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"Game changer" is a term you hear often when people talk about how technology has changed their industry.
When presenting a proposal to senior decision makers, they most appreciate directness, clarity and sound thinking, so the most important step in putting together a strategic sales presentation is to be absolutely clear about what you want your listeners to think and do at the end of your presentation. The second most important step is to clearly structure your material so that it leads your listeners exactly to that point. A clear message and structure make your strategic sales presentation more persuasive.
Step 1: Write the headline
Be absolutely clear about the message you want to get across to your listeners. While this may sound obvious, think back to the number of times you've sat through a presentation that was rambling, unstructured and unclear. What impression did you form of the speaker? How likely were you to do what you thought they were asking?
No one remembers every detail of a presentation. At decision time, each of your listeners will have a headline in their mind that will guide their thinking, so don't leave it to chance. You control the headline by being absolutely clear about it before you craft your presentation.
The headline depends on where you are in the sales cycle. Early on, it may be that they have a problem and must act now. For a closing presentation, they might recognize the problem but must be convinced exactly why your solution is the best.
Step 2: Structure the path
Structure makes it easy for your audience to follow you, which maintains their attention and carries them along with your logic. Structure makes you look organized and competent. Finally, structure exposes potential weaknesses in your own thinking before you get in front of a tough audience.
There are a number of structures you can choose from:
First, there's the tried and true "3 Ts:" Tell them what you're going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you told them. For an executive audience, leave off the recap and have a call to action instead.
An excellent structure for solution selling is the problem/solution structure. Describe the problem and its impact, criteria for a solution (weighted in favor of your strengths), possible alternatives, why your alternative is the best choice, and close with your implementation plan.
If your audience is skeptical or opposed, the USE structure (understand, small agreement, explanation) can bring them around to your way of thinking. First you must build a bridge by showing that you understand their point of view. Next, you must start turning them in your direction by getting a small agreement on a position halfway between theirs and yours, or to see an aspect they had not considered. Once you have opened their minds slightly, you close with the explanation of why your approach is the best.
There is a lot more to a successful presentation than just these two steps, but with a compelling destination and a clear path, the rest falls into place much more smoothly.
Jack Malcolm is President of Falcon Performance Group, an organization dedicated to improving the professionalism, preparation, productivity and effectiveness of sales professionals through training and consulting in sales, influencing and communication skills.


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The Pacific Northwest was not always a part of the country that received its share of the limelight. In the old days, if you weren't in the timber or aerospace industries, you probably didn't have all that much to do with the Northwest. That's all changed in the past two decades; between grunge, Twin Peaks, and Portland, Oregon's rise to alternative culture prominence, the Northwest is where a lot of things are happening first.
Shwood glasses manage to combine all these elements, and the end product is sleek yet classic eyewear that is entirely handcrafted in Shwood's Portland based workshop.

subset: commoncrawl


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Man arrested at new Walmart, accused of shoplifting
Published: Friday, February 1, 2013 at 6:57 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, February 1, 2013 at 6:57 p.m.
Gainesville's new Walmart Supercenter opened its doors for the first time Friday morning, and by 3:30 p.m. a customer had been arrested, accused of shoplifting, according to the Gainesville Police Department.
A loss prevention officer at the new store, located at 5800 NW 34th Boulevard, told Gainesville police that he observed Charles R.J. Jackson, 31, of 1055 SW 62nd Boulevard, take an MP3 player valued at $79.38 from a store shelf and take the merchandise into the store's men's restroom.
The officer said he observed Jackson leave the restroom a short time later without the package, at which point Jackson was seen walking toward the store exit. According to a police report, the officer then entered the bathroom to find the empty MP3 packaging in a trash can. Jackson was confronted at the store's front doors, police said, and later admitted to placing the MP3 player in his pocket because he did not have enough money to pay for it.
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Reproduction of the WWII Thompson 5 cell 20 round pouch. Nice markings. Well made with heavy khaki canvas and brass fittings. Overall 11-1/2in x 7-1/2in. Pockets hold up to 7in. x 2in. Magazines.


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The Journals of the Senate are the official record of proceedings in the Senate. The Clerk records all proceedings in the Journals, which are signed by the Clerk. The publication of the Journals for public meetings of the Senate is authorised by standing order 43(1), and therefore attracts absolute privilege.
A Journal is published for every sitting day. It records, among other things, all notices of motion, resolutions, tabling of documents, proceedings on bills including amendments moved to bills, petitions, messages received from the House of Representatives or the Governor-General, divisions and attendance of senators. The Journals are produced from the minutes kept by the Clerk and the sound and vision record of proceedings. A proof Journal of a day's proceedings is printed for distribution on the next day. A final Journal is produced after any necessary corrections are made. A limited number of bound sets of the final Journals is produced for the official record. Proof and final Journals are also entered in an information systems database which provides a useful facility for research, and on the Internet.
Material recorded in the Journals of the Senate and in the official record of debates (Hansard) may be considered in the interpretation of a provision of a statute to ascertain the meaning of the provision, under section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
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Three ingredients were the key to my survival in college: tortilla chips, shredded cheddar and chunky salsa. Armed with a Chevron card borrowed from my father, I would charge anything and everything under the sun, except actual gasoline. My starving-student diet consisted of Dr. Pepper, chocolate milk, hot dogs, bologna and, yes, even "homemade" nachos. Hey, beggars can't be choosers.
I've come a long way since those junk-food days (well, depending on who you ask), yet those trashy nachos still remain firmly rooted in my culinary arsenal. It often humors my boyfriend when I return home ravenous from a late night at work and immediately pull the chips from the cabinet. Even with a fridge full of more civilized ingredients, sometimes all a girl wants is something fattening and familiar. But before you judge, just think about your favorite nostalgic treats. Come on, I know there has to be a dirty secret lurking somewhere in your refrigerator.
Fortunately, I'll spare you the "recipe" for that ol' heat-and-eat mess. I've decided to give nachos the old college try, and I think even the haters out there will approve of this Southern-style update. Imagine slow-cooked pulled pork drizzled with sweet-and-tangy barbecue sauce and ladled with creamy cheddar. It's finished off with cilantro-sour cream, pickled jalapenos and a sprinkling of queso fresco. Each of the components is delicious in its own right, but paired together you get something truly sublime. The only way these nachos could get any better is if they're washed down with an ice-cold beer. And that, my friends, is how to earn a culinary diploma!
This recipe can be as simple or complex as you'd like. Feeling lazy? Just pick up some smoked pork at your favorite barbecue house and add your favorite sauce. If you only do one thing, though, by all means make the cheddar sauce from scratch. You'll never go back to the neon-yellow box again. Trust me, you're conscience (and your taste buds) will thank you for it.
Pulled Pork Nachos
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 3 hours and 30 minutes (including oven time for pulled pork)
Yield: 4 – 6
For the nachos:
1 bag good-quality tortilla chips
2 cups warm Pulled Pork (recipe below)
Cheddar Cheese Sauce (recipe below), to taste
Barbecue Sauce (recipe below), to taste
To serve:
Cilantro-Sour Cream (recipe below)
Pickled jalapenos
Queso fresco or Cotija cheese, crumbled
Salsa verde
Hot sauce
To assemble the nachos, arrange the tortilla chips on a large serving platter. Pile with warm pulled park. Drizzle barbecue and cheddar sauce over the top, to taste. Garnish with pickled jalapenos and crumbled queso fresco. Serve with cilantro-sour cream , salsa verde and hot sauce on the side.
For the Pulled Pork :
3 1/2 – 4-pound, bone-in pork butt, fat intact (also known as pork shoulder)
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 cup lager-style beer (like Budweiser)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
First, make the spice rub. Whisk together the paprika, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, mustard powder and cayenne. Massage the spice rub into the pork butt, coating on all sides.
Place the rubbed pork in a large Dutch oven; add beer, cider vinegar and liquid smoke. Cover and cook for approximately 3 hours, basting occasionally, until the pork easily falls apart. Remove the pork to a large cutting board while still hot. Cut off excess fat and carefully shred the meat; it is harder to pull once it has cooled. (I either wear heavy-duty rubber gloves on my hands or use my new "bear paws," but two large forks would work, too.) Place the shredded pork back into the Dutch oven and toss with its cooking juices. Cover and set aside until moving forward with the recipe. Yields: 1-1/2 to 2 pounds pulled pork, depending on the amount of fat and bone on the cut.
To reheat, cook the barbecue (in its Dutch oven) over medium-low heat until warm. If you want crispier shredded pork (more like your favorite barbecue house), reheat it on the stovetop first, then spread it on a sheet pan and pop it under the broiler for a few minutes, watching carefully so it does not burn.
For the Cheddar Cheese Sauce :
2 eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Kosher salt, to taste
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the eggs and evaporated milk. Turn heat to medium-low; add mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and half of the shredded cheese. Once the cheese sauce begins to warm, add the cornstarch-water mixture (aka the slurry). Whisking frequently, gradually add the remaining cheese and cook until the sauce reaches desired thickness, about 10 – 13 minutes. (The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Stir in more evaporated milk if necessary.) Season generously with kosher salt.
To reheat the cheddar sauce , add additional evaporated milk to the cheese — one tablespoon at a time — while whisking over medium-low heat until desired consistency is reached. Yields: 2 cups sauce
For the Barbecue Sauce :
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup steak sauce or marinade (such as Dale's or Allegra)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke
Generous amount of freshly ground pepper
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients, whisking to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil; reduce heat and simmer. Cook until the mixture is thickened, approximately 10 minutes. (This barbecue sauce only gets better with time, so feel free to make it a few days in advance.) Yields: 2 cups sauce
For the Cilantro-Sour Cream Sauce :
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice (about half a lime)
Kosher salt, to taste
In a small bowl, mix the sour cream, cilantro and lime juice until well combined. Season with salt, to taste. Chill for at least one hour before serving. Add more lime juice and salt before serving, if desired.
More Football Party Foods on Cooking Channel
- Top Big Game Eats
- A World of Hot Wings
- The Playbook: Cooking Tips
- Rachael's Make-Ahead Chili
- Jalapeno Poppers
More Southern Eats From Nealey
Nealey moved from Alabama to the West Coast to follow her dreams, only to realize once there how much she missed good ol' country cooking. So she took to the kitchen and began re-creating the dishes of her past, but this time without any help from a can. What started out as a hobby turned into an obsession, so she quit her day job to pursue cooking, and eating, fulltime. Dixie Caviar is where you can follow her pursuits of all things Southern.


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There is one question I've been struggling to figure out about Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to release his second memoir: why now? Of course, he has retired but for a manager renowned for protecting his players in public while berating them in the sanctity of the dressing room, publicly naming and shaming some of the club legends has generated lots of unflattering headlines.
Sir Alex certainly wants his legacy as a leader and manager to be recognised; his methods were recently the subject of a Harvard Business Review case study.
But another reason is hinted at in one of the most revealing quotes from the book, on the loneliness of being a manager: "In management you are fragile, sometimes. You wonder whether you are valued". Read more


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Note: In a previous blog, I mentioned that we were reading Luke Hohmann's Innovation Games. We decided that our best learning would be through performing some of the games in this book, rather than discussing the content. My blog caught the eye of folks here at Adobe who were already working with Luke. The rest is history, as they say. Here is an excerpt of the article I recently wrote for the Adobe Program Managers' Newsletter.
Games and play are fast becoming the techniques — not "du jour" but "de rigueur" — for gaining insight into customer requirements and innovating next generation products and services. There is a conference on games, a National Institute for Play, and TED Talks on play and games. Right here in Silicon Valley, both design innovation consultancy IDEO and the Institute for Design at Stanford, tout play methodology for achieving astounding designs for next generation customers and end-users.
After reading Luke Hohmann's Innovation Games for our Globalization Book Club, we set about finding a way to "put into play" our learnings from the book. Much to our delight, Luke was already working with some product teams at Adobe. What if Luke could help us drive the creation of our 2012 localization roadmap and three-year strategy?
Along with members of our team, we invited internal stakeholders closest to the international customer. They represented CSO, ecommerce, product marketing, field marketing, developer relations and CHL, and regions such as APAC, EMEA, and LATAM. The event took place during two full days at the end of August.
Many program managers from other business units volunteered their time as official game observers, taking copious notes on the behaviors, verbal nuances, and interactions of the game participants. These observations, along with photos and videos, would serve as support material once we started to analyze the ideas resulting from each game.
Stories from the field, in the form of Show and Tell, started us off on Day One. While often poignant or funny, we could experience first hand the hoops international customers sometimes have to jump through when using our products. With the understanding of some typical pain points, participants were assigned different customer profiles and instructed to create an ideal Product Box to sell to the audience. The day was topped off with Prune the Product Tree in which the roots and trunk represent ideas that form the foundation of a strategy, and each branch represents an area of development to which the "apple" ideas are grown or pruned.
By the end of day one, several themes were beginning to emerge: customer personalization; end-to-end user experience; user-defined language settings; machine translation; community translation; and localization "in the cloud". The next day would require fleshing out the themes into concrete project ideas.
Day Two started off with recapping the brainstorm of ideas of the day before. Now it was time to dive into the details and create project charters from the apples that remained on the trees. The most strategic charters competed in the Priority Tournament — a head-to-head, pair-wise, single-bracket elimination tournament to choose the top three projects. The Cloud-based Globalization idea easily slid into home plate. Next, the charters that would become part of the next year's roadmap went toe-to-toe in a forced-ranking online Buy a Product auction.
With the most important and strategic projects in hand, we proceeded to analyze them in more depth using two side-by-side games: Spider Web and Sail Boat. In the latter, each team creates "anchors" – those issues that can weigh down a project. "Sails" could be added that can propel the boat forward. These might be opportunities, advocates or events that enable a project through rough waters and counteract the anchors. In the former, the network of people, projects and systems that are either impacted by the project or can themselves impact the success or failure of it, are drawn and linked like a web.
The flow of games, from expressing pain points, to sketching out general themes, to fleshing out specific ideas and charters, resulted in a clear idea of what our short and long-term roadmap will look like. The final themes resulting from the event were many. Here are a few highlights:
- Community Translation & Customer Engagement – investing more resources on engaging with our user community to bring feedback into improving our products and expanding language availability.
- End-to-end experience
- Translation Technology – Making use of the "cloud" to deliver our services
Should you consider using Innovation Games or similar methodology? First and foremost, we discovered how important it is to include stakeholders in our strategic planning process. During the event, participants built better relationships with each other and communication channels opened up. We gained valuable insight into how an international customer interacts with our products — from the web to software purchase/download to documentation. Using games was a fun way of extracting serious ideas and it allowed people to be more creative and free in their thinking; they were less fearful of peer pressure in vocalizing their ideas.
From these charters and the other materials produced, we expect that we will architect a one-year roadmap and three-year strategic plan that will have, at its core, the ideas and inspirations of our international customers and internal stakeholders.


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ALL beef has been taken off the menus at Oxfordshire's schools while independent testing is carried out on lunchtime meals to make sure they do not contain horsemeat.
Carillion Plc, which serves Oxfordshire's school and hospital meals service, has revealed that it has sent samples of meat products from its local and national suppliers for independent DNA analysis.
Last week the company, which took over the contract for supplying primary and secondary school meals when it was outsourced by Oxfordshire County Council in July, offered "solid reassurance" that its food had not been contaminated.
But last night a spokesman said: "Due to the on-going and understandable concern surrounding horsemeat contamination, we recognise that many parents would simply prefer their children not to eat beef at the moment.
"We have therefore taken the precautionary decision to remove all beef from our lunchtime menus.
"Carillion has sent samples of meat products for independent DNA analysis. We would like to reiterate our reassurances that the food provided through its Food With Thought catering service has the highest level of quality and hygiene.
"Our suppliers have confirmed that they have not supplied us with any products or ingredients that have been sourced from any of the meat suppliers cited by the Food Standards Agency and that no meat products supplied contain the DNA of any species other than that declared on the packaging."
A result on the DNA testing is expected in the next seven days.


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Birbal the Wise - IXSituation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.
Emperor Akbar once ruled over India. He was a wise and intelligent ruler, and he had in his court the Nine Gems, his nine advisors, who were each known for a particular skill. One of these Gems was Birbal, known for his wit and wisdom. The story below is one of the examples of his wit. Do you have it in you to find out the answer?
The King of a distant land had heard that Birbal was one of the wisest men in the East and so desired to meet Birbal. He sent Birbal an invitation to visit his country.
In due course, Birbal arrived in the distant kingdom. When he entered the palace he was flabbergasted to find not one but six kings seated there. All looked alike. All were dressed in kingly robes. Who was the real king?
The very next moment he got his answer. Confidently, he approached the king and bowed to him.
How did Birbal know who was the real king?
AnswerThe king, puzzled and shocked by this instant discovery asked Birbal, "But how did you identify me?"
Birbal explained: "The false kings were all looking at you, while you yourself looked straight ahead. Even in regal robes, the common people will always look to their king for support."
Overjoyed, the king embraced Birbal and showered him with gifts.
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Wobbly early, Kuroda settles to stymie Astros
Hafner's RBI singles sufficient support for righty's fourth win
NEW YORK -- There have been many moments during this season's first month that the Yankees' lineup appeared to be held together by used bubble gum and Scotch tape, and yet you look up as the month of April closes, and they sit six games above .500.
Hiroki Kuroda had an outing ripped right out of that playbook on Tuesday. He seemed to be in danger for each of the first three innings, but by the end of his night, he'd spun seven scoreless frames and the Yankees were on their way to a 7-4 victory over the Astros.
"It hasn't always been pretty, but our guys have come up with clutch hits when we've needed them," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I think our pitchers have done a pretty good job. It took a couple guys a little while to get going, but they've seemed to find it."
Despite carrying nine players on the disabled list, having added Kevin Youkilis to that injured assortment on Tuesday, the Yankees wrapped up the month of April holding a 16-10 record and residing in second place in the American League East.
There was talk in the clubhouse this spring about using outside pessimism as fuel, and certainly there was plenty of it flowing right outside those concrete walls. But 26 games later, Travis Hafner said that this team has fostered a positive atmosphere of its own.
"They brought in really good dudes -- a lot of veteran guys, good-character guys," Hafner said. "We've kind of known each other over the years. The clubhouse has been great. Everybody gets along well, and it's been fun."
So while Kuroda flailed early and searched for the command of his stuff, the Yankees didn't panic. Somehow, Kuroda managed to strand seven Astros aboard through the first three innings -- which required 67 pitches, including a sinker-and-slider combination that Kuroda said proved to be "useless," before pitching coach Larry Rothschild suggested that Kuroda try working only from the stretch.
"That is actually something that I don't really like to do, but I followed his suggestion and everything worked," Kuroda said through an interpreter. "My control wasn't there, so I tried to attack the zone as much as I can."
A six-pitch fourth inning righted Kuroda's game, as he retired 14 of the last 15 batters he faced, finishing with a season-high eight strikeouts. Catcher Chris Stewart wasn't sure if moving Kuroda to the stretch was the cure-all, but there was no reason not to try.
"I mean, it couldn't hurt," Stewart said. "Obviously, he was putting guys on left and right in his first three innings. We might as well try to make a change and see if we can mix it up and he can figure it out from there. Fortunately, he was able to."
Hafner drove in two of the Yankees' four runs against Astros starter Phil Humber, part of a three-hit, three-RBI night for the designated hitter.
Hafner didn't exactly crush everything, grounding a third-inning RBI single up the middle and serving an eighth-inning RBI flare into left field, but he wasn't about to apologize for finding holes in the Astros' defensive shift.
"The last one was a bad swing I just cued off the end of the bat," Hafner said. "I'll take it. I guess you feel like it evens out a little bit, maybe. When there are guys in scoring position and you can get hits, that's big."
Hafner also put the Yanks on the board with an RBI single in the first inning against Humber, who permitted nine hits in an outing that featured four wild pitches.
"I feel like I threw the ball where I wanted to throw it and how I wanted to throw it," Humber said. "Eventually, the ball's going to bounce my way. I hope it happens soon. I'm getting a little bit frustrated, but it's part of the game. You keep working hard and keep battling."
New York added two runs in the fifth as Brennan Boesch legged out a fielder's-choice grounder, scoring Ichiro Suzuki. Jayson Nix then ripped an infield single to shortstop that allowed Robinson Cano to score.
Chris Carter hit a two-run homer off David Robertson in the eighth to break up the shutout, and Lyle Overbay responded with a solo shot in the home half of the inning, his fourth.
Stewart's single then drove in Eduardo Nunez, who finished with three hits, including two doubles. Nunez said that hitting coach Kevin Long made an important tweak to his stance, making him stand less upright and thus permitting him to better hit to all fields.
"Offensively, we really believe this kid is going to hit," Girardi said. "We think he can hit, so to get him going with the speed that he has, it creates problems for the defense, the pitchers. It would help us a lot."
In the ninth, with many in the remaining crowd chanting, "We want Mo!" during an ineffective Shawn Kelley appearance, Mariano Rivera entered and struck out Jason Castro for his 10th save of the season.
"You want to finish the month off well, and you want to keep paying good baseball," Girardi said. "I thought it was important. You're trying to win series. We talk about that as our focus all the time; just win series and things will take care of themselves. Now we have a chance to do it again tomorrow."
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Conservation Department
There are times that the Conservation Department works on whole collections or groups of objects, or single objects, all of which require particular research on the part of the conservators. This research may require them to research the techniques needed to create certain objects, or perhaps research display materials (such as display cases or lining textiles) to ensure compatibility and that there are no preservation issues that may occur, or even discover more about an artists techniques. The following are examples of some of the projects the Conservation Department have worked on in the recent past.
Restoration of the Piranesi Candelabra
The TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund has awarded The Ashmolean Museum a grant for the restoration of two candelabra, by the Italian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778). The Ashmolean is currently carrying out this conservation project, alongside specialist conservation consultants Cliveden Conservation. The intricately carved candelabra are some of the finest examples of neo-classical sculpture in the UK and form a key element of the collections displayed in the Ashmolean's impressive Randolph Sculpture Gallery.
The candelabra have become structurally unsound because the plaster bonding in the joints between each vertical section has failed during the 100 years since they were last restored. Until they were re-plinthed on pallets in 1991, these vulnerable objects were traditionally moved by masons dragging them across the floor, using winches, rather than lifting them. Although they are now mounted on pallets, disguised as plinths, moving them still puts them at risk as they comprise many loose components. For that reason the Museum has developed this project to dismantle, conserve and structurally stabilize these remarkable objects.
The candelabra were purchased from Piranesi by Sir Roger Newdigate, who made two Grand Tours in 1739-40 and 1774-75. They were shipped in component form from Italy to Oxford with instructions for their re-assembly provided by Piranesi. Given to the University of Oxford by Sir Roger Newdigate in 1775, the candelabra were originally erected in the Radcliffe Camera, a library designed by James Gibbs. From there they were moved to their present location in 1846, upon the opening of the new galleries built to exhibit the University of Oxford's collections of Greek and Roman sculpture. They have remained important focal points ever since. The Randolph Sculpture Gallery, one of the Ashmolean's most iconic galleries, is currently undergoing renovation. The candelabra are important part of the collection displayed in the gallery and will enjoy a prominent position within it. We look forward to reopening the Randolph Sculpture Gallery and exhibiting the newly conserved candelabra restored to their former glory in the spring of 2013.
Watch a video about this project
3D Object Conservation Project
Sackler Gallery Project
faïence shabti
boat before installation
The Objects Conservation Department was heavily involved in the recent refurbishment of the Sackler Gallery of Egyptian Antiquities. Over 1000 objects were assessed to ascertain their suitability for display and any conservation treatment required.
Many objects on display were in a good condition and only required removal of light surface dust and dirt. However, others needed more in-depth examination and treatment research. Treatments included the stabilization of corroding metals, removal of unstable adhesives from ceramics and re-joining fragments, removal of ingrained dirt from a variety of different materials, and re-stringing hundreds of beads.
Conservation staff also worked with a specialist mount-maker to find the safest way to display the objects whilst minimizing visual intrusion from the mounts. Ensuring that fragile items are safely supported whilst on display is very important to their long-term stability.
Making sure that safe environmental conditions (including light, humidity, temperature and pollutants) were maintained throughout the gallery was another important part of the project.
A large part of the collection had been in cramped storage conditions beneath the display cases. These objects had to be removed during the refurbishment program and were re-installed using more up to date storage methods and materials. This was a time consuming process that involved the move of about 1500 objects and is an example of behind-the-scenes work that, though not obvious to visitors, is extremely important to the preservation of the collections.
The Virgin of Mercy: a marble sculpture
during treatment.
The Virgin of Mercy was one of the sculptures used for the Catalogue of Medieval and Early Renaissance Sculpture and therefore became a priority for conservation treatment. Although it was structurally sound, it needed extensive surface cleaning. The entire surface was covered with a layer of dirt. A mixture of dark fingerprints, patches and accretions varying in size as well as colour were present all over the sculpture.
Extensive research had to be carried out to determine the nature and cause of the discolouration. Such a procedure is necessary for the choice of conservation treatment. With the aid of ultraviolet light as well as optical microscopy, it was revealed that many patches (especially the round ones) were of microbiological origin - some sort of algae, which is rather unusual for indoor sculptures; the stains are quite often confused with iron stains. Such findings are also important as they can lead to a better understanding for the way in which an object ought to be stored.
Regarding conservation treatment, dry as well as wet cleaning methods were used in this instance, enabling the object to be used on display in the future.
Paper Conservation Projects
Rembrandt Prints
portrait drawing at a window.
This project was initially proposed by a curator, for two reasons; the prints really needed to be re-housed, and an exhibition of over sixty works was to be arranged. The collection of Rembrandt prints held at the Ashmolean Museum numbers over 200, ranging in size from a large postage stamp to approximately A2. In about 1914 and 1915 the prints were sent to the British Museum for conservation and mounting. Unfortunately the treatment meant that the backs of the works were completely inaccessible to scholars, as were any interesting watermarks. In 2004 and 2005 every print was removed from its mount and conserved, and placed in a new mount in such a way that the backs were accessible. Many backs show nothing beyond the artists fingerprint; however, one or two provided information very useful to the curator. In some cases the works were scanned or another technique called Beta-Radiography was used to record the watermark of the work. Watermarks are sometimes a useful tool to scholars for reasons from authentication to placing an artist in a particular region or country.
Samuel Palmer
This nineteenth century artist is very popular among those familiar with him. In 2005 and 2006 a very large retrospective exhibition was to be held at the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As part of this exhibition, some of the important works held at the Ashmolean Museum were requested, and the paper conservator was asked to write an article about the techniques and materials used by the artist in the early part of his career for the exhibition catalogue. Palmer was mainly self-taught and therefore was not confined by the adherence to taught technique many of his contemporaries were. Of particular interest were several works that it is believed were created to emulate printing. With the aid of microscopy and UV fluorescence part of his technique was unravelled and a little more is now known about the artist and his technique.
layer over the whole drawing.
Learning more about an artist's technique is vital if we are to make plans for conservation treatments, future preservation and to ensure that the works are fit to travel.
Textile Conservation Projects
The English Embroideries Project
Queen of Sheba. Front.
contemporary dyed conservation
patches and C17 undyed linen patches.
The Ashmolean's collection of seventeenth century English embroideries has been studied and conserved recently as part of a project to produce a handbook and an exhibition. Several embroideries have been removed from old, unsightly, and potentially damaging mounts and redisplayed. The new mounts consist of padded boards made from inert boards padded with polyester felt and covered with scoured cotton fabric. The embroideries are attached to the boards using a variety of methods depending on the condition and needs of each object. These methods include stitching, the use of adhered fabric hinges and also Velcro to enable occasional access to view the backs of the pieces.
showing ink drawing of mermaid.
During the project it has been possible to view the backs of the pieces, revealing the vivid unfaded colours of the embroidery silks. New information about the production of the pieces was also uncovered. For example a patch of linen on the back of 'Solomon and the Queen of Sheba' (WA 1994.142) was shown to have part of an ink drawing of the often used mermaid motif (see image).
The Ashmolean's English embroideries have also been examined using X-rays. This has added to our knowledge of their construction as metal pins supporting the raised and padded features have been revealed. The birds in 'The Sacrifice of Isaac' (WA OA.414) have been shown to include the beaks of real birds used to form the beaks of the embroidered ones.


text:
Volume 6, Issue 2, Spring 2003
Links to the Articles
From the College Director | From the Center Director | Alumni Notes | Focus on Faculty | Have Golf With Nam | From the Board Chair | Publications & Presentations | Psi Chi | Student News
Editorial Director: M. Ellen Mitchell, Ph.D.; Editor: Steve Raminiak; Contributors: Bryan Dunn, Bruce Fisher
PsychLink is published by the Illinois Institute of Technology's College of Psychology twice a year and follows the academic calendar.
Please send correspondence to:
College of Psychology
3101 South Dearborn, Room 252
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From the College Director
The fall semester at the College of Psychology is already winding down, with students wrestling with papers, tests and research.
The few recent teasing days of early spring have delighted those of us hunkered down and awaiting the passage of winter here in the College of Psychology. The plethora of spring bulbs planted, now three years ago, are starting to break the ground. The campus center, with its orange glass panels and mysterious honeycombed inlays designed to refract the light, are visible from afar. The new dorms and tube that conceal many feet of CTA "L" tracks are now visible structures taking shape and form are delightful and so, so, well, non-Miesian. If you are interested, these can be viewed at: http://masterplan.iit.edu/mccormick_gallery/gallery_112002.html (Campus Center), and http://masterplan.iit.edu/architects.html (The Dorms).
Everyone has been busy per usual. We are pleased to announce that Dr. Chow Lam was named Distinguished Professor - a well deserved recognition. Glen Geist announced his retirement. I told him that he can't leave IIT but it appears that a kindler, gentler life of golf and travel has a more compelling call to him. Scott Morris agreed to take over a number of Glen's functions and serve as the Assistant Director of Psychology. John Hilburger was named a Fellow of the National Rehabilitation Counseling Association "in recognition of meritorious contributions to the field of Rehabilitation Counseling." I was elected for a three year term (following on a 1 year appointment) to the executive board of the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology, the national organization of university based graduate programs. All of our I/O faculty, five current students and 9 alumni are presenting this month at SIOP in Orlando. We are in the midst of fall admissions (most of you will recall what that was like). Tammy Sher is working on a grant renewal; Bruce Fisher and Theresa Campbell (nee Kiolbasa) are forging ahead with expanding Center services. The president of SIOP for the year 2003 is IIT alumnus Dr. Michael Burke who was Dr. Nam Raju's advisee. I cannot name everyone for fear that this will sound like a laundry list. Suffice to say that faculty and students alike are working diligently on research, classes, and grants and we are all looking forward to the sun. The news from our alumni is just great. Our College sign was "borrowed" because it was on the list for the Greek scavenger hunt. Happily, our sign was returned intact.
This, very roughly, is the mise en scene for those of us who spend a great part of each day here. Supporting our work is our Board of Overseers, friends, and volunteers who make our daily life better through their kind support and generous giving. The endowed faculty chairs, described by our Chairman Bryan R. Dunn, are significant projects. Each endowed chair requires $2 million of support. We believe that these endowments will elevate the programs, (already nationally ranked), the College of Psychology and IIT. We have a terrific group of people dedicated to each of these efforts; we invite your involvement as well. We realize that these projects will not be easy and we need you to help us in building these endowments. There are many ways to help, and only one of them involves financial contribution. If you are interested and supportive, I urge you to call Olivia Anderson at 312.567.3518.
Hope you have a great spring and hope to see you at the May 30th golf outing.
All the best,
--M. Ellen Mitchell, Ph.D., College Director
Progress at the Center for Research and Service
Despite a difficult economic environment, the Center for Research is having its best year ever. Fiscal year to date, we have enjoyed revenue growth in excess of 25%. Driving this growth, we have experienced significant success in several new service areas.
Leveraging our investment in web-based survey technology and a powerful automated survey results reporter, the Center has dramatically increased its share of the organizational survey market. In addition, we have had great success conducting surveys for multinational corporations, including organizational surveys across Europe, Asia and South America.
The Center has also had great success implementing web-based 360-degree feedback systems for our clients to use as tools for leadership development and performance management. Compared to paper and pencil 360-degree tools, we have seen rater response rates increase by almost 20%, as well as an 80% decrease in client costs. The Center's 360-degree feedback process can be readily adapted to clients' competency models, administrative systems, and reporting requirements.
Dr. Theresa Campbell, practice leader for psychological assessment services, has successfully launched this key service area for the Center. Her work has included assessments for geriatric, adult, and adolescent populations that involve suspected cognitive, intellectual, or psychiatric disorders. Dr. Campbell has established strong partnerships with public agencies, private companies, and insurance companies, and she is now poised to take this practice to the next level.
Dr. Nambury Raju continues to be an extremely valuable resource to the Center. Recently, in collaboration with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Dr. Raju contributed to the design of a job analysis methodology to support the needs of the Social Security Administration with respect to disability determination. Additionally, Dr. Raju continues to lead test development and validation as a key service area for the Center.
Lastly, the Center has embarked on an important test development project with broad implications for employee and managerial selection. Building on the work of K. Anders Erikson regarding the structure and application of expert performance, the Expert Performer Inventory assesses the extent to which an individual employs behavioral strategies associated with expert performance. The Expert Performer Inventory is currently in the field testing and validation phase for sales and customer service samples. We are still recruiting participating organizations, so contact the Center if you have an interest.
‹Bruce Fisher, Ph.D., Director, Center for Research and Service
Alumni Notes
Helene Levine, M.S.
Helene Levine, M.S. (Class of '73) has been involved in management at the Anixter Center for the last 25 years. Just recently, she has expanded her responsibilities to begin an exciting new program in the area of Transition Services for special education students who are in their senior year attending Chicago area high schools. Under Ms. Levine's direction, the Anixter Center has identified 4 high schools and are partnering with the school staff, students and families to assist in moving students from school to work.
Fred M. Rafilson, Ph.D.
Fred M. Rafilson, Ph.D. (Class of '96) founded I/O Solutions, Inc. in 1997. Recently, Dr. Rafilson's wife, Kimberly, gave birth to a baby boy!
S. Jeffery Garfield, Ph.D.
S. Jeffery Garfield, Ph.D. (Class of '67) reports that he is shooting the best pool of his life and has recently played with two hall of fame pool players. Jeff spends his days on his balcony looking over the gulf of Mexico, and his nights watching "Law and Order" reruns.
Dennis Armstrong, Ph.D.
Dennis Armstrong (Class of '89) is currently Vice President, Leadership and Organization Development at the Limited Brands Incorporated in Columbus, Ohio. Dennis moved to Columbus in 1999, with his wife Stacy Armstrong (IIT Ph.D. 1991) and three daughters, Taylor, Hailey, and Lexie.
Rev. John B. Houck, Ph.D.
Rev. John B. Houck, Ph.D. (Class of '74) has been appointed Priest-in-Charge of Saints George and Matthias Episcopal Church in Chicago. He spends two days a week at the church and works three days a week in his private practice in the Loop and in Hyde Park. Dr. Houck was Chaplain and Campus Minister at IIT from 1968-1976, while he was getting his Ph.D. His specialties are the integration of psychotherapy and spirituality, couples' therapy, and addictions therapy. Dr. Houck has also been leading weeklong spiritual/psychotherapeutic retreats for German nuns and laywomen twice a year in Oberreifenberg, Germany since 1992.
Capt. Roger Stanley, US Army. B.S.
The army is sending Capt. Stanley (Class of '96) to get his MBA in conjunction with his appointment to the faculty of West Point's Social Sciences Department as a lecturer in economics. He will attend either Stanford and Harvard Business Schools this fall, and begin teaching in 2005.
Jerrold S. Meyer
Jerrold S. Meyer, B.S. (Class of '67) has been a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst since 1978 and is currently also a Professor in the Biopsychology Division. In the fall of 2001, Dr. Meyer also became Director of the Neuroscience and Behavior Program, a graduate training program composed of over 30 faculty from six different departments. He is the immediate Past President of the Neurobehavioral Teratology Society, a national organization concerned with the neurobehavioral effects of developmental exposure to drugs and environmental toxins. Dr. Meyer's research currently focuses on the influence of MDMA ("Ecstasy") on brain and behavioral development in an animal model.
Mark J. Zerwic, Ph.D.
Mark J. Zerwic, Ph.D. (Class of '84) is the lead Psychologist at the VA Chicago Health Care System, where he is responsible for managing 21 doctoral psychologists providing inpatient and outpatient mental health services to veterans. Dr. Zerwic is the Coordinator of Addictions Assessment and Program Enhancement at the VA, and he has over 15 years of experience in working with addictions. Recently, Dr. Zerwic returned to IIT on March 4, 2003 to give a talk entitled, "Assessment and Treatment of Alcohol and other Substance Abuse Disorders," at the IIT Counseling Center. "It was an experience of coming full circle," commented Dr. Zerwic, "as the IIT Counseling Center was my first clinical training practicum in graduate school. It was great to speak with current trainees, and it reminded me of my early experiences."
Maureen Hawkins, Ph.D.
Maureen Hawkins, Ph.D. [nee: Mansfield (Class of '98)] is a staff psychologist at Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development. In this position, she teaches and supervise post-doctoral trainees as well as holds therapy sessions.
Jaci Masztal, Ph.D.
Jaci Masztal, Ph.D. (Class of '88) has recently co-written a book called Journey to the top: Life stories and insights from fifty governors. The book was published by Hats Off Books, Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Masztal was an advisee of Dr. Ayman, and is a member of the Psychology Board of Overseers.
Susan Sorenson, Ph.D.
Susan Sorenson, Ph.D. (Class of '80) is a full-time faculty member at the UCLA Community Health Sciences School of Public Health. Her areas of interest include: intentional injury, homicide, suicide, sexual assault, battering, child abuse, mental health issues, and child health.
Dan LaSpesa
Dan La Spesa, B.S. (Class of '72) is currently teaching computer science at St. Petersburg College and in high school at Shorecrest Preparatory School. Mr. LaSpesa still has his software business, Oak Software, Inc., and is also working on a Master's degree in Computer and Information Sciences. He misses Chicago and IIT, but not enough to leave Florida.
Ivan Lippitz, Ph.D.
Ivan Lippitz, Ph.D. (Class of '75) retired from full-time practice in 1993, but keeps his license active. Dr. Lippitz also served as an ombudsman for the City of Evanston for 10 years. His time is spent traveling, working out several times per week, attending a wide assortment of cultural activities, serving as a board member of his condo association and playing an active role in the politics of Lincolnshire. Dr. Lippitz spends his leisure time by reading (including professional stuff), surfing the net, writing , and eventually, piano lessons.
Allen J. Friedrich, M.S.
Allen J. Friedrich, M.S. (Class of '73) manages the MetLife Disability's Vocational Rehabilitation for individuals who are receiving Short and Long Term Disability Income. Mr. Friedrich also works with employers to help them make accommodations for the employee's restrictions and limitations. After 30 years in vocational rehabilitation, Mr. Friedrich has found that rehabilitating with the employer is more effective than doing the same with the client alone. They need it more!
Kevin J. Armstrong, Ph.D.
Kevin J. Armstrong, Ph.D. (Class of '92) has recently been named Graduate Coordinator and Assistant Department Head at Mississippi State University. He enjoys teaching, consulting, and conducting research. He and wife, Becky, have 2 children now (Aubrey Claire aged 2 1/2 and Grayson who turned 1 in January).
Focus on the Faculty
Dr. Chow Lam
Chow Lam, Ph.D. is a man who needs no distinction but is surely entitled to it. Recently, we caught up with Dr. Lam to learn what's new in his world.
On Nov. 19th, 2002, Dr. Lam earned a new title: "Distinguished Professor of Psychology". This title is bestowed on a faculty member who has achieved national or international preeminence in his or her field based on scholarly work and excellence in teaching. The IIT Trustee Board endorsed Dr. Lam as a Distinguished Professor of Psychology in recognition of his work in the scientific application of knowledge about the impact of psychosocial factors on persons with disabilities leading to improving their quality of life, and in honor of his international reputation as a rehabilitation counselor educator.
Dr. Lam has also been becoming more involved in an organization to study the stigma related to mental illness. As a Senior Faculty member of the University of Chicago's Consortium on Sigma Research (CCSR), Dr. Lam facilitates research projects and funding efforts devoted to understanding the phenomenon of stigma, developing and testing models that explain why it occurs, and evaluating strategies that help to diminish its effects. Special focus is on the stigma of mental illness using models developed through basic behavioral research.
CCSR is comprised of a multi-disciplinary team of experts from psychology, psychiatry, social work, survey research, law, sociology, human development and the humanities. Members of the Consortium are on faculty at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois Institute of technology, Loyola University, Northern Illinois University, and the National Opinion Research Center. CCSR is funded in part by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. CCSR also works with a distinguished group of consultants that are nationally recognized experts in their fields. Additionally, the Consortium has partnered with consumer, advocacy, and community provider groups.
Additionally, Dr. Lam has made significant progress in the development of a Chinese version of Lam Assessment on Stages of Employment Readiness (LASER). He and his graduate student from Hong Kong recently presented preliminary results at the American Psychological Association's Work Stress and Health Conference in Toronto, Canada. They noticed cultural cultural differences between the American version and the Chinese version and made special changes to the instrument to accommodate cultural sensitivity.
Have Golf with Nam
On Friday, May 30th at Poplar Creek Golf Course in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, the College of Psychology is planning an day of leisurely golf and American fare barbecue!
All proceeds will help honor Distinguished Professor Nambury Raju, Ph.D. through our efforts to establish an endowed chair in psychology. Dr. Raju is a world-class psychology professor, consultant, and mentor to many. He has done so much to help his students, and now is the time to give back and honor Dr. Raju.
We will play a four person, best ball competition, which will allow people of all ability levels to have fun. You can bring friends and choose who will be in your foursome. As an alternative, we will group you with people you are sure to enjoy. Remember, even if you are not a good golfer, we still encourage you to come out and have fun with us.
We have some wonderful prizes, including:
- Great travel prizes for holes-in-one, including all expense paid golfing trips to Florida, California, and Canada
- Golfing accessories and apparel for longest drive, straightest drive, longest putt, and closest to the pin competitions
- Each member of the winning (4 person) team will receive a special prize
- All attendees will receive a gift bag of great goodies!
Tee times will be between 11 am and 1 pm. After the round of golf, we have reserved a banquet room and patio for a PGA style barbecue from 4-7 pm. Your round of golf with cart, the barbecue, and all of the gifts and prizes are yours for $125 per person.
If you cannot attend, please consider sponsoring a student. If you wish, the student can have you or your company's name on his or her nametag. You may also choose to sponsor a hole for only $250. A sign would be posted at a hole for the duration of the event, and you will receive recognition in the next Psychology newsletter. Or consider the "Eagle" sponsorship level‹for $1000 your corporation will have a large sponsorship sign at a hole, mention in the newsletter, plus four free passes to play!
Please join us on May 30th, 2003 for a fun event. If you have any questions or want to register, please call 312.567.3500 or email email@example.com. See you there!
From the Board Chair
The College of Psychology has never shied away from big goals. We created several nationally ranked graduate programs, became an independent College, secured the largest grant to any single faculty member at IIT and helped create the first ever rehabilitation psychology program of its kind in Southeast Asia, to name but a few of our recent accomplishments.
Recently, a student at the College of Psychology caught me off-guard when talking about our graduate programs. I expected to hear her reactions about the subject matter of her courses or about which classes she found particularly engaging, or perhaps the occasional gripe about school (who hasn't had one!). But she didn't get too far into any of that. She began to talk simply of hope.
In these uncertain times, I should have known better. Sometimes it is difficult to see beyond the bubble in which we live. I cannot think of anyone who hasn't been affected by our economy or by the thought of our sons and daughters, friends and neighbors, off to war.
This student had a different view. She noticed the progress in techniques and approaches that help people cope; she heard of creative business responses to the global economy. She saw her personal development in her classes. She saw the expansion of IIT in the construction of the new Student Center. Both aesthetically and substantively, her bubble was full of hope.
Here at the College of Psychology, and at IIT in general, we put a priority on focusing student minds to grapple with the future. To ensure our progress in this regard, we have launched a campaign to fund two endowed psychology faculty chairs. An endowed faculty chair is a fund in which a pre-determined amount of money is gathered for the support of an esteemed faculty member. This gathered amount is then invested to produce reliable and substantial earnings used for the professor's salary, student assistants, research, conference travel and more. By re-investing the principal of this fund, the earnings benefits become permanent and a position becomes endowed.
One of these chairs will honor Distinguished Professor Nambury Raju. Dr. Raju is a prominent figure in I/O psychology and has consulted on, researched and taught test development and psychometric theory for over 20 years. Distinguished Professor Raju is also internationally known and respected for his research, consulting in test development, and more. On Friday, May 30th, I hope you can join me as well as old friends, alumni and faculty of IIT's College of Psychology for a golf outing and barbecue on at Poplar Creek golf course in Hoffman Estates. All proceeds will help honor Dr. Raju through our efforts to establish this endowed chair.
Distinguished Professor Chow Lam will hold the second endowed chair. He is featured in this newsletter and I urge you to read about him in the pages ahead. His work makes a real difference for individuals with disabilities to help them adjust to the changes they face and to enjoy the highest levels of productivity and life satisfaction.
Contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations have begun to set the framework for these positions, but we still need your help. These endowments will attract considerable attention to the College of Psychology and bring these two nationally recognized programs to the next level. A solid education is the most necessary asset in this day and age. As costs rise and budgets drop, we have to strengthen our ability to harness this new generation. Our best hope to invest in the future is to invest in our students.
--Bryan R. Dunn, President & CEO, Kinship Corp. Chair, College of Psychology Board of Overseers
Faculty, Student, & Alumni Publications & Presentations
*Antani, A. & Ayman, R. (April, 2003). Gender, Social Support and the Experience of Work-Family Conflict. Paper presented at European Academy of Management, Milan, Italy.
Ayman, R. ( in press). Situational and contingency approaches to leadership. In Robert J. Sternberg, John Antonakis, and Anna T. Cianciolo, (eds.). The Nature of Leadership. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Ayman, R. (2002). Contingency Model of leadership effectiveness. In Linda L. Neider, and Chester, A. Schriesheim (eds.) Leadership (pp.197-228). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
Ayman, R., *Adams, S., *Hartman, E. & Fisher, B. ( in press). Leadership development in higher education is submitted for publication in S. Murphy & R. Riggio. The future of leadership development. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Ayman, R. (April, 2003). Putting cross-cultural in teaching I/O psychology. A panelist In Shreya Sarkar-Barney (chair/convener), Approaches To Teaching Cross-Cultural I-O Psychology, at the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Orlando, Florida.
*Blitz, D. L., Lezotte, D. V., & Morris, S. B. (2003, April). Investigating multilevel effects of climate in linkage research. Poster to be presented at the 18th annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
*Boslet, S. & Ayman, R. (April, 2003). Mentoring and Gender's Relationship to Job Satisfaction and Organizational Stress. Paper presented at the Society of Industrial and Organizational psychology, Orlando, Florida.
Chan, H., Li, C., Chan, C.C.H., & Lam, C.S. (2002, August). Validation of Lam Assessment on Stages of Employment Readiness (LASER): A preliminary report. The 3rd Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation, Hong Kong, China.
Chan, H., Li, C., Chan, C., Lam, C.S., Hui, K. (2003, March). Preliminary validation of Lam Assessment on Stages of Employment Readiness (LASER). 5th Interdisciplinary Conference on Occupational Stress and Health., APA-NIOSH, Toronto, Canada.
*Feinzimer, B. & Frame, M. (2003, March). The Relationship Between Transactional/Transformational Leadership and Affective Commitment: A Multilevel Analysis. Paper presented at the 24th annual Industrial/Organizational Psychology/Organizational Behavior conference, Akron, OH. (Made possible by Roya Ayman, Ph.D. as part of the Graduate Leadership Seminar and by Scott Morris, Ph.D. as part of the Multilevel Analysis Seminar.)
*Fortmann, K., *Feinzimer, B., *Moraes, A., *Thompson, C., *Glover, B., & Frame, M. (2003, March). The Effects of Transformational and Transactional Leadership on Affective Organizational Commitment. Paper presented at the 24th annual Industrial Organizational Psychology/Organizational Behavior conference, Akron, OH. (Made possible by Roya Ayman, Ph.D. as part of the Graduate Leadership Seminar.) Georzig, A. & Ayman, R. (July, 2003).Gender differences in preference of scientific fields: Self-to-prototype match as a mediator. Paper presented at the European congress of psychology, Vienna, Austria.
*Kalpakjian, C., Lam, C.S., & Leahy, B. (2002). Conceptualization and Identification of Depression in Adults with Brain Damage by Clients and Rehabilitation Clinical Staff. Brain Injury, 16: 501-507.
Korabik, K., Lero, D., & Ayman, R. (April 2003). A Micro-Macro Approach to Cross-Cultural Work-Family Research. A presentation at European Academy of Management. Milan, Italy. *Laube, S. & Ayman, R. (July, 2003) A Multi-level investigation of satisfaction within teams:The role of personality diversity in self-monitoring for two communication conditions. Paper presented at the European congress of psychology, Vienna, Austria. Loverde, M. Ayman, R., & DeLay, N. (April, 2003). The effects of individuals¹ psychological needs on telework¹s impact on job performance. Paper presented at the Society of Industrial and Organizational psychology, Orlando, Florida.
Man, D., Lam, C.S., & Bard, C. (in press). Development and application of the Family Empowerment Question-naire in brain injury. Brain Injury.
*Matyasik, M., *Michniewicz, J., *Porter, S., *Widati, A., *Sharma, M., & Frame, M. (2003, March). The Relationship Between Self-Monitoring , LMX, and Mentoring. Paper presented at the 24th annual Industrial Organizational Psychology/Organizational Behavior conference, Akron, OH. (Made possible by Roya Ayman, Ph.D. as part of the Graduate Leadership Seminar).
Morris, S. B. (2003, April). Estimating effect size from the pretest-posttest-control design. Paper to be presented at the 18th annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Rivaria, M, Corrigan, P., Hilburger, J., Lam, C.S., & Chan, F., (in press). Chan, F., Thomas, K.R., & Berven, N. Counseling theories and techniques for rehabilitation health professionals. New York: Springer.
*Skinner, J.F., *Fleener, B., *Rinchiuso, M., *Sowinski, D., *Patel, D. & Frame, M. (2003, March). Examining the Relationships Between Supervisor's Empowerment Behaviors and Subordinate Feelings of Empowerment with LMX as a Possible Moderator. Paper presented at the 24th annual Industrial Organizational Psychology/Organizational Behavior conference, Akron, OH. (Made possible by Roya Ayman, Ph.D. as part of the Graduate Leadership Seminar).
Roch, S. & Ayman, R. (April, 2003). Effect of Rater Audience, Identifiability, and Intrinsic Motivation on Ratings. Paper presented at the Society of Industrial and Organizational psychology, Orlando, Florida.
*Thompson, J., & Morris, S. B. (2003, April). What is the difference between affirmative action and reverse discrimination? Paper to be presented at the 18th annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Wan, K. K. Y., Chan, C. C. H., & Lam, C. S. (2002). Complicated daily tasks of Chinese older people. Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy, 12: 5-12.
*Wilman, D.J. , *Nayak, A., *Day, A.C., *Bey, L.T., & Frame, M. (2003, March). Subordinate Optimism, Perceived Mentoring, and Stress Associated with Supervisors. Paper presented at the 24th annual Industrial Organizational Psychology/Organizational Behavior conference, Akron, OH. (Made possible by Roya Ayman, Ph.D. as part of the Graduate Leadership Seminar).
*Wiley, A., Lam C.S., & *Emmett, J. (2002, August). Assessing readiness to work: an East meets West perspective. The 3rd Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation, Hong Kong, China.
*indicates IIT affiliate
Psi Chi
IIT's Psi Chi chapter is making a come back. Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology, which encourages, stimulates, maintains excellence in scholarship, and advances the science of psychology. Membership is open to graduate and undergraduate students who are making the study of psychology one of their major interests, and who meet the minimum qualifications.
New members were inducted at a special dinner celebration on February 5. The Psi Chi Officers include Mary Geraghty, President; Lydia Aletraris, Vice President; Alina Tarlea, Secretary; and Fauzia Rahman, Treasurer. New members welcomed include Koren Aragaki, Izabela Bakunowska, Mohammed Chowdhury, Amber Coffman, Heather Green, and Andrew Holloway. Other members who were inducted last year include Sarah Casey, Samaria Martinez, and Melissa Sargent. The Psi Chi faculty advisors are Margaret Huyck and Mark Frame. Several students in the freshmen class have already pledged to join Psi Chi and are intending to be inducted next year.
The membership's ideas and actions are emerging and Psi Chi is looking forward with anticipation. Our members are organizing financial support to attend conferences, lectures, conventions, and other academic events. Psi Chi is involved in the process of organizing a set of symposia on campus to bring in speakers to cover a wide variety of issues. A committee is also working with faculty in the hopes of amending and improving the psychology curriculum by reviewing courses and degrees offered.
One of the goals of IIT's Psi Chi is to provide students with the opportunity to build psychology networks, both on and off campus. We are working to help students gain increased awareness of the myriad opportunities available to them. Psi Chi is in the process of publishing a weekly column in the school newspaper, TechNews (IIT's weekly newspaper). The column gives IIT students the opportunity to submit psychology related questions and receive accurate advice and information from one of the College of Psychology's esteemed faculty. The column will not only familiarize members of the IIT community with the College of Psychology, but also introduce the College of Psychology's faculty members and their areas of research and expertise. In addition, Psi Chi, in conjunction with the College of Psychology's Associate Director of Admissions, Martin Parker, is working to recruit prospective high school students by educating them of the opportunities available at IIT. Together with the support of, the Psi Chi faculty advisors, IIT and the surrounding community, Psi Chi hopes to involve students and evoke the continuing cycle of reciprocation.
Student News
Congratulations to the clinical students who applied for internship. All matched at excellent APA-accredited sites. Rishi Bhalla, Center for Addictions and Mental Health, Clarke Institute, Toronto. Gwen Hales, Cleveland VA Medical Center, Health/Geriatric Track. Allison Lerman, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Lukes Medical Center, Chicago, Child & Pediatric Program. Tina Nikolopoulos, Children's Hospitals, Minneapolis. Renee Pichler, Oklahoma Health Consortium. Karen Rottier, University of Minnesota Medical School, Pediatric Neuropsychology. Amanda Urban, Detroit VA Medical Center. Stephen Weinland, Miami VA Medical Center. Anne Wiley, Westside VA Healthcare System (Chicago). Steven Zombory, Eastern Kansas VA Healthcare System.
Julie Kabat has won the Trainee Travel Award from the Sleep Research Society to present her paper "The roles of REM sleep and gender in overnight regulation of anxious mood" at annual joint meeting of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.


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Easter Prayer Catholic
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Wish you all Happy Easter Day 2017! This year most traditional festival Easter is coming this Sunday on 16th April. You can download Easter Festival Celebration collection stuff and celebrate along with friends, relatives, loved ones. You can also share via social sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, Google Plus, Linkedin, Tumblr, Twitter and much more.


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The nature of childhood has changed. There's not much nature in it.
American childhood has moved indoors during the last two decades, taking a mental and physical toll on today's kids. The negative impact of decreased time outdoors includes a doubling of the childhood obesity rate--accompanied by an incremental hundred billion dollar cost to our health care system--as well as declining creativity, concentration and social skills.
Some say it takes a village to raise a child. At NWF, we say it takes a backyard, a playground, a park.
Studies show outdoor time helps children grow lean and strong, enhances imaginations and attention spans, decreases aggression, and boosts classroom performance. In addition, children who spend time in nature regularly are shown to become better stewards of the environment.
Children are spending half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years ago. (Juster et al 2004); (Burdette & Whitaker 2005); (Kuo & Sullivan 2001)
Today, kids 8-18 years old devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes using entertainment media in a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). (Kaiser Family Foundation)
In a typical week, only 6% of children ages 9-13 play outside on their own. (Children & Nature Network, 2008)
Children who play outside are more physically active, more creative in their play, less aggressive and show better concentration. (Burdette and Whitaker, 2005; Ginsburg et al., 2007)
Sixty minutes of daily unstructured free play is essential to children's physical and mental health. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2008)
The most direct route to caring for the environment as an adult is participating in "wild nature activities" before the age of 11. (Wells and Lekies, 2006)
Download the Role of Technology in Connecting Kids to Nature report.
Download the results of the "Ten Million Outdoor Kids" Campaign!
Download our Educational Resource Guide for the "Every Kid in a Park" Program!


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Paris, Je t'Aime
Paris, Je t'Aime
| Posted by LA Phil Staff in Paris
The orchestra is on to Paris!
It's the final European stop on the tour and penultimate stop of the whole darn thing, so spirits are high. They'll be playing The Gospel According to the Other Mary tonight at Paris' famed Salle Pleyel, home of the Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.
And here's a fun bit of trivia - tomorrow, for the final European concert of the 2013 tour, they'll play a program that includes Stravinsky's The Firebird. Why is that notable, you may ask? Because Stravinsky hemself led premieres of two of his works there - the ballet Agon in 1957 and Threni in 1958.
The more you know...


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A SUSPICIOUS man with a "traveller accent" has been spotted knocking on doors in Malvern.
The man was seen in Skylark Rise, Malvern, leading to a call from police at 3.46am this morning (Thursday, April 24).
A male aged about 19 years old was knocking on the front door to a house. After a few brief words he left but continued knocking on other doors in the area. He is described as 5ft 4ins to 5ft 5ins tall, wearing black coat with a hood and black trousers. He had shaved dark hair, stocky build, tanned complexion and spoke with a "traveller accent". The male walked off in the direction of Cales Avenue. Police Officers attended the areas but could find no trace of the male. If you have information contact police on their non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 0039-s-240414


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Paul di Resta
Paul, a strong drive in India must have been a welcome boost in the team's home race...
It's a well-earned result by everyone and very important for the team's hopes in the championship. We've had a tough run of things lately, so to get two cars in the points at the team's home race has given us something to smile about.
After a tricky second half of the season do you feel more optimistic heading into this weekend?
We will certainly go to Abu Dhabi to try and repeat the performance. The direction we've taken with the car recently is more of a back-to-basics approach, which has helped. It's given me more confidence and I can be more committed with the car. That's really important for a driver and it will help us for both qualifying and the race.
Abu Dhabi is a spectacular venue for Formula One. Do you enjoy the event?
I enjoy driving there because it's a twilight race and one of the more spectacular events of the year - a bit like Singapore. As a track you don't have to rely too much on aero performance because it's mostly low-speed and that should suit our car quite well.
Adrian Sutil
Adrian, you must have been happy to pick up two points following your one-stop strategy in the Indian Grand Prix...
I think the strategy we chose led us to the best result we could achieve. It just shows that if you try something a bit different you can come away with a good result. It was the riskier choice because the soft tyre was an unknown experience in race conditions, but I was able to look after it well and I still had strong pace in the last few laps of the race.
How is the mood in the team after a strong performance at the team's home race?
We certainly needed some points and I think we are feeling more optimistic now. The car had a very nice balance in India - it was easier to drive, much more consistent and that helped us achieve the one-stop race. With both cars in the points everybody is feeling more positive going into this weekend.
What about your thoughts on the Yas Marina circuit?
It's one of the most perfect tracks on the calendar because there's not a stone out of place! It almost feels like a futuristic venue and with the harbour location it's like a second Monaco. The track layout is not my favourite because it's mostly low-speed, but as an event it's certainly a highlight of the year.
Vijay Mallya
Dr Mallya, how satisfying was it to see both cars score points in India?
I was delighted with the double points finish; I don't think we could have done much better. The result was due to a combination of the small steps we've made optimising the set-up and some out-of-the-box thinking in terms of strategy. That's got to be the mantra for the next three races.
Given how challenging the second part of the season has been, it must be a welcome boost for team morale...
The last few races have been frustrating for us. Even tracks such as Monza and Spa, where we have traditionally been strong, did not work out well for us. But I feel that a lot of the frustration is now behind us, not quite all of it, but most of it. The car is working better and we seem to be heading in the right direction.
It was another successful event as a whole for India. How important is it that Formula One returns to India in the near future?
India is an economy that cannot be ignored. This country has enormous potential, not just for Sahara Force India, but in terms of all the partners and stakeholders in Formula One. It's unfortunate that there won't be a race in 2014, but the promoter has assured me personally and also assured the Indian fans at large in media interviews that the race will return from 2015 on a sustainable basis. With that kind of optimism and forceful commitment all I can do is hope that it will return.
What are your thoughts ahead of this weekend's race in Abu Dhabi?
We're certainly very happy that we got things right last weekend and there's no reason why we shouldn't be in the points going forward. Don't forget this team was a regular top ten finisher in the first half of the year, so we just need to recapture our old form. Our performance in India showed what we are capable of and there's no reason why we can't carry this through to the final three races.
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Clive Owen, Morgan Freeman to star in The Last Knights
EXCLUSIVE: Bill Johnson's IF Entertainment arrives at its first AFM with the action adventure The Last Knights.
Japan's Kazuaki Kiriya will direct from a screenplay by Barney's Version writer Michael Konyves.
Luka Production International's Luci Kim is producing and Route One Film's Jay Stern, Russell Levine and Chip Diggins serve as executive producers.
The Last Knights centres on a band of warriors who seek to avenge the loss of their master at the hands of a corrupt emperor.
The producers are targeting an early November start in the Czech Republic.
Since its formation earlier this year, IF has arranged financing and handled international sales on Steve Jobs biopic Jobs starring Ashton Kutcher, which is in post, and Olivier Dahan's Grace, which stars Nicole Kidman and is currently shooting in Monaco.
Inferno Distribution will provide marketing and servicing assistance on select IF Entertainment projects pursuant to a services agreement.
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Eligibility requirements for federal financial aid
Find out if you are eligible for federal financial assistance.
Verification process
The random federal process that verifies the information from your FAFSA.
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Information if you are withdrawing from K-State.
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To be eligible to receive federal financial assistance, students must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward a degree at K-State. To read the SAP policy, please refer to the requirements.
Financial Aid for an Education Abroad
Considering studying abroad? Here is some information to consider.
Consortium agreement policyGet details on the policy for a consortium agreement.
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text: Price of Solar Declining Rapidly 11/27/2012 | If you're looking to the bright future of photovoltaics for your facility or building, experts say you're not going to have to wait long. Prices for photovoltaic power systems are dropping, and dropping fast. The installed price of solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems in the United States fell substantially in 2011 and through the first half of 2012, according to the latest edition of Tracking the Sun, an annual PV cost-tracking report produced by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The median installed price of residential and commercial PV systems completed in 2011 fell by roughly 11% to 14% from the year before, depending on system size, and, in California, prices fell by an additional 3% to 7% within the first six months of 2012. These recent installed price reductions are attributable, in large part, to dramatic reductions in PV module prices, which have been falling precipitously since 2008. The report indicates that non-module costs—such as installation labor, marketing, overhead, inverters, and the balance of systems—have also fallen significantly over time. "The drop in non-module costs is especially important," says report co-author Ryan Wiser of Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division, "as these costs can be most readily influenced by local, state, and national policies aimed at accelerating deployment and removing market barriers." According to the report, average non-module costs for residential and commercial systems declined by roughly 30% from 1998 to 2011, but have not declined as rapidly as module prices in recent years. As a result, non-module costs now represent a sizable fraction of the installed price of PV systems, and continued deep reduction in the price of PV will require concerted emphasis on lowering the portion of non-module costs associated with so-called "business process" or "soft" costs. The report indicates that the median installed price of PV systems installed in 2011 was $6.10 per watt (W) for residential and small commercial systems smaller than 10 kilowatts (kW) in size and was $4.90/W for larger commercial systems of 100 kW or more in size. Utility-sector PV systems larger than 2,000 kW in size averaged $3.40/W in 2011. Report co-author Galen Barbose, also of Berkeley Lab, stresses the importance of keeping these numbers in context, noting that "these data provide a reliable benchmark for systems installed in the recent past, but prices have continued to decline over time, and PV systems being sold today are being offered at lower prices." Based on these data and on installed price data from other major international PV markets, the authors suggest that PV prices in the United States may be driven lower through large-scale deployment programs, but that other factors are also important in achieving installed price reductions. The market for solar PV systems in the United States has grown rapidly over the past decade, as national, state and local governments offered various incentives to expand the solar market and accelerate cost reductions. Pages: 1 2 View All Previous ArticleSmall Colleges Take Big Energy StepsNext ArticleMaximize Solar Return in Low-Sun Zones Read more on Alternative / Renewable Energy » Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Email to a Friend * required fields From* To * Message cancel Email Print Print Related Coverage Renewable Standards Yield Big Savings Renewable Energy Usage Grows in the U.S. ADDITIONAL FM TOPICS Alternative / Renewable Energy What's Wrong with This Picture? August 2015 Alternative / Renewable Energy PV Advancement Could Improve Efficiency Alternative / Renewable Energy The Health Benefits of Solar Power Alternative / Renewable Energy Research Teams Seek Increased Efficiency of Perovskite Solar Cells Project Management The Key to Project Success: Collaboration Roofing The Vital Role of Insulation in Roofing Systems HVAC Portable Air Conditioners Taming Hot Summer Temperatures: Keeping People & Networks Safe Security A New Approach to Vendor Risk Management HVAC Maximize Your Return from HVAC Maintenance Plans Related Articles How the 2017 Solar Eclipse Will Impact the U.S. Electric Grid New Program Provides More Accessible Zero Energy Certification Solar Thermal Technology Cools HVAC Demand How Solar Could Generate Up to 10 TW of Electricity by 2030 Tweak Solar Panel Angles to Harvest More Energy Sponsored Links Smart roof systems improve building energy efficiency! Polyglass' Polyfresko cap sheets with CURE Technology saves on energy. Engineered to perform, Polyfresko has superior granule adhesion and excellent puncture, stain and UV resistance.


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"Very nice, great fit." (E61304)
"Very Nice. Made well and worth the money." (E102163)
"Excellent Value - Great fit - Gave this to my Coaching Staff! The Rage United Soccer Club looks great in our new black Admiral Coaching Jackets!!" (E1884)
Epic Sports
Holloway Collegiate Texas Tech Rookie Jersey [E35404]


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Harrison Heads to Charleston
In September Harrison Brookie went to the Boston Improv Festival. He's at it again this weekend as he heads down to the Charleston Comedy Festival in our home state of South Carolina. Once again he'll be performing with the lovely Paula Pazderka, the Artistic Director and School Manager of the DSI Comedy Theater in North Carolina. Here's a write up about their show in the Charleston City Paper:
As with any good comedy team, Paula Pazderka and Harrison Brookie of Pound for Pound are well-balanced. In fact, when they first started the team at DSI Comedy Theater in Chapel Hill in 2010, they both weighed exactly the same. A few pounds have snuck up on them over the years, but the name stuck. "The idea of a two-person show is that it has some balance and some back-and-forth," Brookie says. "The scenes don't really seem to have a leader or follower. We are both on the adventure together."
After meeting at DSI, the pair started the team in an effort to do something different. "The DSI style is very fast-paced, and often very large-group oriented, and there are not as many smaller teams," Brookie says. "It's often very light comedy, where it's focused mostly on finding the fun. Although I love that style, I was looking for someone who might be interested in doing a more challenging two-person show, maybe more focused on characters, focused more on the idea of finding something the audience likes."
Pound for Pound starts out their shows by asking audience members to share something they love in the hopes that the audience will actually care about the show on some level. Brookie says they rarely get jokey answers to the query. "We've actually gotten a lot of genuine responses," he says. "I think if you asked them, 'What's something that you want,' or 'What's something that you like,' or 'What's something you desire,' maybe you'd get some jokey answers, but we've gotten some pretty real answers."
These days, Pazderka works as the artistic director and school manager at DSI, while Brookie recently moved back to his hometown of Greenville, S.C. Finding the city lacking a regular improv comedy show, he founded Alchemy Comedy, which hosts weekly shows and classes downtown. While Brookie and Pazderka now live several hours apart, it's only added to the pair's comedic chemistry. "We both know we don't get to perform together much anymore, so we go full force on stage," Brookie says.
Alchemy will continue with our normally scheduled shows, but if you find yourself in Charleston this Friday and Saturday night at 10pm come out and support.


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Outrageous, unpredictable and absolutely hilarious -- CHELSEA HANDLER is in the house! She's the host of E!'s hit talk show "Chelsea Lately," and the author of several best-selling books. She's also the producer of NBC's "Are You There, Chelsea?" Now she's at the helm of "After Lately," the show that features the behind-the-scenes look at her talk show, featuring the show's hilarious writers and comedians! Don't miss what happens when these two ladies sit down together for the very first time!
Then, it's the two most adorable girls in daytime television -- SOPHIA GRACE & ROSIE! These girls have made a name for themselves with their show-stopping performances and by scoring the best celebrity interviews on some of Hollywood's most glamorous red carpets! Last weekend, they met with some of the biggest musical stars in the world on the Grammy red carpet, and they're telling Ellen all about it!


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The English newspaper site The Guardian - who gave Fallout: New Vegas 5/5 in their review - has published an interview with JE Sawyer on the popularity and appeal of post-apocalyptic worlds in video games. Here's a snippet:
Is there a political or moral dimension to the post-apocalyptic landscape in Fallout? Are you looking to make any points about how the events in the game came about? Is Fallout, in any way, a warning to us?
There are heavy moral aspects to all of the Fallout games, though the political aspects have been emphasised differently in each game. The Fallout world is usually brutal and merciless and the start of the series was pretty notable in its time for allowing the player to be just as brutal as the other monsters of the wasteland. We emphasise player choice heavily, which means giving them the option to lay waste to everything around them.
Politically, the series usually presents the player with dysfunction. Very few communities of any size manage to get by without developing serious shortcomings. In Fallout: New Vegas, the New California Republic is the closest thing the wasteland has to a modern-style republic, but much like modern republics, it is fraught with bureaucratic inefficiency, corruption, and imperialist tendencies. Caesar's Legion is highly ethical, efficient, and disciplined, but in practice is misogynistic, brutal, and allows no room for individuals to have any voice. Caught in the middle is Mr House, the de facto ruler of the Strip, a sort of laissez-faire dictator who is ultimately only interested in maintaining independent control, no matter what the cost may be.
All of these forces show serious flaws because ultimately they are all run by human beings with the same laundry list of shortcomings we have always had. The repeated refrain of the Fallout universe is "War. War never changes." Whether the individual's goals are noble or depraved, ultimately Fallout's humanity finds itself drawn into the same sorts of conflicts that almost resulted in their destruction in 2077.


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A GIRLFRIEND once gave me a hermit crab for Christmas. He was meant to live for 50 years as a symbol of our everlasting love.
''Do you know how much trouble I went to?'' she said.
The crab died within days, and so did everything else, but I have a message for that elaborately competitive gift-giver: you don't know what trouble is, babe.
Last week, in a bid to stage the greatest Christmas present, like, ever, I wrote to 60 members of the House of Lords: ''I have been asked to assess the viability and costings of the gifts named in the popular song The Twelve Days of Christmas.'' That's right, the French hens, turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.
''Can a lord be hired out for the day?'' I asked. ''And would there be an extra cost if he were asked to do some leaping? We need 10 of them and I suppose we could assemble them into a line similar to that made by can-can dancers. Any and all advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.''
My timing was appalling. As one lord advised: ''For reasons you will appreciate, we are not responding to prank calls from Australia these days. Yours sincerely. Armstrong of Ilminster.''
Lord Ahmed was short and sharp: ''Sorry not interested.''
Dear Lord Dear was friendlier but off message: ''Peers are incorruptible, but sniff the air when a case of port is around. With that in mind, not '10 lords a-leaping, but perhaps '10 lords a-staggering?' Have a very happy Christmas.''
And to you sir!
Thankfully, Lord Faulkner gave the matter serious thought: ''Lords can't be 'hired out' for the day, as that would infringe rules concerning registration of interests … However, you can legitimately say that as members of the House of Lords, [they] are entitled to claim a maximum allowance of £300 [$466] for a day's sitting, the cost of 10 lords (whether leaping or not) would be £3000.
''If you wished to dress 10 lords in their formal robes, you would need to hire them in, as the great majority of today's working peers do not possess ancestral robes of their own. Messrs Ede and Ravenscroft (edeandravenscroft.co.uk) would be able to give you a price - they charge us around £170 to hire
us a robe for the state opening of Parliament.
''In the past, '10 lords a-leaping' have been assembled at this time of year for charity, and I suspect that if you wished to get 10 of us together now, you would be expected to make a donation to a suitable good cause.
''I hope this helps. Do come back to me if I can assist further.''
If this suggests the Twelve Days of Christmas gift list is reasonably doable, I regret to inform you otherwise.
1. Partridge in a pear tree For a live partridge call Kevin O'Bryan at Olson Game Birds in Swan Hill, Victoria. Olson's breed 1000 partridges a year, and they ''taste like chicken used to taste''. It costs $25 for an adult bird.
''But we're all out,'' Kevin says. ''Long gone on order.''
A cocktail pear tree can be bought from Yalca Fruit Trees at Nathalia, Victoria, for $28.
However, partridges don't like sitting in trees. ''They're ground birds. You need to threaten them,''
Kevin says.
2. Two turtle doves Easy! Spotted turtle doves tend to travel in pairs and can be easily lured into your backyard with bread crusts. Not an especially glamorous present
but still…
3. Three French hens Doug MacDonald of Olinda, Victoria, breeds faverolles, and a good quality hen costs $60. However, Doug killed off all his birds last year because the French breeding had gone out of them. He's started breeding again ''but I won't sell them because they're not good enough yet.''
4. Four calling birds Those little blackbirds with orange beaks that furtively slip in and out of the bushes. Great singers but not disciplined enough to work as a quartet.
5. Five golden rings The clue here is ''golden'' - meaning cheap. Diva has Golden Band Rings for $9.95. Trudy on the main switchboard says they contain ''no gold whatsoever''.
6. Six geese a-laying Ken Linton in the Hunter Valley sells adult geese for $30 each. ''But you've missed the boat this year,'' Ken says. ''Very few people are breeding them commercially.''
7. Seven swans a-swimming Ken Linton says, ''There was a guy, years ago, selling swans.'' They were white swans, which are imports. The black swans dirtying up civic parks are natives and can't be legally captured. To pull this off, I'd need to take my partridge, tree, hens and so forth to the local lake and set up the party on the shore.
8. Eight maids a-milking. Australian Workers Union organiser Sam Beechey says: ''There are plenty of women working in the dairy industry, and the rate is about $17.36 an hour. I wouldn't get out of bed for that, not at four o'clock in the morning.''
9. Nine ladies dancing Am still waiting to hear back from Noela MacLeod, the national president of the Country Women's Association.
10. Ten lords-a-leaping Sorted.
11. Eleven pipers piping
12. Twelve drummers drumming … can be hired from the Williamstown RSL Pipe Band for $1400 in total. ''But only on weekends or evenings,'' the secretary of the club, Fiona Thomson, says. ''And they are booked out at the moment. We may have to sort something out later in the day.''
Yes, Fiona. Or perhaps I could simply invest in a pair of socks.