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Language Learning & Technology
Vol. 7, No. 3, September 2003, pp. 4-17
Interactive and Multimedia Techniques in Online Language Lessons: A Sampler
Paginated PDF version
Jean W. LeLoup
SUNY Cortland
Robert Ponterio
SUNY Cortland
While one might think the definition of distance education would be simple enough, the concept and justification of learning over distances are actually under continual debate (Distance Education Clearinghouse, 2003). There are probably as many explanations and rationales of distance learning as there are sites and modes of offering it in its various forms: eg., self-directed study or teacher-guided coursework available only online, surmounting geographical barriers. In many ways, foreign language (FL) study seems a natural candidate for distance learning, one major goal being the connection of language learners with target language input and native speakers, which are often a great distance away. Digital technologies have advanced to such a point that this distance no longer presents much difficulty, even though it physically still exists. A myriad of distance language learning sites can be found online, and some are quite good from both a pedagogical and a technological perspective.
The fundamental skills that students need to learn to use a language come through communicative interactions, through the example of a teacher/model who can speak the language proficiently, and through lots of reflective practice that depends on meaningful feedback. The success of self-study materials claiming to teach foreign languages suggests that the desire to learn new languages outside the classroom setting is widespread. That publishers tend to sell many more of these materials for the very early stages of language learning suggests that motivation often drops off as the difficulty of the task, especially without the support of a teacher, becomes apparent to the naive learner. More and more online materials for learning new languages implement interactive activities that attempt to compensate to some extent for the lack of a teacher's physical presence and support. Authors of such materials do not claim to do the job better than a teacher in a face to face learning environment, but they do fill an important niche for those who cannot get to a class but who are trying to get a start on a new language or review one that has been studied in the past. In this column we will examine some of the techniques used in a variety of these sites for learning several languages. The lessons featured were chosen for their quality, the variety of technical features, range of pedagogical techniques, and selection of languages taught.
(n.b. This article shows how a number of teachers are using Web technologies to teach language, but it does not seek to explain how to produce these techniques in one's own Web page. Because of this, the interactive samples that the authors have included in this article are designed to perform only the specific functions presented. They were programmed by the authors only for illustrative purposes, not for tutorial purposes, and do not necessarily work in the same way as those found on the pages being discussed. If you wish to analyze the technical methods used in order to learn how to design similar activities, be sure to study the original code, JavaScript, objects, ASP, and so forth, from those pages rather than the code used in this article.)
One of the most interesting collections of interactive language activities is the Spanish Grammar Exercises site by Barbara Kuczun Nelson at Colby College..
The "¡Qué miedo pasé!" module on this site is an excellent example of the integration of a number of different techniques guided by sound pedagogical principles directed towards clear communicative and grammatical goals. The student watches a short video in Quicktime format in which a woman tells a story about something that happened to her at her job. The pre-listening introduction sets the scene and presents enough context so the student is prepared to listen (Omaggio Hadley, 2001; Shrum & Glisan, 2000).
El preterito y el imperfecto
ejercicio (sin los verbos)
ejercicio (con los verbos)
tarea para mandar
accents on a Mac or PC
Download QuickTime free
¡Qué miedo pasé! home
Spanish Grammar Exercises ©
The main page in which the video and instructions are presented uses frames to allow the menu and the video to remain in the same place in the left hand pane of the screen at all times while the various stages of the activity appear in the right hand pane when selected by the student.
The fill-in exercises reproduce the text of the video with the verbs cut out. The student can view the video using audio as a cue for completing the verbs in the exercise. The activities, presented with and without infinitive cues, serve quite different pedagogical functions. In the version without written cues, the student uses listening comprehension skills to identify the missing vocabulary and verb tense.
In the version with cues, the student may tend to focus more on the grammatical structure, preterit vs. imperfect, and less on comprehension of the meaning to identify the correct answer.
In both fill-in exercises, when each answer has been attempted, clicking anywhere outside the textbox for the answer compares the student's response with the correct answer for that item. Any letters in the student response that differ from the correct answer are replaced by a "=" to mark not only that there is a problem, but to indicate exactly where the problem lies. Clicking on the button following each textbox fills in the box with the preferred answer.
Finally, a "tarea para mandar" activity allows students to respond to an open-ended homework question and send the answer to the teacher. To answer this question, students must interpret the text to identify important elements, reorganize the text, and phrase a multi-sentence answer in their own words.
This summary activity takes the student a step beyond the comprehension and grammar practice of the fill-in activities while providing an opportunity to use the skills learned through those previous tasks. A potential technical problem lies in the need for the student to accurately type in the teacher's email address for the cgi script on the server to send the homework to the right place. This can easily lead to the excuse: "The computer, rather than the dog, ate my homework."
There are many ways of using the ability to have students post open-ended replies though a web page. Whereas in this case the reply is sent to the teacher, it is also possible to collect those replies to be shared with other students who could, in turn, comment on them. It is possible to use similar techniques to collect the answers to several questions from a student and then reorganize them for the student as the basis of a longer composition assignment.
Professor Nelson's site includes activities using a number of different, well constructed technical tools. Another interesting activity makes use of images and Quicktime audio to demonstrate pronunciation in much the same way that a teacher might in a classroom environment: http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/exercises/pronunciacion.html.
There are a number of pages on the Internet that use audio to illustrate pronunciation for language students, but the technical implementation often results in slow turnaround time for the audio portion (i.e., there tends to be too long a lag between pressing the button and hearing the sound) making the interaction awkward. Good reaction times will tend to mimic those of ordinary conversation (Martin, 1973).
In the pronunciation exercise for the letter "g" we find embedded audio, that is to say that the audio plays in a plug-in that appears as an object on the Web page, not in a separate window. This method makes for an easy to use interface because the student is not confused by new windows opening on the screen when a sound is played. Thus the relationship among the visual cues, the hyperlink button, and the audio player remains constant.
Because the audio files use a high quality, high compression codec (compression/decompression algorithm), they can be downloaded to the local browser along with the images in the Web page so that they can play instantly when their button is pressed as they do in the selected samples below. (The reader may need to download the free Quicktime player for these audio samples to work.)
When designing a page using this technique, it is essential to carefully allow for the download time of all of the components that must be loaded when the page opens. In these pronunciation lessons, the balance of file size, audio quality, number of sounds, and ease of use combine to create a very effective lesson.
Any of the various multimedia formats currently in use may require users to install or upgrade software plug-ins such as RealPlayer, Quicktime, or Windows Media Player, to play them. This is even more true when the media is embedded, as it is here, because the page will not appear as it was intended to until and unless the software is downloaded and installed. This can be problematic when users have very limited technological acumen or if they are in a lab where security prevents them from installing software. It behooves language teachers to learn about which multimedia programs and plug-ins are used in Web lessons and ask that these be installed and kept up-to-date on machines that students may be using. The designers of these lessons routinely provide this information on their Web sites.
In her French Online Grammar Quiz, Carol H. Reitan uses a few different exercise formats, some of which were designed by other colleagues. For instance, the Javascript for a multiple choice activity that has the student fill in blanks in a sentence was scripted by Doug Popeney and shared via online tutorials. Sharing software modules in this way allows teachers with creative pedagogical skills to implement quality online activities without learning arcane programming techniques or reinventing the wheel. Here the student selects the correct word or expression to fill in the blank from choices listed in the drop down box.
When all questions have been answered, the student clicks on a button to find out which responses were right or wrong and to learn the percentage of answers that were correct. In this activity, the student must attempt to answer all questions before checking any answers.
In a different lesson by professor Reitan, a listening activity asks students to distinguish which of two sounds they are hearing. Here the student receives immediate feedback for each answer in the form of a smiley or frowning face.
Another activity has students select between the imperfect and passé composé forms of verbs in the context of a paragraph. The javascript for this exercise was originally written by Barbara K. Nelson using a lookup array to select meaningful feedback written for each possible answer. When the student selects a verb, the feedback explaining why the choice was correct or wrong appears in the textbox.
Creating feedback determined by digital error analysis can be a daunting task for open ended activities because there are so many possible student errors that need to be anticipated. By limiting the student's choices, the analysis of errors is vastly simplified allowing the software to provide far more detailed explanations than the common yes/no feedback that one finds in most online activities.
The German Electronic Textbook uses WebPractest© by Gary Smith, an online utility for creating cloze passages with some interesting features. It may be used for free by teachers to create their own activities by following online instructions. We will examine an example from the grammar lessons at the site.
The following cloze activity for the verb sein uses a question/answer format to provide some context, though context in a drill of this sort, where individual replies appear as separate items, tends to be limited no matter what the medium used to present it. Verbs have been cut out, replaced by textboxes into which student may type a response. To obtain an additional cue, the student can place the cursor over a yellow book icon to see a pop-up translation. The responses that have been typed in may be checked for accuracy at any time during the activity. At that point, whatever textboxes contain replies will be examined by the software and the student's response converted to plain text in green for correct answers and in red for errors.
When the activity is completed, the student can submit the results to the teacher by e-mail. For identification purposes, the e-mail report asks for the student's name, e-mail address, exercise identification information, and the teacher's e-mail address. The techniques used in these activities are quite interesting. Students may obtain feedback as soon as they wish, they may request an additional cue as determined by the teacher, and the teacher may receive a copy of the student's results. Submitting the report to the teacher is worthwhile because the ability for the teacher to track student progress is an essential feature of an assignment that is a required component of a class rather than a self-assigned activity by an independent student motivated only by the desire to learn the language.
In the Italian lessons at the University of British Columbia, Jessica Barbagallo uses another fill in the blank format for review exercises.
In the sample activity shown below, textboxes allow students to write the appropriate verb forms. The submit button labeled Controlla le tue riposte counts the number of responses that match the correct answers programmed in the page, but it does not give automatic feedback indicating which replies contain errors or what the errors are. However, the student can examine the answer key to figure out which are wrong.
The format allows the student to practice composing the words in the answers, but it might be more effective, especially in a review rather than a testing situation, if the program were to show the student where the problems were located. This would help focus the student's attention and also avoid the problem of casting doubt in the student's mind on the accuracy of correct answers. This might also encourage the student to figure out the answer rather than look it up in the answer key. On the other hand, an answer key gives the student practice checking her own answers and may lead to improved skills in self-correction. There is no one right way to construct feedback.
The KET Distance Learning site includes a selection of online courses. Most of the site is open to the general public, including the grammar lessons for Latin that we examined for this column. These lessons make extensive use of multiple choice and concentration-style matching activities for interaction with students. The feedback on the multiple choice sections at this site has the particularity of being instantaneous.
In the sample relative pronoun exercise shown below, selecting an incorrect response immediately crosses out the wrongly selected letter choice whereas clicking on the correct answer produces a checkmark. The feedback remains on the screen for a short time, then disappears. Thus the markup avoids becoming a distraction.
1.Video puellam _____ ex Italiä vënit.
quam quae cuius qui
The promptness of the feedback works to better reinforce accurate grammatical choices. The multiple choice format lends itself readily to the computer medium because of the ease with which such simple responses can be evaluated. The drawback, of course, is that the student is not practicing production of actual language but recognition of the forms presented.
A very different use of the computer is apparent in the Viva Voce Roman Poetry site by Vojin Nedeljkovic.
Multimedia features allow students to learn pronunciation by listening to recited poetry in mp3 format while viewing the text and/or examining a representation of the poem's meter.
The audio files for this lesson are quite a bit longer than those mentioned in the Spanish Grammar Exercises above. They clearly appear to the user as links to files that are first downloaded, then played, and the size of the file is indicated so that the user knows how big it is before beginning the download. Because of this manner of presenting the links the rapid response discussed earlier for the grammar exercise is not an issue here. The download time is easily perceived as appropriate for the task.
Although there are no clearly defined learning goals and interactive evaluation of student learning, the site gives power to the student to control the interaction with and manipulation of the material presented and provides examples that the student needs to learn about how we think classical Latin poetry was pronounced. Thus rather than the teacher leading the student through the learning process by a predetermined route, it is the student who makes choices about how to best use the material to study in a manner fitting the student's individual learning style.
Vietnamese is an example of a less commonly taught language in the US with special considerations in terms of its writing system, which requires diacritics beyond those of the iso-8859-1 or LATIN-1 character set that is standard in browsers available in the US and western Europe. Vietnam Television provides Web-based lessons to accompany its televised Vietnamese lessons http://www.vtv.org.vn/tiengviet/ . This site includes a link to download Vietnamese fonts for viewing the pages for browsers and operating systems that do not have this ability built-in. In newer browsers and operating systems this should not be a problem. Fonts, however, can be quite confusing for most people who have little understanding of the complex interactions among operating system, installed fonts, browsers, and browser settings. For most people, troubleshooting font problems can be a daunting task, and even for experts, writing easy to follow and comprehensive instructions that take into account the range of possible environments in which a page may be viewed can be quite difficult. The font implementation on the Vietnam Television site seems to be more transparent than most on the systems where we have tested it.
Extensive use of video is an interesting feature of these lessons. Of course, a television station is particularly well placed to integrate video in its Web site. In this case the lessons use Real Player to play short streaming video segments that are supported by written text and questions on the corresponding web page, which can display Vietnamese language characters. For example, in lesson 41 of this series we see two young women discussing vacation spots around Vietnam including, of course, Ha Long Bay (see photo).
Although when examined by the authors the video download on this site was slow, connections have been getting better and will continue to improve, especially as broadband Internet access becomes the standard throughout the world. For example, the following embedded excerpt, extracted from this high quality RealPlayer video, will work well only for readers with a fast connection. It is possible with today's technology to produce videos of similar quality using a much higher level of compression for faster downloads. (This file is best viewed with Internet Explorer. Additionally, the reader may need to download the free RealOne Player for this video sample to work.)
Such videos of conversations between native speakers can help the language come alive and provide a model of authentic speech, if not the valuable oral interaction of the face-to-fece learning environment, that makes the language real for the learner. Development of such Web-based technologies is essential for providing the tools that allow the Web to transcend the limitations of the printed page.
There are a number of different ways to display a character set for a language in a Web browser. On older browsers a special font for the language could be downloaded and installed, but more recent operating systems such as Windows 2000 or XP and the latest Web browsers using the Unicode font allow more transparent access to other languages' writing systems. The Vietnamese lessons at Northern Illinois University are built to function with either method depending on user preference, but the much easier new system is certain to eventually replace the old.
These lessons present dialogs and vocabulary lists for study, but also include fill-in exercises and interactive activities to help the student check progress. Audio is used throughout to model the language for the learner. As may be seen in Lesson 1 below, the audio dialog is first presented in its entirety but is then broken down into separate files for each reply, allowing the student to easily study and repeat individual sentences.
The site presents a variety of exercise types including, for example, a Java-based drag-and-drop sentence creation activity in which the student selects words and uses the cursor to drag them to their proper place in the sentence. The interactive activity shown below may be run at the Lesson 1 page at SEAsite by selecting Interactive exercise 3.
A drag-and-drop activity works particularly well in a language such as Vietnamese where one does not need to learn inflections that are everywhere in languages such as Spanish or German requiring students to study special word forms for verb number and tense or noun number or declension.
In Chinese, stroke order is important when learning to write characters. The image shown here is an animated gif file that will display the character, stroke by stroke. The animation, made possible by the computer, is a major advantage over the printed page for teaching skills that need to be learned step by step.
For instance, on the page for learning numbers, the student can click on any number to see its stroke order. After clicking on the complete character in the table, a representation of the character appears to the right but is drawn one stroke at a time and slowly enough to allow the student to follow the order.
A potential though unlikely technical problem with animated gif files as a learning tool is that it is now possible to turn off animations in Web pages to speed up display. A student whose settings will not display the animation may not know this and be confused by the lack of animation, not understanding why the page is not doing what it is supposed to do or how to troubleshoot the problem.
Sometimes, in language learning, two chairs and face-to-face communication between a target language speaker and learner comprise the best method and technology (Ponterio, 1998, personal communication). However, even that simple methodology is not always available. For those language learners without recourse to conventional classroom instruction experiences, distance education is a very viable option. The sites discussed above offer ample opportunities for comprehensible input, meaningful feedback, interactivity, and control over one's own learning pace and sequence. Distance learning erases the distance.
Distance Education Clearinghouse. (2003). Definitions. Available from http://www.uwex.edu/disted/definition.html
Martin, J. (1973). Design of Man-Computer Dialogues. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Omaggio Hadley, A. (2001). Teaching language in context (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle.
Shrum, J. L., & Glisan, E. W. (2000). Teacher's handbook: Contextualized language instruction (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle.
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I hate the Politico, but this is a pretty big scoop for them.
My favorite part is where the RNC says that their big money donors can be satisfied with "Access" and "Tchotchkes!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (<strike>They're</strike> Their multiple exclamation points, not mine.)
Originally Posted by Politico
The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on "fear" of President Barack Obama and a promise to "save the country from trending toward socialism."
The strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how "ego-driven" wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and "tchochkes."
The presentation was delivered by RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart to top donors and fundraisers at a party retreat in Boca Grande, Florida on February 18, a source at the gathering said.
In neat PowerPoint pages, it lifts the curtain on the often-cynical terms of political marketing, displaying an air of disdain for the party's donors that is usually confined to the barroom conversations of political operatives.
The presentation explains the Republican fundraising in simple terms.
"What can you sell when you do not have the White House, the House, or the Senate...?" it asks.
The answer: "Save the country from trending toward Socialism!"
Manipulating donors with crude caricatures and playing on their fears is hardly unique to Republicans or to the RNC – Democrats raised millions off George W. Bush in similar terms – but rarely is it practiced in such cartoonish terms.
One page, headed "The Evil Empire," pictures Obama as the Joker from Batman, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leaders Harry Reid are depicted as Cruella DeVille and Scooby Doo, respectively.
The document, which two Republican sources said was prepared by the party's finance staff, comes as Chairman Michael Steele struggles to retain the trust and allegiance of major donors, who can give as much as $30,400 a year to the party.
Under Steele, the RNC has shifted toward a reliance on small donors, but the document reveals extensive, confidential details of the strategy for luring wealthy checkwriters, which range from luxury retreats in California wine country to tickets to a professional fight in Las Vegas.
The 72-page document was provided to POLITICO by a Democrat, who said a hard copy had been left in the hotel hosting the $2,500-a-head retreat, the Gasparilla Inn & Club. Sources at the event said the presentation was delivered by Bickhart and by the RNC Finance Chairman, Peter Terpeluk, a former ambassador to Luxembourg under President George W. Bush.
The RNC reacted with alarm to a question about it Wednesday, emailing major donors to warn them of a reporter's question, and distancing Steele from its contents.
If that's legit....yikessssssssssssss
"The best argument against democracy is five minutes with the average voter..."
Dems giving the GOP all the ammo they need
<script src="http://www.pollster.com/flashcharts/scripts/javascript/loess.js" type="text/javascript" mce_src="http://www.pollster.com/flashcharts/scripts/javascript/loess.js"></script> <object height="346" width="450"> <param name="chart" value="http://www.pollster.com/flashcharts/flash/swfs/chart.swf?xml=http://www.pollster.com/flashcharts/content/xml/HealthCare.xml&choices=Oppose,Favor&phone= &ivr=&internet=&mail=&smoothing=&a mp;from_date=&to_date=&min_pct=&max_pc t=&grid=&points=&trends=&lines=&am p;colors=Favor-000000,Oppose-BF0014,Undecided-A69A37,No Opinion-68228B&e=1"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <embed src="http://www.pollster.com/flashcharts/flash/swfs/chart.swf?xml=http://www.pollster.com/flashcharts/content/xml/HealthCare.xml&choices=Oppose,Favor&phone= &ivr=&internet=&mail=&smoothing=&a mp;from_date=&to_date=&min_pct=&max_pc t=&grid=&points=&trends=&lines=&am p;colors=Favor-000000,Oppose-BF0014,Undecided-A69A37,No%20Opinion-68228B&e=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="false" allowscriptaccess="always" height="346" width="450"></object>
what's the "scoop"? repubs want donors?
Irrelevant, libs get some juice like this and it comes on the day Obama calls for reconciliation. Too much noise for this to get any traction. btw I here a lib pp slide has been found. Check it out.
The entire Democratic party is as pathetic as Milhouse chasing after Lisa. GRASPING AT STRAWS
So far most of the respondents in this thread should be solicited with the direct marketing layout. Take note RNC.
The next gov of Texas has shown a new way to campaign, no robo calls, no mailings. He's done it all with internet, TV and radio. It should be the model.
But if the pubs are smart enough to invent an astroturf movement like the tea party (according to some) they should be smart enough to come up with a better plan.
Guess I missed something.
we've seen the democrat plan that worked very well. Bush did it!! it worked once, can it keep working?
Republicans got to run against Jimmy Carter for 3 or 4 election cycles, I don't really see why we shouldn't get to run against Bush for a similar period
So you're comparing Obama to Reagan that is the funniest thing you've posted in a long time.
I compared Republicans running against the memory of an unpopular Democrat to Democrats running against the memory of an unpopular Republican. It seems like an apt comparison
Except that people already hate Obama.
Nice effort scouring the googles to make a 'graph and charts' thread but you're trying too hard.
Originally Posted by dank773
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/reC_20FzqQw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed mce_src="http://www.youtube.com/v/reC_20FzqQw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/reC_20FzqQw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></object>
What the fuck is a tchochkes?
Edit: Oh. Like Sarah Palin yo-yos n shit. Good plan!
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subset: commoncrawl


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Steamboat track squad competes in Grand Junction
March 25, 2013
The Steamboat Springs High School track team got a standout performance from Meg O'Connell on Saturday at the Mickey Dunn Invitational meet in Grand Junction.
O'Connell, a junior racing with the team for the first time in her career, was sixth in the 3,200-meter run in 12 minutes, 59.54 seconds, and ninth in the 1,600 meters, in 6:01.19.
"I was extremely pleased with her first efforts ever in the 1,600 and 3,200. Meg has been consistently working hard since last summer when she started to prepare for cross-country," Steamboat coach Greg Long said. "She kept up extra morning plyometric workouts through the fall and winter to complement her running and skiing and now it is paying off. With less than 10 track workouts under her belt it will be fun to see how she progresses this season."
Long also pointed to Ben Lingle's performance in his first 3,200, where he finished 19th in 12:27.36. Koby Vargas and Finn O'Connell raced in the 1,600, with Vargas placing 37th in 5:35.38 and O'Connell finishing 41st in 5:41.71.
Temsup Techarukpong, Carissa Anderson, Kelsey Spognardi and Gabrielle Anderson also combined for a top-10 finish, placing ninth in the 400-meter relay.
On the girls side, Carissa Anderson was 32nd in the 400; Bailey Pugh was 24th and Spognardi was 26th in the 300-meter hurdles; Alexandra Tumminello was 26th in the 800; Spognardi was 33rd in the long jump; and Gabrielle Anderson was 17th and Techarukpong was 24th in the 200. Techarukpong, Carissa Anderson, Gabrielle Anderson and Bailey Pugh were 13th in the 1,600 relay.
Recommended Stories For You
For the boys, Joshua Heald was 18th in the discus, ahead of teammates Bruce Darcy, 41st, and Dyan Wallace, 44th. Heald also placed 34th in the shot put, where Darcy was 35th. Peter Myller was 38th in the 400; Charles Tisch was 30th and Erik Rudolf was 41st in the 800; Vargas was 46th in the long jump; and Dylan Wallace was 46th in the 200. Charles Delfmann, Vargas, Tisch and Wallace were 15th in the 1,600 relay.
The squad travels to Broomfield for its next meet.


text:
Skip to Content
by Jim Patterson | Oct. 2, 2012, 11:37 AM | Want more research news? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter »
Mitt Romney can still win the presidential election if he can convince Americans he has the best plan to reinvigorate the economy, according to analysis by Vanderbilt professor John Geer of two new ads released by Romney's campaign.
Romney released two new attack ads aimed at President Obama as the first debate approached.
The first, "Dear Daughter," features video of a baby girl with narration including, "More than 5.5 million women can't find work. That's what Obama's policies have done for women. Welcome, daughter."
The second ad, "Too Many Americans," features Romney speaking directly to voters, saying he can do better than Obama with the economy: "President Obama and I both care about poor and middle class families," Romney says in the ad. "The difference is, my policies will make things better for them."
Geer says the second approach connected strongly with "pure independent voters" surveyed by the Vanderbilt/YouGov Ad Rating Project, while the "softer" baby ad didn't do nearly as well. Those "pure independent voters" may be very influential if the election is close.
"With the 'Dear Daughters' ad, Romney and Obama are tied among the pure independent voters," said Geer, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science. "With the 'Too Many Americans' ad, Romney soars to a 17 percentage-point lead," he said.
"These results suggest that if Romney can make the case to the public about why his economic plan is better, he might make real inroads in this election," Geer said. "The debates provide an important opportunity to do so, since he will be on the same stage with the presidentof the United States.
"These data further suggest that the country is not locked down and this election can still be won by Romney. But the message matters and the governor needs to be an effective messenger during the debates."
YouGov uses a representative sample of 600 Americans, with an over-sample of 200 independent voters, to rate political ads. Results and a link to the "Too Many Americans" and "Dear Daughter" ads are posted on a website for The Vanderbilt University/YouGov Ad Rating Project.
(Click to enlarge)
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Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Law, Business and Politics, releases, Research 2012 election, Arts and Science, ElectionVU, featured research, featured story, John Geer, political science, The Vanderbilt/YouGov Ad Rating Project
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text:
Some people just need to man up already and quit whining about words they don't like.
A new word-discouragement campaign at Duke University has labeled phrases such as "Man Up," "That's So Gay," and "Don't Be a Pussy" offensive language that "delegitimizes" homosexuality and oppresses and insults people.
But as the campaign has gained national popularity, its detractors have bristled at the effort, calling it a politically correct war on words that will stifle free speech and suggesting its true aim is to redefine terms to control public opinion and – ultimately – public policy.
In fact, the "You Don't Say" campaign creators have admitted as much.
"Language is a reflection of how we think about others and view the world," Jay Sullivan, a student leader of the campaign, tells Duke Today. "My goal is to…. help facilitate discussion about how language affects many social issues, from race to gender and sexuality."
No, the goal is to shut down discussion. It's to shift standards in ways that give whiny leftists more power.
If they get their way, soon enough we won't have any language left at all.


text:
Key points
- Africa is leapfrogging the rest of the world on digitalisation and is primed to continue.
- A predictable regulatory environment is essential.
- The harmonisation policies on a regional level can help fuel the process.
- Young people, especially girls, need to be encouraged to go into careers in technology to take advantage of future employment opportunities.
If the nations of Africa can ensure a predictable regulatory environment and work to harmonise their policies, they might be able to turbocharge their nascent efforts to leapfrog past the rest of the world in digitalisation, e-commerce and e-governance.
While Kenya's M-Pesa mobile financial scheme garners much of the attention, other examples abound. Online retailer Jumia has expanded beyond its home base in Nigeria to supplant Amazon.com in over a dozen countries. Burkina Faso, Morocco, Rwanda and Senegal count among the nations making rapid strides in different areas. Borrowing a page from Estonia, Egypt saved billions of euros a year by adopting a single e-identification system.
With the moves forward in Africa, globalisation is becoming more of a two-way street where Europe can learn and borrow from experiences in Africa and other parts of the world. This can encourage greater cooperation between the European Union and the African Union. Indeed, Africa and Europe face similar challenges in creating single digital marketplaces in their respective regions.
Young people need to be trained to take advantage of the growing job opportunities that will be engendered by digitalisation across all sectors of the economy. Girls, especially, should be encouraged to go into the STEM disciplines: science, technology, engineering and maths. Burkina Faso just entered into a public-private partnership (PPP) to boost e-governance, e-education and other e-public services in 13 provinces.
Opportunities range beyond employment. E-governance offers enormous potential. However, countries need to embark on a wide-ranging overhaul of bureaucratic processes. Just pushing old procedures on to the internet will not do the job. One positive example comes from Nigeria: a simple software program allowed the government to cross-check data about civil servants and the postal system – thereby producing huge savings that dwarfed the original investment in technology.
Fears about job losses due to new technologies are not unfounded, but the panellists seemed to agree that new opportunities will outdistance them. However, governments need to be prepared with safety nets and training programmes for those left holding the short sticks.
If African nations can guarantee sufficiently stable regulatory environments and work together to create larger regional markets, angel investors, venture capitalists and private sector investors (many keen on PPPs) will not be far behind.
Africa is not, of course, monolithic. Some countries, sectors and businesses have advanced more than others. Regional policy-makers want to spread the lessons learned in the pockets of excellence so that benefits accrue to the entire continent.


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In February 2002, Joanne Jacobs wrote a feature article for Reason on Edison Charter Academy's battle for survival with the San Francisco school board. She also wrote about how student test scores, which had been going up, dropped in 2001. The article subtitle said it all: "Unlike district schools, Edison Charter must succeed to survive."
The Edison Charter Academy could be a poster child for charter schools across the nation: If they do not succeed; they are shut down. This is the great strength of the charter school movement--real accountability and real results. Today, Edison schools lives up to that standard in San Francisco and honors charter schools everywhere.
As Joanne Jacobs writes at her website:
Edison Charter Academy soars in SF
"It was the worst elementary school in San Francisco when Edison Schools Inc. took over four years ago. For two years as a charter school, scores went up. But the numbers fell sharply in spring 2001, as the SF school board launched a campaign to revoke the charter. Edison's critics gloated.
Today, Edison Charter Academy's Parent Teacher Council announced the results of the spring 2002 state tests: Scores are up in every subject and in every grade, exceeding the state targets by a large margin in all but one of 16 categories.
One graph follows the class of 2002: As second graders, only 14 percent scored at or above grade level in reading, 26 percent in math; by the end of fifth grade, 43 percent were at or above grade level in reading, 48 percent in math.
The spring 2002 scores for second graders start where the older students ended: 45 percent of younger students read at grade level or above; 47 percent in math.
The school — now chartered by the state board of education — tested 100 percent of students in second through fifth grade."
Below I have added the links to the new test score reports from the Edison Charter Academy website and the original Edison articles from February 2002 Reason:
- Threatened by Success: One charter schools fight against the education establishment
- Watching the Numbers: Unlike district schools, Edison Charter must succeed to survive.
Contrast, Edison's strategy for raising student achievement with this failing public school in Florida reported in the Orlando Sentinel:
In Florida administrators and teachers at one failing elementary school tell students that "F" grades are positive.
"For Jeremy Hunter, the F-grade given to Mollie E. Ray Elementary this past spring does not mean the school is failing.
The 11-year-old fifth-grader said it stands for fantastic or fun. . . .
Clad in navy shirts with "F = Fantastic" printed on the back, Mollie Ray teachers said they plan to reinforce that message throughout the year as they work to improve test scores. The northwest Orlando school is among 10 statewide that received failing grades for the second time in four years."
You will notice that no school board is moving to shut down Mollie E. Ray Elementary. When the power of positive thinking does not lead to test score improvements, students will continue to waste away in their "fun" and "fantastic" elementary school.
When it comes to accountability, charter schools win hands down.
Lisa Snell is director of education and child welfare at Reason Foundation. She formerly taught speech courses at California State University, Fullerton.


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Hello everyone!
My name's Beka and I'm a college student in the South (USA). I'm the proud momma to a beautiful ex-racehorse, Bold Archer. We're transitioning to being a hunter/jumper, so long as he continues to enjoy it and it doesn't affect his body.
Archie has two canine sisters, Scarlette and Savannah. Scarlette is an almost four year old chow/lab mix, racking in at a dainty 25 lbs. She's spoiled rotten and loves nothing more than climbing and crawling. Savannah will be a year old next month and is a pit/lab mix, currently at 55 lbs. I'm expecting her to beef up some, muscle-wise. She's unfortunately been in and out of the vets recently. We've come to the conclusion that my little cuddler has a very, very sensitive stomach. Both my girls were the runts of the litter and adoptions.
Anyways, nice to meet y'all!


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Harborstone, Prevail Set Seattle Merger
Underscoring the growing merger trend in the Northwest, two of the Seattle area's largest credit unions, the $778 million Harborstone of Lakewood and the $241 million Prevail of Seattle, have signed letters of intent for a consolidation, the parties announced Thursday.
Following member and regulatory approval, the merger encompassing 67,000 members and 17 branches could be complete by Jan. 1, said Phil Jones, president/CEO of Harborstone CU, which will retain the brand following the planned merger.
Negotiations on the combination began last January as Prevail management saw the need to enhance its product and service line, Jones said, citing Harborstone's mobile and text banking products and an emphasis on member business lending.
Having a presence in Seattle, where Prevail has branches, should aid in growing business lending, said Jones.
News of the merger discussions, he said, have been under wraps on purpose "because we did not want a repeat of problems our credit union had several years ago with TwinStar," in reference to collapse of a planned merger with the Lacey, Wash., credit union.
This time all the advance work on a merger agreement was put in place early, Jones said.
He acknowledged the merger trend has picked up the pace in Oregon and Washington in recent months.
"Maybe it relates to the Northwest association merger with everybody eyeing each other," he said of the consolidation more than a year ago of the Washington Credit Union Association and the Credit Union Association of Oregon.


text: HomeOverseas property for sale Property Details Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3 Features Alarm Air conditioning Central heating Close to the beach Garage Fireplace Central location Terrace Full Description Next best thing to a beach house. Freshly built modern villa with premium building and finishing materials just minutes from Faro Island beach and the regions newest hospital and medical facilities in Gambelas, Montenegro. On the ground floor of this V3+1 villa there is a fully fitted kitchen, 1 bedroom with shower and a spacious living area, dining room with fireplace and access to back outdoor terrace. The first floor comprises of 2 bedrooms each with en-suites, private terraces. This villa comes with a lower floor comprising of garage, laundry and storage security room and prepared with an additional bath as well as space for a home office or extra bedroom - a space that could also work well as an annex. All modern conveniences have been thought through: Wifi, CCTV, Solar power, central vacuum+. Located in a quiet residential area a short drive from the bustle of Faro, the airport and a few minutes walk to the calm of the beach, this property balances the best of both worlds in southern living. - REF: IDH7791 more Send enquiry This property listing (ref: IDH7791) is an advertisement supplied by Ideal Homes Portugal and does not constitute property particulars. While aplaceinthesun.com (APITS Ltd.) requests all advertisers supply correct details, it does not carry out checks on the information supplied and cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies. Aplaceinthesun.com recommends seeking independent legal advice prior to any overseas property purchase.


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Survivor has been officially renewed for its 21st and 22nd seasons, while The Amazing Race has been renewed for one more season, its 17th, CBS announced today. This is great but unsurprising news, especially for Survivor, which has casting since November and continues to perform well (ratings actually went up for the finale).
What does the one-season renewal mean for TAR? The show typically gets renewed season by season; Phil Keoghan announced the 15th on Twitter. However, that the press release says the renewed shows will be "broadcast in the 2010-2011 season" could be interpreted to mean that CBS only intends to air one season, perhaps because it has enough confidence that a new reality series–like Undercover Boss, which will launch post-Super Bowl–can fill at least half the year, while the aging and far more expensive and logistically complicated race can drop back to one season a year.
Beyond the renewals, the press release offers no details, but it's a sure-thing that Survivor will now stick with one location per year, and is at least considering one all-star season per year, all to save money.
No word yet from host Jeff Probst, whose Live for the Moment pilot airs Thursday. His contract expires at the end of season 20, but I'd say he'll be back, unless he pulls a Jay Leno and leaves, decides he didn't want to leave, and comes back. And if he doesn't come back, Conan O'Brien is available, and would make a great host (and I'm mostly not kidding).


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Carol Lackner, 34, was disciplined in 2010 for going absent in another part of the Rikers Island jail, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press.
She was suspended for 30 days after the death on February 15 this year of a homeless former Marine, Jerome Murdough.
A city official has said Murdough "basically baked to death" when he was left unchecked for at least four hours in an area with a malfunctioning heater.
Investigators allege that Ms Lackner left her post without permission 20 minutes before Murdough was found unresponsive in his cell. Her lawyer denies she did so.
The attorney also told the Associated Press the unrelated 2010 disciplinary matter was resolved after his client agreed to give up five holiday days.
Murdough was homeless and had been arrested a week earlier on a misdemeanour trespassing charge for sleeping on the roof of a Harlem public housing building.
He was sent to Rikers Island after being unable to make $2,500 (£1,500) bail, according to court records.
His 75-year-old mother is launching a $25m lawsuit against the city over her son's death.
- Related Stories
- Hot Cell Death Sparks $25m Lawsuit


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JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Mount Pisgah Christian School, which has a sterling academic reputation, is expanding its already formidable athletic footprint by adding swimming and lacrosse to its varsity sports roster.
Last year alone saw Pisgah undefeated in region football (12-1 overall), and its tennis teams had girls finish No. 1 in the state and boys No. 4. Basketball, soccer, cross country and track are among the 15 sports now offered.
Now Pisgah has begun building the swimming and lacrosse programs to add to the Patriots' athletic opportunities for the 2014-15 school year.
Athletic Director Blake Davenport said swimming will begin with middle school and junior varsity teams for both boys and girls in the winter of 2014.
"With swim, we have the opportunity to add another sport and to add a no-cut sport to our winter season. This will give us a no-cut sport in fall, winter and spring," Davenport said. "We definitely have a demand for it. And now the last piece we needed has fallen into place."
The swim program will begin under the guidance of Holly Isserstedt, who has years of coaching experience at all levels. Within two years, Isserstedt plans to have a Pisgah varsity team in the water.
"The wonderful thing about beginning a new team is that the inaugural swimmers have the opportunity to create a team that will only grow and improve over the years. We hope swimming will become its own legacy at Pisgah," said Isserstedt.
A collegiate swimmer at the University of Alabama, Isserstedt has coached at the summer team, high school and masters levels.
Prior to coming to Pisgah, she was a swim coach at Peachtree Ridge High School. In 2013, Peachtree Ridge's squad finished No. 2 at state and her summer team was sixth in the county.
"The metro area is such a hotbed for swimming. We did the Georgia Tech County Meet a couple of weekends ago, and there were 4,400 swimmers. It's the biggest county meet in the nation," he said.
In the last 3 years, Pisgah has had around 80 percent student enrollment participate in sports. To get beyond 80 percent, especially in a slow sport term such as winter, Blake hopes to move that participation number up to the 85-87 percent level.
Lacrosse has been a fast-growing sport in the area for some time and will become a part of Pisgah Community Sports for the 2014-15 school year. But this sport will "grow" into the Pisgah sports program.
The lacrosse program will begin in the spring of 2015 as a part of Patriot Community Sports, which makes it open to the community. Boys' and girls' teams will be offered for U11 and U13. Additional teams will be offered for U9 and U15 if there is sufficient interest to field a team.
The lacrosse program will be led by Paul Bennett and Kyle Farnham. Both men have coaching experience at the youth levels and in summer select programs. Bennett plays in multiple adult leagues throughout the year.
"But you have to be strategic at the smaller schools especially before you just jump in. You have to have the right population within the school that wants to play. But you have to have the right facilities and an enrollment that will support it as well as the other spring sports.
"We don't want to cannibalize those programs that we've have built and are growing well," he said. "But we have created a lot of buzz around [lacrosse] and there's a lot of excitement around it."
All teams will play in the Newtown Park Feeder League.
JV teams for boys and girls will be added in 2016, with 2017 being the best case scenario for starting varsity competition.


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CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kyle Busch chose to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing next season and began informing other teams Monday of his decision.
A source close to Busch told The Associated Press that the driver had selected Gibbs after a seven-week search that began when Hendrick Motorsports released the 22-year-old driver to make room for Dale Earnhardt Jr. next season.
The source requested anonymity because the deal was not finalized.
"Kyle has made his decision and is in the process of informing the teams of his preference," said Jeff Dickerson, who represents Busch through Motorsports Management International.
"As there are many details that still need to be worked out, Kyle will not be making that decision public at this time."
Two car owners who had actively pursued Busch told the Associated Press that the driver informed them Monday he had not selected their teams.
Gibbs currently fields cars for two-time series champion Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley, who is in the final year of his contract. Busch is expected to replace Yeley, who has not put up the results necessary to keep his ride.
While Stewart and Hamlin are thick in Nextel Cup title contention, Yeley is 21st in the standings with just one top-10 finish.
Busch signed with Rick Hendrick shortly before his 18th birthday and immediately began racing in the Busch Series. He had previously driven for car owner Jack Roush, but was able to void his contract when NASCAR passed a rule that said all drivers had to be at least 18.
Hendrick put him in top equipment, and moved him up to the Cup Series in 2005. Busch has scored four Cup wins, eight Busch victories and won four times in the Truck Series. He made the Chase for the championship last season, but finished 10th in the standings.
He's currently eighth, with one win this year, and on pace to make the Chase again. But he became expendable at Hendrick when the team needed to make room for Earnhardt.
Hendrick said at the time that negotiations on a new contract had stalled because so many team owners were interested in the young, talented driver, which made it easier to sign Earnhardt.
But Busch later said he was unaware of outside interest and had only been interested in extending his deal with Hendrick. He then fired his representation and moved to MMI, which also represents Stewart.
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text: Ford's Nucleon Concept: Twin Steam Turbines and a Nuclear Reactor in the TrunkDanny Allen10/02/09 6:20am50EditSend to EditorsPromoteGo to permalinkSay what? Back in 1958, Ford designed models of its batmobile-like concept with lead-shielded uranium fission-plant. Fears of nuclear-meltdown meant it never got built, but it lovingly appears in two recent car retrospectives well worth a read. [Jalopnik and LIFE]


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Bob MacKenzie, a San Francisco Bay area journalist whose award-winning feature reporting for KTVU-TV earned him a reputation as a masterful storyteller, has died. He was 75.
KTVU ( http://bit.ly/oqzgYB ) reports that MacKenzie, who worked more than 30 years at the station, died of cancer on Thursday.
MacKenzie began his career as a newsman after graduating in 1962 from the University of California, Berkeley. He worked at The Oakland Tribune for 14 years before becoming TV Guide's television critic.
He joined KTVU in 1978 as a feature reporter and went on to win 13 local Emmys and other awards.
KTVU anchor Frank Somerville said MacKenzie was an extraordinary reporter who had a keen eye for detail.
MacKenzie is survived by his wife Miyuki, his daughter Dana and two grandchildren.
Information from: KTVU-TV


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Coley leads SBU to road victory
Dave Coley had 17 points and Tommy Brenton had 12 points, including three late free throws, as visiting Stony Brook held on for a 67-60 win over University of Maryland-Baltimore County in an America East game Wednesday.
It was the eighth straight road win for Stony Brook, which turned a 33-26 halftime lead into a 50-35 advantage on a layup by Jameel Warney with 10:35 left.
UMBC chipped away, cutting the Seawolves' lead to 64-60 with 17 seconds left on a free throw by Chase Plummer (11 points).
But Brenton went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line over the next 10 seconds to provide the final margin for Stony Brook (14-5, 5-1).
"Tonight we had to grind out a road victory against an improved UMBC team," said Stony Brook coach Steve Pikiell. "We have to get better, and we have to prepare for a good Maine team on Saturday."
Brenton added seven rebounds and four assists and freshman guard Carson Puriefoy reached double digits for the third time in four games with 10 points.
Jameel Warney had nine points and seven rebounds and Eric McAlister chipped in nine points and six rebounds for Stony Brook.
The Seawolves shot 42 percent from the field and held the Retrievers to 34.8 percent shooting.
Ryan Cook had 14 points and Quentin Jones and Brett Roseboro each added 11 points for UMBC (4-14, 2-3).


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BU 2440 - Business, Ethics, and Society
Credits: 3
Analyzes the role of social responsibility and ethical standards in the corporate decision-making process. Students develop the ability to identify ethical issues and apply a decision-making orientation that balances concern for corporate performance and social responsibility. Emphasis on government regulation, pollution, consumerism, globalization, and human resource management issues. Includes a community service learning component providing students with an opportunity to demonstrate social responsibility. Falls and Springs.
*All course information is from the 2016-2017 Catalog.


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Meaghan's Minute: FCC Takes Action on Wireless Spectrum
Today on Meaghan's Minute, brought to you by API Technologies,the FCC is planning to move forward with a proposal to experiment with wireless spectrum -- the limited resource that increasing mobile internet use has made even more precious.
According to Computer World, the FCC's Chairman, Tom Wheeler, will release a plan soon to implement wireless spectrum sharing ideas recommended by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, or PCAST. The council recommended the experimental spectrum sharing plans in 2012, but until now, the FCC had yet to act on them.
The most recent proposal by Wheeler would designate the 3.5GHz band as an "innovation band" for experimentation with spectrum sharing, in order to get the most use out the band dedicated previously to radar systems.
For more information visit www.apitech.com.


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Hiddink praises Russia side
Russia boss Guus Hiddink praised his battling side after a victory over Spain earned his players a match up against homeland Holland in the Euro 2008 quarter finals.
"I am especially very proud of the team," he said after a 2-0 victory over Sweden had set up a meeting with his native Netherlands in the European Championship quarterfinal.
"It's the progress we have made in a few days with this team and the performance tonight. They played modern football. They tried to get forward as quickly as possible to get the goal they achieved in the first half. In the second half, they tried to push a little bit more. The only criticism you can make is they that didn't score enough from the opportunities they we got.
"It's a special game, I know the players, I know the coach...so it's special. It will be an exciting clash.
"It is very difficult for our team, it may be our problem that we have two days to prepare. We don't have 23 players who can replace each other."


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OK, it's now officially #followreader catch up week, with the third of three recaps from our weekly Twitter discussions.
This discussion took place July 30, after we posted a dialogue with Random House sales reps and bloggers Ann Kingman and Michael Kindness, and then invited the two of them to join our friends on Twitter in a #followreader conversation.
Working from the premise that "the entire book business culture and tradition is up for grabs now," Ann and Michael proved fearless in their willingness to reassess the business and where it can go in these digital times. The result was the best kind of Twittersation – a long riff on fresh ideas with scores of improvisationalists, that turned into one of our most intense and creative #followreader conversations to date. Many thanks to Michael and especially Ann, who was able to stay for a full hour!
[NOTE: Due to technical constraints, I've reconstructed the conversation primarily from the Twitterfeeds of @annkingman and @mkindness, in addition to my own. Apologies to the many other participants in this conversation whose smart comments I was not able to retreive.]
Here are some of the highlights:
How can we keep books high on the cultural radar?
@AnnKingman: I'd love to see more salons, where people talk about book they're reading or love, not a traditional book club
@charabbott: You could say that #followreader, #litchat, #tbc, #editorchat and #TuesBookTalk are all newfangled book salons.
@AnnKingman: I think the salon can work online and off – Twitter, blogs, Goodreads, etc. are all kind of online salons
@AnnKingman: Offline book salons are not as popular as online, but there's potential
@charabbott: Maybe the key is creating offline parlor games with books. I once invited eight friends over on Oscar Wilde's birthday to read one of his plays aloud.
@jnyrose: Free books are nice. But hanging out with large groups of book-obsessed people is fantastic.
Who might be the tastemakers in these emerging book salons?
@annkingman: Indie e-mail newsletters are great, and we are starting to see more indies with blogs, which thrills me.
@mkindess: There are customers who look to booksellers for recommendations, why not editors too?
@annkingman: If you read a book you love, would you want to read another acquired by that editor?
@annkingman: Last three non-brand-name books I loved were all acquired by same editor, but I didn't know it at the time. Now I'll read anything she buys.
@mkindness: I think readers would be interested ito hear from the editor who brought them The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
@charabbott: Yes, I watch some editors and agents, like Susan Kamil and Nicole Aragi for fiction, and Eamon Dolan for nonfiction.
@annkingman: Publisher and editor extremely important for bookstore buyers because they've learned who to trust. Why can't that carry over?
@maggiedana: Some niche readers have learned to trust some niche publishers – it's the general houses that seem interchangeable
@annkingman: If we can get our "raving fans" to buy more books, discover new writers, why not give them the info to help them do that?
@DonLinn: I suspect "people don't care about publishers or imprints or editors" because publishers don't expect them to, and act accordingly.
@janetursel: Maybe books should have a list of credits just like movies. Acknowledgement sections aren't enough.
@booknerdnyc: Maybe like this: "From the editor who brought CLOUD ATLAS…"
@mkindness: After the idea of "following" editors has been established: page at back of book: "From the same editor…"
@victoria finlay: Love the idea of an editor's name searchable when looking for a book.
@charabbott: Although crediting editors runs quite contrary to the traditional culture of the business
@annkingman: Yes, but the entire book business culture and tradition is up for grabs now.
How is the traditional role of the sales rep, and publisher, changing?
@mkindness: More contact with consumers, which I love. Not just selling the books anymore!
@mkindess: Consumer nights with reps are becoming "events," especially around the holidays.
@AnnKingman: As book sales reps, we are in stores to see what's "really happening," not to look at spreadsheets.
@charabbott: So you bring a reality check back o the publisher, which can otherwise be a bit of an ivory tower?
@annkingman: A lot of marketing used to be aimed at the bookstores, who would then market books to readers. Now there's more of a shift to reaching the reader directly as well.
@annkingman: I've worked with most of my bookstores for 15+ years, so I feel like a partner with them and can tailor my presentation for them.
@annkingman: As we talk more to regular readers in bookstores, I am stunned by how fascinated they are with the publishing business
@annkingman: I think we need to throw out much of what we know about "the general consumer." Not sure that exists anymore.
@annkingman: We have to move out of the bookstores to where readers or potential readers are.
@annkingman: We all need to do everything we can to keep books interesting and exciting – we are losing readers, and need to create them.
What else about traditional publishing should change?
@booknerdnyc: Know what I think would be awesome to get to the general public? Book release dates!
How effective are book trailers – are readers talking about them?
@mkindness: I think they will be more effective if they get more clever and go viral. Right now you need to look for them.
@annkingman: I think book trailers are great for giving books' fans and stakeholders content to share
@shayera: As a public librarian, I've never had a patron say to me that they heard about a book because of a book trailer
@annkingman: I'm not sure a trailer will sell a book on its own, but it can be help to spread the ideas and mood
@annkingman: I think trailers need to have some context to make people watch them
How people will find e-books in independent stores?
@annkingman: I'm eagerly awaiting a device/e-book platform that indie stores can offer their customers
What do you think of the Fall 2009 title lineup?
@annkingman: It's the best she's seen in her 20+ years in publishing – so many great authors with new books.
Don't miss our next #followreader conversation this coming Thursday, August 13, from 4-5pm ET. To follow to our discussion in real time, go to Twitter Search and type in #followreader. To add your questions to the discussion, tweet them to moderator @charabbott with the #followreader tag. And to contributute comments to the discussion, use the #followreader tag.


text: Home > Medical > Incontinence > Incontinence in men Updated 13 February 2013 Caffeine linked to leaky bladder in men The amount of caffeine that's typically found in two cups of coffee may contribute to urinary incontinence in men, according to a new study. 0 istock The amount of caffeine that's typically found in two cups of coffee may contribute to urinary incontinence in men, according to a new study. "It's something to consider. People who are having problems with urinary incontinence should modify their caffeine intake," said Dr Alayne Markland, the study's senior author, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The report doesn't prove that caffeine causes bladder leakage, but the men in the study who consumed the most caffeine were more likely to have the problem than those who consumed the least. Plenty of research has linked caffeine to incontinence among women. But little is known about whether there is a similar connection for men. It's estimated that 85% of Americans consume caffeine regularly, both in beverages like coffee, tea and soft drinks, and in foods like candy, pastries and ice cream containing chocolate. Estimates of urinary incontinence among US adult men range from 5% to 21%. How the study was done For the new study, Dr Markland's team used responses from about 4 000 men to the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES) 2005-06 and 2007-08. The researchers looked at how many had urinary incontinence and how much caffeine they ate or drank, as well as how much water they took in from both foods and beverages. Overall, the men consumed an average of 169 mg of caffeine every day. That's a little more than the typical 125 mg in a cup of coffee. About 13% reported leaky bladder, but only 4.5% had a problem considered moderate or severe, i.e., more than a few drops of urine leakage during the course of a month. After adjusting for the men's age and other risk factors, the researchers found that those who consumed at least 234 mg of caffeine every day were 72% more likely to have moderate to severe urinary incontinence than those who consumed the least caffeine. What the study found Men who consumed more than 392 mg of caffeine daily were more than twice as likely to be incontinent. Total water intake, in contrast, was not linked to a man's risk of moderate to severe incontinence. It's not just a matter of how much fluid a person takes in. Dr Markland said that some research in women suggests caffeine irritates the bladder, and she believes that may also underlie the association in men. "Although we didn't prove that in the study, that condition has been documented in women and we may need further evaluation in men," she said. Dr Bryan Voelzke, from the Department of Urology at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, said the medications such as diuretics could also affect men's bladder control. This study on its own is not enough to say caffeine is the source of urinary incontinence, according to Dr Voelzke. "I think - if anything - it's a suggestion. I don't think it's a call for action to stop drinking coffee," he said. (Reuters Health, January 2013) Buy your TENA products online at TENA Shop Sponsored by What to Read Next {{item.title}} From our sponsor Type 2 diabetes and incontinence 6 steps to help reduce falls in the elderly Read Health24's Comments Policy Comment on this story 0 comments Comments have been closed for this article. Logout Comment 0 characters remaining Share on Facebook Loading comments... Ask the Expert Incontinence Expert Prenevin Govender completed his MBChB at the University of Cape Town in 2001. He obtained his Fellowship of the College of Urologists in 2009 and graduated with distinction for a Masters in Medicine from the University of Cape Town in 2010. His special interests include laparoscopic, pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence surgery. He consults full-time at Life Kingsbury Hospital in Claremont. Ask a question Questions posted to Incontinence Expert questions answered by the expert Q: Burning , pain, blood in urine since 3 days posted on 31/10/2017 Q: Smelly urine. posted on 24/10/2017 Q: Peeing a lot posted on 17/10/2017 Q: Pregnant and VDS. posted on 11/10/2017 Q: TVT retropubic bladder sling. posted on 05/10/2017 2 comments Q: Bladder sling. posted on 21/09/2017 Q: Prolapsed bladder after stomach operation. posted on 18/09/2017 Q: TVT bladder sling. posted on 21/08/2017 Q: Stress incontinence with spina bafida occulta. posted on 17/08/2017 Q: what help can I get for an overactive bladder? posted on 08/08/2017 Q: is it normal i pee alot? posted on 06/08/2017 Q: TVT bladder sling posted on 19/07/2017 1 comment Q: Removal of urethral fillers for stress incontinence. posted on 15/07/2017 1 comment Q: TVT sling removal south africa. posted on 13/07/2017 2 comments Q: bladder sling risks south africa posted on 07/07/2017 load more × Still have a question? 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So everything works great so long as tablet is connected to power supply? Only loops when disconnected?
If this is the case and you have done full format and return to stock then I would assume battery is at fault
But you also said that if you boot to recovery or bootloader then take it from power supply all works well, that would lead me to believe that it is software/firmware related. Are you positive you did full formatting?
Well best to double check if it loops in just os or also in bootloader and recovery, it will tell a lot
And by fully wipe/format I wouldn't count a toolkit doing this ad it often isn't what happens, if you have issues - always manually format and manually flash, otherwise you can't troubleshoot properly and we all just go in circles
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PLEASE COMMENT AND RATE MY DRAWING!!! I worked on this for 2 days. I finally got rid of the STUPID VIRUS that attacked my computer^^ The stupid wouldnt let me do ANYTHING on my computer. Sadly I had to do a hard restart... Can you spot the butterfly?
Java Draw Created Jul 22, 2010 640 x 460px Unless noted Copyright 2010 *CarissaSanford*.
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This story rocks! The main character is exactly like me.
so cute!!! i like it!!! and no i cant spot the butterfly!! D:
Hi there ^_^ The idea of the drawing is very very cute but at some places you do not have the right anatomy A little more detail on this picture would ahve been nice ^_^
Excellent!!!! 5 h
awesome work...love the filmstrip idea...great work :)
This cover truly intrigues me!!!
5/5 ! i found the butterfly and I like the idea too !
really interesting idea ^.^ love it x3
cool :p
coool!!!! i also luv the way u color it X3


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Thread: alignment and hover!!??
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alignment and hover!!??
Hey guys/gals,
I'm a product designer currently prototyping an iMac accessory and don't have the necessary funds to support an awesome, accompanying website, so decided I'd build it myself (naive maybe). Anyway, a week in and coming to terms with textmate, etc etc, been through relevant mark-up and css3 tutorials however I'm some serious issues with alignment of my footer paragraphs and other basic stuff. So any push in th right direction is seriously appreciated.
I've only bootstrapped the page as I wanted to sort out the footer and links first as image prototypes and videos aren't done yet.

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#page { background: #eee; } #footer-wrap { float:left; width:100%; font-weight: bold; background:#fff; overflow:hidden; position:relative; } #footer-wrap ul { font-style: serif; clear:left; float:left; list-style:none; margin:0; padding:5px; position:relative; left:50%; text-align:center; } #footer-wrap ul li { font-style: serif; display:block; float:left; list-style:none; margin:0; padding:10px; position:relative; right:50%; } #footer-wrap ul li a { font-style: serif; display:block; margin:10px 0 0 40px; padding:20px 30px; background:#ddd; border: bold; color:#000; text-decoration:none; line-height:1.3em; p { margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 60%; }
Now, that CSS isn't even allowing me to enter background or anything for the hover class which I've excluded there... which was #footer-wrap ul li a:hover {
and I can't seem to centre the paragraphs.. tried giving them id's and classes, that didn't work.. I'm assuming I've screwed up my selectors or something..
anyway, any help is massively appreciated and I apologise for the simplicity of the problem, my first week and first page..
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In your CSS the "#footer-wrap ul li a " does not have a closing } so the paragraph style does not register.
Use text-align:center; NOT margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;
This may be your problem with the #footer-wrap ul li a:hover , but can't guess at that because you didn't include it.


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BA Chinese Civilisation and Religious Studies
This course focuses on the study of the religious traditions in China and in the Western traditions.
Key Facts
UCAS Code: T1V6
Institution Code: T80
Course Length:
3 years (full-time)
Faculty of Humanities and Performing Arts
Contact Email:
Language Choice
China is one of the world's great civilisations with a rich cultural heritage providing the backdrop to a dynamic contemporary society. The Lampeter programme in Chinese Civilisation aims to broadly familiarise students with Chinese history and culture in its various manifestations across the entire span of China's pre-modern and modern history.
This programme is designed for students who wish to study China without having to go through our Mandarin language programme which aims at fluency in Chinese. However, you will still have the opportunity to acquire basic competence in Mandarin by choosing the introductory Basic Chinese 1 module in the first semester and by taking further Mandarin classes in the Confucius Institute.
You cannot truly understand our society, history, and the world around us without understanding the multiplicity of religions. The religious studies elements of this course are designed to help students understand religions in their cultural, sociological, historical and theological contexts. You will be exposed to the dynamic relationship between religion and society and will examine the roles that religions play in the pressing issues of our era. The programme takes students beyond superficial media coverage of contemporary events into deeper issues of history, identity, and the implications of religious commitment for issues of world concern.
The religious studies course covers an extensive array of thematic and geographical areas as well as a wide range of religions. This gives you a real insight into the human condition and the multiplicity of religions in the world. You will have the opportunity to visit places of worship and acquire practical, first-hand engagement with 'other' cultures and religions.
Within Chinese Studies, individual modules examine China's economic development, its history, media, politics, philosophy and religions, both in ancient and in modern times. As a student of Chinese Studies, you will have the opportunity to visit China and experience Chinese culture first-hand. All students have a further chance to apply for short-term language courses in China and scholarships administered by the Centre for Chinese Studies and the Confucius Institute.
Typical modules include:
- Approaches to the Study of Religion
- Understanding Contemporary China
- Confucian Ethics
- History and Civilisation of Traditional China
- Religious Experience
- Asian Religious Traditions
- Thinking About Religion
- Religion and Film
- New Religious Movements
- The Life of Muhammad
Reasons to choose this course include:
- Taught by experts in their respective fields
- Opportunity to develop independent research projects
- Opportunities to study abroad
- Excellent library facilities
- Opportunities for excursions to places of worship, previous trips have included Israel, Egypt, Syria, New York, Rome
- Opportunity to study in China
- Independent research project
Visiting Lecturers from Beijing Union University
The School uses a wide range of assessment methods to ensure that students are given opportunities to demonstrate their attainment of learning outcomes and achieve a range of valuable transferable skills.
Assessment methods include:
- Written assignments
- Examinations
- Time tests
- Portfolios of work
- Oral presentations
- Extended essays/dissertations
- Reflective tasks
Grades are important; however, our offers are not solely based on academic results. We are interested in creative people that demonstrate a strong commitment to their chosen subject area and therefore we welcome applications from individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. To assess student suitability for their chosen course we normally arrange interviews for all applicants at which your skills, achievements and life experience will be considered as well as your qualifications.
Career and employment opportunities include:
- Teaching
- Non-governmental organisations
- Media and publishing
- Journalism and Reviewing
- Postgraduate research
Annual tuition fees for entry in the academic year 2017/18 are as follows:
International: £14,900
Tuition fees for years of study after your first year are subject to an increase of 3% for International students and at the capped fee rate as set by the UK Government for UK/EU students.
You can find further information on fees and how to pay on our Student Finance pages.
You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's Bursaries and Scholarships page
There is an optional fieldtrip connected to a module for second and third year students to visit religious sites first hand. The Faculty subsidises this trip but the cost each year is dependent on airfare, location, and currency exchange rates. The Faculty aims to keep the cost in the range £400-£700.
Visiting the University
For any students considering studying BA Chinese Civilisation and Religious Studies at UWTSD it is worthwhile attending a Visit Day or Open Day. You can take a tour of the Lampeter campus, meet some students, and question the lecturers to get a comprehensive understanding of the university and its teaching. To find out more about forthcoming dates visit the Open Day and Visit Day pages.


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Online Extra: 'Kobe the Scorer' becomes 'Kobe the Passer'
By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
AP Basketball Writer
MINNEAPOLIS — For 17 years, Kobe Bryant has been a supremely confident, ultra-aggressive offensive force who believed that the more he scores, the better the odds the Los Angeles Lakers win.
Even by his standards, Bryant was on a blistering run to start this season. He averaged just over 22 field goal attempts, right up there with the highest averages of his career. He took 31 shots in a loss to Houston, 41 in a win over Golden State and 32 in a loss at Toronto.
Off to a 17-25 start, and with the playoffs slipping away, Kobe has revamped his game. He's channeling more Magic than Michael now, becoming the Lakers' chief playmaker to jumpstart the struggling team. After posting double-digit assists just once in his first 42 games, Bryant is averaging 11.2 assists over the last five, a stretch that has produced four victories to offer some hope that all is not lost.
"It feels good," Bryant said Friday, when the Lakers beat the Timberwolves. "You're just trying to do whatever it takes to win. Trying to figure things out, even if you're adjusting your game as dramatically as I have, it's just doing whatever it takes to get your team to win."
Passing hasn't exactly been absent from Bryant's game over the years. It just hasn't been at the forefront of his approach to breaking a team down. He's always thought of himself as the best one-on-one player in the world, and that mentality has fueled a get-out-of-my-way approach that has helped him fly up the career scoring chart.
He's averaged a healthy 4.7 assists for his career and was right at that number through the first 42 games this season. Bryant has more career assists than any of the five players who have scored at least 30,000 points. But he has completely changed his role in the last two weeks.
In the four-game losing streak that preceded the Lakers' mini-surge, Bryant attempted 25, 32, 22 and 23 shots and dished out a total of 14 assists.
In the last five games, he's taken 10, 12, 12, 17 (the only loss) and 13 shots and picked up 56 assists.
"I just try to dominate the game through passing and getting to the rim and scoring when the opportunity presents itself," Bryant said. "There's many ways to dominate a game."
For someone as notoriously stubborn as Bryant, it's quite an eye-opening transformation.
"It's not the easiest thing in the world to change a mentality," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "But he's definitely trying."
In the twilight of his career, and with Steve Nash and Dwight Howard not close to the All-NBA players they have been, it's also been absolutely necessary for the Lakers' survival. They are 21-26, good for 10th place in the competitive Western Conference.
"It's different now playing against him than watching him on TV," Wolves forward Derrick Williams said. "He's just a deadly weapon. If you leave a little space he's going to knock down a shot. If you get too close to him, he's going to hit people with backdoor passes."
His teammates are feeding off the newfound unselfishness, too. Pau Gasol had struggled for most of the season, but he had 22 points and 12 rebounds against the Timberwolves on Friday night. Antawn Jamison has scored in double figures in four straight games, and Nash is adapting quite well to playing off the ball and knocking down all the open shots that come when Bryant draws so much attention from the defense.
The Timberwolves certainly didn't have an answer for his new game Friday. In the first quarter, he relentlessly backed down the overmatched Luke Ridnour in the post, drawing double teams from a scrambling Wolves defense. Bryant easily surveyed the scene, kicking to wide open shooters on the perimeter for easy shots. The Lakers hit eight of their first 10 3-point attempts to build a 29-point lead in the second quarter.
Bryant said he studied Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson and John Stockton as much as he did Jordan while he was growing up. And whenever he's asked about Magic — widely considered Bryant's biggest competition for title of the greatest Laker — he smiles broadly.
"That's the thing that gets lost as the years go on," he said. "People forget how good he was and some of the passes he makes. You go back and look at some of that (stuff) he was throwing around out there, it's outrageous. Some of the things he sees. And me growing up a huge Magic fan, I'm very familiar with that."
If Bryant can somehow dig these Lakers out of the rubble and take them to another title, it will be the sixth of his career — tying Jordan and moving him past Magic on the ring count.
"We're trying to find that balance a little bit," he said. "We're obviously not reaching our full potential if I go through a full half without really shooting the ball. But at the same time, I think the most important part is to get everybody in rhythm. I can always find my offensive rhythm throughout the game."
That's an ongoing conversation with D'Antoni.
"You need to be aggressive and make the right play," the coach said. "When you take off and they collapse on you, make the pass. If they don't, then score. I think you need to do it for four quarters. You can't come into a game and be a facilitator for a quarter, (then say) 'OK, now I'm going to be a scorer.'"
Bryant is getting more and more comfortable with each passing game, and all of a sudden these Lakers have new life. Once buried under a pile of injuries and dysfunction, they're 3½ games behind Houston for the eighth seed and charging. They're close enough that Bryant is starting to peek at the standings again.
"A little bit now because you kind of want to have in your mind's eye what's going on," he said. "But we'll catch up."
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