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Advocating for the Paper and Pulp Industry
for Nearly 70 Years.
Informational Excellence
The WPC provides valuable, accurate, up-to-date information for its members on a wide variety of subject matter including:
Industry News & Events
Government Relations
Creating Coalitions & Partnerships
Part of our mission is to create and strengthen relationships with industry related organizations whose goals and values align with the interests of our membership. The WPC partners with other organizations from various sectors including technology, environmental consulting, labor, economic development, transportation, energy and forestry – just to name a few.
Strategic Advocacy
The WPC provides strategic advice to its membership and advocates on behalf of all facets of the papermaking industry before state and federal regulators, industry thought leaders, key elected/appointed officials, media outlets and the general public. We work in a bi-partisan manner to represent the interests and concerns of our diverse statewide membership.

subset: commoncrawl


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By Amy Nutt
The recession is grabbing a hold of jobs and ripping them out from underneath people when they least expect. One week they are working and the next week they are not. It is something that is being seen all over the world. It is heartbreaking because there are so many people wondering what they need to do next in order to take care of their families. That's where temp agencies come in.
What is a temp agency?
A temp agency is an agency that serves as a job bank that places qualified employees into companies needing temporary help. Sometimes the job may last a day and sometimes it may last weeks. However, one temporary staffing employee can work a number of different jobs in a week or a month. A company may need manpower for a few hours or they may need it for a few weeks. It simply depends on what the job is and the reason why the job is open at that moment. Sometimes it is due to an employee that is on leave or it is because the job is something that none of the employees within the company are qualified to do.
As for where you can find a temporary staffing agency, they are rather easy to find. They can be found under "temp agencies" or "employment" in the yellow pages of your local phone book. You can also do an Internet search for temp agencies in your area. However, applying to become listed with their agency is something you will probably still have to do in their office.
How to apply
When you apply with temporary staffing, you will have to fill out a general application. This involves filling out your basic information and answering any questions that are provided to you. This is the same as any job application you would find elsewhere.
Also, make sure to bring a resume' with you that consists of your job history, personal information, and anything else that could be relevant to any job. You also want to set aside a couple hours of your time when you make your appointment. This is because a skills test will be required to measure which areas you are strongest in.
The skills test will include such skills as typing, 10-key, accounting, spelling and grammar, and customer service. These results are then used to help place you within companies that fit your skills set.
Types of jobs
The types of jobs that temporary staffing agencies place individuals in include janitorial, maintenance, food service, clerical, home health, light industrial, and shipping and receiving. Other positions may also be available, depending on which companies in the area feel that they can truly benefit from a temp agency.
The only time that you should not apply at a temp agency is if you have expensive childcare that could possibly consume all of the earnings you make. You have to take into consideration that temp agencies garnish a part of your wages in order to take their fee for placing you within a job. The company you do the work for pays the temp agency instead of you. The temp agency then gives you a check for your part.
You must also take into consideration that you will not be eligible for benefits within a company unless they decide they want to hire you as a permanent employee. Even if you are working through the temp agency for a year, you cannot take health benefits, an IRA, etc. However, the temp agency offers you the opportunity to try out different types of jobs. You can mix it up a bit. Most importantly, you can survive during tough times. You can put food on your table and clothes on your back.
About the Author: Temp recruiting agency provides temporary staffing, permanent recruiting, and human resource consulting. When looking for information on temporary staffing, consider Drake International.
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Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
David Moyes defiant Man Utd can still make top four
DAVID MOYES insists Manchester United are not yet dead and buried in the race to finish in the top four despite a goalless draw at Arsenal.
United are now 11 points behind fourth-placed Liverpool with Robin Van Persie denied a late winner against his old club by Wojciech Szczesny.
Moyes' squad now head to Dubai for a warm-weather training break and the Red Devils boss insists all is not lost in the race for a Champions League spot.
"All I can do, and I keep saying it, is we will try and win the next game and pick it up," he said.
"If there is one club in history who have been great at winning games in the second half of the season and putting pressure on the teams above it is Manchester United.
"We will continue to try and do that and make it work.
If there is one club in history who have been great at winning games in the second half of the season and putting pressure on the teams above it is Manchester United
"We can only do our job the best we can. We want to play better. We cannot bother about other teams. We can only put pressure on by winning our games."
"I believe the desire is still there in the squad.
"I see them and they are great lads. They are fantastic with their training and their commitment is first class.
"You saw how good Vida (Nemanja Vidic) was and how good Rio (Ferdinand) was when he came on. They are a great group of players and a very experienced group of players. They have been winners all of them.
"They all have medals and when you have won you want to win more. They are all still hungry and determined to be successful."


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…and other types common of linguistic devices that are thought to denote obtuseness (think: saying "like" all the time) are actually considered efficient by some linguists. Be sure to listen to the audio interview on the left-hand side of the article.
Monthly Archives: May 2012
Racial Distribution in America
The WSJ today has an article on race in America by Jason Riley with heavy use of quotations from Abigail Thernstrom. It is provocative throughout. I have not read any of Dr. Thernstrom's books, but I found the following quote interesting:
"I think there's a running assumption through all of the writing on the left about racial issues that, were it not for racism, you would have random distribution of racial and ethnic groups in education, employment, contracting, elections—whatever you're looking at. But the notion of random distribution of blacks, Latinos, Jews, Armenians or whomever is absurd. It's indifferent to the reality of society. That's just not how people distribute themselves."
I think that's about right as a first pass criticism of a lot of what you hear in the public sphere. Though I'm not sure what Thernstrom means by "random distribution." Perhaps "equal distribution" would be more apt. This, of course, applies to the distribution of men and women as well. As for how "people distribute themselves," I'm not sure of the answer to that question. If we suppose, first, an absence of racism and, second, an equal probability that minorities and women distribute themselves in any particular way across, say, American firms, it may well be that an "equal distribution" is perfectly reasonable, however unlikely probabilistically. Both assumptions, however, are dubious.
But to piggyback on Dr. Thernstrom's point, I think one problem that equal rights advocates have is that there is no obvious normative standard against which to judge progress. Is 50% representation by women on the boards of Fortune 500 companies the correct amount? Too much? Too little? I have no idea. Women make up about 50% of the US population, but it isn't immediately obvious that this implies they should make up roughly half of the population of whatever institution we're examining. The same is true for minorities. If we want to honor the differences of minorities and women at the macro level, I'm not sure why we expect, or advocate, that these groups make the same educational and occupational decisions as white men. What is the normative basis for this type of advocacy?
Sure, I can understand the elements of power involved—we don't want white men to be the only ones running businesses or representing us in local, state, and national politics, because "we" are not all white men and there is a normative discourse about the types of values American democracy should stand for and a general feeling of what is equitable when it comes to power distribution. I just think that tacitly implying that proportional minority representation is normative is an oversimplification and actually disenfranchises those that want to make non-normative educational and employment decisions. I'm sure Critical Race Theory has a lot to say on this subject (probably in disagreement with me), but unfortunately I am not familiar enough with the field to speak intelligently.
To be fair, equal rights advocates look at a lot more than simply the proportion of minorities and women in any given setting. They look at public discorse, media representation, personal experience, and historical accretion (to name just a few factors) to determine whether things "look out of whack." Nonetheless, I have a feeling these broad statistics largely drive the examination of the other factors. So if women did enjoyed equal pay and happened to represent half of any particular US occupation, I think the critics would be less boisterous and fewer in number.
However, this is where I think things get complicated. Minority representation in US universities and occupations most probably influences the factors I mentioned above, which in turn further influence the choices minorities make. So, in fact, these elements are impossible to disentangle. Dr. Thernstrom seems to overlook the fact (in her quote, at least) that the way minorities choose to distribute themselves is itself influenced by the current distribution. Moreover, what constitutes a "choice" gets very sticky. If we momentarily ignore the effects of the structural composition of society and introduce a framework of rational choice, it wouldn't be too difficult to determine the efficient distribution of minorities across US society. It would be that decision set that is absent of any coercive forces, such as legal preference or economic incentives given by the government. I see this as the classical liberal stance.
However, it is unclear what a neutral legal structure looks like. To have any legal system at all is to preference some at the expense of others. And even if we ignore that problem, we still wouldn't have things quite right since undoubtedly parents and friends heavily influence how people choose to distribute themselves, by offering advice on the best colleges or the companies with the most generous benefits, for example. Even interactions that are not specifically geared toward such distribution decisions undoubtedly end up affecting them. Surely, growing up in Arizona for one's entire adolescence, for instance, helps to determine what climate a person likes or dislikes and, thus, how he or she distributes him or herself. Once we add back in any structural elements of society, long histories of slavery and Jim Crow-era regulation, for example, things get even more complicated. It's clear that what we see as free choice is actually a complex biological system constantly influenced by long-lasting exogenous shocks from the environment around us.
The world, then, is socially constructed (not a new insight by any stretch of the imagination, see Sociology since the field began, for example). And it's constructed such that we can't simply ignore the way society is structured or define "free choice" in any meaningful sense. (Indeed, philosophers can't even agree on its meaning). But this leads me back to my original point. There is no such thing as an "authentic" distribution of any category of persons across any institution. Any distribution is valid in the sense that at any point in time the distribution is the result of the accumulation of the world's social action. And so again, I don't know know what a normative distribution looks like, since I don't know what normative means in this context.
But that doesn't get us very far. Throwing up your hands and saying, "it's all relative" is a distasteful, and to some extent, intellectually lazy position to take. To revisit an earlier point, I think equal rights advocates, as well as Critical Race theorists would, and have, advocated for a world without white hegemony. A world in which "whiteness" doesn't bestow unique privileges and rights beyond those who weren't granted "whiteness" at birth. I think that's right. And Dr. Thernstrom, and others, seem to overlook the contributions of Critical Theory, instead adopting their own set of aggregate statistics to show how much progress has been made.
But even when I accept the "white hegemony" argument, which I largely do, I still come up short, because (1) I think a world without such hegemony is very hard to envision (though, again, I've read relatively little on the subject, so haven't been exposed to the full panoply of ideas); and (2) I'm still not sure that this argument ex ante prescribes any particular distribution of minorities across institutions, other than saying that when such a world is achieved we will sufficiently have crossed over into the realm where "free choice" takes over and so whatever distribution arises ex post must be the correct one.
In conclusion, perhaps both sides should stop using aggregate statistics to try to prove one way or the other that the current distribution is either just or unjust, and instead focus on defining normative institutional and societal forms using such tools as Critical Legal Theory as a basis (again, probably already been done). That's more challenging and more amorphous, and certainly harder to measure, but it is probably more intellectually rigorous across many dimensions and will likely offer an ultimate outcome that is more agreeable to everyone involved…except for White men, of course.
Note: To those with a Critical Studies background I'm sure this post sounds unbelievable naive. So please, inculcate me with your knowledge.
Is All Self-Interest Social?
In this—what I can only hope for Walter Williams's sake is a video from the 1970s (otherwise it's time for some new glasses)—the laissez faire economist makes the case that greed is good. He argues that greed, channeled through the free market, provides outcomes that would be unprovided in a system driven by alturism. Williams gives the example of ranchers in Texas struggling to round up missing herds in harsh weather to provide beef to consumers in New York—consumers that the Texans may very well hate. It is greed, not alturism or kindness, that motivates such commitment to providing beef, and thus enriches the lives of both the ranchers (with a paycheck) and New Yorkers who can now eat beef.
I have two thoughts on the video. The first is that, while Williams certainly understands that economics is not about money, here he places too much emphasis on financial gains. It's certainly true, IMHO, that many people do not think hard enough about what outcomes would materialize in a non greed-driven system, to adopt Williams's terminology. But more pervasive is the misunderstanding of what money is and how it is used. I don't mean the money is store of value, unit of account, medium of exchange definition. Well, maybe I do, but I don't like to put it in those terms. Fundamentally, money is not wealth. That is to say, if I have a stack of fiber-based paper with dead presidents on them, I can't do much with it. I can't eat it. I can't burn it (very well). It won't keep me warm. It isn't much fun to play with. So a litteral stack of money is pretty useless to me. But what I can buy with it is extremely valuable.
And that gets me to my second point. After we realize we shouldn't couch things in terms of "money," but in terms of the goods and services we can purchase—in other words how we use the money is what's really important—we approach what I think is one of the most misunderstood points in economics (for the layperson). The things that we buy with the money help to accomplish the very goals that those who eschew a money-based system advocate. Importantly, we spend money primarily on our friends and family: we go on trips with them, we buy cars so we can get to them (and drive them around after we do), we go to baseball games with them, we buy phones to talk to them, we buy new microwaves so we can spend less time cooking and more time having fun with them, we buy food to put in that microwave to eat with them, we buy books to read to them and with them, the list goes on. We are social creatures and as far as I can tell most of our money is spent on enriching the social connections that are important to us. And in the modern world, many of these are labor and time saving devices that allow us to spend more time with our family and friends, not less as is implied by a the-pursuit-of-money-is-evil mentality. Indeed, data shows that leisure time across the world is increasing, not decreasing.
(The above point is one reason why I think those who promote non-GDP alternatives fundamentally misunderstand the importance of GDP and what it really measures. This is a popular view among college-educated leftists who like to think they are outsmarting economists without really understanding much about economics. Ironically, those like Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, who innovated the Capabilities Approach, while moving beyond the GDP measure, openly recognize its importance. But this is a post for another day).
Sure, some money is spent on ourselves too. A lot even. And some (a lot?) is also spent on frivolities, if we want to term a certain type of purchase as such. A $300 dress when an $80 dress would have done, for instance. Further, in the later case the extra $220 could have been given to a charity. There are problems with this type of reasoning though, which I want to avoid at the moment for simplicity. I simply want to point out that there is a difference in the social value of an $80 dress and a $300 dress, even if they are the same in every respect except price. Note that I'm not implying that one or the other has more social value, the specifics of that value depend on the social context of the purchaser. For some, frugality is part of the way they construct their identity and connect socially with others. "I only paid $80 for this dress" is part of a different social experience, and indeed creates a different social trajectory, than, "this dress cost me $300."
This is all simply to say that when we pronounce that people act in their self-interest (or toward "greedy" ends), what we should be saying is that people act in their social self-interest, since, as I've argued here, money is a means to connect socially, either directly by allowing us to spend more time and energy on our family and friends (as in the first examples), or by helping to construct an identity that is used toward social ends (such as the case with fashion).
Further, constructing self-interest in this way integrates nicely with non-monetary self-interest, which has been increasingly studied in economics and is obvious in such activities as editing Wikipedia entries. Here, there is clearly no monetary benefit, yet people spend hundreds of hours doing it. It is a special type of hobby that has net positive externalities in a wide-reaching way that most hobbies don't. Using a social self-interest framework can also better account for human motivations that are part biological and part environmental like competitiveness. Certainly, some of the richest people in the world who seek to "collect" wealth, if you will, do so not for reasons that can be described by any sort of traditional notion of self-interest. More likely, they do so for reasons of competitive drive or similarly poorly understood rationales. These motivations might also include orientations toward constructing narrative heroic legacies, probably important for presidents and senators, or the need to create and share new inventions in order to intentionally fuel creative destruction, perhaps what was at the core of Steve Jobs's drive toward transformative design.
Finally, viewing things socially also comports more closely with what we know from survey data. Namely, that people are not mainly motivated by money in the workplace, for example. Instead satisfaction rests on factors such as whether they have a best friend, a good manager, and have their hard work recognized. So while Williams articulates some important points about what he calls "greed," he leaves left unexplained the finer points of what is a more fundamental, and more complex argument.
In recent years Subjective Utility Theory (SEU Theory)—the "cold" version of self-interest, if you will—has been buttressed by advances in behavioral economics that attempt to add "warmth" and "depth" to the economic understanding of decision making and explore the limits of human rationality. The field has elucidated concepts such as "framing," in which people's decision making is affected by the surrounding environmental context. For example, if a person, say, watches a sad movie, they will subsequently make different decisions than if they had watched a childhood favorite (at least until the effect "wears off"). So-called "crowding out" of intrinsic motivation by substituting monetary payment is another finding of the field. But economics has a long way to go to explain how such effects are constructed both socially and biologically. Framing and crowding out work differently for different people so while economics can now explain that certain phenomenon take place outside of the standard neo-classical framework, it still has a long way to go in explaining why and accounting for the variation among communities and individuals.
I used "cold," "warmth," and "depth" in quotations in the paragraph above because it is clear that economics and strict models of SEU Theory, in which humans are utility maximizing agents, have alienated much of the general public because they present a robotic version of human affairs that differs greatly from the way the average person lives. And so the theories are cold in the sense that they are absent of emotion and complexity, while modern economics has indeed tried to add complexity and depth to models of human choice and validate the importance of emotion, context, and the limits of human knowledge. So Williams's use of the word "greed" matters because language matters, especially to the average person who poorly understands the tenets of classical economics much less its modern incarnations and addendums. Once we say "greed" is good, or people only live to maximize their "self-interest" we've turned a lot of people off to economics, no matter how hard we try to redefine those terms in clever ways or convince people that what we're saying is actually true using praxeology as a philosophical basis of human action. That's why I think it's important to talk about self-interest in social terms and make clear that economic well being is, in fact, simply a channel to social well-being. What "well-being" means in this context is still to be explored, and I suppose whether self-interest is socially motivated at all remains an empirical question. But I think it is a question that needs exploration and one that fields such as neuroeconomics are only beginning to address.
That is all.
Two Economists Agree: Austerity Not the Answer
The photo above is from an NPR story. How do we know economists agree that austerity is not the answer? Because NPR interviewed two of them for us. Unfortunately, the real story is more complicated. Here is more. And more. And what does austerity even mean? And has Europe experienced it?…
HT: Veronique de Rugy via Marginal Revolution.
Why you (and I) should read more fiction.
Where is the center of the universe? Answer: there isn't one.
Don't punch a fire extinguisher.
Argentina's paper The Nation has an interesting article (in Spanish) about capital flight.
"La directora de la Aduana, Siomara Ayerán, explicó ante los medios que estos perros son especialmente entrenados para detectar el olor de la tinta de los billetes y que la dirección de Aduanas de Estados Unidos prestó colaboración en las tareas de adiestramiento."
The paragraph above says that "The Director of Customs, Siomara Ayerán, explained before the media that [officials in Argentina] are using specially trained dogs to detect the scent of ink on the bills and that the position of the US Customs office has been to collaborate with the training." Basically, they really, really don't want money to leave the country. The dogs found one BMW with US$30,000 cash trying to board a ferry to Uruguay.
Sight and Sound's 2012 Poll
Voting has opened for Sight and Sound's 2012 list of greatest films. Here are the films Roger Ebert will be voting for. I was sad to see Roger won't be able to vote for Dekalog by krzysztof Kieslowski because of a change in Sight and Sound's rules, which requires each movie to receive a separate vote. Since Dekalog is technically 10 one-hour films (each one loosely based on one of the 10 Commandments), Ebert had to take it off his list. It will be replaced with Terrene Malick's The Tree of Life.
The poll is conducted every 10 years. Here is the 2002 list.


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Ask Seth: Teach a Dog to Heel
My 7 month old Shepard dog pulls me a lot when on his leash. Is it important for him to "heel" when I walk him?
My 7 month old Shepard dog pulls me a lot when on his leash. Is it important for him to "heel" when I walk him?
To some people, having it all means family and a career. To others, it means having a small family member and a friendly pet! When you have a toddler, there are many concerns and risk factors within the home. Because of this, some families don't have pets when they start having kids. However, for pet lovers, there are always solutions. Listed here are the top pets for kids.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dogs bite more than 4.7 million people each year. Roughly 800,000 of these people seek medical attention, with 386,000 injured badly enough to require treatment in an emergency department. About 16 people die from dog bites annually. Half of all medically treated dog bites involve children, and the CDC believes that dog bite injuries are a "largely preventable public health problem," suggesting that better education is all that is needed to reduce their incidence.
Don't forget to brush! To keep Fido as healthy as possible, don't forget that dog's teeth need to be brushed too!


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Catalogs take approx 10-14 days to reach you. Remember, you can order the entire collection on computer disk for $2.99). And your catalog cost ($2.00 max) is refundable with your first order.
To view detailed descriptions of a sampling of our seeds, go to our On-line Catalog page ! Due to limited web space, not all plants are described in our On-line Catalog page, but full descriptions are in the catalogs.


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- This event has passed.
Mistral 5 Wind Quintet
September 14, 2018 - September 15, 2018
Event Navigation
Produced by
The Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra
Our Canada: Forecasting the Canadian Wind spans the nation and beyond in the creation and presentation of new works by five Canadian composers in collaboration with five Canadian wind quintets who are partnered with five international wind quintets, thereby initiating a worldwide network of wind chamber musicians to push the boundaries of the repertoire for this ensemble of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn.
Five Canadian wind quintets are each paired with a composer—Fifth Wind (Halifax, NS) with Emily Doolittle (Nova Scotia/Scotland); Choros (Montreal, QC) with Carmen Braden (Northwest Territories); Blythwood Winds (Toronto, ON) with Daniel Janke (Yukon Territory); Mistral 5 (Saskatoon, SK) with Cris Derksen (Northern Alberta/Ontario); and Ventos (Vancouver, BC) with Cameron Wilson (Vancouver, BC)—in this innovative pan-Canadian project.
The compositions are being developed over the course of seven months, November 2017 to May 2018. The development process includes simultaneous week-long workshops, each quintet with their composer. The quintets will document the workshops in order to share them with one another, allowing all five quintets access to the five composers, saving both time and costs in a true cross-Canada collaboration. The five quintets then have five months to rehearse all five new compositions.
Mistral 5 is made up of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra's Principal Wind Players
Sarah Yunji Moon, Erin Brophey, Margaret Wilson, Stephanie Unverricht, and Carol-Marie Cottin
link to The Saskatoon Symphony
Ticket Information
All Tickets: $20
For wheelchair seating call The Symphony office at 306-665-6414
This event has passed. Tickets are no longer available.


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Sharing the life of a virtual librarian, one day at a time.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Open Learning Commons
This past week was a huge 25th celebration for our school, and all that makes Heritage a wonderful place to work and play in God's educational playground! It is so amazing to see how so many gifted leaders, and some unbelievably good teachers with Godly vision have brought HCS to where it is today! Not forgetting our amazing community of students and parents who support us in this vision. We are blessed.
During our Open Learning Commons meeting, we shared some ideas for collaboration amongst students, parents and teachers. Ideas that flowed from our discussion included: using Moodle for both online and individualized students; creating a wikipedia for all learning commons collaboration, including our present learning commons interface, and the community's creations; creating a virtual collaboration world where we could meet and greet each other in cyberspace. Of course we are excited about all these options- because we just love collaboration!
Now I would love to hear your ideas? Are you excited about sharing using different technologies? Of course technology does not lead our school, but we want to support your voice in a way that is immediate, educational, inviting and encouraging!
WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF COMMUNITY and COLLABORATION?
HOW DO YOU SEE OUR LEARNING COMMONS INCLUDING YOU and YOUR STUDENT'S VOICE?
Comment Here. please:)
Blessings to you,
Pippa and the Open Learning Commons team.
2 comments:
- AnonymousOctober 12, 2011 at 10:54 AM
While community in any form is wonderful, technology is not my "forte". I am learning to expand my knowledge in this arena and looking forward to taking baby steps into the cyber world of community without hindering the face to face community that we already enjoy immensely. Jacqueline BayReplyDelete
Hi Jacqueline:) Thanks for sharing. Yes technology does require baby steps in the beginning. Face to face is always better, I agree. But our younger generation are digital immigrants and so need us as adults to come alongside of them and share the importance of good digital citizenship. But as you say it takes time. Blessings PippaReplyDelete
Thank you for visiting my blog. I really appreciate your comments and look forward to connecting with you. God Bless you!


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The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended banning the use of all cell phones while driving, save those used for emergency purposes. This was recommended during a board meeting on December 13th, 2011. This recommendation is for all drivers nationwide, and also calls for the video surveillance of commercial drivers to make sure they are not talking or texting while driving. While it cannot be argued texting or talking while driving is unsafe, the question remains if we need to make a law regulating our activities behind the wheel. The recommendation does not specify what the use of a cell phone is, or what this does or does not include.
Posts Tagged 'Government'
NTSB Recommends Banning Cell Phones with Driving Nationwide
Cash for Clunkers Extension Signed into Law
Late Thursday evening President Obama signed into law an extension for the Cash for Clunkers program. The extension allows an additional $2 billion in funding to the already $1 billion that apparently already spent. The Senate voted 60-37 to approve the extension late Thursday Evening. It is unknown how long the money will last.
Cash for Clunkers – Governmental Scam to Gain Access to Your Computer
When the cash for clunkers program was implemented, I did not have much opinion on it. I did not give it much thought, and figured it was a way to get old cars scrapped and to get more environmental friendly cars on the road. On those points I did not have a problem, and would have considered using the program if I had an old car that did not run well, and I was in the position to buy a new car. Today I got an e-mail stating the Cash for Clunkers program is in part a scam for the government to gain access to your computer and your files, legally.


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Tummy Tuck for Excess Skin & Muscle Separation. DrTim demonstrates a tummy tuck (aka abdominoplasty) for loose, excess skin on a background of significant muscle separation (rectus diastasis). The procedure involves 4 stages:
- Liposuction
- Mobilisation tissues
- Removal excess skin & fat
- Reconstruction of the umbilicus & closure of wound
The B & A photos at 3 months show a trim, taught and well contoured abdomen, as well as, a rejuvenated mons pubis region.
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I Tried It: Diva Magazine's Body Positive Swimsuit Shoot
Our Curve intern shares what it's like to be in a fashion shoot that aims for real, untouched beauty.
Photo Credit: YouTube Screenshot
I started reaching up to the top shelf at WH Smith—yes, they kept the queer mags with the porn—for Diva Magazine when I was 17. Between its glossy pages were pictures of and articles about cool, interesting and sexy women—some familiar to me as big celebrities, others smaller stars of one niche or another. My favorite page was the personal ads; I would spend ages reading them and imagining what it would be like to meet women like them.
For those not familiar with Diva, it is the U.K.'s lesbian magazine. So when I spotted their call for plus size models to take part in a swimwear shoot, I emailed the organizer Bella Qvist, and promptly forgot all about having done so. I have done a lot of art modelling, where the figure is the subject of a work of art, and curves, lumps and bumps are bonuses, more contour to create light and shadow. The world of plus modelling, however, like any world tied to the fashion industry, has its biases and its unwritten rules and my shape—very short, very pear—tends not to fit into that. If I had known Bella and her body positive attitudes, I might have expected what came next. I gave my measurements, half-expecting a polite "Oh, we didn't know you were quite that plus" and made arrangements to travel to the nearby city of Sheffield, where the shoot would take place.
In Yorkshire the average summer temperature is around 66 degrees but on the day of the shoot, it was a heavy, humid 84 degrees. I arrived at Bella's apartment already soaked with sweat—not exactly ideal for trying on tight swimsuits meant to make the most of my curves. When make-up artist Clare Adern arrived, I was the first in the hot seat, feeling like a star as the cooling spray of her airbrush made my complexion all dewy and summertastic.
Bella's vision for the shoot was to create "a summer night of fun" with bright colors in a dark outdoor environment. The location was a quirky, bohemian garden nestled behind a very tall, very British house. Complete with a gnarled, fairy tale tree and an old rusting bathtub, the place looked like it had been set up especially for us, but was in fact just the garden of ordinary Sheffield residents. Bella and I had quite a time blowing up the paddling pool, which looked exactly like a big blue and yellow vagina when half-inflated! Just as the sun was going down, the other models arrived, all primped and preened, yet looking fresh-faced and down-to-earth, rocking an after-party vibe. We made an interesting mix—Rosie the English rose, Cyd the androgynous punk, Tamara the curvy nerd and the big brown tattooed creature that is me.
Photo Credit: YouTube Screenshot
Of her choice of models, Bella said, "Why should we just feature one body type, one skin color, one sexuality, one style, one ability, one gender, one age, one anything?"
Shirlaine Forrest, our incredibly talented photographer, manipulated the little Yorkshire garden to fit the vision only she could see in her head, dressing up the tree in fairy lights, using colored light filters and giving us props like bubbles and a giant teddy bear named Paul to play with. We were all amateurs but Shirlaine was completely patient with us, throwing out friendly directions to get the most out of our untrained bodies. The atmosphere was playful and totally relaxed. We all took a moment to appreciate how freeing it felt to be working with an all-female crew, something Bella told me had been very deliberate, to avoid the "male gaze" that can go with a shoot like this—lesbians, swimwear, water guns.
It's strange, but even in environments that claim to be accepting of plus size bodies, I have been overlooked and undervalued enough times to be suspicious of anyone claiming to be body positive. I kept waiting to be pushed aside, told to stand in the background or asked to perform some unfair feat of contortion, but all I received from everyone involved in the Diva shoot was the utmost respect—something very rare when you dare to take up as much space as I do. Even after the shoot, as I waited for the magazine to come out, I was preparing myself for the worst case scenario, despite all evidence to the contrary. When I opened the magazine to the correct page and found that four of the eight pictures had me in them and, amazingly, one picture had only me (and Paul the bear) in it, I was so pleased.
Photo Credit: Shirlaine Forrest
What was more exciting, though, was that the images had not been cosmetically retouched. All of the models looked beautifully real and tangible, not the weirdly smooth and featureless creatures we are all used to seeing. Bella told me, "We wanted to show female beauty, not modify it." This completely logical attitude is so refreshing and I hope that more real bodies appear in mainstream publications, especially ones specifically about fashion and beauty, very soon.
Watch: Behind the Scenes of the Diva Magazine Swimwear Shoot


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Chess Grass
The Chess Grass (Bromus secalinus), also called Willard's Bromus, has a spreading, slightly drooping panicle. The spikelets are ovate and smooth with a yellowish-green tinge and holding six to ten distinct flowers. The stems are erect, smooth, and round growing from two to three feet high and bearing four or five leaves with striated sheaths. The upper sheath is crowned with an obtuse, ragged ligule while the lower sheath is soft and hairy. There are five joints and the leaves are flat, soft, and linear. The spikelets have fewer florets and the outer palea is rounded at the summit and broader compared with its length. This picture shows the magnified spikelet.
Bromus secalinus, chess grass, chess grasses, grass, grasses, kgrasses, Willard's Bromus
Flint, Charles L. Grasses and Forage Plants (Boston, MA: William F. Gill & Company, 1874)


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Alaska Native Nations Map
Alaska Natives Tribes- tribal territories map and info links...alaska inuit inupiat inupiaq eskimo northwest coast tlingit athapascan haida native american, indian, reservation, tribe settlement claims
Traditional Tlingit Map and Tribal List - is a project of the Sealaska Heritage Foundation, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, and the Alaska Federation of Native
Maps MAPS of Native American, Canadian native, and Inuit reservations, reserves, communities, treaty areas, culture areas, and historical events. GIS maps used to access tribal info.
Native American Nations - Maintained by Lisa Mitten
Yahoo! Directory: Countries - Also features antique maps, trail maps, and country facts. ... Infoplease: Countries of the World - features a brief profile, map, and the flag for each country
Yahoo - interactive city maps with point-to-point driving directions, city guides, and SmartView, which displays restaurants, parks, ATMs, and other local features
World Atlas - A world atlas of facts flags and maps including every continent, country, dependency, exotic destination, island, major city, ocean, province, state & territory on the planet!
Web Page Designed by Jesse Cooday
Copyright © Oct 1996-2017 Jesse Cooday (Shoowee Ka')


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Degree Programs
Associate of Christian Philosophy
Associate of Ministry
Associate of Bible Studies
Associate of Full Gospel Fundamental
Bachelor of Christian Counseling
Bachelor of Theology Studies
Bachelor of Full Gospel Fundamentals
Master of Ministry
Master of Christian Early History
Master of Christian Counseling
Master of Christian Education
Doctorate of Christian Counseling
Doctorate of Ministry
Doctorate of Christian Leadership During Disaster
Doctorate of Evangelism
Statement of Faith
Frequently Asked Questions
Acceptance of ECU Degrees
Staff: Forest Bible Institute
Chatroom 3
Forest Bible Institute
An Online Virtual Bible Institute
Welcome to Forest Bible Institute. FBI is an affordable online Christian Bible institute offering a variety of classes and degree programs; providing students exploring Christian correspondence education, an opportunity to earn a 'religious exempt' degree with sound biblical doctrine, focusing on Christian academic excellence, for fourteen years.
Washington Student Achievement Council
[email protected]
Forest Bible Institute believes church and state should be separate; therefore, at this time, Forest Bible Institute does not have regional accreditation. Our position is, there is no such thing as federal or state certification of a Bible school, for the civil government has no authority to regulate religious training or what certificates we issue.
Some religious organizations believe the state and church can be independent, and others believe religion and state are one in the same. We happen to believe, with religious education, the church and state should be autonomous. (Mark 12:17). As we consider politics should be separate from religion, so too should Christian institutes be exempt rather than regionally accredited.


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2014 marks two decades of Young Living setting the standard for quality, purity, and effectiveness in the essential oils industry. To celebrate this landmark achievement, Young Living Founder and CEO D. Gary Young has formulated Build Your Dream™ essential oil blend. This unique and powerful commemorative blend includes precious oils that highlight Young Living's 20-year journey of helping individuals discover profound and lasting transformations, support their health, and change lives around the world!
Topical: Dilute 1 drop with 1 drop of V-6™ and apply to desired area as needed.
Aromatic: Diffuse up to 30 minutes 3 times daily.
Avoid direct sunlight or UV rays for up to 12 hours after applying product.
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), Sacred Frankincense (Boswellia sacra), Melissa (Melissa officinalis), Blue Cypress (Callitris intratropica), Hong Kuai (Chamaecyparis formosensis), Idaho Blue Spruce (Picea pungens), Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata), Dream Catcher™ (Sandalwood, Black Pepper, Anise, Tangerine, Bergamot, Blue Tansy, Ylang Ylang, Juniper), Believe (Idaho Blue Spruce, Idaho Balsam Fir, Frankincense, Coriander, Bergamot, Ylang Ylang, Geranium), Blue Lotus (Nymphaea caerulea).


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Former IBF World Champion Dave 'Boy' McAuley is backing Carl Frampton to beat Scott Quigg in Manchester on February 27.
McAuley was involved in many huge fights and wars during his reign as Flyweight World champion.
And he believes after studying Frampton and Quigg that 'The Jackal' has an edge over his Bury rival.
"I honestly can't see Carl losing this fight. I have watched Quigg and Frampton and I think Carl is better than Quigg in all departments.
"The only thing Quigg beats Frampton is in height as he is quite tall for the weight, but that is it.
"Frampton is a better boxer, better mover and he punches as hard or maybe even harder than Quigg.
"If Carl turns up and is smart, he will beat Quigg, I just can't see him losing," McAuley added.
And McAuley says Frampton has to fight the right fight when he faces Quigg in Manchester.
"I see Carl stopping him late on. He just has to box him. Hit and move and frustrate this guy.
"Carl should hit him hard and stay on the move and out of harm's way.
"Quigg is easy to read – like a children's book. He is flat-footed, keeps his hands high and stalks you but he will want Frampton to come and fight him.
"If I was Carl I would stay on the move and punish Quigg as he comes forward.
"Quigg's only chance is if Carl makes a mistake and he punishes him. Quigg will want a brawl but Carl hits as hard – so if that happens, it's just who lands first," he added.
Quigg destroyed Kiko Martinez in two rounds last summer, while Frampton stopped the Spaniard in the ninth round the first time they met, before beating him on points to claim the IBF crown the second time they crossed paths.
But McAuley says Quigg's destruction of Martinez will count for nothing on February 27.
"This is a totally new fight and that Quigg knock-out counts for nothing.
"I never rated Martinez and Carl did him over twice and by the time Quigg got to him, he was past his best.
"In Manchester it will just be Frampton and Quigg in the ring and whatever wins or losses they had in the past will count for nothing," he added.
Much has been made in the past few months of where this clash would take place – with Frampton wanting a neutral venue – but now he is fighting in Quigg's backyard.
But McAuley says that does not matter when you are in the middle of a fight.
"It's great to have the crowd behind you – but once you are in the ring it is just noise.
"Let us face facts, if you are knocked out no amount of support will get you back on your feet. You are down and it's goodnight.
"Also this fight is an hour's flight away. It is not on the other side of the world where the weather and the food is totally different.
"This is like a home fight for Frampton and I don't think it matters where he fights Quigg. I honestly can't see him losing," added McAuley.
And McAuley says he would love to be in a big fight like this in front of a huge crowd.
"This is the kind of fight all fighters want. Fighting in a fight like this would get your blood pumping.
"I think it is going to be a great fight and if Frampton is smart he will be the IBF and WBA World champion.
"If he turns up fit enough to do the 12 rounds he will out-box Quigg and take the victory.
"I just see Carl winning this fight and I really believe that" added McAuley.


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Remember, Registering with us is 100% confidential. We will not share your personal details with anyone. We only ask for them so we can provide the best customized services to you.
Registered Baizat Members will receive regular e-mails, including information on new and featured content, promotions and activities. Our e-mails will be respectful, brief and we will not spam your inbox. However if you wish to opt-out, please read our Terms and Conditions.


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Hotel Morrison FLL Airport, an Ascend Hotel
Welcome to Hotel Morrison. You have the choice of many hotels in Dania Beach, FL. However, when you want to stay at the best luxury hotel, you should make a reservation at Hotel Morrison. Our hotel near Dania Beach, FL is a boutique, 143 room select service hotel in the heart of historic Dania Beach. We are located 1.5 miles south of Fort Lauderdale International Airport, and minutes away from Port Everglades and world-renowned beaches from Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, to the tranquil Dania Beach Ocean Park. Complimentary shuttle services are offered to Fort Lauderdale International Airport.
Every NEW reservation you make mid-week, Sunday through Thursday, will be $109.00 for any room type!
* rate does not apply if you cancel your reservation and book again*
** all reservations subject to availability **
The pet-friendly, smoke-free Hotel Morrison, a top luxury hotel is centrally located near three shopping venues; Aventura Mall, Galleria Mall, and Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall. In addition, our VIP hotel near Ft. Lauderdale, FL, is located within walking distance from Dania Beach Casino and several wonderful dining options.
Hotel Morrison, a boutique style hotel, offers upscale accommodations with environmentally friendly products throughout the entire hotel. Guests can enjoy a daily complimentary hot breakfast and a 24-hour menu with contemporary and health conscious options as well as a full lobby bar with daily Happy Hour specials.
When you are looking to book VIP hotels in Dania Beach, FL, Hotel Morrison is the best choice. As one of the top boutique hotels in the area, we provide exemplary service and will make your stay comfortable and relaxing. Your boutique hotel booking will bring you closer to one of the best vacation experiences of your life. Come join us in Florida for a perfect getaway that will help you be ready to face your daily life when you return home. Contact us today to reserve your accommodations and make sure you get the room you want at the amazing Hotel Morrison.


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Vancouver Marathon Sunday May 3rd
The BMO Vancouver Marathon will take to the streets of Vancouver this coming Sunday. If you aren't participating, but
are intending to get around town you'll need to plan your route around road closures downtown and in Kitsilano until 2 p.m..
Good luck and swift feet to all the runners!
Check the BMO Vancouver Marathon web site for more details:


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- Research article
- Open Access
- Open Peer Review
Psychometric properties of the Confidence and Trust in Delivery Questionnaire (CTDQ): a pilot study
© Jeschke et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012
- Received: 18 October 2010
- Accepted: 24 August 2012
- Published: 1 September 2012
Assessing expecting mother's opinions prior to birth draws a comprehensive picture for the caregivers about their emotional state and their expectations. Some questionnaires to cover these aspects do exist. This study aims to present the psychometric properties of a new instrument, the Confidence and Trust in Delivery Questionnaire (CDTQ) a short but reliable a self-report instrument that focuses on confidence and trust as meaningful dimensions for expectant mothers.
A pilot validation study of 221 women 6 weeks before childbirth was conducted in Germany between October 2007 and June 2008. To detect structural relations between the items, factor and reliability analyses were applied to the CTDQ items. Factor analysis was performed by means of principal components analysis and varimax rotation. Internal reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha. External validation was performed using the sense of coherence (SOC) scale.
The CTDQ comprises of 11 items. We found a 4-factor structure. The internal consistency of the whole item pool (Cronbach's α = 0.79) and the 4 subscales [confidence in labor (α = 0.82); partner's support (α = 0.62); trust in medical competency (α = 0.68); being informed (α = 0.60)] can be regarded as sufficient or even excellent. The 4 factors explained 69.6% of total variance. Except for a high intercorrelation (0.70) between "partner's support" and "trust in medical competence", the subscales show low intercorrelations, indicating an adequate independence of the respective subscales. Regarding the external validity we found minor respective moderate correlations with the SOC scale.
Our data suggest that the CTDQ is a useful instrument to assess confidence and trust in delivery. With 4 clinically relevant dimensions, the CTDQ is now open for further studies in the field of labor.
- Validation study
- Delivery
- Questionnaire
- Trust
- Confidence
The expectation of childbirth is a fundamental experience in a woman's life. There is no doubt that pregnant women fear the intense pain of giving birth and the feeling that something might go wrong. Expectations do vary among women with respect to her social status, educational level, previous experience with childbirth and the level of available information on childbearing [1–4]. Independent of those dimensions, both qualitative research and quantitative evaluations have identified a variety of factors, which seem to have important meaning for expectant mothers. According to a literature review by Hodnett in 2002 [5], trust, confidence, hope and the feeling of being involved in the decision-making process seem to be so important that they suppress other factors including demographic aspects like age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, childbirth preparation, environment, pain and medical interventions in their importance to mothers-to-be. Having trust and confidence in labour is critical to women's perceptions of care and may influence their choices and decisions as well as feeling about themselves. Assessing women's opinions prior to birth therefore draws a comprehensive picture for the caregivers about their emotional state and their expectations than surveying the mothers afterwards. Already in 1987 Corbin i.e. found that a perceived sense of control of pregnant women led to higher levels of confidence and trust in their own and the health team's management efforts [6]. Thus questionnaires may be used to detect early problems of upcoming mothers with themselves or the setting which may result in improved childbirth outcome.
There are some instruments that have already addressed the expectations of childbirth in a reasonable and valid way. The Childbirth Expectations Questionnaire (CEQ) [7] developed by Gupton in 1991, for instance, is a 35-item instrument including the dimensions "cope with pain", "nursing support", "partner's support" and "medical interventions". The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) [8] introduced by Wijma in 1998 is mainly related to the aspects of fear, lack of positive anticipation and riskiness in childbirth, while the Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory (CBSEI) [9] introduced by Lowe in 1993 focuses on self-efficacy and coping expectancies. Finally, the Cambridge Worry Scale (CWS) was developed to assess the content and extent of maternal worries in pregnancy, which since 2009 is the only one with a validated German version [10].
However, we wanted to develop a short but reliable instrument that focuses more on the fundamental aspects of confidence and trust as meaningful dimensions and sources of support for expectant mothers. To our knowledge, no validated German instrument has been developed to cover these aspects sufficiently.
Thus, this pilot survey aims to create and evaluate a practice-oriented, short but reliable instrument and to examine its statistical properties in a survey of expectant mothers 6 weeks before childbirth.
Questionnaire development
An item pool of 15 items was first generated through the use of literature reviews and interviews of midwives and expectant mothers. After the removal of similar items, 13 were considered suitable for the questionnaire pool. An expert panel, consisting of 4 midwives, 2 physicians and 2 methodologists (one statistician and one epidemiologist), discussed these items both from the point of content validity but also from the viewpoint of construct coherence. After one discussion round and one rephrasing session, a final 11-item questionnaire was tested for compliance in a small sample of mothers and then consented and approved for the pilot study.
Study setting and participants
The pilot validation study was conducted in Germany in the maternity ward of a general hospital with a specialization in integrative medicine between October 2007 and June 2008. Six weeks before childbirth, 318 women who attended the maternity ward for booking were consecutively invited by their midwive to participate in the study. Mothers were approached while waiting in the waiting room. They were informed that completion of the questionnaire was voluntary and were assured confidentiality in a comprehensive counseling session given by the midwive. They were also informed that the purpose of the study was to better understand the attitudes and beliefs of upcoming mothers. Women who did not give written informed consent were excluded. Due to internal quality management reasons, women who delivered in another hospital were also excluded.
Of the 318 potential participants, 38 (11.9%) declined, 29 (9.1%) insufficiently completed the questionnaires and 30 (9.4%) decided to give birth elsewhere. The final sample included a total of 221 from 318 women (69.5%).
Ethical considerations
As this was a non invasive epidemiological study there was no necessity to obtain a vote from a local research ethics comitee [11]. However the rules for good epidemiological practice were fully applied.
Data collection
- 1.
The Confidence and Trust in Delivery Questionnaire (CTDQ) consists of 11 7-point Likert-scaled items ranging from 1 ("very") to 7 ("not at all") that ask questions related to confidence, support and actual information about labor and epidural analgesia (EA) see Table 1 for the questionnaire items and Additional file 1 for the German translation). The CTDQ was developed by methodologists, physicians and experienced midwives who work in the maternity ward.
- 2.
A self-report questionnaire asking for socio-medical and demographic background information about education, social status, age, and the use of supportive measures.
- 3.
The "Sense of Coherence" scale (SOC) [12] consists of 29 items. Every item is rated on a 7-point likert-scale giving a maximum score of 203 with higher scores indicating a good sense of coherence. The SOC can be divided in three components: "Comprehensibility" (11 items, e.g. "Do you have very mixed-up feelings and ideas?", Range 11–77 ), "Manageability" (10 items, e.g. "Do you have the feeling that you're being treated unfairly?" , Range 10–70), and "Meaningfulness" (8 items, e.g. "How often do you have the feeling that there's little meaning in the things you do in your daily life?", Range 8–56). According to recent findings in obstetrics, a high SOC helps women cope with pain during delivery. The study by Sjostrom et al. showed that the SOC scale measures the capacity to cope with the unforeseeable circumstances that child-bearing still involves today [13]. Oz et al. demonstrated that a high SOC was an independent predictor of an uncomplicated delivery [14]. Therefore we decided to use the SOC and its subscales as indicators for external validity.
CTDQ: Factorial structure and item reliability (0.789)
Missing values
Item-diff. index
Factor loading
Cronbach's α
Confidence in labor
Upcoming labor is a source of joy
When I think of labor and its pain I tend to eagerly anticipate it
Narratives and reports of labor have strengthened my joy and confidence
When I think of labor I am sure to cope with the pain
Partner's support
It is very important to me that my partner is at my side during labor
During labor there will always be a person I can trust
I can trust the support of my partner during labor
Trust in medical competence
I can trust the obstetrician during labor
I can trust the midwife during labor
Feeling informed
I feel well informed about epidural analgesia
I feel well prepared for my labor
Women completed the questionnaires (self-report questionnaire, CTDQ, SOC) between the 34th and 40th week of their pregnancy and returned the questionnaires to their midwife in a closed envelope before labor started. For completion of the questionnaires space from the waiting room of the ward was seperated in order to guarantee privacy after having received the women's consent. Questionnaires then were dropped into a box, collected entered into a database by an independent documentation officer using a automated scanning process to guarantee anonymity of the participants.
Statistical analysis
To detect structural relations between the items, factor and reliability analyses were applied to the CTDQ items. Factor analysis was performed by means of principal components analysis and varimax rotation in order to arrive at the solution that demonstrates both the best simple structure and the most coherence. Tests on sampling adequacy (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin criterion) and multicollinearity (Bartlett test of sphericity) were undertaken prior to factor extraction to ensure that the scale items were appropriate for principle component analysis. A Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin criterion ≥ 0.50 and a Bartlett test of sphericity with p < 0.05 were regarded as mandatory for factor analysis [15]. Examination of the internal consistency of the item pool was performed by calculating the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for both the complete item pool and the subscales generated by the factor analysis. Meaningful factors were retained and interpreted on the basis of their psychometric properties. Additionally, internal reliability was further assessed by means of item-total correlations and a calculation of the item-difficulty index.
Finally, external validation of these factors was performed by correlation of the subscales with the subscales of the SOC questionnaire [12, 16] taking into account the results of Sjöström et al. [13], who found that women's SOC is an indicator of their capacity to cope with the process of childbearing. To obtain information on the independence of the CTDQ and the SOC the proportion of shared variance between the subscales was calculated by means of r2, the square of the correlation coefficient. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 18.0 for Windows.
Study population
Demographic and socio-medical information of participants
Total[N (%)]
221 (100)
Sociodemographic factors
Age in years [Mean ± SD]
31.9 ± 4.9
Higher education* [N (%)]
197 (89.1)
Attendance at a childbirth preparation class [N (%)]
177 (80.1)
Parity [N (%)]
125 (56.6)
53 (24.0)
11 (5.0)
4 (1.8)
Missing values
28 (12.7)
Dimensions and internal reliability of CTDQ
We found a 4-factor model with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy of 0.789 and a highly significant Bartlett test of sphericity (p < 0.001). The cumulative variance explained by this model was 69.6%. The internal consistency of the whole item pool (Cronbach's α = 0.789) and the respective subscales (Cronbach's α between 0.595 and 0.824) can be regarded as sufficient or even excellent. Both factor structure and reliability parameters are shown in Table 1.
The first factor with 4 items describes "confidence in labor (CL)" with items such as "upcoming labor is a source of joy". Its internal consistency is excellent (Cronbach's α =0.824); item-difficulty values between 0.35 and 0.49 can be regarded as excellent (Table 1). Factor 2 consists of 3 items dealing with "partner's support (PS)". Internal consistency (Cronbach's α =0.619) was sufficient, while the item-difficulty (between 0.19 and 0.22) indicates strong floor effects. The next factor with 2 items shortly describes "trust in medical competency (TMC)" with a reliability of α =0.675. Item-difficulty again was quite low, ranging from 0.23 to 0.30. The last factor describes the feeling of "being informed (BI)" about labor and is comprised of one general item ("I feel well prepared for my labor") and one special item on EA ("I feel well informed about EA"). This factor shows the lowest reliability (Cronbach's α =0.595) with an acceptable item-difficulty of around 0.37.
Correlation of CTDQ -Scales with SOC-29 scale and pain level
Confidence in labor
Partner's support
Trust in medical competence
Feeling informed
Confidence in labor
Partner's support
Trust in medical competence
Feeling informed
Total score
External validity
To assess external validity, we correlated the CTDQ subscales with the SOC subscales (Table 3). We only observed some minor respective moderate correlations between r = −0.142 and r = −0.325 in absolute values. The strongest correlation was found between the SOC subscale "Manageability" with the CDTQ subscales "Confidence in labor" (r = −0.325) and Partner's support (r = −0.321). Thus the percentages of shared variance indicated by the square of correlation coefficient r2 between the SOC and the CTDQ lies between 2% and 11% and indicates an independence of the scales.
Strong correlations however were recognized between the SOC subscales: all subscales were highly dependent with absolute correlation values ranging from r = 0.506 to r = 0.907. Thus, shared variance lies between 26% and 82% and underpins a interdependence of the SOC subscales. The highest correlations within the CDTQ was observed between the subscales "Trust in medical competence" and "Partner's support (r = 0.702; r2 = 49%), while other subscales correlations ranged between r = 0,184 and 0,334 leading to a shared variance between 3% and 11%. A detailed overview is provided in Table 3.
Subscales and parity
SOC and CDTQ mean values subdivided for parity, age and educational level
≤ 32 years
>32 years
Total score (Range 29–203)
150,7 ± 16,8
151,4 ± 17,5
151,8 ± 16,8
151,2 ± 18,2
151,9 ± 16,6
151,5 ± 17,5
151.5 ± 17.4
Comprehensibility (Range 11–77)
51,0 ± 7,5
50,5 ± 7,8
50,7 ± 7,7
50,9 ± 7,8
51,3 ± 8,6
50,8 ± 7,7
50.8 ± 7.7
Manageability (Range 10–70)
53,1 ± 7,3
53,5 ± 7,4
53,5 ± 7,1
53,6 ± 7,7
53,5 ± 6,4
53,6 ± 7,5
53.6 ± 7.4
Meaningfulness (Range 8–56)
46,6 ± 4,9
47,4 ± 4,8
47,5 ± 4,8
46,7 ± 5,3
47,1 ± 4,5
47,1 ± 5,1
47.1 ± 5.0
Confidence in labor
3,1 ± 1,1
2,9 ± 1,1
2,9 ± 1,1
3,0 ± 1,1
3,1 ± 1,2
2,9 ± 1,1
3,0 ± 1,1
Partner's support
1,6 ± 0,7
1,7 ± 0,7
1,7 ± 0,7
1,7 ± 0,8
1,7 ± 0,9
1,7 ± 0,7
1,7 ± 0,7
Trust in medical competence
1,8 ± 0,8
1,9 ± 0,9
1,9 ± 0,9
1,8 ± 0,9
1,9 ± 0,7
1,9 ± 0,9
1,9 ± 0,9
Feeling informed
2,5 ± 1,0
2,8 ± 1,2
2,7 ± 1,1
2,6 ± 1,1
2,9 ± 1,3
2,6 ± 1,1
2,7 ± 1,1
This paper aimed at evaluating the properties of the Confidence and Trust in Delivery Questionnaire (CTDQ) in 221 expectant mothers who attended the maternity ward of Havelhoehe Community Hospital for booking. Our study provided evidence of the reliability and criterion validity of the CTDQ.
The CTDQ was originally intended to establish a one-factor solution describing trust and confidence in labor that could apply in a global context; however, it turned out that the factor analysis arranged the items in a more discriminating way of 4 sufficiently independent factors. With its resulting subscales "confidence in labor", "partner's support", "trust in medical competence" and "feeling informed", we found dimensions which were sufficiently independent from Antonovsky's SOC.
The results of this survey suggest that the core aspects of trust and confidence in labor are captured with this easy-to-use instrument comprising of only 11 items. Compared with the dimensions of other instruments and the findings of Hodnett's review [5] from 2002, the instrument seems well-suited for use in research and evaluation.
Apart from the statistical and structural stability, the factors also have clinical implications as they are consistent with women's own descriptions of what is relevant to them. Already in 1993, Bramadat suggested that perception of control during labor contributes to childbirth expectations [18]. In addition, Lally found that women prefer active involvement in labor management [19], thus making decisions about labor and having positive experiences also seems to dependent on "partner's support" [20]. This was also recognized in the development of the Childbirth Expectations Questionnaire (CEQ), which includes this dimension like in our questionnaire. Taking these results into consideration, practical implications and relations like the high correlation of "partner's support" with "trust in medical competence", which we found in our study, should be investigated further.
The dimension "feeling informed" also seems to be of interest in other contexts. In a survey of 5.830 German health insurants that asked for their appraisal and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), there was a significant correlation between searching for information and adaptive coping strategies in those participants using acupuncture and homeopathy, while trust in medical treatments was of significantly higher importance for nonusers [21]. According to a review by Adams et al. [22], there is a lack of "in-depth understanding of user experiences" and "comparing consumption patterns across cultures and over time" might be of interest in analyzing the score values of the CTDQ with respect to the usage of CAM-therapies in childbirth.
Due to organizational aspects, our experience with the CTDQ up to now is restricted to mothers with a more or less uncomplicated childbirth. However, for some women, birth is a traumatic event that significantly impacts their physical and emotional well-being [23]. Due to the compactness and easy usage of the CTDQ, it might be beneficial as a screening instrument, particularly with respect to the dimensions "confidence in labor" and "partner's support" which seem to be relevant dimensions in the decision-making of mothers-to-be. In particular the instrument might be useful to explore how different types of antenatal care may influence the women's confidence and trust in delivery. It might also be helpful in identifying upcoming mother's need for counselling and support in the areas covered by the CTDQ.
Although not directly compared to related scales, we nevertheless had the SOC as external references. Our study did not offer any evidence that the SOC is an outcome measure of special interest for dimensions like trust and confidence as we found only moderate correlations of the CTDQ with the SOC. The results may be explained by the fact that there are some inconsistencies within the SOC that are not yet adequately examined [24] which were also present in our study by means of high internal correlations of the SOC subscales. Although we found a clear distinction of the CDTQ and the SOC scales, external validity of the CTDQ questionnaire is not sufficiently rolled out and should be focused in future studies.
The focus of this pilot study in its origins was clearly dominated by practical aspects like feasibility, patient compliance and manageability. We only used the SOC as external references and did not directly compare the CTDQ to related scales. Although the SOC scale seems to be a reliable, valid and cross-culturally applicable instrument, the lack of other questionnaires must nevertheless be regarded as a weakness of this pilot study as we cannot give any further empirical information on the relationship of the CTDQ with similar instruments like the CEQ and the W-DEQ, which at the time of the study were not available in a validated German version. Thus the results should be carefully interpreted. The current analysis cannot exclude that "confidence and trust in delivery" is not a unitary construct, but rather a set of items, each of which has its own independent meaning. Further studies with this instrument should provide clearer evidence for what the scale is measuring by comparing it with similar psychometric instruments.
From a psychometric perspective, it could also be argued that a suitable instrument should include more items, making the measurement of more aspects of labor possible. However, the main aim of this study was not to develop an instrument which captures all possible aspects of labor. On the other hand, the short format still allows for the opportunity to apply other instruments without a loss in compliance or a risk of overloading the expectant mothers. However, as 2 of the 4 subscales are only comprised of 2 items, an extension of the instrument in these dimensions with a subsequent re-analysis of its structure might be useful.
It is also noteworthy that our study results suffer from a lack of representativeness. Compared to other studies and the mean age of German mothers in 2008 (30.4 years) [25], the women in our cohort were slightly older (see Table 2). This might be due to the fact that our survey was not restricted to primipara women. Indeed, prior experience of labour has an impact on a women's expectations of childbirth and therefore on the results on our confidence and trust in labour questionnaire. However our analysis did not find significant score differences in the SOC and CDTQ Scales between primipara and multipara.
Finally, women with higher education are known to be patients who seek integrative medical approaches. Thus, our results on the first sight seem not surprising considering the observed high percentage of expectant mothers with higher education. Surprisingly we failed to find significant differences in SOC and CDTQ-scores in women with higher education compared to those with lower educational level. This might be explained by the fact that Havelhoehe hospital apart from its integrative approach serves as a registered community hospital for routine patient care of that region.
Apart from these limitations, the study presents a new and easy to fill out instrument available for expectant mothers. With 4 clinically relevant dimensions, a satisfactory internal consistency and first results on its external validity, the CTDQ is now open for further studies in the field of delivery care. We would like to see the CTDQ being used in other settings and with other instruments to improve its quality.
The study was supported by grants from the Weleda AG. We would like to thank the team of midwives at the Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhoehe. We would also like to thank Katie Renaud for editing the English version of this manuscript. Finally, we would like to express our special gratitude to all participating women and their partners.
Authors' Affiliations
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Pre-publication history
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text:
Note: This is the presentation I gave at the Tamil Studies Conference, Toronto 2009. The formal paper might be published later.
This paper is based on field research and work done with the Workers Action Centre in Toronto and particularly by Tamil activists and workers. Through this paper I explore the issues facing labour changes keeping large numbers of immigrant Tamils in Ontario trapped. I present cases of systemic racism, working below the poverty line, and vulnerable and unstable employment. Furthermore, I will discuss the cultural norms formed in Sri Lanka which affect workers in Toronto, such as accepting hierarchy and authority without questions. One of the important issues I want to address is the barriers facing Tamil working class here, especially systemic discrimination and language barriers.
This paper also explores how Tamil workers developed their own forms and practices of resistance, challenging both the system and the discrimination of mainstream Canadian society. It tracks the growth of this resistance and shows how apparently powerless Tamil workers strive to create a new home in the unlikely space of poverty in Toronto.
Most of the Tamils from Sri Lanka come to Toronto as refugees fleeing the war. However like many other immigrants, Tamils even if they have high education or experience end up with low-paid and precarious employment and have to work through TEMP agencies to get the Canadian experience and to feed their families. This happens even to those who are highly educated and skilled like Doctors, Engineers from our countries whose qualifications are not recognized here.
In 1999, when I was with Toronto Organizing For Fair Employment, we (TOFFE) interviewed over 200 workers in contingent jobs. We found that the majority of workers we interviewed were immigrant workers among whom most were Sri Lankan Tamils. Nearly 70% earned less than $1500 per month, and that time the minimum wage was frozen under Mike Harris' government for years, which was $6000 below the poverty level. So, people had to work 2 – 3 jobs just to meet their basic needs.
Many women who came to Toronto, entered the labour market for the first time in their lives, where they worked alongside men and people of different cultures and languages. They were particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Many of them were not aware of their basic rights. For example:
There was a woman I worked with, who called me for help to if she could get some financial assistance as she had she could not pay the bills and had a baby. I assumed that she would have claimed Employment Insurance benefit. I found out that she did not even know that she is eligible for EI benefit, for which she had contributed while working for a year. We were able to backdate her claim and get all the money for a year. Without our help and not knowing the system, having the language barrier, she would have just lost her basic rights to the benefit.
According to Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 72% of women who were low-paid in 1996 were still low-paid in 2001.
Tamil working men and women are also often disabled by the cultural norms we bring with us. To begin with, there is a hierarchy in most societies, especially in the Tamil society of the so-called mainstream class of society of lawyers, doctors, teachers and their families and the working class. The mainstream class and even our own working class does not value the labour and dignity of working class Tamils who slave away in factories, and in industries. There is a sense of shame that is internalized by workers who are cleaners or delivering newspapers.
Without us workers, the cleaning workers, the dishwashers, servers, paper delivery people, hotel workers, and factory workers there is no economy. Yet our labour, our struggle will never find a place in the awards ceremonies in our own Tamil community.
Take me for an example.
n 1994, I was a board member for a reputed Women's group.
n Stood up for an injustice; challenged & spoke out against an action that could destroy the centre and harm the people who come there.
n A fellow board member, a famous, formally educated feminist, a well known Tamil woman in the community, said: "You should get an education and learn English before speaking out. You don't know anything…" she dismissed all my years of work and activism because I couldn't speak so called proper English.
n But I did not stop. I brought the issue I was fighting for, and it was addressed because it was valid, whether I spoke proper English or not.
Just think about it, if this is happening to me in a women's group, how other women could be putdown and not respected because of education, class and culture that has oppressed the working class for years.
We are raised in Sri Lanka to be respectful to social hierarchy and not question authority. Tamil workers transferred this attitude of not questioning hierarchy to their employers here, even when the employers exploited them.
For example:
n 2 WSIB workers – 1 cut off fingers, 1 cut off toes
n when I asked have you filed WSIB claim?
n Their response: "how can we do that, that feels like betraying our good employer who helped us for 2 months."
n This is certainly not a work ethic or an attitude found among "mainstream" workers.
These workers are also targeted for exploitation because of their ethnic difference and lack of language skills. Employers assume that they will not complain or fight back. They were frequently paid less than the minimum wage, less than other workers from other communities, and were frequently passed over for promotion. From my experience as an organizer for the past 17 years in Canada working with many different communities, most of the low income Tamil workers who contacted me kept working for minimum wage and continue to face exploitation in many different work places where most of other mainstream workers moved on and found jobs with higher pay and better working conditions. Women are in more vulnerable situation. This is because of the language barrier, discrimination against our skin color and gender difference.
People work in these conditions because they have no choice, they need to pay their basic needs else they will end up on the streets.
As new immigrants they simply cannot take this risk. The structural changes in labour protection and minimum wage and their desperation as refugees led to Tamil workers being among the most exploited and among those who made up a large bulk of "racialized working poor."
According to 'Working on the Edge' 2007 report by the Workers' Action Centre, many immigrants work in precarious employment and earn low wages and their basic rights were violated under the employment standard act. Especially Temp workers who are treated as second class workers and they are paid 40% less than other workers who do the same work.
However, the story is not only one of exploitation and suffering but also of resistance and mobilizing for change. Here we could draw on alternative cultural norms and values that we brought with us.
There is one particular campaign by Tamil workers that I wish to highlight, as it allows us to see the difficulties of the structural and systemic challenges facing workers. This was the campaign of workers, mostly Tamil, who delivered newspapers for a major newspaper in toronto. In 2000, there were over 2,000 workers delivering papers. 80% of these were workers of color, and a large number of were Tamils.
– Workers were paid $4 an hour
– pick up papers from open parking lots between 2-5 a.m, both summer or winter
– for many, this was the first or the last job of the day, in addition to two other jobs they do.
– The Newspaper claimed to be Canada's "progressive" newspaper. yet it was the working class, refugees, migrants and other racialized workers who paid the cost.
– 2,000 workers stood up to police, their bosses and threw the newspaper all over streets of Scarborough.
– Scarborough was the strongest district of the resistance, as it had a majority of Tamil workers.
– The power that comes from years of struggling in oppression is uncontrollable when it breaks out and runs like a river.
– That day, the white-collar managers and office people of the Newspaper had to clean Scarborough's streets of their newspapers, and they had to listen to their delivery workers. In their first attempt, workers were able to unionize for 4 months and get settlements, and in their 2nd attempt, with the Workers Action Centre, in 2006, they were able to secure compensation for gas money, for wait times, and an increase in piece-work wages.
– But the corporate world does everything it can to stop our resistance. The Newspaper sub-contracted itself, so that it could escape its responsibilities towards those who deliver its papers.
– But the unity of those workers is still strong, and most of these workers are Tamil.
A second significant example is the role of Tamil workers in the campaign against the minimum wage that was frozen for 9 years.
We organised a campaign in 2005 to raise the minimum wage to the poverty level:
The Workers Action Centre, and the Tamil workers who constituted the largest group among its members campaigned for 3 years to raise the minimum wage. They spoke to the media, they challenged MPP's, and demanded that the minimum wage had to be raised to poverty level. They have slowly been able to push to have the minimum wage from $6.85 to $9.50 by March 31, 2009 and would be raised to $10.25 by March 2010. While not as far as we want, it nevertheless represents a significant victory for Tamil workers and all other workers in Ontario.
In the minimum wage campaign, every worker who spoke out to media, MPP, ministry of labour and in public were Tamil. They also challenged the media who wanted to portray the working class as poor only. Moreover, we made a remarkable change for the rights of Temp workers. (Some photos taken by John Bonn, titled 'Workers' Action Centre 'Bad Boss' Bus Tour')
We had to raise our a voice louder than ever during this campaign to be heard. Many times, our voice and concerns were undermined, not respected like the others. When we speak in a loud voice people were forced to listen. Loud voice, some may feel as too loud. But, voice is our only tool and strength we have.
I am proud to say these are victories of the Working class in Toronto, and especially of the Tamil workers, breaking the barriers of culture and class. These history making changes were made possible by Tamil workers who have fought hard to bring change for all the workers of Ontario along with others.
In these struggles, Tamil workers who used to passively accept authority and injustice, and who were sometimes ashamed of their work, silently accepting racism have now gone on to fight back, resist, mobilize and make change for not only themselves but everyone in Ontario.
Tamil workers, yes, the cleaners, the dish washers, the cooks, the hotel workers, the factory workers, the newspaper carriers and other general laborers. We have overcome the barriers of class and culture that has undermined our skills and respect for years.
Most of the changes all around the world has happened because of the workers resistance against oppression. The Tamil community, should learn and respect all different jobs and respect our children's decisions in their future occupations even if they want to be labourers, because it is the working class that builds this economy. As workers, again, we have to be proud of our skills and contribution and the changes that we have made.
Note: How our family structure and education system, and suppresion of women in our culture contrubutes to vulnerable working situation in Canada was discussed by Lucya P, a former temp. worker. The rest of the paper will published soon here.