development, energy saving and protecting the environment.
Solar barrel heaters essentially consist of a black-painted barrel in an insulated box, with glass panels to allow sunlight in and reflectors to concentrate light upon the barrel and conserve heat by preventing its escape.
During the day, heat in the form of sunlight enters through the glass and is trapped inside, heating the enclosed barrel just like the interior of a greenhouse. At night lids are closed over the glass panels, and the reflective lining returns heat escaping from the surface of the barrel in the same way as the walls of a Thermos flask.
The effectiveness of this design allows water to be heated up to 70ºC, sufficient for most household uses, and kept warm for many hours. This efficiency stems from several improvements to the design: painting the barrel black, maximizing the amount of insulation, enclosing the barrel with transparent walls, and adding extra reflective surfaces.
Solar heaters are cheap and easy to construct, and can often be built largely using materials already available around the home. Volunteers at the workshop were able to build 10 solar barrels in 1.5 days.
Construction takes place in three stages:
Stage One- The Barrel
A barrel is painted black and laid horizontally. Two holes are cut in the front end, one near the top and one at the bottom. Through the upper hole a pipe is passed that will bring cold water down to the bottom of the barrel. A funnel is mounted on the outer end of this pipe so that water can easily be added. A faucet is attached to the outside of the lower hole, with a length of hose extending from it inside.
The open end of the hose is attached to a float, such as an empty plastic bottle, which will keep it near the surface of the water, where the hottest water will collect. A third hole is cut near the top at the other end of the barrel with a pipe to allow air or excess water to escape.
Stage Two- The Box
A wooden box is constructed to house the barrel, with a top and front of clear glass or plastic that can be covered with wooden lids. The box is lined with thick insulating foam and then with reflective film. Holes are cut to fit the pipes.
Stage Three- Assembly
The solar heater is carefully put together, making sure that everything is correctly connected. It is now ready to be moved into a sunny position and used.
Distribution and Use
The volunteers returned from the workshop to the villages they serve eager to share the knowledge they gained, though aware of the hard work involved in making solar heaters available:
Alex, Peace Corps volunteer in Issyk-Kul oblast: "We just installed it recently and my family is very excited to use [it] for laundry in particular. However, it requires a lot of effort to find resources to replicate it at my site."
Nick, Peace Corps volunteer in Naryn oblast: "The Solar Project is a great idea for many reasons. Aside from the obvious reason - to provide hot water for cleaning and bathing- it could be a great way for local families to save on fuel costs in an environmentally friendly way... I plan to help make available to them [people in my community] the materials and know how in order to create their own water heaters. Word spreads quickly in my village and if the Unit works right it could be a matter of months before the entire village is using the heaters."
Annie, Peace Corps volunteer in Talas oblast: "I am really excited about possibly doing a training in Talas on Solar Water Heaters in the spring. My village seems very interested and I think with time to find all the materials it could go well."
A woman from Maman village, near Karakol comments on the solar heater she now has, thanks to the JICA volunteer working there: "The solar system is very useful and our family are all happy about it. Especially, it is now much easier for me to wash dishes with warm water and my children use warm water to wash their hands and faces. The autumn season has come in our village, but if it is a sunny day, the solar system heats up water in the tank and I mix with cold water to adjust the temperature."
Solar barrel heaters have proven themselves easy to construct and use. Nick, a Peace Corps volunteer in Naryn, believes that "this is definitely a project that Peace Corps should invest more time and effort into".


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You might have seen Kiwi Studios featured on Daily Candy Deals a couple weeks ago…and now's your chance to win one of their gorgeous fused glass trays for free!! They have generously offered up this beautiful 6″ x 16″ Pink Stripe Slim Tray (a $120 retail value) for HWTM readers!
How to enter:
• Make {any} comment on this post
• You have until Midnight (PST) Wednesday, March 14th to enter.
• Anonymous comments cannot be counted – please use either your blogger account login, website URL, or first and last name (or initial) with your post so we can identity you if you win!
Many thanks to Chris Austin for the great giveaway!
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18Jean SAYS:
*crossing fingers*
19Chairiste SAYS:
I absolutely love this site! You find the cutest things!
20Joyce T. SAYS:
super cute tray.


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RevZillaTV Motorcycle Gear Video Reviews
Welcome to the RevZillaTV Library where you can browse RevZilla Motorcycle Gear Video Reviews by brand and style. RevZilla produces 100% of these videos in-house and believes that a better educated rider is a safer and happier one. Knowing the motorcycle gear that goes on your body is the first step in staying safe and enjoying the sport to its fullest. Our motorcycle helmet and motorcycle gear video reviews should provide the necessary informaiton to begin narrowing your search for the right gear. Within this library you will also find high-level overview videos at the brand and category level along with seasonal reviews and how-to video guides.
Firstgear HT Overpants Review
- Icon Compound Mesh Overpants Review
- FirstGear HT Air Overpants
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- Firstgear Kathmandu Overpants 2011 Review
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This page contains video reviews and video guides for motorcycle gear.


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Madame Alexander
Sweet Tooth Silverlicious Cloth Doll
- Color:
- multi
- 1
- 2
Description: Sweet Tooth Silverlicious Cloth Doll has a stenciled face and yarn hair that's topped by a sparkly embroidered crown. She wears a dress with an iridescent lace bodice, a yellow striped cotton skirt with a yellow sparkle tulle overlay, and sheer sparkle pink organza puffed sleeves. The dress, bedecked with ruffles, is trimmed at neck and cuffs with silver picot and yellow lace. Pink taffeta and silver ribbon accent the waistline. Includes ink undies; fuchsia sparkle Mary Janes; and a gold lame wand with pink ribbons. She is accompanied by her brown plush bear, who is dressed to compliment Silverlicious in a white cotton pinafore with pink sparkle organza tutu, trimmed with a pink sash and bow. How sweet is that?
- Doll is made of soft cloth fabric
- Doll measures: 18" in height
- For all ages
Material: Cloth
Brand: Madame Alexander
Origin: Imported


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Ale Contenti: VC++ Safe Libraries and More
- Posted: Apr 18, 2007 at 11:23AM
- 4 comments
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Hi lantree,
I agree with you. I really think C++ in general (and STL as an example of a powerful C++ library) has a lot to offer in environment like the one you work on. You just mention one great example when talking about custom allocators for memory management.
Few other languages let you control memory in such a fine, elegant and expansible way. Reading your post, I remembered one talk from Alexandrescu (Chromed Metal: C++ Idioms that Are Safe and Fast, I guess this paper covers some of it http://www.erdani.org/publications/cuj-2005-12.pdf) and one from Scott Meyers (When C++ Hits the Hardware, http://www.aristeia.com/short-courses.html#wchth) which describe interesting solutions.
As we say in the video, C++ is powerful and somewhat dangerous, in the sense that it lets you do a lot of things (and some bad things as well, if you're not careful ). With checked iterators, we tried to make the iterators less dangerous, without sacrifying performance.
I'd like to hear from you more specific scenarios where we could do a better job in harnessing the power of C++. Do you need some pre-packaged allocator to simplify memory management? Do you need tools to measure code bloat? Please let us know!
One question: What do you mean with code complexety? You mean code complexity in the STL itself, or using it?
Unfortunately, we can't control the STL implementations of other vendors. Anyway, please note that we get our STL implementation from dinkumware (www.dinkumware.com), and they support more platform than VC++ does,
I believe. Also, let us know which platform you need support on... you never know... (maybe we have a compiler in the box you can use... )
And have you tried using VC++ IDE to drive your compilers?
Thx for your comments!
Ale Contenti
VC++ Libraries Dev Lead
Ale and Louis (Lafreniere) recently recorded the follow-up channel 9 video to this one - Ale Contenti and Louis Lafreniere: Understanding Exceptions and When/How to Handle Them, you can view the video at: http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=343189
Thanks Damien
Comments have been closed since this content was published more than 30 days ago, but if you'd like to continue the conversation, please create a new thread in our Forums, or Contact Us and let us know.


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Systemwide Events Calendar
Lecture: Food Culture of Korea and JapanFebruary 24, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Manoa Campus, Center for Korean Studies
Professor Tae Ho Kim, visiting scholar at the Center for Korean Studies, will present a lecture titled "The Food Culture of Korea and Japan: Understanding Cultural differences in Table Manners and Cuisine."
Focusing on food culture, Kim will explain, for example, why Korea and Japan have developed similar yet different table manners and cuisine and suggest possible reasons for their differences in regard to the functions of such utensils as spoons and chopsticks. He aims to propose an appropriate perspective on the food culture of Korea and Japan and what our view of different cultures should look like in the age of globalization.
Ticket Information
Free and open to the public
Event Sponsor
Center for Korean Studies, Manoa Campus
More Information
Merclyn Laguguen, (808) 956-7041, email@example.com, http://www.hawaii.edu/korea/
|Sunday, February 24
|Phoebe Cummings lecture and opening reception for Cella
Manoa Campus, Art Building, Unversity of Hawai'i Art Gallery
|Lecture: Food Culture of Korea and Japan
Manoa Campus, Center for Korean Studies
|UH Wind Ensemble & UH Symphony Band
McKinley High School Auditorium (1039 S King St, Honolulu)
- Highlighted dates have scheduled events.
- Select the date to view all events for that day.
Ongoing Events
- Lineage : A Family Tree of Printmakers
- The White Rose : nonviolent resistance against the Nazi regime
- Arts Exhibition: Ainu Treasures: A Living Tradition in Northern Japan
- Biggest Loser Challenge
- Contemporary Photography in Hawaii 2013
- International Hermeneutics Conference
- Human Architecture
- Phoebe Cummings: Cella


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on October 12, 2012 - 11:46 PM
TEMPE, Ariz. – It's a homecoming of sorts for Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins, who spent the 2009 season as the running backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals.
He shouldn't expect any welcome-back presents from a physical Cardinals defense that ranks 11th overall in total yardage and has playmakers throughout.
That list starts with inside linebacker Daryl Washington, who's playing as well as anyone in the league at that position. Washington, a second-round pick out of TCU in 2010, has made 39 tackles and four sacks so far this season, along with a forced fumble.
"He's a good player. He's fast. He has a knack for being around the ball, getting to the ball, and he's a great blitzer. And he went to TCU so that makes it even better," said Modkins, a former three-year starter at running back for the Horned Frogs.
Modkins' offense will also have to contend with cornerback Patrick Peterson, a second-year veteran out of LSU.
"He's come a long ways from where he was [last season] as a defensive back," Modkins said. "We all know he's a great athlete, a great return guy, but he's really improved and he has a chance to be a special player in this league for a long time."
Peterson is expected to be matched up against Bills receiver Stevie Johnson most of Sunday.
"He's different," Peterson said of Johnson. "He has a different approach at the line of scrimmage. He's very shifty. He's quick.
"He gives you a couple of different looks, and he's going to try to force the corner to open up his hips. I have to do a great job of staying patient, staying square, so I can dictate pretty much where I want him to go."
The Cardinals have also rushed the passer well, recording 17 sacks. They run a base 3-4 scheme under defensive coordinator Ray Horton, in which they send pressure from all different angles. Of those 17 sacks, just two have come from a lineman, defensive end Calais Campbell, and another two from blitzing safeties. Their play-making linebackers have the rest.
Rookie Nigel Bradham confirmed Friday he will replace Arthur Moats as the Bills' starting strong-side linebacker.
"I've got an opportunity to start, [I've] just got to take advantage," said Bradham, a Florida State product. "Hopefully I can lock the position down and keep it."
He was in for 42 snaps last week against the 49ers, his most extensive playing time this season, tying for a team high with six tackles. The coaches informed him Monday that he'd be starting.
The Bills like Bradham's ability to get to the ball. The 6-foot-2, 241-pounder has a good blend of size and speed. He also might be the only starting linebacker in the NFL with braces.
"It's funny you mention that. I hear some kind of trash talk about that on the field," he said. "It's all good, I just got to show them what I can do."
The Bills listed four starters as questionable for Sunday's game following practice Friday at Arizona State University.
Defensive tackle Kyle Williams (foot), guard Chad Rinehart (calf), center Eric Wood (foot) and safety Jairus Byrd (chest) are all questionable. Williams returned to practice on a limited basis Friday after missing Wednesday and Thursday. Rinehart, Wood and Byrd all participated on a limited basis for the second straight practice.
Out Sunday are offensive tackle Cordy Glenn (ankle), defensive end Mark Anderson (knee), guard Kraig Urbik (ankle), defensive tackle Spencer Johnson (ankle) and center Colin Brown (hamstring). Brown is on injured reserve, but has to appear on the team's injury report this week after he was hurt in Week Five.
Probable for the game are cornerback Aaron Williams (hand) and defensive end Mario Williams (wrist). They both have practiced fully the past two days.
The Cardinals do not rule any players out, but have an extensive injury report with 14 players listed. Four of those players – cornerback Michael Adams (hamstring), fullback Anthony Sherman (knee), cornerback Greg Toler (hamstring) and linebacker Reggie Walker (head) – are listed as doubtful. Only Adams was able to practice at all during the week, on a limited basis Friday.
Questionable for Arizona are defensive tackle Darnell Dockett (hamstring), tight ends Jim Dray (knee) and Todd Heap (knee), linebackers Paris Lenon (knee), Quentin Groves (hamstring) and O'Brien Schofield (knee).
The four probable Cardinals – running backs LaRod Stephens-Howling (hip) and William Powell (head), quarterback John Skelton (ankle) and guard Adam Snyder – practiced fully.
email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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on March 26, 2013 - 8:48 PM
Thomas Herrera-Mishler will continue as president and CEO of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy through 2020.
The conservancy's board of trustees announced Tuesday that Herrera-Mishler's contract has been extended for seven more years. A landscape architect and longtime admirer of Frederick Law Olmsted, he assumed the posts in February 2008.
The conservancy noted that Herrera-Mishler has increased diversity in the park workforce, planted more than 4,000 trees, finalized the parks master plan and attracted support for more than $8 million in projects ranging from the Humboldt Basin restoration in Martin Luther King Park to the upcoming renovation to Marcy Casino in Delaware Park.
"I look forward to overseeing the continued investment and care of the Olmsted parks and parkways," Herrera-Mishler said. "Landscape architecture is something I'm extremely passionate about and I have dedicated my professional life to carrying out Olmsted's vision for our city."


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Serving Opportunities
There are many opportunities to serve. Please visit the links below. If you find an opportunity that you are interested in, download the application found on each page and follow the instructions. Please contact us with any questions.
Serving Opportunities
Our Vision
Serving Opportunities ministries focus on guiding people to find a place where they feel most comfortable serving the Body of Christ and the world at large.
"If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him." John 12:26
"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Mark 10:45


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Closed Captioned
Whether you've taken Leah's other Craftsy classes or are discovering this talented teacher for the first time, you'll appreciate her patient and thorough instruction. Learn all about five new free-motion stitch families: overlapping, foundational, edge-to-edge, edge-to-center and stem-centered designs. Then turn your practice pieces into a reversible quilted tote.
Make every day a free-motion quilting day ... with Leah Day!
Meet Leah and get started making a tote bag and preparing your free-motion canvas.
Learn the basics of free-motion quilting, including stitching in the ditch, hiding thread tails, and proper hand movement.
Learn how to audition your quilting designs, including choosing the proper thread color and scaling your motifs.
Learn a variety of quilting designs with Leah and have fun stitching them.
Go over what foundational designs are and learn how to stitch a wide variety of them.
Learn about edge-to-edge quilting designs and go over a myriad of designs.
Continue learning new designs as you go over edge-to-center quilting.
Learn even more new, fun quilting designs; these involve motifs with center stems.
Finish your tote bag project by binding it together and attaching the strap.
"Leah! You are amazing! I have now stitched 100 of your designs and have learned so much! Some of them I thought were too complicated, but working through them with you made me capable of doing them myself..... I am thrilled with what I have learned. I look forward to many more days of working with you!!!!! Thank you so much."
- JoJo3


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on November 8, 2012 - 1:22 PM
, updated November 8, 2012 at 1:35 PM
WHEATFIELD – Four people were injured and one driver faces a number of traffic charges after his car rear-ended a Jeep, causing it to rollover, this morning on Niagara Falls Boulevard near Walmore Road.
All the injuries were described as non-life threatening.
David Summerville, 20, of North Tonawanda, the driver of a 2006 Saturn, was charged with unreasonable and imprudent speed, failure to keep right and failure to obey a traffic control device, Niagara County sheriff's deputies said.
Summerville was eastbound on Niagara Falls Boulevard just before 8:30 a.m. when he rear-ended a 2007 Jeep Liberty operated by Joseph Lamb, 61, of Burlington Ont., causing the Jeep to flip over.
Lamb was extricated by volunteers from the Bergholz Fire Company. A passenger in the Jeep, Catherine Lamb, 62, also of Burlington, was assisted out of the vehicle before rescue workers arrived. Both Lambs were transported to Mount St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
Summerville and a passenger, Jessica Wagner, 25, of North Tonawanda, were taken to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center for evaluation.


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Fun at the park
July 4, 2013
Four-year-old Madison Dorsey gets a lift from mom Mincie Fluharty while feeding the animals at the petting zoo. The zoo was a part of the "National Night Out" at Waterworth Memorial Park Wednesday....
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Raleigh, NC (Sports Network) - Kevin Parks rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown as the Virginia Cavaliers captured their first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season with a 33-6 rout of NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Both Phillip Sims and Michael Rocco were utilized at quarterback for Virginia (2-6, 1-4 ACC). Sims got the start and completed 8-of-10 pass attempts for 115 yards and a touchdown. Rocco had more pass attempts, completing 12-of-23, but threw for only 83 yards and a touchdown. Darius Jennings hauled in six passes for 57 yards and a score as the Cavaliers put an end to a six-game losing streak.
Mike Glennon completed 23-of-46 pass attempts for 197 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted three times for NC State (5-4, 2-3). Shadrach Thornton rushed for a team-high 28 yards on a day when the Wolfpack only netted 19 rushing yards as a team.
Sims went a perfect 4-for-4 on the Cavaliers' opening drive and then punched it in from a yard out for a touchdown.
Michael Rocco came in for Sims on the Cavalier's third possession of the game and marched the team 68 yards on 10 plays ending in an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jennings.
The Cavalier defense put points on the board when Will Hill sacked Glennon in the end zone for a safety late in the second quarter.
Sims threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Tim Smith on the Cavaliers' first drive of the second half as Virginia expanded its least to 23-0.
Drew Jarrett connected on a 33-yard field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter for the Cavaliers.
NC State finally got on the board with just over six minutes left in regulation when Glennon connected with Mario Carter for a two-yard touchdown pass. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed.
Parks scored on a 31-yard rushing touchdown a little more than two minutes later as the Cavaliers coasted to the win.
Virginia more than doubled NC State's total offensive production (446-216) and forced five Wolfpack turnovers.
The Sports Network


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Top Definition
A shorter term for the spanish word "gonorrea". It's used more to insult and demean a person. This is mostly used in Colombia, in parts like Pereira and Medellin.
Pronounced: Go-No
Pronounced: Go-No
"Parce usted tan gono-gono"
"Your such a gono-gono"
"Your such a gono-gono"
de cultura10 21 Ianuarie 2009
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Celebrity Central / Top 25 Celebs
Rachel McAdams
- 1994
Skater Girl
A competitive figure skater since age 4, McAdams quits at 18 in favor of acting. "Getting up at 5 a.m. was a constant struggle," she tells Elle. "I hung up my boots and haven't picked them up since." That's not to say she doesn't miss the sport. "I miss skating," she tells Parade. "But I used to get so nervous before competitions. I'd wake up in a cold sweat. I don't miss that." She later graduates with honors in drama from Toronto's York University.
- 2002
Pie in the Sky
A supporting role in the low-budget film Perfect Pie earns McAdams a Genie Award nomination (Canada's Oscar), which puts her on the Hollywood radar. She goes on to play a teen who gets stuck in Rob Schneider's body in The Hot Chick. "It [was] such a strange little entrance to make," she tells EW. "I guess it could have been an exit as well."
- 2004
A Popular Role
To play Regina George, the cliquey queen bee whose regime is toppled by Lindsay Lohan in the box office hit Mean Girls, McAdams gets a taste of high school high life. "Getting to do it the way the popular girls do it was fun: to layer on makeup and have long, straight platinum-blonde hair," she tells In Style. "I certainly didn't look like that in high school."
Taking Notes
In the screen adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel The Notebook, McAdams goes from mean girl to romantic lead. "It's such an overwhelming love story," McAdams tells PEOPLE. The best part of the film? Meeting Ryan Gosling, who she later began dating. "God bless The Notebook," Gosling tells GQ in 2007 after they split. "It introduced me to one of the great loves of my life."
- 2005
Crash Course
McAdams stars opposite Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in the blockbuster The Wedding Crashers. "I'd always imagined that once I got to this level, life would somehow become really easy," McAdams tells The Hollywood Reporter. "It's actually the opposite. But I tend to think the complexity is a real blessing in a strange way. The scripts I get are a lot better than they used to be."
Seeing Red
Filming the entire thriller Red Eye inside a plane "was incredibly claustrophobic," McAdams tells London's Free Press. "I was literally stuck on the plane for 12 hours every day." During one fight scene, she accidentally smacked her face into a door. "Yeah, that hurt," she tells Entertainment Weekly. "I thought, 'Okay, we're done. Production ends. It's over.' And then I got ice. The Jell-O pop on the fat lip really helped."
Stone Cold Funny
McAdams finishes off a banner year with a delicious role as Sarah Jessica Parker's soon-to-be sister-in-law in the Christmas comedy The Family Stone, which also stars Diane Keaton, Luke Wilson and Claire Danes. "We had so much fun making it," McAdams tells Parade. "We joked, 'We're having such a good time, it can't be any good.' But it was incredible."
- 2006
A Time to Chill
After a busy year, McAdams decides to take most of 2006 for herself, before reporting to the set of the 1940s-era film Marriage in the fall. She returns to Canada for some downtime. "I love being able to come home to a place where no one really cares what you do or who you are, and allows me a break from that life," she tells the Hollywood Reporter.
- 2008
Rachel & Ryan's Brief Reunion
McAdams reunites with ex-boyfriend Ryan Gosling, who called her "one of the great loves of my life." The on-again duo is first spotted at Gosling's deejay debut in Hollywood and then getting cozy over breakfast in Toronto. But in December, a source tells PEOPLE that the pair split: "He still loves Rachel and Rachel still loves him, but the timing is off and they can't make each other happy right now."
- 2009
Moving on With Josh Lucas
After reportedly making out at the Inaugural Purple Ball in Washington D.C. in January, McAdams and new love Josh Lucas go public with their romance. The actor, who previously dated Salma Hayek, is photographed with McAdams in Toronto, before calling it quits by the end of the year.
Photo Credits
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Splash News; Everett Collection; Columbia; Fred Prouser/reuters/Landov; New Line Cinema/Zuma; Gemma La Mana/Dreamworks; Zade rosenthal/20th Century FOX; Flynet; INF; Vera Anderson/WireImage, Stephen Lovekin/Getty
- Name
- Rachel McAdams
- Date of Birth
- November 17, 1978
- Birth Place
- London, Ontario, Canada
- Relationships
Michael Sheen, ex-boyfriend (2010 to 2013)
Josh Lucas (dated briefly in 2009)
Ryan Gosling, ex-boyfriend (2004 to 2008; off and on)


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Winners of nine games in a row overall and 12 straight at home, the Stetson women's basketball team (13-4, 6-0 A-Sun) will host the Lipscomb Lady Bisons (2-13, 1-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon in a game broadcast live on ESPN3*.
Stetson will enter the weekend with the eighth-longest active winning streak in the nation. Duke and Kentucky currently lead the nation with respective 16-game winning streaks. A victory by the Hatters Saturday would tie the school record for the longest winning streak in program history (10 games), set last season.
"Obviously it's outstanding for our program, but you don't really think about it while it's going on," Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said about the winning streak. "You just play a game at a time, and if it happens, it happens. If you start focusing on those things then you really lose what's in front of you, and it's so important to stay focused on what's in front of you."
In addition, Stetson's 12-game home court winning streak currently ranks as the 10th-longest active streak in the nation (Baylor's 48-game home court streak is no. 1). The Hatters also had a 12-game home court winning streak prior to their last home defeat, making the team 24-1 (.960) in its last 25 home games.
"We are very confident in this building and very comfortable playing here," Bria said. "However, you have to be careful that you don't become overconfident. I've told our players we should always be humble. We respect every opponent; we don't fear them but we do respect them. We have to come out and do the job, that's why you play the game."
The Hatters enter the weekend undefeated in conference play and tied for first place in the league standings. Stetson has shot 46% from the floor in A-Sun games and has outscored its conference opponents by an average of 17.2 ppg.
Sophomore Jama Sharp is coming off a strong road trip where she shot 71.4% (15-21) from the floor and 66.7% (4-6) from behind the arc in the two Stetson victories. Against USC Upstate she scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed a career-high eight steals (six in the second half). On Monday at ETSU, Sharp tied a career-high with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting including 3-of-4 makes from behind the arc.
"We have a lot confidence right now, but we are big on not being overly confident," Sharp said. "That's what hurt us last year. We won a few games and thought, 'Oh, we got this,' and then we would lose. We just keep going at it in practice and preparing for our next game."
If Stetson wins on Saturday, the Hatters will have a chance to break the school win streak record on Monday night against conference-newcomer Northern Kentucky (6-8, 3-2). That game can be seen on HatterVision with a tip-off time of 7 p.m.
Both upcoming games can also be heard on WSBB, 1230 AM New Smyrna Beach, 1490 AM DeLand, and myam1230.com.
Fans can also get live in-game updates via live stats at GoHatters.com, the Stetson women's basketball twitter account (@StetsonWBB), or by subscribing to the Hat-Alerts text messaging service.
Tickets are available at the door or by calling the ticket office at (386) 822-8110.
*Note: ESPN3 and WatchESPN is available to fans who receive ESPN's linear networks as part of their video subscription from Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Verizon FiOS TV, Comcast Xfinity TV or Midcontinent Communications, Cablevision or Cox Communications. The app is available free to download for Android devices from the Google Play store and Amazon Appstore and for Apple devices from the App Store, as well as online via WatchESPN.com.