text:
From Family Court Matters
How many psychologists can you count in this case? Or was it Psychiatrists?
And when are the rest of you on the sidelines going to get angry about this "insane" practice?
Where is the "leading Australian psychiatrist's report" [apparently court-ordered diagnosis??] that gave this poor, distraught Dad rights and public sympathy, and a high profile that no MOTHER got who's had her kids legally kidnapped through the courts, or illegally by the father(s). I instead of the nation(s) hunting THEM down with psychiatry, Internet, and Interpol, they simply let it slide.
When did the press become lackeys of this system and why aren't they REPEATEDLY (like me) pointing out that something's wrong when a woman has been judged publically, but indicted privately.
(see my last post).
Where's his first wife? Did they have kids? If you are there, please say something!
In this report, as well as in the photo of the foursome I posted yesterday, Mr. Thompson refers to her as his "wife." Yet indicators are — first of all, dude, she doesn't want to live with you! Second, we read "wife" and "former wife." The word only means "ownership." In the current global culture, this word has become meaningless, and was most certainly exploited.
Kidnap mother may escape jail in new deal
Paola Totaro, Amsterdam
September 12, 2010
The mother of abducted boy Andrew Thompson – under arrest in Amsterdam and facing a prison term in Australia – could be offered a "get out of jail free" card, under a new system to resolve international custody battles.
A new form of cross-border mediation, tested in the Netherlands, will provide Melinda Stratton witha last-ditch chance to avoid criminal charges – and help parent her little boy – if she can co-operate and come to a binding, workable agreement is accepted by his father, Ken Thompson.
[sentence grammar off, but its intent is clear -- to bring her to her knees under threat. This same practice is used in the United States towards (a) domestic violence offenders and (b) child support deadbeat Dads, to downgrade the meaning of criminal activity, typically towards women. Mediation works when there is actually a balance of power, genuine acceptable options, and TWO willing participants willing to work it out. This is nothing of the sort. It's "threat therapy."]
This system, thrashed out over two days under intense specialist mediation with a team of counsellors and lawyers, must be agreed to by both parents – and becomes a legally binding order in both the Netherlands and Australia.
Mr Thompson, met a team of psychologists in Amsterdam yesterday and drove to The Hague to meet the legal expert on the Hague conventions who is to manage the complex legal processes needed to return the six-year-old to his father.
It is now likely that he will need to remain in the Netherlands for at least three months as custodial orders from Australia are translated into Dutch and given effect in the local courts. These will allow the legal handover of Andrew while extradition proceedings against his mother unfold. Ms Stratton faces criminal charges and up to 13 years in prison in Australia if she refuses to participate in cross-border mediation system.
This could even result in the boy remaining in the Netherlands with his father as the legal processes unfold there while his mother is extradited to Australia to face charges.
Mr Thompson said yesterday he understood an agreement could be enforced very quickly – perhaps within a fortnight – if there was co-operation between the two parents to come to a resolution in the interests of the child.
Ms. Stratton/Thompson could not have said MORE plainly, and by her actions demonstrated, that there are serious allegations against Mr. Thompson. The public and press are NOT told what these are, but a person of reasonable intelligence might deduce that this woman does not appear to be hard up for another partner, should she wish one, or for supporting herself independently. Perhaps her psychological "problem" is called Mother Able to Decide — meaning per se "M.A.D." IF allegations are true, best interest of child is no contact or only supervised contact with the father. IF they are false, best interest of child might then be co-parenting.
He has yet to see his child but insists that he bears no malice towards his wife and, while deeply anguished by the events of the past 2ÌÌ [???] years, simply wants to "be a dad to Andrew, to be in his life to love him and to give him back the human rights that were taken away from him".
Wait a minute. His wife? [My ex went through this also, repeatedly calling me his wife, while living with someone else and arguing with authorities for his right to disobey standing court orders.]
Please. Everyone consider the current U.S. President (among others) who was raised by his mother. Also, Fatherhood Expert Ronald Mincy, Ph.D., apparently ditto. Did you notice the "Ph.D."??? Perhaps mothers can do all right, if the word were still acceptable to use in public apart from the words "paranoid" and "facing criminal charges."
Mr Thompson, visibly relieved after his day with lawyers and psychologists, said he believed Andrew's was the first case worldwide in which the internet had been used successfully to track down an abducted child.
It's time for our society to start considering their collective responsibility for allowing the courts to become psychology-normative, and administering threat-therapy instead of justice. If this continues, someday it might be YOUR turn for reasoned civil disobedience (which this case sounds like, to me, and the "wife" states it was). And then who will speak up for you?
Europeans are sometimes just too obedient, as if this solves problems. You know what other population was characterized that way? Rwandans.
"We did it on a shoestring and so many fantastic people have helped me. I lived on less than 50 euro a day for the past four months – and I found my son.
He lived on 50 euros a day for 4 months, and got a lot of public support, empathy, publicity, and eventually, they did the work for him, turning in this mother. A conference of mayors of major U.S. cities has concluded that domestic violence is a major source of homelessness. I know women whose wages are being garnished below survival level, whose disability benefits — the disability being related to serious injury by the father — are being garnished (below living level) and from this position, they advocate for contact with their children, and no charges any more serious than disobeying (without kidnapping) a court order probably as arbitrary as the mysterious one surrounding this case. Welcome to OUR world, Mr. Thompson — poverty in pursuit of justice, and our children. The difference being, when was the last time an abducting father was called "paranoid" and hunted down like an animal? Or jailed, when caught
"OK, my legal fees are horrendous … overdraft on overdraft on overdraft, and I don't even want to think about my mobile telephone bill. But I could not give up. Ever. A young guy with the fire services built the FindAndrew website for me – and he had never done this before. I had the most amazing people helping me if I was in trouble with electronic banking or a lost card. I had emails, thousands of them, in support. I've got people around the world who saw my plight and felt something. I can't thank them all enough.
He should thank the U.S. IRS, whose progressive income tax policy made it possible to accumulate astounding amounts of $$ for use by the likes of Wade Horn, "National Fatherhood Initiative," Fathering Courts, Fatherhood.gov, and a complex web of federal grants promoting marriage — at any cost — throughout the land. This makes possible — when combined with astounding wealth from tax-exempt foundations — to restructure society. He should thank Presidents (in approximate order) Bush, Clinton and Obama for making sure this never stops, and also the Conciliation Law / AFCC folks in Southern California who learned early on how to defraud even the IRS with a judges' slush fund and developed organization-morphing techniques to avoid accountability and cover up collaboration and conflicts of interests, from which we eventually got a worldwide ogranization to promote the viewpoints of pedophile and incest-friendly gentlemen as Richard Gardner and Warren Farrell (quite the psychologist these days).
He should thank his lucky stars, or if he subscribes to one of the three Abrahamic religions, he should thank whoever put the book of Esther into the canon, where a Gentile Queen told the king "No!" when asked to come forth and strut her stuff halfway through what was likely a drunken banquet. Some accounts say, she'd have had to disrobe. She indeed DID say "No!" (as the story goes) and so was replaced. The search went throughout the land for more submissive, nubile young women, who knew their place in life, lest ALL men might need to experience the horror of a wife saying "no!" and changing society.
What grateful Mr. Thompson with his team of psychologists and psychiatrists doesn't seem to empathize with, or appreciate, is the position he put his "wife" (or former wife) and THEIR son in when he called in a court psychiatrist to counter the serious allegations that we aren't allowed to know about. If he wanted a more docile wife, he shouldn't have picked a tri-lingual MBA.
I hope, I really hope that my wife will co-operate and that we can find a way for Andrew. I will stay here for as long as it takes and until Andrew is ready to move on. I have an EU passport and no visa issues … It will take time to reintroduce the relationship. It has to be carefully managed."
It is understood that the little boy now both speaks Dutch and has lived under a different surname.
Psychologists have made clear that the reintroduction must be slow and carefully supervised as it is not known what the little boy has been told during the years of avoiding authorities.
Mr Thompson, a former NSW deputy fire chief, cycled 6500 kilometres across Europe to raise awareness of international child abductions and to distribute bumper stickers with Andrew's face and promote his website to try and find his boy.
An alert Dutch woman checked her suspicions about the little boy and his mother on the internet and Googled "missing children" and "Australia" and discovering he had been kidnapped. It was her decision to contact Dutch police that traced him and led to the arrest of his mother.
The Bitch. Does she know anything at all about this field? Did she forget about Ayaan Hirsi Ali? Does she know what happens when women lose their children in similar situations? It's rare we get them back. Did she forget the Holocaust, and the label "Juden"??
(If I were able to put my case details on this blog, you might understand the sentiment.)
Take Heed — the press is owned, for the most part. I found only ONE press (as opposed to blogs, which are many) stating that this mother might have had a legitimate reason for fleeing. The Internet WAS developed originally as part of a military technology; now we see some of its real purposes — nowhere to hide. Citizens (GLOBAL citizens) must be trained how to think, act, and report on each other, and call in the authorities — lawyers, psychologists, and of course police. Remember the Gulag. You're in it.
IF laws were enforced equally, with similar amount of effort as Mr. Thompson put in, I wouldn't be so "vociferous" (mouthy) for the other possible interpretation of this case.
EVERY United States citizen ought to examine some of the fatherhood sites, and the federal grants system, and start demanding accountability. Sleep less. You can do it! Get religion out of government; and part of government is education. Learn to barter, and minimize taxes all round. I seriously considered (as to education) a requirement that all parents, without exception, should educate their OWN offspring up to a certain level (far above what the government currently requires them to) and the public schools should be shut down, so that adults and children can develop normal relationships with each other. If the neighborhoods retained some vitality, then, perhaps — just perhaps — people might KNOW each other well enough to stick up for an abused wife, or child — and stop dreaming that someone else they pay, funded from a distant centralized government, might be doing the job without indoctrination about what is the "appropriate" psychological norm.
Which brings me to this page by Charles Pragnell, whom I quoted yesterday, on this same case:read more here:http://familycourtmatters.wordpress.com/2010/09/11/here-come-da-psychologists-mediators-to-help-return-mr-thompsons-wife-to-her-right-mind-or-she-could-do-the-jail-thing-instead/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter


text: The seasonal transition is a difficult time for your wardrobe. Finding that right amount of warmth and staying cool is tricky! That is why I love the layering piece, Christine. The button front henley tunic is great to wear with jeans or leggings, and layer with a long cardigan when it gets cool out. Christine will be your go to in all the seasons.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
- Research article
- Open Access
Perceptions of vulnerability to a future outbreak: a study of horse managers affected by the first Australian equine influenza outbreak
© Schemann et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013
- Received: 19 December 2012
- Accepted: 30 July 2013
- Published: 31 July 2013
A growing body of work shows the benefits of applying social cognitive behavioural theory to investigate infection control and biosecurity practices. Protection motivation theory has been used to predict protective health behaviours. The theory outlines that a perception of a lack of vulnerability to a disease contributes to a reduced threat appraisal, which results in poorer motivation, and is linked to poorer compliance with advised health protective behaviours. This study, conducted following the first-ever outbreak of equine influenza in Australia in 2007, identified factors associated with horse managers' perceived vulnerability to a future equine influenza outbreak.
Of the 200 respondents, 31.9% perceived themselves to be very vulnerable, 36.6% vulnerable and 31.4% not vulnerable to a future outbreak of equine influenza. Multivariable logistic regression modelling revealed that managers involved in horse racing and those on rural horse premises perceived themselves to have low levels of vulnerability. Managers of horse premises that experienced infection in their horses in 2007 and those seeking infection control information from specific sources reported increased levels of perceived vulnerability to a future outbreak.
Different groups across the horse industry perceived differing levels of vulnerability to a future outbreak. Increased vulnerability contributes to favourable infection control behaviour and hence these findings are important for understanding uptake of recommended infection control measures. Future biosecurity communication strategies should be delivered through information sources suitable for the horse racing and rural sectors.
- Equine influenza
- Perceived vulnerability
- Protection motivation theory
- Infection control
- Biosecurity
- Emergency animal disease
Improving the biosecurity practices of horse owners has recently become more important to animal health authorities due to increased spread of infectious diseases because of globalisation and more frequent animal movements. Many equine disease threats are enzootic, including leptospirosis and salmonellosis. Most previous work on zoonotic infection risks has been conducted with equine veterinarians, but one study also found animal handlers to be 10 times more likely than the public to have been exposed to Coxiella burnetti, the infectious agent of Q fever [1]. Salmonellosis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus have been found to be responsible for disease outbreaks in equine clinical settings [2–4], and a similar trend of increased infection risk can be assumed for the acquisition of these infections by the horse owning public. Horse owners may also be more at risk than other members of the public to acquire other zoonotic infections such as other enteric bacteria and parasites or ringworm organisms. In Australia, zoonotic disease transmission from horses to humans has also caused significant health impacts and even human deaths in recent decades [5–7].
The potential of influenza viruses to infect mammalian hosts of multiple species and the recent crossover of equine influenza from horses to dogs [8], is worrisome with regard to future virus mutations. The 2007 equine influenza outbreak presents a unique opportunity to test a cognitive health behaviour theory empirically in relation to an animal disease outbreak setting. Application of the theory allows important lessons to be learnt for the delivery of health messages to the horse-owning public.
Australia's 2007 Equine influenza outbreak
Australia is one of the only three countries with substantial horse industries free of equine influenza, a highly contagious viral respiratory disease of horses, donkeys, zebras and mules [9]. In August 2007 Australia experienced its first ever outbreak of equine influenza. The outbreak lasted five months but during this time it affected more than 70 000 horses, spread over 280 000 square kilometres, and cost the government more than A$350 million before it was successfully controlled and the virus eradicated [10]. The full social and economic impacts of the outbreak are difficult to quantify [11], yet a study conducted during the epidemic found certain groups of horse owners to have much greater psychological distress compared to the general population [12]. Control strategies applied in the outbreak response included horse movement restrictions, emergency vaccination and enhanced on-farm infection control (biosecurity) and public awareness [13]. Horse movement restrictions were implemented immediately on detection of the outbreak and involved the cancellation of all horse gatherings and, initially, a nationwide ban on all horse movements. After 72 hours, a system of risk-based movement zones was established (involving restricted and controlled areas) in the two affected states (New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland) [14]. One month into the outbreak, at the commencement of the thoroughbred horse breeding season, a special restricted area was established, allowing horse movements within specified areas of high horse density [14]. Infection was already spreading rapidly in these areas and the cost to the horse industry was considered greater than the benefit of resource-intensive, local disease control efforts that were deemed unlikely to succeed [14, 15]. Surrounding the special restricted area was a restricted area in which only very limited horse movements were allowed [14].
Despite the low mortality associated with disease and its ultimate eradication, horse owners and industry participants were greatly inconvenienced and suffered considerable financial and emotional hardships [12, 16–19]. Commencing in early spring, the outbreak and associated movement restrictions, impeded horse travel for sporting and breeding purposes, imminent at that time of year. The mare is a seasonal spring breeder and spring is also associated with major horse racing carnivals and equestrian sporting events. In 2007, this included qualification events for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games [10]. People deriving their primary income through horses or horse-related activities for example commercial stud farms, training centres, riding schools, veterinarians, farriers, horse chiropractors and dentists and horse event transport and catering service providers, all suffered economic impacts [17, 19].
Infection control behaviours (biosecurity compliance) amongst animal managers
Perceptions of vulnerability
According to the protection motivation theory, greater perceived vulnerability or susceptibility contributes to a threat appraisal, which, if raised in conjunction with adequate coping appraisal, influences behavioural intention and action positively [27, 28]. However, some studies have found a negative relationship between perceived vulnerability and behavioural intention and action, which was attributed to denial or avoidance in response to great levels of anxiety in the absence of a sufficient coping appraisal [27]. These findings suggest that, generally a lack of perceived vulnerability is unfavourable to the motivation to perform a protective behaviour, whilst some degree of vulnerability acts to promote these behaviours up to a point where coping appraisal is insufficient.
Previous work suggests that perceived fear of a future equine influenza outbreak is significantly associated with implementing infection avoiding biosecurity practices [26]. Therefore, an understanding of horse managers' perceived vulnerability and factors associated with those perceptions are important when attempting to develop tailored biosecurity education and extension campaigns.
This study identifies factors associated with levels of perceived vulnerability of horse owners/managers towards a future outbreak of equine influenza. The findings will help to explain how the experience of a disease outbreak influences perceptions of vulnerability to future outbreaks, and how this perception relates to preparedness. It will enable industry and government to improve the targeted delivery of biosecurity advice during future epidemics by considering the impacts of previous experience on the future engagement of the various segments of the target audience.
Questionnaire design, sampling and data handling
In this study, 270 premises were randomly selected from a dataset of premises supplied by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI). To be eligible the premises had to be located in the restricted and special restricted areas of NSW during the 2007 outbreak, as designated according to the risk-based zoning system (described in detail in NSW DPI's Equine Influenza Protection Plan [29]). Horse owners and managers of these premises (just called 'managers' hereafter) were enrolled via a personally addressed letter and up to three follow-up telephone calls. Of the 270 premises selected, 38 were deemed ineligible for various reasons (described elsewhere, [15]) whilst the managers of another 32 premises declined to participate. Further details on study design are presented in other published work, which analysed collected data separately to investigate factors influencing the spread of equine influenza onto horse premises [30], perceptions of outbreak management [31] and factors associated with the perception of on-farm biosecurity effectiveness [32]. Ultimately, 200 managers were enrolled, of which 127 had at least one confirmed case of equine influenza at their premises.
Face-to-face interviews were conducted by two trained interviewers (KS and SMF) between July and October 2009, based on a structured questionnaire. The two interviewers piloted the questionnaire on four horse managers to test questions for ambiguity and to ensure similar method and response recording. Of the 61 questions included in the interview, 15 closed or semi-closed questions were used in the present analysis. Questions were designed to obtain information about the demographics of managers, the nature of their involvement with horses, their sources of information about infection control during the 2007 equine influenza outbreak, their horse's equine influenza infection status during the 2007 outbreak and their attitudes towards a potential future outbreak of equine influenza (perceived likelihood and preparedness).
A purpose-built Microsoft Access 2007 database (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA) was created for data entry. Data cleaning and statistical analyses were conducted using SAS statistical software (release 9.2 © 2002–2008, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA).
Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the University of Sydney's Human Research Ethics Committee (07-2009/11840).
Outcome and explanatory variables
Explanatory variables analysed for associations with the perception of perceived vulnerability to a future equine influenza outbreak based on a study of 200 horse owners and managers, conducted in 2009 in NSW, Australia
Variable group
Manager demographics and premises descriptors
Agea; Genderb; Number of horsesc; Involved in horse competition/sporting eventsd; Involved in horse racing; Involved in equestrian eventse; Involved in rodeo-style horse eventsf; Horse breeders; Horse agistment or spelling facilityg; Horses kept only for recreation; Horses used for farm work. Premises enterprise typeb; Income derived from horsesa; Regional clusterb.
Sources of infection control information during the outbreak
Internet; General media (television, newspaper, radio); Other horse owners; Veterinarians; Other horse professionals (farriers, dentists, chiropractors, trainers, coaches); Australian Horse Industry Council; State Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI); Association/society (breed, sportingd); Horse equipment or feed retailer.
Equine influenza outbreak experience and perceptions
Premises infected during the 2007 outbreak; Suspected transmission routeb; Outbreak control zoneb; Perceived stringency of own outbreak biosecurity measuresa; Perceived level of own outbreak stringency compared to horse owners in the neighbourhooda; Perceived level of preparedness for a future equine influenza outbreaka. General interest in infection control informationa; Perceived likelihood of a future equine influenza outbreak in Australia in the next five yearsa; Perceived likelihood of a future other exotic equine disease outbreak in Australia in the next five yearsa.
Data analyses
To assess the distribution of explanatory variables, contingency tables for categorical variables and summary statistics for continuous variables (alone and classified by the outcome) were created. Unconditional associations between each of the explanatory variables and the outcome variable ('perceived vulnerability') were assessed using univariable ordinal logistic regression, with UniLogistic SAS macro [33]. Explanatory variables associated with the outcome variable at p < 0.20 (based on the likelihood-ratio chi-square test) were checked for missing values and tested for pair-wise collinearity by calculating Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (ρ) for pairs of ordinal variables or by performing Pearson chi-square test for other pairs of variables. Variables were considered collinear if ρ > 0.7 or p < 0.05. The assumption of linearity for the single continuous variable ('Number of horses') was assessed by categorising it into quartiles and plotting mid-points of these quartiles against their respective regression coefficients [34].
A manual forward stepwise approach was then used for model building. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression models were built using MultiLogistic SAS macro (available at http://sydney.edu.au/vetscience/biostat/macros/index.shtml). Only variables associated with the outcome at a p-value <0.05 were retained in the final model. All variables eligible for multivariable analyses were retested by adding them one-at-a-time to the final model and measuring for a >20% change in any regression coefficient. All analyses were adjusted for the gender and age of the managers, as these two variables were considered as a priori confounders based on other research that has shown they can be key determinants of perceptions about health protective behaviour [35, 36].
All biologically meaningful two-way interactions amongst variables in the final model were tested for statistical significance at p < 0.05. Potential interviewer bias was assessed by addition of an interviewer-level random effect term to the final model [37], enabling calculation of the intra-class correlation (ICC) to assess for clustering of observations by interviewer [38]. The proportional odds assumption of the cumulative logit model was tested by the score test [39]. Model fit was assessed using the Deviance goodness-of-fit chi-square statistic.
The interviewed managers were predominantly female (68%) and middle-aged (35–54 years old, 74%). Almost half of the interviewees managed horses on small acreage premises (47%), 18% held horses at a horse or rider training facility, another 18% had horses on a farm with commercial livestock or cropping enterprises, 9% were from a commercial horse breeding enterprise and 8% managed agistment premises where horses of multiple owners are kept together, typically for remuneration.
Of all interviewees, 60 (31.4%) perceived themselves to be 'not vulnerable', 70 (36.6%) perceived themselves to be 'vulnerable' and 61 (31.9%) perceived themselves to be 'very vulnerable'.
Contingency tables and univariable ordinal logistic regression results for the association of explanatory variables with the perception of being not vulnerable to a future equine influenza outbreak ( p < 0.20) based on responses of 191 horse owners and managers interviewed in 2009 in NSW, Australia
Perception of vulnerability
Not vulnerable
Very vulnerable
Odds-ratiosa(95% CI)
Variables and categories
Regional cluster
Northern NSW
23 (50%)
18 (39%)
5 (11%)
8.32 (3.78, 18.89)
South-West Sydney
9 (30%)
13 (43%)
8 (27%)
3.52 (1.50, 8.44)
Hunter Valley
13 (30%)
18 (42%)
12 (28%)
3.44 (1.58, 7.63)
Central Coast
4 (20%)
12 (60%)
4 (20%)
3.25 (1.27, 8.45)
North-West Sydney
11 (20%)
10 (18%)
34 (62%)
Equine influenza outbreak control zone
Restricted zone
45 (34%)
60 (46%)
26 (20%)
3.66 (2.01, 6.79)
Special restricted zone
15 (24%)
11 (17%)
37 (59%)
Suspected equine influenza transmission route during the 2007 outbreak
16 (21%)
24 (31%)
37 (48%)
0.27 (0.14, 0.50)
14 (30%)
18 (38%)
15 (32%)
0.51 (0.25, 1.01)
Not infected
30 (43%)
29 (41%)
11 (16%)
Premises infected during the 2007 outbreak
30 (24%)
42 (34%)
52 (42%)
0.35 (0.20, 0.60)
30 (43%)
29 (41%)
11 (16%)
Premise enterprise type
18 (51%)
14 (40%)
3 (9%)
4.02 (1.93, 8.59)
8 (47%)
5 (29%)
4 (24%)
2.69 (1.01, 7.45)
6 (38%)
4 (25%)
6 (38%)
1.48 (0.53, 4.18)
7 (20%)
14 (40%)
14 (40%)
0.93 (0.45, 1.90)
Small acreage home
21 (23%)
34 (37%)
36 (40%)
Involved in equestrian eventsc
13 (21%)
19 (31%)
29 (38%)
0.42 (0.23, 0.74)
47 (35%)
52 (39%)
34 (26%)
Involved in rodeo-style horse eventsd
14 (45%)
14 (45%)
3 (10%)
2.68 (1.33, 5.51)
46 (28%)
57 (35%)
60 (37%)
Involved in horse racing
8 (42%)
7 (37%)
4 (21%)
1.78 (0.75, 4.37)
52 (30%)
64 (36%)
59 (34%)
Received infection control information from sporting/breeding association/societye
23 (21%)
44 (41%)
41 (38%)
0.45 (0.26, 0.76)
37 (43%)
27 (31%)
22 (26%)
Received infection control information from non-veterinarian horse professionalsf
11 (18%)
24 (39%)
27 (44%)
0.44 (0.25, 0.76)
49 (37%)
47 (36%)
36 (27%)
Received infection control information from the internet
43 (28%)
55 (36%)
55 (36%)
0.54 (0.26, 0.95)
17 (41%)
16 (39%)
8 (20%)
Received infection control information from other horse owners
40 (29%)
48 (35%)
50 (36%)
0.64 (0.36, 1.12)
20 (36%)
23 (41%)
13 (23%)
Perceived stringency of own outbreak biosecurity measures
Very stringent/stringent
34 (26%)
49 (37%)
49 (37%)
0.51 (0.28, 0.92)
21 (41%)
18 (35%)
12 (24%)
Less/not at all stringent
5 (46%)
4 (36%)
2 (18%)
1.25 (0.37, 4.36)
Perceived level of preparedness for a future equine influenza outbreak
4 (17%)
7 (29%)
13 (54%)
35 (32%)
45 (42%)
28 (26%)
2.92 (1.26, 7.03)
Highly prepared
21 (36%)
18 (30%)
20 (34%)
2.63 (1.06, 6.73)
Perceived level of general interest in infection control
Very interested
28 (27%)
38 (36%)
39 (37%)
0.48 (0.19, 1.18)
20 (30%)
27 (41%)
19 (29%)
0.36 (0.15, 0.86)
Not interested
12 (52%)
6 (26%)
5 (22%)
Age (years)
12 (40%)
11 (37%)
7 (23%)
0.75 (0.26, 2.11)
37 (26%)
54 (38%)
51 (36%)
0.40 (0.17, 0.95)
11 (50%)
6 (27%)
5 (23%)
22 (35%)
26 (41%)
15 (24%)
1.54 (0.89, 2.68)
38 (29%)
45 (34%)
48 (37%)
Final ordinal logistic regression model of 191 horse owners and managers perception of being not vulnerable to a future equine influenza outbreak, based on a study conducted in New South Wales, Australia in 2009
Adjusted odds ratio
Constant 1
Constant 2
Received infection control information from a sporting/breeding association/societyb
(0.18, 0.61)
Received infection control information from a non-veterinarian horse professionalc
(0.27, 0.99)
Involved in horse racing
(1.63, 13.93)
Geographic cluster
NW Sydney
Central Coast
(0.96, 7.94)
Hunter Valley
(1.22, 7.38)
Northern NSW
(1.96, 14.78)
SW Sydney
(0.84, 5.76)
Suspected equine influenza transmission route during the 2007 outbreak
Not infected
Direct or indirect transmission
(0.26, 1.24)
Wind transmission
(0.18, 0.78)
Perceived preparedness for a future equine influenza outbreak
(1.00, 7.53)
Highly prepared
(1.52, 13.11)
<35 years
35-54 years
(0.19, 1.29)
≥55 years
(0.20, 2.10)
(0.48, 1.83)
Managers of premises infected during the 2007 outbreak (measured as suspected transmission via direct/indirect contact or via wind versus not infected), had increased levels of perceived vulnerability to a future outbreak. Similarly, increased levels of perceived vulnerability were also found among managers, who received infection control information during the 2007 equine influenza outbreak from either a sporting or breeding association or society or from a non-veterinarian horse professional such as a farrier, chiropractor, dentist, horse trainer or riding coach.
None of the two-way interaction terms between variables in the final model were significantly associated with the outcome variable. Intra-class correlation for clustering of responses according to interviewer was effectively zero. The score test for the proportional odds assumption was non-significant (p = 0.32) indicating that the cumulative logit model was appropriate for the final model [40].
This study provides objective evidence that perceptions of vulnerability to a future equine influenza outbreak differ among different horse industry participants. Many authors [20–22] have argued that risk perception needs to be understood in order to design effective animal health biosecurity programs. Protection motivation theory suggests that a heightened threat appraisal (supported by high levels of perceived severity and vulnerability and inhibited by intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for non-compliance) generally elicits positive behavioural intention and compliance in the presence of a sufficient coping appraisal, yet a lack of perceived vulnerability is unfavourable to the motivation to perform a protective behaviour [27, 28]. Hence, in this study, factors associated with a lack of perceived vulnerability were examined, as these were considered most likely to link to low levels of biosecurity practice.
Three factors were associated with reduced levels of perceived vulnerability to a future outbreak in multivariable analyses, namely involvement in horse racing, geographical location during the 2007 equine influenza outbreak and perceived high preparedness for a future equine influenza outbreak. Those managers involved in horse racing had reduced levels of perceived vulnerability compared to those who were not involved in this industry sector. Previously the Australian horse racing industry has demanded ongoing vaccination for equine influenza as the disease is widespread worldwide and all other significant thoroughbred racing nations vaccinate horses routinely [41]. Lower perceived vulnerability in this sector could be explained by the fact that the racing industry was better supported by the response agencies during the 2007 outbreak when compared to other sectors [41, 42] and by lower risk perceptions regarding potential impacts for international horse trade and travel for overseas race meetings.
Premises location in more rural areas may explain reduced levels of perceived vulnerability associated with certain geographical clusters as found in this study. Managers from rural areas may feel less at risk due to being less connected with other horses; however, early local disease spread occurred predominantly in rural areas during the 2007 outbreak [15]. The areas in and surrounding Sydney (Central Coast area) characterised by increased levels of perceived vulnerability in this study, have greater concentrations of horses and they experienced higher incidence of equine influenza during the 2007 outbreak [14, 15], so increased vulnerability.
In addition to involvement with horse racing and geographical location, perceived preparedness to a future outbreak was also associated with perceived vulnerability: managers who reported being highly prepared reported reduced levels of perceived vulnerability. Contrary to the findings of this study, previous work hypothesised that a heightened sense of preparedness and control may be linked to increased vulnerability as it found that perceived high preparedness to a future equine influenza outbreak was associated with perceived high effectiveness of biosecurity measures [32]. The reduced perceived vulnerability associated with perceived high preparedness found in the current study may be logically explained: managers may have a heightened sense of control and self-efficacy and feel more prepared due to their reduced risk perceptions and knowledge on what to do regarding a future outbreak, based on their previous experience in 2007.
In addition to factors associated with reduced levels of perceived vulnerability to a future equine influenza outbreak, this study also identified factors associated with increased levels of perceived vulnerability: having previously encountered equine influenza infection and the seeking of infection control information from various sources.
Multivariable analyses results indicate that managers whose horses were infected with equine influenza perceived increased levels of vulnerability to a future outbreak of equine influenza compared to those managing uninfected horses during 2007. Furthermore, managers who thought their horses were infected via wind transmission during the 2007 outbreak reported increased levels of vulnerability to a future outbreak compared to those who believed their horses had been infected by other means of transmission. A similar association was found for perceived effectiveness of biosecurity measures and perceived source of transmission [32], and is probably explained by a combination of managers' realisations of the highly contagious nature of the disease and a lack of perceived personal control over the spread of infection.
The utilisation of two specific sources of infection control information used during the 2007 outbreak was significantly associated with increased levels of perceived vulnerability to a future outbreak, namely sporting or breeding associations/societies and non-veterinarian horse professionals. The findings that the two information sources are significantly associated with the outcome can be explained in two ways: these sources are providing information that is either accurate or inaccurate. In the case of the 2007 equine influenza outbreak, there is evidence that these sources were accurate. If the information provided was inaccurate, then horse managers may have been vulnerable due to having been misinformed by these sources, similar to another study examining pandemic flu vaccination uptake [36]. However, in 2007 the Australian structure for emergency animal disease management provided good overall government-industry interaction and communications [43]. Consequently, it can be assumed that information provided by industry organisations to their members was based on information supplied by government veterinarians and hence accurate. So, if associations/societies or non-veterinarian horse professionals, were providing accurate information, then the study findings may imply that managers, who received information from them were more aware and concerned about the disease threat, and hence more engaged. However, the associations with non-veterinarian horse professionals and industry organisations information sources may also be a proxy measure for having experienced more impacts associated with control measures during 2007, such as the cancellation of events and inability to breed horses due to movement restrictions [12, 17, 19]. Another aspect that could be contributing here is: trusted sources are regarded as the best provider of infection control information [44]. 'Sporting or breeding associations/societies' and 'non-veterinarian horse professionals' represent information sources which are based on professional contact networks. Their inclusion in the final model may reflect managers established relationships with them and trust in their professionalism and in the accuracy of the supplied information [44].
Study strengths and limitations
Observational studies are subject to a number of sources of bias. In this study, selection bias is likely due to selection from the NSW DPI laboratory databases for the concurrently conducted case–control study [30]. This limits the external validity and generalisability of the results, yet no other sampling frame for Australian horse owners was available due to a lack of legal requirements for registration of horses in Australia. However, the age and gender distributions of the study sample, representing greater proportions of middle-aged and female horse owners, is similar to that in a previous study conducted by the Australian Horse Industry Council among its members [45], suggesting that the sample is representative of the Australian horse industry. Studies concerning human pandemic influenza found that older people and males had higher intentions and uptake of vaccination [36], however, more relevant to this study, studies of protective hygiene and quarantine behaviours during human pandemics found that, if there are gender differences, woman are consistently more likely to carry out the behaviour [35, 46]. The evidence for age is less conclusive but the balance of evidence indicates that older people are more likely to carry out protective behaviours [35]. The high proportion of middle-aged woman in this study may result in greater levels of threat appraisal and motivation in this sample compared to the general population of horse managers, but both age and gender were adjusted for in multivariable models in this study. Hence, due to recognition a priori of the influence of gender and age, the associations discussed are based on adjusted measures found significant after accounting for gender and age and other variables in the final model.
To achieve better cooperation and rapport and more consistent, reliable and complete data, face-to-face on-farm interviews were conducted in this study. Open discussions led up to the questioning to stimulate memory of the 2007 outbreak, however, some degree of recall bias is possible.
This study identified differing levels of perceived vulnerability to a future equine influenza outbreak among horse managers, likely explained by different levels of financial and sporting involvement with horses, geographical location and prior experience with equine influenza during the 2007 epidemic. To achieve greater horse manager compliance with biosecurity programs it is recommended that further engagement with managers, particularly in the horse racing sector and rural areas, be conducted. A greater level of engagement should be accomplished by delivery of information on risks together with appropriate response measures via trusted sources, to increase horse managers' sense of control. This will ensure that a lack of perceived vulnerability does not result in complacency or a lack of preparedness for a future outbreak.
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) funded this research and approved this manuscript for publication. The authors gratefully acknowledge the horse managers interviewed for their time and cooperation, the NSW DPI for making the equine influenza dataset available and the following individuals for contribution to the compilation of the equine influenza dataset and comments on study design: Brendan Cowled, Barbara Moloney, Nina Kung, Evan Sergeant and Nigel Perkins.
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This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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Travel assistance applications to attend Desktop Summit 2011
The GNOME Foundation provides travel sponsorships to individuals who want to attend Desktop Summit and need financial assistance.
We are happy to announce the Travel Committee is ready to receive applications for sponsorships to attend Desktop Summit 2011. This year, The Desktop Summit is being held in Humboldt University, in Berlin, Germany, from Saturday 6th August, until Friday 12th August.
The instructions are detailed at http://live.gnome.org/Travel
Please read them carefully.
Deadline: May 31, 2011, 19:00 UTC. You can start sending in your applications now!
Some extra comments:
* Any information you send to the Travel Committee will be private.
* Asking for sponsorship *does not* guarantee you will get sponsored.
* A good application with good information will be processed fast.
* If you need help with accommodation, you should state in your application that you need lodging, and leave the cost blank. The organization has taken care of booking hostels in advance.
* Always choose the most economical option when possible. People who need travel sponsorship, should look for the best price (i.e. through a service like kayak.com). If the Travel Committee finds a cheaper price, that will be the price considered during the evaluation.
* If you need assistance with either accommodation or airfare, but not both, this year the Travel Committee will give higher priority to people requesting accommodation.
* If your country needs a VISA invitation letter and you are a GNOME contributor, please let the GNOME Travel committee know about it.
* If you are selected for the Google Summer of Code or the GNOME Outreach Program for Women (as student or mentor) you should mention it in your application.
* If your talk was selected for the Desktop Summit, you should mention it in your application.
* The Travel committee should reply back about receiving your application within 2-3 days. After that we would accumulate all the sponsorship requests and process them together. So please do not panic (have any butterflies in your stomach) if we take some time to reply on the status. Affirmative/Negative you would surely get a response.
* No personal emails to committee members. Please keep travel-committee Cc'ed on all your replies.
Feel free to ask questions on the travel-committee list. You can also find us in the #travel channel at irc.gnome.org
On Behalf of GNOME Travel Committee
GNOME.Asia 2011 – Day zero
Panchvati Comforts (Accommodation for the GNOME.Asia 2011 hackfest attendees)
Me and Srini: Knock knock, anyone home?
And there they were, all ready for GNOME.Asia 2011 Hackfest. They all reminded me of LOTR:Fellowship of the Ring
Allan Day, Vincent Untz, Andre Klapper, Pockey Lam, Frederic Muller, Chandni Verma, Frederic Peters, Andreas Nilsson, Ryan Lortie and Josselin Mouette, all under one roof. This is one amazing group we could have asked for GNOME.Asia 2011. Thanks to all for making it to the event.
We helped them to a nearby hotel, and enjoyed a good Indian meal. Is there one topic that we don't discuss about!!! Politics, Food, Culture, Angry Birds gameplan, and ofcourse Cricket (the topic that has hit the whole of India). Bangalore Central, a big mall was our next destination. The 1 km walk from the hotel to Central (as suggested by the awesome Srini) never seemed to end, and we walked for close to 3 kms. But everyone seemed to enjoy the walk after a nice meal 🙂 A quick look in the mall, and back to the accommodation for most.
I canceled one of the cabs and took Fred and Pockey in an auto (tuk-tuk) as they call it. We surveyed the conference venue and looked around the huge campus. We have more things to be finalized, but that was noted for the hackfest.
The good feedback we received was everyone liked the accommodation and they were slowly getting used to the spicy food in India 🙂
Keep following the blogs on Planet GNOME We have some amazing things planned for the hackfest and conference.
Oh and yes, I love seeing their scared faces when we are in the cabs and its peak traffic time 🙂 But I am here to assure they would all be safe and happy during their stay in India. Cheers.
GNOME.Asia 2011 is here
Pack your bags and book your flights now. GNOME.Asia 2011 is here.
"I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any GNOMErs taking refuge among the stars: We are here. We are waiting."
GNOME.Asia 2011 comes to India this year to its very own Namma Bengaluru. Our objectives are to get together GNOME contributors to work on, promote and celebrate the GNOME 3.0 release as well as leverage on the GNOME 3.0 release to build a bigger GNOME community in Asia. We target to invite the GNOME release team, Documentation team, Marketing team, Translation team and those contributors who will be involved with the actual mechanics of the GNOME 3.0 launch as well as those contributors living in Asia.
This year we have
- GNOME.Asia 2011 Hackfest for 3 days (+2 optional days) Mar 28 – Apr 1
- GNOME.Asia Summit 2011 for 2 days – Apr 2, 3
- GNOME Training for students – Mar 30 – Apr 1 (date tentative)
Call for Paper
We have some amazing talks lined up this year for the conference. See it to believe it. List of talks
If you are planning to talk at GNOME.Asia Summit 2011, please submit your talk from here
Guideline is from here: Call For Papers
Note: The call for paper form is only for GNOME.Asia Summit 2011, for GNOME 3.0 Hackfest, please use the Hackfest wiki page to register. Hackfest wiki page – http://live.gnome.org/Hackfests/GNOME.Asia2011
We plan to open up the registrations for the conference very soon.
Call for Sponsors
The Call for Sponsors document can be downloaded from here
Do let us know if you can reach out to more companies for sponsoring the event.
Student Training
This year we plan to have a student training session on GNOME for students from all colleges in Bangalore. Plans are underway to kick start this session.
Any feedback?
Please let us know if you have any suggestions for us. We would need support from many more contributors in growing big and reaching out to many people. Please do forward the event details to other mailing lists.
GNOME.Asia mailing list – asia-summit-list gnome org
Hope to see you all at GNOME.Asia Summit 2011
The story that inspired me all life
Recently, one of my friends was brooding about something totally idiotic. I always share this story with all. I did with him too. This is one of the stories that has shaped my life. Ok now the story 😛
Oh and yes, just take the message in the story and not the minute details of the story 🙂 Let us not debate on why this, why not this.
The story
A Guru (Teacher) and his disciple are on their way back to the ashram after praying to the Almighty. They have to cross a river as usual to get to the ashram. On the banks of the river, is a lovely damsel who has hurt her knee. She requests the Guru to help her cross the river. The Guru takes her in his arms, and helps her cross the river. The damsel thanks the Guru and leaves.
The Guru and his disciple start back to their destination. The disciple looks utterly troubled with this act of his Guru. He was the one who had taught him all the values in life, the one who had asked him to pray all life day in, day out. He had once preached all his disciples to give up all pleasures in life and devote all their life to serving and praying to the Almighty, and here he was breaking the rules himself.
The disciple keeps all the frustartion to himself as they head back home. As they continue their journey, the disciple doesn't talk a word to the Guru. They finally reach the ashram after a couple of hours, and the Guru finally asks the disciple, "Tell me son, what is bothering you all this while. Speak out"
Disciple: "Guruji, it is about the ugly act of yours today. We always believed you practiced whatever you preached. But what I saw today, has disappointed me tremendous."
Guruji: "What are you talking about son? What act are you talking about?"
Disciple: "Guruji, it is the woman. You told us to never be with a woman and to focus all our life to devotion"
The Guru smiles and says,
"I carried her only across the river. You are still carrying her in your thoughts, that's the difference"
This story is stuck in my thoughts forever though 🙂 Reminds me that the world is always simple. If you just live your life joyfully, have your head in the right place, and learn to let go, every moment would be totally worth it. Never grow a poison tree against someone. Its their life, let them live it the way they want to.
YOU live your life king size 🙂
Lets collaborate on Evolution MAPI
Lets collaborate on Evolution MAPI
How best to collaborate than use Public folders. Last couple of weeks Milan has been fixing quite a few things for Public folder mailboxes in Evolution. It works like a charm now with Evolution.
Fetching the public folder list using openchangeclient,
Subscribed Public mailbox folder in Evolution,
With the mailboxes working great, we decided to focus on the Public folder for address book, calendar, memos and tasks.
We assigned this task to Punit Jain, his first feature in Evolution. After 3 – 4 weeks of work, this is what he had to show us all 🙂
The list of public folders being fetched, with the highlighted one being the Task type public folder,
The subscribed Public Task folder being shown under the Tasks component,
So what should all of you do next?
1) Try the new version of evolution-mapi and report feedback so that we get it in shape for 3.0
2) Buy the openchange developers some beer the next time you bump into them. If you look at the kind of changes they have made over the last couple of releases, you would be left completely spellbound. Most of the features that one needs with his Exchange server have already been implemented in openchange. So if you like their work, drop them a word of thanks.
So what next for Evolution MAPI?
Sort the feature list and have the good ones implemented a month before the feature freeze to give us enough time to fix the regressions. Seems like openchange has all these features implemented ages back, now its time Evolution extends all this good work for 3.0 and spread the love to its users
Why is this feature special to us?
Because I and Milan mentored Punit for this feature, and yes it is a good feeling once the mentoring pays off 🙂
Are you free tonight? The new answer
Answer as of June 1, 2010: Please launch Evolution and do a Free/Busy search on my Exchange MAPI Calendar.
That's right. The first version of FreeBusy search for Evolution MAPI was merged into master on June 1st. Evolution now shows all the Busy, Tentative, and Out of Office times for the user. I have fixed the openchangeclient to fetch even the half hour appointments.
So what does not work as of now?
When you ask someone out for the first time, you don't ask, "Are you free tonight, the next Thursday and the one after that". Long story short, the search on recurring items does not work as yet with MAPI. That would be fixed next in openchange.
We have some great things planned, so you should hear more cool updates on Evolution MAPI in the weeks to follow. And our bug killing mean machine, Milan Crha is on the prowl. We are down from 108 bug reports to 64 in 2 weeks. So keep watching this space.
Follow your heart guys
Well, are the times changing or are kids still under stress to do well in studies? Strive for that one extra mark that'll help them top the results. Are parents still uncomfortable to tell their neighbors proudly that their kid ain't an engineer or a doctor, but a talented dancer, a talented musician or a talented photographer?? Or maybe more. Maybe they still feel uncomfortable when kids come second in college. When I still read news like these –> http://bit.ly/6Q2KNM I have to nod in approval that it would still take a generation to change it all.
This to be frank would be the case with most of us. There is nothing wrong with the parents having expectations from their kid. I am not asking anyone to rebel against that. Hell No. But do understand that for them success means money, position in life, a good career which the society would respect and to them they just hear to what "the society" would say to it. The society has defined a set of professions as respectable, and another set of professions a risk in life. Now we all are part of this society and we could be the change we want to see done. Educate the parents, help them trust your decisions.
This blogpost is dedicated to some of the people I know in my life, who have chosen the life they wanted. These people do best what they know best. They have each excelled in their own fields, been the rockstars in their life, and they have gone a step ahead by not just stopping there, but helping everyone with similar interests and spreading the wave of knowledge.
First of them undoubtedly has to be my classmate and gifted musicians, Jason Zachariah Maybe not my closest buddy in college, but I was always a huge fan 🙂 Everyone at college knew what this guy was best at. He is one of the best keyboard players I have seen, and he has always rocked with his performances each time he was on stage. Today he is one of the few certified Pro Tools operators in the country and the chief coordinator at the Nathaniel School of Music This for me is his biggest win. Not only has he reached the peak of his music career, but now his hunger for it has made him develop more Jasons in this world. Read all the testimonials of the students at the School of Music and you'll know what I meant to convey 🙂
Next on my list is the amazing Kalyan Verma. If you haven't seen the pictures he has clicked with his third eye, you definitely are missing something totally out of this world. Don't waste a minute more guys. Here is where you start —> http://kalyanvarma.net/ He worked for a few years with Yahoo, before he set out to follow his heart. He published his "Masai Mara" album this morning (Widely considered to be the greatest wildlife area in the world) The whole world was left dumbfounded at the amazing awesomeness. Within minutes of him publishing his album , he was one of the trending topics in twitter 🙂 And just like Jason, he's set out to create a world of equals and make more Kalyans 🙂 Some of the workshops that could get you started —> http://kalyanvarma.net/workshops
The next one is just a personal favorite. His talk at FOSS.in/2009 on ROS was one of the best. To all those to whom developing OS for robots sounded scary and a myth, here it is demystified and simplied. Made so easy for people to actually contribute to robotics, ROS for me bridges the mental block on how to start and where to begin. Well the rest is for all of you interested souls to read 🙂 The guy is Mrinal Kalakrishnan, the drummer for Phenom, the legendary PES college band 🙂
Well to sum it all up, follow your heart, never be shy to take up a career of your choice. That'll atleast stop you from regretting later that you could have done much more in life than you actually did. And never be bogged down in life with where you start. Jason who followed a dedicated line of musicians in the family is successful, and so is Kalyan who was the first 🙂 So life is to enjoy. Go have fun with it


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My goodness, I rarely get misty-eyed at the movies, I certainly teared up at this movie.
For those of you who don't know, it's the film adaptation of the novel by Margot Lee Shetterly, of the true story of the Black women who did the maths for the Mercury 7 flights, most importantly, John Glenn's flight to be the first American in space.
Being a black woman, I got an early exposure to the horrors of racism at an early age. My family made sure I knew my history, no matter how dark. Segregation; separate water fountains, bathrooms, seats on the bus, I learned them the same time I learned my alphabet and cursive handwriting.
Not only does this movie showcase that- especially the separate bathrooms. The bathrooms the black women were allowed to use were over half a mile away from the main center at Langley!- It showcases a plethora of beautiful fashions.
I decided to channel that in my outfit for the evening.
Outfit details:
Early 1960's Dress- Buffalo Exchange
1940's Hat- Gift from Kait
Spider Brooch- Gift from Frances
Shoes- PayLess
Lipstick- Besame's Dusty Rose
Sadly, the good camera's battery died. Thank goodness for this technological age we live in.
I saw the movie with my dear friend Noela of Face For Radio Fashion (brand new blogger, give her a happy welcome!), here is the delightful outfit she wore!
Afterward I got a milkshake, and Noela got the cutest candid of me, I want to frame it.
I honestly want to see this a couple more times, it's so so good.
Have you seen Hidden Figures? (If you haven't see it ASAP!)
Did you have any idea of these brilliant women prior to the film?


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Pupils and staff are getting in the festive spirit ahead of their Christmas fair.
The event, set to feature a range of Christmas inspired stalls will take place at Richmond Hill Primary School, Melton Road, on Friday December 12 from 3.30pm to 4.45pm.
the event is for members of the school community only and will give children and parents the chance to stock up on any last minute Christmas shopping before the big day.
Pupils are also preparing to sing their socks off at their annual Christmas carol concert that will take place on Thursday December 18.


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Purchase a two year subscription to Irish Roots magazine and receive the current issue of Irish Roots magazine as a digital download. Once purchased you will receive an email with a link to download the current issue. You will also receive the next seven subsequent issues with a downloadable link by email once published. Please note this digital subscription is for pc download versions only. To purchase a version compatible with iPhone, iPad, Android, Nook or Kindle versions please see our APP store at www.irishrootsmedia.com
Celebrate your Irish ancestry with Irish Roots magazine and subscribe today!


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Next to the photo Heidi wrote "NERD!" She thought the clothes/uniform required was nerdy and never understood why she couldn't ride in blue jeans and a shirt. I agree. It would be both more practical and a lot less expensive. Regardless, Heidi wore the uniform and my parents always found enough funds to support this venture. Today stars an eight day journey to Easter 2011. I have a few more pictures from my gifted album with some more I'm looking to scan today.
I received a beautiful message from a dear friend yesterday and she said "…you were always a good person even when you did not have deep faith…I'm glad the love of God makes you feel stronger but you have ALWAYS been GOOD...." This was such a powerful message and reminder for me. While the book focuses on the journey from Heidi's kidnapping through today and it effect on me as a sibling, it is important to remember the eighteen years prior to that April day. My friend is right and I have my parents, friends, family and God to thank for that. It is our life experiences, the love from our parents and family, the relationships with our friends and the daily occurrences that build design and develop us into the people we are today. Thankfully I've had a solid foundation my entire life so God was the cherry on top of an already "yummy" sundae, called life! Thanks for the reminder…
Gershon Shofman once said, "Reflection is the foundation of any creative work" so instead of spending this week mourning the loss of my sister I choose to celebrate her life and Christ's resurrection. I hope you will join me as I share more photos of Heidi…the sister, not the missing!
Lisa :)
Note: Since I'm on vacation new posts will most likely occur after 8 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. (for you early birds) Early bird hours will resume on April 25th. :)


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One of the top line goals for Q2030 is to create a welcoming community in which all people are embraced, have an equal opportunity for success and know that their differences are the foundation for the region's successes. Greg Aguilar, Director of Talent Attraction & Retention, Quad Cities Chamber recently sat down with Dr. Chris Whitt and Scott VanDeWoestyne, Inclusion and Equity Administrator for the city of Davenport to share their thoughts on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workforce.
Hear their perspective on steps we can take as we strive to become a more inclusive region:


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You should phone the Canon technical support contact number 0207 660 0186 to ask a customer service representative for assistance regarding a problem with your G7 X compact digital camera or PIXMA inkjet printer.
You can call Canon on their number for technical support 0207 660 0186 if you are experiencing a fault with a digital camera or inkjet printer developed by the company. You should use this number whether you have a technical issue with a digital SLR camera, such as the Powershot, GX 7 or an IXUS model. Customers can also use this number how to find the serial number for your product, whether you are using a EOS camera, scanner or printer. Alternatively, you can contact the technical support department if you have been unable to install the necessary computer software to use any of your Canon devices. For instance, you can use this number to ask for the download code so that you can continue to connect your PIXMA or I-SENSYS printer to your printer. Furthermore, customers who have a warranty agreement in place can also call the Canon technical support department to request free replacement parts following an issue with their camera.
Contact numbers that start with a local area code will cost the same per-minute rate as any geographic call made from a UK landline or mobile phone. However, Canon may be free to contact if your landline deal includes free calls to local rate numbers or if your mobile tariff deal has inclusive free minutes. The Canon technical support department is available to be contacted during the call centre opening hours of 8am-6pm Monday to Friday, 9am-18pm Saturday, 10am-4pm Sundays and UK Bank Holidays.
If you have been unable to resolve your problem over the phone then you can request technical support via email by including details of your product, its serial code and the relevant fault to the following address: firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The December issue of Woman's Day (on newsstands November 23) is offering ways to cope with the holidays by providing 10 stress-free solutions to make your Christmas a merry one.
Woman's Day turned to the experts, from etiquette coaches to psychologists, to get the best tips on how to minimize the stress this holiday and eliminate some of the factors that have been issues in past years.
When it comes to presents, and saving money, experts advise readers to let go of gift guilt and suggest proposing that your family change their gift-giving traditions to possibly only giving gifts to the kids, a Secret Santa exchange with a price cap, or homemade gifts only. And once you get the gift, if you don't like it, fake it. It's better than hurting the feelings of one of your relatives.
If you are hosting the entire family there are a few tricks that experts say to keep in mind:
- Command Your Kitchen - Don't loose it if someone tries to step on your turf in the kitchen. Give each matriarch of the family a task to do outside the kitchen and explain it will just be faster for you to do the cooking.
- Take it Easy on Holiday "Spirits" - Keep those relatives that generally have one too many in check by limiting the alcohol served or have someone serve it.
- Remember, The More The Merrier - Plan ahead for late additions and when unexpected guests show up, keep your cool and roll with it.
- Call it a Night When You're Ready - When you are ready give the impression the night is coming to a close by starting to clean the kitchen, mentioning how fast the evening went by or begin to gather coats for people.
To tame the family drama, avoid talking about politics, keep the gossiping on hold, and reduce the use of annoying and distracting electronics. Experts suggest being ready to divert attention when these subjects come up. CEO of Beverly Hills Manners, Lisa Gache, says "change the subject with a remark like 'The turkey smells terrific, doesn't it? Let's go check on it.'"
With these tips, any family can have a festive, happy holiday.


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Personalised Easter Egg Hunt Bag | Boy Easter Bunny Design
Availability: In Stock
Personalised Easter Egg Hunt Bag, Boy Easter Bunny Design
Great Easter gifts for kids
We have personalised Easter Egg Hunt bags that not only make a great Easter gift for kids (the little and the big ones too of course). They also make a great gift bag option too or are great to use all year round as a library bag, toy bag, etc.
Our Easter Egg Hunt bags can feature your child's name and a special message too if you wish.
Also available in a girl design too featuring a bow.
We can also create a design for you too if you have something in mind, just contact us to discuss what you're thinking.
Our Easter Egg Hunt bags are approx 38 x 30cm in size and with a drawstring top which they can slip over their wrist while on their hunt for Easter Eggs.
Before we print your Easter Egg Hunt bag we will send you an artwork proof to approve. Please note colours can vary somewhat due to screen resolutions, etc too.
Care instructions: cold gentle machine wash, no bleaching or soaking and iron on the reverse side.
Our postage guide can be seen here.
All items are made to order so please allow 5 – 10 working days (unless otherwise specified on the product listing) for your order to be made. If you need your order quicker than this please contact us to see if we have an opening in our schedule.
Once your order has been made we will update your order status with the tracking number, etc.
We use either Australia Post or a courier to send our orders and all items are covered by insurance. Delivery can take between an estimated 3 – 10 days depending on where you are located. If you would like a more specific timeframe then please contact us. We do also offer Express Post if you are needing your item the fastest way possible too if you are within the Express Post network.
Please view our FAQs page here.
To view our Colour Options for this product please go to our Colour Chart Gallery - CLICK HERE


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This carbon black premium perimeter deer fencing is designed for high pressure and larger areas. 65% stronger than the standard fence.
The tensile strength is 750 lbs per sq. ft breaking load. The manufacturer states the life of this fencing averages about 20 + years.
Directions: Check out the video for instructions.


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The story of Brown v. Board of Education, which ended legal segregation in public schools, is one of hope and courage. When the people agreed to be plaintiffs in the case, they never knew they would change history. The people who make up this story were ordinary people. They were teachers, secretaries, welders, ministers and students who simply wanted to be treated equally. Read More
The Road to Justice
The story of Brown v. Board of Education
The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) is one of the most pivotal opinions ever rendered by that body.
Topeka's Civil Rights Story
One hundred years of Kansas history separates John Brown's war on slavery and the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education
Plan a Field Trip
Whether you have an hour or a day, there are multiple Field Trip options available.
Last updated: October 21, 2018


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Essex Yarn Dyed Metallic - Opal - 1/2 yard
Regular price
Manufacturer: Robert Kaufman
Collection: Essex Yarn Dyed Metallic
Material: 50% linen 40% cotton
Width: 44"
Perfect for home decor projects, craft projects, clothes, quilting.
All fabric is sold by the HALF yard. If you order in multiple quantities, your order will be cut in one continuous length.


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© 2006-2015 by
Shadowgraphy, the art of using the hands (and sometimes certain props)
to form figures onto a blank screen can be traced back to the middle
of the 18th Century, although the idea seems to be a lot older, and
can be traced back to the shadow puppets of Indonesia circa 850 AD
and in China during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907).
The art was introduced to Europe by travelers returning back from China,
who had seen the Chinese puppet theatre shows. The first "ombres chinoises"
were presented in Paris in 1776 by Dominique Séraphin. The show was moved to
Versailles in 1781. The tradition continued in Paris with the cabaret "Chat Noir"
producing shows of "ombres chinoises" "(Chinese shadows") with up to twenty
It is important to note that these shadows were created by the use of
two-dimensional cut-out "puppets" made from various materials. The shadows
were rarely created by the hands alone.
In modern times the art of "ombromanie" (using only the hands as a medium
to create the shadow) was made popular by Félicien Trewey
(real name Félicien-François TREVEY) (b. Angoulême 23rd May
1848 d. Asnières, 2nd December 1920).
At the age of fifteen Trewey ran away from home to become a magician
and tight rope walker. Trewey popularised the art of shadowgraphy by making
silhouettes of famous personalities with his hands. In 1889 he joined
Alexander Herrmann in New York. After that many magicians began to
imitate his "Shadowgraphy".
During his career as a magician and vaudville performer, Trewey performed
all over Europe and often in London. After the building of a one thousand
seater theatre at the Regent Street Polytechnic (the first Polytechnic in
Britain), Trewey bought the Lumiere brothers to this stage for the first
presentation of Cinematograph before a paying audience (an outrageous one
shilling per person) on 20th February 1896.
There is of course a strong connection between magicians, shadows and the
first cinema shows; cinema at the time was considered an extension of many of
the illusions performed on stage.
Trewey also performed a Chapeaugraphy act and features in a short film by
Louis Lumiere from 1895 called "Chapeaux a Transformations".
Trewey wrote a 16 page booklet which was published in the year of his death
"The Art of Shadowgraphy - How it is done" (pub. Jordison, London).
Around the same time as Trewey, David Devant and Edward Victor (cf. "Edward
Victor's Hands" by Rae Hammond) were also performing Shadowgraphy in their acts.
It would appear that Alexander Herrmann learnt Shadowgraphy from watchng the
performances of Trewey. It would then follow that David Tobias Bamberg (father
of "Okito") learnt from Alexander Herrmann. David Tobias Bamberg then passed this
down to his son, and "Okito" (David Tobias "Theodore" Bamberg) then passed it down
to his son "Fu Manchu". "Okito" toured with the Thurston show as a shadowgrapher
for many years. "Fu Manchu" likewise featured shadowgraphy in his act for many years.
Holden (William Holden Maxwell) (b. Boston Mass.of Scottish parents, 1884 d. 1949)
featured Shadowgraphy in his performances in the duo "Holden and Graham" - Max
Holden and Miss Graham (his assistant wife).
Holden was famous for his shadow "Monkey in the Bellfry"
He left the stage in 1929 to open up a magic business in Manhattan - the
famous "Max Holden Magic Shop". Max Holden was also the author of the book
"Programmes of Famous Magicians" (pub. New York 1937).
A book published in 1859 by Henry Bursill entitled "Hand Shadows to be
thrown upon the wall" contains numerous animals and humans each with their
own careful illustration. In the words of the auhtor "I have drawn the due
position of the fingers with such care, that the most difficult subject may
be accomplished after a few minutes; nor need ingenious youth or parental
fondness confine their endeavours to the sketches contained in this book"
An extensive chapter on Hand Shadows may be read in the book "Home Fun"
by Cecil H. Bullivant (pub. 1910).
Félicien Trewey
David Devant
Edward Victor
Alexander Herrmann
David Tobias "Theodore" Bamberg
Fu Manchu
Max Holden
Henry Bursill
* we need help to accomplish this list. If you know somethinks contact us. Thank you.


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Almost all decisions in fisheries are made after a problem arises and years of data collection and analysis are completed. Frustrated by the lack of ability to identify and address problems before they became serious, Infofish decided to flip the way Analysis is done on its head. We call it Crystal Bowl.
See change in realtime
With over a million fish and projects delivered to hundreds of clients, Infofish is the most trusted source of fisheries data in Australia.
Learn More »
State of play
Our assessment reports provide a snapshot of all the available datasets on a fishery and the key indicators they provide.
Learn More »
Dashboard Technology
Infofish has invested in technology that improves data quality and reduces costs to collect and process data. We crunch millions of rows of fishing data nightly to provide the most up to date assessments possible every day.
Why not ask for a video meeting demonstration?
Learn More »
Infofish technology is perfect for Citizen Science projects, creating greater community engagement and buy-in on projects.


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Design in Life: The iPhone (pt. 2)
Want to know why Apple rocks? Check out Part 1 of the Design in Life column featuring the iPhone.
For all the revolutionary aspects of the original iPhone, it is impossible to avoid that parts of its hardware were disparagingly old for its price tag and generation. 2G data was no longer the industry standard. 4GB of fixed internal memory was pitiful compared to microSD-capable Blackberry and HTC competitors that could eventually support up to 32GB on interchangeable cards. At its release, iPhone was paradoxically ahead of its time and significantly behind the current technology. It would take close to a year before a 3G iPhone was released. By then, competitors had once again jumped ahead hardware-wise and the "catch up" cycle restarted. While the 3GS, 4, and 4S (alongside the 2011 expansion of iPhone service to Verizon Wireless) are arguably the phones that made iPhone the industry titan it is, in my opinion, the iPhone 5 represents the pinnacle of Apple's smartphone design.
For starters, let's judge a book by its cover; the iPhone 5 is a gorgeous device.
It is the first dramatic re-proportioning of the iPhone and represents a big risk for Apple circa 2012. The squat iPhone 3G had a 0.53 aspect (a standard measurement of screen dimensions, calculated width/height) ratio; the iPhone 4 bumped that ever-so-slightly to an even 0.50, even though the phone's overall height remained unchanged. The iPhone 5 made the same jump proportionally, (0.50 to 0.47, a change of 0.03), but the change was entirely the result of its height. The height of the phone increased by a full third of an inch, while the width stayed the same. The increased length gives the phone both an elegant profile and sense of delicacy compared to its stocky genealogy. This is all done to extend the iPhone's standard 3.5 inch screen for the first time since the original device. Is it groundbreaking? Not exactly. But it is noticeable, and provides for just that much more content on the screen at once.
The iPhone 5 is also shockingly lightweight. At just 112 grams (a weight savings of 20% compared to the 4's 137 grams), the 5 is basically a feather. It won't make you noticeably more agile or change the way you handle the phone, but you know what – it's nice. Once you've handled the 5, any of its cousins just feel bloated.
On top of it all, the fit and finish of the device's manual components is astounding. Buttons are placed exactly where you'd expect them to be placed based on experience with previous iDevices, but there is a superb attention to detail and styling within that placement. The home button's classic "rectangle within a circle" design shares the centerline with a thin horizontal speaker and unobtrusive front-facing camera. Both the lock button and the volume control keys have a satisfying travel and impact without feeling clunky, yet are sturdy enough to feel like it would take extraordinary impact to dislodge them from their tracks. The screen is set into the all-aluminum body (both a durability improvement and a means of saving weight, similar to the Macbook) of the phone by a beveled edge, almost like a fine watch. Turning the phone over, a laser-etched Apple logo stands firm against a subtly two-toned rear case.
The culmination of this all is the phone's inherent beauty when compared to its contemporaries. Compare the above in purely aesthetic terms: proportion, balance, elegance, subtlety, and harmony between elements. I am a firm believer that there is such a thing as timeless design – forms that are free of tack, bloat, and novelty for novelty's sake. A Dreyfuss telephone is just as relevant and beautiful today as it was in the 1950's because of its streamlined, no frills design that also considered aesthetic elements during its creation. There is an element of this immortality present in the iPhone 5.
With superfluous looks out of the way, let's dive into functionality. Forms that function take on another aesthetic value all their own. According to University of Michigan professor emeritus Allen Samuels, a prolific industrial designer with experience designing everything from locomotives to kitchenware, "There is beauty in informed utility… things are wonderful because they serve you." The iPhone 5 embodies Apple's empathetic philosophy by creating an entire consumer experience based on intuitive controls, both manual and digital.
Manually, the iPhone 5's buttons and switches have all been laid out in a way that allows the user to control all the phone's essential functions and remain perfectly balanced in the user's hand, even as fingers shift to cover different buttons. This is 100% intentional – your "natural" grip for an iPhone is informed by your prior experiences with objects of around the same size and weight. The recently-released iPhone 6 is MASSIVE as to be almost uncomfortable when placed in a pocket or held by smaller hands. I believe Apple got the iPhone's form correct with the iPhone 5. Professor Samuels again: "Human psychology hasn't changed that much since prehistory. There have always been forms that inform. Take for example, an archaeological hand axe: there are visual cues that tell you 'this is the top, this is the bottom' and lead you intuitively to its optimal usage." The Home button is one of those: it is shaped for your thumb tip and placed at a comfortable distance from the phone's edge when holding the iPhone in a usable position. That comfort is achieve through another facet of the iPhone 5's incredible design – its interior.
Interior components are arranged so that weight is evenly distributed over the phone's body. This means a predictable weight regardless of hand position, allowing for the iPhone to be comfortable and stable in nearly any position. In addition, the phone's rounded unibody means no edges or protruding elements that might cause the phone to snag on clothing when taken out. Think of what all the preceding means for the classic "phone flip draw" technique: a seamless user experience as you idly produce your phone walking between classes.
Then, there are the digital controls – the successive iOS updates supported by the iPhone 5 available over its lifespan. The original iPhone 5 shipped with iOS 6, which brought a host of usability and aesthetic updates to the iPhone over iOS 5. More intuitive, swiped-based phone controls, a refined Siri voice search feature, and a more comprehensive Safari experience are both highlights. Stylistically, little changed. The high-tech polish of iOS 5 remained, and lens flare abounded on nearly every app icon available. Initially, reviewers complained that too little had changed to necessitate a full-on title update. Then along came iOS 7.
iOS 7 represents a bold step forward both functionally and aesthetically. Apple intentionally designed iOS 7 to strip away the over-stylizing elements it believed plagued iOS 6, and as a result, iOS 7 bleeds minimalism. App icons are simplified, flattened, and often contain only a handful of high contrast colors. Device menus place emphasis entirely on visual components (most noticeably, the icon-heavy Control Center which is simply "swiped up" at any time to grant access to essential phone features like wireless). You know that the picture of an airplane means "Airplane Mode," or that the flashlight is probably – you guessed it – a flashlight. You don't need obtrusive text labels telling you that. The multitasking pane has also gone intuitive compared to iOS 6; open apps are swiped away to close, and the only text visible within the pane takes on the same size and shape under the app icon that it would on the home screen. And finally, the one feature you'll undoubtedly be seeing dozens of times a day, the Lock Screen, which received a complete design overhaul. It is no longer in grid form, and instead is made of free-floating circles (about the size and shape of your thumb tip). Large, clear, elegant numbers occupy space inside each, and circles have enough empty space between to discourage misinterpreted presses. Apple's message is clear: if you're going to use the same screen thousands of time, it has to work right, but it might as well look good doing it.
That's all well and good, but what does it mean for the average Michigan student? Simply put, it makes the most advanced consumer-available communications technology ever developed as easy to use as a stone tool. Sending millions of bits of Rick's Thursday Snapchat selfies over airwaves up to a satellite and back down to a moving target halfway across the country obviously requires incredibly complex wireless infrastructure outside of a handset, but at the point of interaction, millions of man hours have gone into creating a user experience that is as comfortable and usable as possible to harness that dizzying potential. Wrapping all of that in an elegant exterior? That's no small feat, either. The iPhone 5 (especially paired with iOS 7) enables everyone from the elderly to bored students, business travelers to Saturday night partygoers to seamlessly connect with the world at large regardless of their experience or current ability. It is democratic, beautiful, and exceptionally well designed. For that and all the rest of the above, the iPhone 5 is truly magnificent.


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Hondarribia Defensive Walls and Gates
Hondarribia, Gipuzkoa
(Basque Country)
Tlf.:+34 943645458
- Selvstyrende region: Basque Country
- Provins/Ø: Gipuzkoa
The town of Hondarribia is surrounded by a wall, defended by six bastions.The entrance to the town is through two gates, the main being Santa María. The gate has a segmental, voussoired arch on top of which is the town's coat of arms dated 1694. There is a Neoclassic crest dating from the 19th century with a sun dial.The other gate is called San Nicolás and is located in the street with the same name.This door is made of ashlar stones.The outside is formed by a segmental arch.Inside there is a lintel supported by decorated and dressed pilasters.
- Bygning: Gateway
- Stilperiode: Medieval
- Historisk periode: 15th century
- Omgivelser: Puerta de Santa María, Puerta de San Nicolás.