text:
- 1 The DOI system
- 2 Installation Requirements
- 3 Assigning DOIs to Publication Objects
- 4 DOI Registration
- 4.1 Export vs. Registration
- 4.2 Basic Configuration (mEDRA only)
- 4.3 Manual Export
- 4.4 Automatic Registration
The DOI system
What are DOIs?
A "Digital Object Identifier" (DOI) is a globally unique identifier for digital objects. In the OJS context such objects are journals, journal issues, journal articles and supplementary files. DOIs are used for global and persistent identification of such objects, e.g. in citations. To this end the DOI is always associated with one or several URLs that can be resolved through a persistent URL at a global re-direction domain (http://dx.doi.org/some-doi). Additional meta-data about certain types of digital objects can be stored in databases of specialized DOI registration agencies. This enables discovery of these objects through the web sites of the registration agencies or their partners (e.g. scientific search engines).
What are mEDRA and DataCite?
DOIs can be used for a very broad range of digital objects. The only common denominator of such objects is that they have a URL assigned through which they can be located. The DOI system therefore does not impose a single meta-data format. Digital objects can have specialized meta-data assigned that is specific to the content and format of that object. That's where DOI registration agencies like mEDRA or DataCite come in. These specialized registration agencies accept only certain types of digital objects and define mandatory and optional meta-data fields to be delivered when registering a DOI. DOI agencies require that meta-data be delivered in well-defined meta-data formats. Usually the agency defines their own meta-data format or adapt an existing standard to their purpose.
mEDRA is the multilingual European DOI Registration Agency. It registers documents of many European Union institutions but is also open to private and public institutions world-wide for registration of serial publications, serial publication issues and serial articles. In OJS language these are journal issues, articles and galleys.
DataCite is an international not-for-profit association of several research institutions. DataCite was originally founded to make DOI registration available for primary research data. Nowadays DataCite registers a broad range of publication objects. In the OJS context these are journal issues, articles, galleys and supplementary files.
How does the DOI system work?
DOIs are composed of a prefix and a suffix which are separated by a slash (e.g. "10.1234/cdb2011-01-bio234"). Organizations that want to participate in the DOI system have to apply for an account at a registration agency which will assign a unique DOI prefix to the organization (e.g. "10.1234"). The organization can then assign arbitrary suffixes to their digital objects as long as they guarantee that no suffix will be repeated (e.g. "cdb2011-01-bio234" in the above example). Sometimes several organizations share a DOI prefix to reduce the cost of DOI registration.
Once a prefix has been obtained and a suffix assigned to a publication object, the DOI composed of prefix and suffix has to be registered with the registration agency. The publishing organization formats meta-data corresponding to the publication object into the meta-data format specific to the registration agency. The resulting XML file will then be transmitted to the registration agency together with the DOI and the corresponding URL of the publication object.
The format and exact registration procedure are different for the registration agencies:
mEDRA uses a special configuration of the ONIX format called ONIX for DOI (O4DOI). This is a simplified version of the ONIX for Serials format with additional fields specific to the DOI registration use case. Detailed documentation of the format can be found on the mEDRA home page. mEDRA supports registration of OJS issues, articles and galleys but not supplementary files. mEDRA provides an asynchronous web service for automated DOI registration that is integrated into OJS. The asynchronous nature of the mEDRA registration service means that registration success or error messages are delivered via email. In the (unlikely) case of a registration failure, some manual work is necessary to synchronize the OJS registration state with that of the mEDRA database, see "Reset DOI registration state" below.
DataCite developed their own XML format for DOI registration that is loosely coupled to the Dublin Core format but imposes a stronger specification than the DC format. The format is relatively easy to read for non-technical users. DataCite offers a synchronous web service for automated DOI registration that is integrated into OJS. The synchronous nature of the DataCite registration service means that the OJS registration state can easily be kept in sync with the DataCite database. Other than in the case of mEDRA, manual synchronization of the registration state in OJS is therefore not necessary.
OJS' implementation of the O4DOI and DataCite formats has been optimized for maximum information content and data quality. OJS has co-operated directly with both registration agencies to make sure that their formats and protocols are correctly implemented and that the agencies can make best use of your data.
Installation Requirements
All plug-ins necessary for DOI assignment and registration with mEDRA and DataCite are part of the default OJS installation and do not have to be installed separately.
Some features of the mEDRA and DataCite connectors have additional installation requirements, though:
- If you want to register DOIs directly with the mEDRA or DataCite registration agencies via their web services then you need the PHP curl extension installed. Please consult the PHP manual for details.
- If you want to export several objects at the same time into files you'll need the tar tool available on your system. You'll also have to configure the path to the tar binary in your config.inc.php file, see the file's inline documentation.
Read the "Export vs. Registration" paragraph below if you're unsure what features you'll need.
Assigning DOIs to Publication Objects
DOI support in OJS
OJS implements mEDRA and DataCite connectors as system plug-ins in the "Import/Export" plug-in category. These plug-ins rely on OJS' generic "DOI plug-in" which provides the user interface for DOI administration and assignment to publication objects.
Configuration of the DOI plug-in
Configuration of the DOI plug-in is a task to be performed by the Journal Manager. The DOI plug-in's setting page can be found by navigating to the Journal Manager's user home page -> System Plugins -> Generic Plugins -> DOI plug-in -> Settings. There you should see something like:
First select the OJS object types that you want DOIs to be assigned to. Selecting this option does not mean that all objects of the selected type need to get a DOI assigned. Depending on the chosen DOI suffix generation method you can selectively assign DOIs if you like, see "When are DOIs being assigned?" below. Selecting an object type makes the DOI configuration fields available on the corresponding object-specific meta-data entry pages. Please be aware that not all registration agencies support all object types for DOI registration. While DataCite is able to support all object types, mEDRA will not register supplementary files.
The DOI prefix is mandatory. As described above you'll receive your organization's prefix from the DOI registration agency. The exact process for application is described on the agencies' web pages.
There are several suffix generation strategies available:
When you choose one of the pattern-based generation methods then a DOI will be generated for all objects. You are not obliged to register all these DOIs with the registration agencies, though. The DOI registration agency connectors allow for selective registration.
When you enter custom patterns then it is your responsibility to create patterns that result in unique DOI suffixes for your prefix. You have to enter a combination of journal, issue and object-specific identifiers to make sure that DOIs cannot be duplicated. A galley-suffix for example, that does not contain the journal ID can be duplicated among several journals if the same prefix is used for those journals. The same can happen if you generate DOIs for articles and issues without using the issue ID in the article suffix (e.g. when generating the DOI for the issue with the internal ID 1 and the article with internal ID 1). Look at the standard patterns for examples.
If you use custom identifiers (custom URL suffixes) to improve your URLs (see journal configuration step 4) you can use those same identifiers as DOI suffixes. Again you are responsible to not assign the same custom identifier to several objects. This is also true across object categories: You cannot assign the same URL suffix to articles and corresponding galleys for example. While this would still result in unique URLs due to the differing OJS URL prefix per object type it would mean duplicated DOI suffixes as the DOI prefix is common to all object types. OJS will check uniqueness of URL suffixes when you enter suffixes and will present you with a form error when you try to enter the same suffix twice.
Choosing the individual DOI suffix option will allow you to enter suffixes independently from the OJS URL of the object. Use this option if none of the other suffix generation strategies fulfill your needs, e.g. when your organization has global rules for suffix generation different from what can be implemented with custom patterns, or if you do not want to generate DOIs for all objects by default.
The "Reassign DOIs" button deletes all currently assigned DOIs but not your individually assigned URL or DOI suffixes. This is an advanced action. Please use it with utmost care and make sure you understand its exact action first, e.g. within a test environment. All DOIs will be re-generated based on the patterns or custom identifiers you entered. This means that if you change the patterns or custom identifiers after you already assigned DOIs then previously assigned DOIs will be completely lost and the same object will receive a different DOI. This should be avoided in most cases as it means double-registration of the same object with two different DOIs which is contrary to the purpose of DOIs in the first place. In any case you should make a database backup before you delete all assigned DOIs.
When are DOIs being assigned? (Important - Please Read!)
It is important that you understand when DOIs will be assigned because DOI assignment is irreversible. Once an article or issue is published there is no way from impeding automatic DOI assignment to the corresponding objects (issues, articles, galleys and supplementary files). This is due to the nature of permanent IDs: They are meant to be assigned once and only once and then never change again. This means that as soon as any public user got the chance to access a DOI it may never be changed after.
The DOI of the object is generated automatically during the first public access to the object. Public access to a publication object is assumed whenever the object is viewed for the first time on the public web site of the journal or whenever the object was exported to a file format that contains and supports DOIs (e.g. PubMed format, native OJS export format, CrossRef, DataCite, mEDRA formats, etc.).
The assignment logic is slightly different for the different suffix generation strategies:
- In case of pattern based suffix generation (custom or default patterns) DOIs will always be generated according to the currently configured pattern on first public access. This also means that changing a pattern will not change already assigned DOIs. It will only have effect on DOIs being generated from that moment on. Be careful when changing patterns that the new pattern does not share its namespace with the previous pattern. Otherwise duplicate DOIs may result which will lead to problems when trying to register these IDs.
- In case of DOI suffixes being generated from custom IDs / URL suffixes the DOI will also always be generated on first public access. If no custom ID / URL suffix has been entered for the object then a DOI will be generated based on the default OJS URL suffix. This DOI will not change even if you enter a URL suffix later. There is no way to change your DOI once it has been assigned so be sure to enter a URL suffix before you publicly access an object for the first time!
- If you configured OJS to use individual DOI suffixes then the logic is slightly different to support selective DOI assignment. In this case a DOI will not be assigned even for already published objects if a DOI suffix has not been entered for that object. This allows the journal to offer DOIs to the authors as an optional (and potentially paid) service on a one-by-one basis. The individual suffix can be changed as long as no DOI has been assigned by public access to the object. Once the object has been accessed publicly with an individual suffix assigned, the suffix cannot be changed any more!
Whatever suffix generation strategy you choose, you'll be able to preview the DOI on the object's meta-data page without actually assigning a DOI provided that the object has not yet been published. The meta-data pages for the different object types are:
- Issues: The issue data page that can be reached through the issue lists available to the editor role.
- Articles: The article meta-data page available through the article's summary page available to all editorial roles.
- Galleys and Supplementary Files: The galley meta-data page available through the corresponding article's "Editing" page. Click on the "Edit" link corresponding to the file in the "Layout" section of the page.
These pages will be referred to as "meta-data pages" throughout this documentation.
Pattern-Based DOI Generation
Once you configured the pattern for DOI suffix generation in the DOI plug-in you'll not have to do anything special for an object to get a DOI assigned. As soon as the object is published and has been publicly accessed for the first time a DOI will be assigned based on the corresponding pattern.
Custom ID / URL suffix
Once you correctly configured OJS to generate DOIs based on custom IDs / URL suffixes and you enabled the custom ID option in journal setup step 4 for the same object types you'll see URL entry fields on the meta-data pages of issues, galleys and supplementary files. URL suffixes for articles can NOT be entered on the article meta-data page but must be entered into the issue's "table of content". If you correctly configured OJS then you'll find a URL entry field for every article there.
NB: If you forget to enable "custom IDs" for the objects you want to assign DOIs to in journal setup step 4 then you'll not be able to enter DOI suffixes and you DOI suffixes will be generated based on the OJS default URL suffix.
Individual DOI suffixes
As long as no DOI has been assigned to the object (see "When are DOIs being assigned?" above), you'll find a DOI suffix entry field on the object's meta-data page. See "When are DOIs being assigned?" for a list of these meta-data pages.
See the following example of the DOI suffix field for issues:
You can change this field as long as no DOI has been assigned to the object. Leaving the field empty or deleting its contents and saving the form means that the object will not get a DOI assigned, even if it is publicly accessed.
DOI Registration
Even when a DOI has been assigned to an object in OJS it is not automatically known to the registration agency and the corresponding URL at http://dx.doi.org/ will not yet be resolved. You'll have to register the DOI with one of the DOI registration agencies before. At the time of writing OJS supports registration with CrossRef, mEDRA and DataCite out-of-the-box. This documentation describes the mEDRA and DataCite options.
Export vs. Registration
Before registering DOIs with mEDRA or DataCite for the first time you'll have to decide whether you want to use the registration connector in "manual export" or "automatic registration" mode. This depends above all on your relation with the registration agency:
- If you have (or intend to have) your own account at the registration agency then automatic registration will most probably be your preferred choice. Automatic registration means that you do not have to export meta-data into the registration agency's XML format or upload files to the registration agency manually. You can register DOIs and meta-data directly from within OJS with a few mouse clicks.
- If you do not have access to account credentials yourself then you'll have to export XML files for the objects to be registered. The XML can then be sent to the account owner (e.g. as an email attachment) who'll have to upload the files to the agency's registration site. This is still much better than sending unformatted meta-data by email. The OJS-implementation of the XML format has been explicitly certified by the registration agencies for maximum information content, standardization and data quality. Manual transfer errors can be avoided and the account owner will have much less work in uploading a ready-made XML rather than manually entering meta-data on the agency's site or composing a compliant XML message from scratch.
While, in principle, it is possible to mix both modes of operation, you should not usually do so. If, for example, you configure the DOI connectors for automatic registration and then upload a file manually to the registration agency you'll end up in a situation where the OJS registration database is out of sync with the registration agencies' database. This can lead to registration errors when trying to update meta-data of an object that has been registered manually before. This is especially important when you work with mEDRA as the mEDRA XML format (O4DOI) differs for initial registration and meta-data update.
It is unproblematic, though, to use the XML export feature for local inspection of XML data that will be transferred to the registration agency via OJS later. As long as the actual registration is done in OJS, the local and remote registration databases will not get out of sync.
Basic Configuration (mEDRA only)
If you want to register DOIs with mEDRA then you'll have to do some basic configuration independent of the chosen export mode (manual vs. automatic, see previous paragraph). As a Journal Manager you find the configuration page by navigating from your home page to "Import/Export Data -> mEDRA Export/Registration Plugin" and then click the "configure" link.
You should see the following form fields:
Please enter the institution that registered the DOI prefix you are using. This is your own institution if you have an account with the registration agency yourself (automatic registration mode) or the institution of the registration account owner you are sending your XML files to (manual export mode).
The three technical contact fields should contain your own contact information. If you are the registration agency account holder then you'll repeat your institution's name here.
The email field is of special importance: mEDRA will send registration reports to the email address you enter here. These emails are important because they are the most convenient way for you to be informed whether your registration was successful or not. Every file uploaded to mEDRA (manually or via OJS automatic registration) will result in a corresponding email. The email you enter here should belong to a person with Journal Manager rights so that the person is able to correct export errors and re-export corrected registration data.
The mEDRA format requires a "country of publication" which cannot be unambiguously deduced from the OJS configuration. According to the O4DOI specification this is "the country where the serial work is published".
If you assign DOIs to journal issues then you'll have to decide whether you want to export issues as "work" or "manifestation". Please follow the links on the configuration page for an explanation of the distinction. If you do not assign DOIs to journal issues then you can leave the default configuration untouched.
Manual Export
This paragraph is only relevant if you decided to use the mEDRA/DataCite connector in "manual export" mode. If you want to use the connector in "automatic registration mode" you can jump directly to the "Automatic Registration" paragraph below.
If you want to export mEDRA/DataCite XML manually then you do not have to configure a username or password on the connector's configuration page. Leaving the username/password fields empty will disable automatic registration in the connector's user interface. This means that you'll see no "Register", "Update" or "Reset" buttons, just an "Export" button for all objects.
Export XML
As a Journal Manager navigate to the plug-ins home page:
- For mEDRA export: Import/Export Data -> mEDRA Export/Registration Plugin
- For DataCite export: Import/Export Data -> DataCite Export/Registration Plugin
If you work in manual export mode then you can probably ignore the "Export all unregistered ..." link. OJS cannot maintain any registration information in manual export mode so all objects will appear "unregistered" which means that the list of unregistered objects is very long and of no real use.
To register an object manually navigate to the corresponding object list from the connector's home page and find the object there. If you already know one of OJS' export plug-ins then these lists will be familiar to you. They work exactly the same way as for other export plug-ins.
To generate the export file for a single object you can click the "Export" button behind the object. To export several objects at once you can check the objects to be exported and click the "Export" button to the bottom of the page. Please be aware that exporting several objects at once may require you to install and configure the "tar" utility on your OJS server. Please see the "Installation requirements" paragraph above. You may also have to install a tar extraction utility on your local computer if you want to view the generated files before sending them to the registration agency account holder or the registration agency itself.
As soon as you click the "Export" button, the generated XML file or tar archive should trigger your browser's usual download mechanism. Please save the file to your disk where you can find it later for sending or inspection.
Send or Upload the XML file
Once you generated the XML or tar file you can attach it to an email and send it to the registration agency account holder or upload it manually on the registration agency's home page. Please check with the account holder / registration agency how this works in detail. If you send the file to an account holder then please make sure that they upload the XML unchanged. The OJS DOI export formats have been accredited by the registration agencies and are optimized for best data quality and information content.
Automatic Registration
This paragraph is only relevant if you decided to register DOIs directly from within OJS. Access to an account with the registration agency is required.
Apply for your mEDRA/DataCite account
As a Journal Manager please navigate to the agency's connector home page:
- For mEDRA: Import/Export Data -> mEDRA Export/Registration Plugin
- For DataCite: Import/Export Data -> DataCite Export/Registration Plugin
There you'll find a short introductory notice about how to apply for your own registration account. Please follow the instructions and links there.
Configure your account credentials
Once you received your username and password from the registration agency you'll have to follow the "configure" link on the connector's home page. You can enter your credentials there. The user interface elements required for automatic registration will only appear after you have configured your credentials. If you do not see the "Register", "Update" or "Reset" buttons mentioned in the following paragraphs then please double-check the configuration page.
Check Export Format (Optional, Advanced Users Only)
Most users can skip this paragraph and jump directly to the next one. If, however, you are an advanced user who knows the O4DOI or DataCite formats and you want to check what exactly is being exported to the registration agency then you can have a look at the generated XML before you register it.
To do so go to the connector's home page and select one of the lists with exportable objects. When you click the "Export" button for a single object or you select a number of objects and click the "Export" button at the end of the list then you can download the XML format exactly as it will be exported to the registration agency. If you select more than one object at a time you might have to install the "tar" utility on your OJS server and a tar extraction utility on your local computer, see "Installation Requirements" above for details.
Exporting the file will not change the object's registration state. You can look at the XML at any time. In the case of the "mEDRA" connector you'll see the "registration" notification format when the object has not been registered before. After the first registration you'll see the "update" notification format. In the case of the "DataCite" connector the "registration" and "update" formats are the same.
Register new DOIs
The fast track for automatic registration is:
- Open the "Export all unregistered ..." link on the connector's home page,
- check the list of unregistered objects and make sure that all objects have been selected by default,
- click the "Register" button at the bottom of the list and
- wait for the "Registration Successful!" message.
That's all. Most users will probably be able to do all their DOI registration like this. If you do not intend to update meta-data after registration then this is all you'll ever do.
If you want to register specific objects selectively then you can do so in any of the lists you can access through the connector's home page. You can either register objects by clicking on their corresponding "Register" link or by checking several objects manually and clicking the "Register" button at the bottom of the list.
Objects that have been registered will disappear from the "Export all unregistered..." list.
Update DOI meta-data
This paragraph describes how you update the meta-data for an existing DOI, not how you assign a new DOI to an already existing object. OJS does not currently support changing the DOI for an already registered object. Assigning a new DOI is only recommended when the content of the corresponding object changed considerably. In the case of OJS this probably triggers another round of internal or external review, layout, proofreading or other editorial tasks. Therefore, if you want to re-register a publication object with a different DOI then you'll have to create a new issue, article, galley or supplementary file and register it as a new object.
Once you registered an object for the first time, it disappears from the list of unregistered objects of the registration agency connector. It will, however, continue to be listed on the object-specific pages. The button corresponding to the object will have changed to "Update" rather than "Register". This is how you can recognize objects that OJS considers "registered". Clicking the "Update" button will update the meta-data of the object in the registration agency's database corresponding to the meta-data saved in OJS. This means that changes in OJS meta-data will not be transferred to the registration agency automatically.
NB: In the case of mEDRA it may happen that an object appears as "registered" in OJS although you received an error message via email after clicking the "Register" button for the first time. This is due to the asynchronous nature of the mEDRA registration service: Successful upload of a mEDRA meta-data file does not always mean acceptance of that file into the mEDRA database. Please do NOT click the "Update" button to recover from an error after first registration. Follow the directions in "Reset DOI state" below, instead. You can use the "Update" button to recover from a failed update, though. Please correct the error condition described in the email you received from the mEDRA registration service and then click the "Update" button for the failed object again. If you use the DataCite connector then OJS registration state should always correspond 100% to the real registration state as long as you do not mix automatic and manual registration.
Reset DOI registration state (mEDRA only)
In the case of mEDRA the registration state of an object in OJS can become out of sync with the real registration state in the mEDRA database. This happens when mEDRA acknowledges a successful upload first but later rejects the file due to error conditions not being checked during upload. The mEDRA XML format for first registration differs from the XML format for update. Therefore, you cannot use the "Update" button to recover from the error as it will just lead to another failed upload. This is what the "Reset" button is meant for. It appears for all objects that have already been registered. Clicking it removes all registration information for the object from the OJS database such that the object appears to OJS as if it had never been registered before.
Of course you should not click the "Reset" button if the object was successfully registered as it will then delete valid registration information. If you happen to click the "Reset" button by accident then you'll have to re-register the object which will lead to an error message from mEDRA (which you can safely ignore in that case) but will correct the registration state in OJS.
NB: Do not use the "Reset" button to recover from update errors! If you receive an error message via email after clicking the "Update" button then just click the "Update" button again after correcting the problems mentioned in the mEDRA error message.


text:
SmartBear Software has announced new a new product named AlertSite UXM. The SaaS (or on premise) software itself is a package designed to bring load testing, synthetic (and real) transaction monitoring to software developers.
The company cites recent analyst comments to build its argument for more testing and monitoring. Gartner stated, "By 2014, 75% of the Fortune 1000 will offer public web APIs." (Gartner Research Document: Predicts 2014: Application Development, Brian Prentice, David Mitchell Smith, Andy Kyte, Nathan Wilson, Gordon Van Huizen, Van L. Baker — November 19, 2013), but these APIs provide a point of potential user experience problems.
This is proof enough (says SmartBear) that we (as software developers) will be faced with looking at where user experience issues do occur, as we try to determine why critical applications fail to perform as required — and AlertSite UXM works not just for applications, but also APIs to assist in rapid root cause analysis.
Pre-deployment load testing can also be performed. As a single platform, AlertSite UXM offers application and API management capabilities with code-level diagnostics.
"As a result, development, QA, as well as operations and business teams, can all work from the same data, efficiently share their insights, and closely collaborate to reduce the time to find and resolve issues while also moving the organization closer to a continuous delivery software model," said Rich Caplow, SVP product commercialization at SmartBear.
AlertSite UXM is composed of three new modules:
- AlertSite UXM Synthetic — measures simulated users and includes easy-to-use and deploy transaction tracing based on innovative technology acquired from APM vendor Lucierna.
- AlertSite UXM Real — measures actual user transactions down to code level root cause analysis.
- AlertSite UXM Load — highly scalable load test service to validate application performance from the user's point of view.
Jonah Kowall, Research Vice President of IT Operations at Gartner, and Will Cappelli, Research Vice President of Enterprise Management at Gartner, note, "The demand and importance placed on APM tools has increased significantly during the past several years, and will continue as applications and infrastructures become more complex, dynamic, and additional layers of abstraction are introduced (for example, virtualization, SDN, and API abstraction)." (Gartner Research Document: Gartner Hype Cycle for Real-Time Infrastructure — Application Performance Monitoring, Jonah Kowall and Will Cappelli, July 2013).

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Cub Scout Program
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
Boy Scouts of America that develops ethical decision-making skills for boys.
|Cub Scouting
|Aims · Purposes
Methods · Core Values
|Ranks & Awards
Adventure Loops and Pins
Since 1930, the Boy Scouts of America has helped younger boys through Cub Scouting. It is a year-round family program designed for boys who are in the first grade through fifth grade (or 7, 8, 9, and 10 years of age). Parents, leaders, and organizations work together to achieve the purposes of Cub Scouting. Currently, Cub Scouting is the largest of the BSA's three membership divisions. (The others are Boy Scouting and Venturing.)
Cub Scout Advancement
See also:Cub Scout Advancement Policies. Everything a Cub Scout does in the advancement program is intended to achieve the Aims of Scouting and aid in personal growth.
- Bobcat badge → The first rank earned by every boy in Cub Scouting as a part of the joining requirements.
- The Tiger Cub Program and Electives are for a first grade or 7-year-old Cub Scout with their adult partners to emphasize shared leadership, learning about the community, and family understanding.
- The Wolf Program and Electives are for a second-grade or 8-year-old Cub Scout.
- The Bear Program and Electives are for a Cub Scout in the third grade (or 9 years old).
- The Webelos Scout Program and Webelos Activity Badges are for a Cub Scout who has completed the third grade or is age 10 but has not yet completed fifth grade or reached age 11 1/2. The word "Webelos" means WE'll BE LOyal Scouts, and should always be used as a modifier, never as a noun.
|Bobcat, Tiger, Wolf, Bear
Tiger Cub totem with achievement beads
Wolf and Bear Arrow Points
|Webelos Scout badges
(diamond for blue shirt, oval for tan shirt)
Webelos Scout Compass and Compass Points
Webelos Scout Colors and Activity Pins
|Arrow of Light
emblem and knot
- Arrow of Light award - The highest rank in Cub Scouting and the only Cub Scout rank badge that may be worn on the Boy Scout uniform.
- A number of Cub Scout Awards are also available.
- Many faiths offer Religious Emblems.
Cub Scout Pack Leadership
Thousands of volunteer leaders, both men and women, are involved in the Cub Scout program. They serve in a variety of positions, as everything from unit leaders to pack committee chairmen, committee members, den leaders, and chartered organization representatives.
Like other phases of the Scouting program, a Cub Scout pack belongs to an organization with interests similar to those of the BSA. This organization, which might be a church, school, community organization, or group of interested citizens, is chartered by the local BSA council to use the Scouting program. This chartered organization provides a suitable meeting place, adult leadership, supervision, and opportunities for a healthy Scouting life for the boys under its care. Each organization appoints one of its members as a chartered organization representative. The organization, through the pack committee, is responsible for providing leadership, the meeting place, and support materials for pack activities.
Age-appropriate camping programs are packed with theme-oriented action that brings Tiger, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos Scouts into the great out-of-doors. Day Camp comes to the boy in neighborhoods across the country; Cub Scout Resident Camp is overnight camping with a theme of adventure and excitement. Camping programs combine fun and excitement with doing one's best, getting along with others, and developing an appreciation for ecology and the world of the outdoors.
History of Cub Scouting
- From: The History of Cub Scouting. Also see: Boy Scouts of America Historical Highlights
In 1914, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouting, began implementing a program for younger boys that was based on Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. The Wolf Cub program began in 1916, and since that time, Wolf Cubbing has spread to other European countries with very little change.
In America, hundreds of Cub Scout-age boys and their families were clamoring for a program of their own. As early as 1920, Scout executives at the first national training conference discussed the needs of younger boys. The BSA, however, felt it wise to postpone any action until there was more objective evidence.
In 1930, Cub Scouting was formally launched, with 5,102 boys registered at the end of that first year. By 1933 the time had come to promote Cub Scouting throughout the country as a part of Scouting. All experimental restrictions were removed, and the first national director of Cub Scouting was appointed. Cubs advanced from Bobcat (for all new members) to Wolf (age 9), Bear (age 10), and Lion (age 11) and joined a Boy Scout troop at age 12.
Cub Scouting in America is different from the younger-boy programs of other countries because it is centered in the home and neighborhood. With the encouragement of family and leaders, boys enjoy a program that covers a wide variety of interesting things. It suggests activities that boys enjoy doing on their own when adults are not supervising them. These activities are particularly suited to boys of Cub Scout age and are different from those they will encounter in Boy Scouting.
Key dates in Cub Scouting:
- 1929 The National Executive Board approves demonstration Cub units.
- 1930 Cub Scouting was formally launched
- 1933 Experimental" restrictions removed.
- 1941 Webelos rank created for 11-year-old boys with the Lion badge.
- 1945 "Cubbing" changed to "Cub Scouting."
- 1949 Age levels for Cub Scouting changed to 8, 9, and 10, with Boy Scouting at 11. One million Cub Scouts.
- 1953 First pinewood derby held in California.
- 1954 Webelos created for 10-year-old boys.
- 1956 Webelos day camp program introduced.
- 1967 Lion rank discontinued in favor of new Webelos Scout program.
- 1968 First Cub Scout day camps.
- 1976 Women could now serve as Cubmasters and assistant Cubmasters.
- 1977 Cub Scout program year changed to coincide with the school year.
- 1982 Tiger Cub Scouts introduced
- 1984 Webelos Scout Resident Camps start.
- 1986 Webelos program expands to two years to include fourth-grade and fifth-grade boys.
- 2002 Leave No Trace Frontcountry Guidelines and Leave No Trace Award introduced.
BSA Mission Statement
|The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical choices over their lifetime by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.
Aims of Scouting
All levels of the Scouting program share three specific objectives:
- Character development
- Citizenship training
- Personal fitness
- Character
One is growth in moral strength and character. We may define this as what the boy is himself; his personal qualities, his values, his outlook.
- Citizenship
A second is participating citizenship. Used broadly, citizenship means the boy's relationship to others. He comes to learn obligations to other people, to the society he lives in, and to the government that presides over that society.
- Fitness
A third aim of Scouting is development of physical, mental, and emotional fitness. Fitness includes the body (well-tuned and healthy), the mind (able to think and solve problems), and the emotions (self-control, courage, and self-respect).
Purposes of Cub Scouting
Methods of Cub Scouting
Core Values of Cub Scouting
Pending Change: In October 2012, BSA announced plans to replace the Cub Scout core values with the Boy Scout Scout Law. This change is part of the pending retirement of the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack. The tentative change over date is the middle of 2015. This change and others are the result of recommendations of the Strategic Plan Goal 411 Task Force and the Venturing Task Force.
See also
MeritBadge.Org is your online Scouting University with everything from Getting Started to Bridging.
- Den Meeting Plans: Tiger Cub, Wolf, Bear, Webelos Program: Webelos I, Webelos II
- Leader Awards: Cub Scout Den Leader Award (Tiger/Wolf/Bear/Webelos), Scouter's Training Award (basically all adult leaders but Den Leaders), Scouter's Key (Cubmaster), Den Chief Service Award (Den Chief)
- Program Helps: Recruiting, & CubTrax Spreadsheets
- Activities: Day Camp, Resident Camp, Whittling Chip, Guide to Safe Scouting
- Training: Youth Protection, New Leader, BALOO, Webelos Outdoor, Wood Badge, Philmont, Den Chief Training
- Fundraising, Popcorn, and the importance of Individual Youth Accounts
- Nameplates: Official BSA Name plates for your uniforms
See the Cub Scout Leader Resources for the Pack Organization Chart and much more.


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Posts tagged 'microfunds'
A Mexican Tale of Women and Sheep
Emmanuel M. von Arx | KF 16+17 | Mexico
Who would have thought that my second Kiva Fellowship would teach me just as much about microfinance as about the rearing of sheep? Seriously, ask me anything you want: How do you best hold a lamb? How do you wrestle with a grown-up mutton? How do you treat sheep for worms? Where and how often do you set them a vaccine? How do you determine a sheep's age? Why does a sheep bite normally neither hurt nor bleed? For what reason does a sheep have four stomach compartments? And how do you compel a lamb's reluctant mother to accept her kid after birth? I owe this knowledge to UNAM-educated veterinarian Linda Velázquez Rosas, who made a sheep-expert not just out of me, but also out of 200 amateur sheep-owners in and around the little town of San Felipe del Progreso, two hours west of Mexico City. This training was made possible by Vision Fund Mexico (also known as Fundación Realidad or FRAC), a Kiva field partner that excels both at financial and non-financial services (in a previous blog post I documented an artisan fair in Mexico City that was co-organized by FRAC).
Continue Reading 6 July 2012 at 08:00 Emmanuel von Arx 6 comments
Beyond Financial Services: Mexico's Greatest Artisan Fair
Emmanuel M. von Arx | KF 16+17 | Mexico
Shortly after arriving at my first Mexican microfinance organization, FRAC (or Fundación Realidad, soon to be called Vision Fund Mexico), I had the joyful task of presenting in the name of Kiva two Social Performance Badges to its enthusiastic staff: one for Vision Fund Mexico's strong and persistent focus on poor people, and one for the organization's success in empowering families and communities. The description of the Family and Community Empowerment Badge on Kiva's homepage immediately piqued my interest: it states that recipients of this badge "implement innovative business practices and offer services in addition to their financial products to meet the needs of the people they serve." Innovative business practices and additional services beyond financial products? At FRAC? I began to ask members of FRAC's staff and was soon pointed to some great examples of non-financial services that Vision Fund Mexico has provided in past months and year: they include support in product marketing and distribution given to beekeepers and artisan villages, over 380 free financial literary workshops for well over 4,000 borrowers, and free expert veterinarian training and medical services provided to hundreds of borrowers who are raising cows and sheep in their backyard. While I hope that some of these topics will be addressed by future guest blog posts of FRAC staff members (continuing the series that was started by Rosa's gorgeous post on her recent field visit), I will report here on FRAC's selfless contribution to Mexico's largest artisan fair, the Expo FONAES. In many ways, this is just another example to David Gorgani's great piece on the wide range of non-financial services that Kiva field partner organizations provide.
Continue Reading 22 June 2012 at 08:00 Emmanuel von Arx 4 comments
Recycling for Life and Family in the Mexican Countryside
Emmanuel M. von Arx | KF 16+17 | Mexico
I have a confession to make: I love to browse Kiva borrower profiles – even occasionally without any actual intention to make a loan. I believe that reading the stories of borrowers from all over the world and knowing their dreams tells me more about a country and the mentality of its people than even the best of all travel guidebooks. And knowing some of the challenges they are facing in their lives and how they are surmounting them, being aware of the long hours they work every day and their dedication to their families – all this inspires me deeply and on a very personal level: if people can thrive under difficult circumstances thanks to incredibly hard work and a dream, then I should and will be able to do something meaningful and lasting with my own life as well! My Kiva lender profile reads: "I loan because… Kiva borrowers never cease to inspire me with their courage, talent, and dedication!"
That strong sense of inspiration that speaks to me out of every Kiva borrower's history has been multiplied during my time in the field as a Kiva Fellow in the course of many personal meetings with borrowers. I have met literally dozens of borrowers who have left an indelible mark in my heart and mind. But recently I have met a borrower who is so extraordinary and unusual that even I – one of the more seasoned Kiva Fellows – was blown away. Her name is Ma de los Angeles and this blog entry tells the story of her work and her success.
Continue Reading 1 June 2012 at 08:00 Emmanuel von Arx 6 comments
The Heart of Kiva – A Guest Blog from Mexico
Emmanuel M. von Arx | KF 16+17 | Mexico
Kiva is all about stories – what draws us all in and inspires us to lend are the stories of courageous micro-entrepreneurs that speak of hard-ship and success, challenges and dreams, love and dedication. But Kiva is not just about borrowers and their stories. It is also about the people behind the scene on the ground – the staff of the close to 150 field partners of Kiva – who screen loan applicants, grant, administrate, and look after Kiva loans, and make sure that Kiva borrowers are treated respectfully and fairly. Their stories are almost never told. Yet, the local staff of Kiva´s Field Partners are those people who make the magic happen – they are the ones who make Kiva possible. If Kiva Fellows are called the "eyes and ears in the field", I propose local MFI staff be called "the brain and heart of Kiva." MFI staff has insights on the conditions on the ground, the local mentalities, and the practical aspects of microfinance that can rival (and – I have no doubt – normally exceed) those of Kiva staff and Fellows. Yet, their perspective is seldom heard and their stories are rarely told.
Just how much local field partner staff have to tell and to share with the world I learned during the brief three week period during which I had the pleasure to be the Kiva Fellow for FRAC or Fundación Realidad (soon to be known as Vision Fund Mexico) in Mexico City. FRAC, has over 200 employees – they encompass 200 breathtaking stories and lives from all over Mexico, coming together in FRAC's vision of wanting to provide financial and non-financial services to those families who do not have access to formal banking services in order to improve their quality of life.
During my work in FRAC's Mexico City Headquarter, the MFI's staff turned out to be an endless source of inspiration for me. There was not one person I talked to whose story and motives wouldn't be worth sharing. Within a few brief hours I felt not just surrounded by close friends, but soul-mates – I discovered that everybody around me was at least as passionate and enthusiastic about FRAC's and Kiva's work and the impact of micro-finance as I am.
As soon as I told FRAC's staff about the Kiva Fellows Blog, I was bombarded with requests of staff members to publish their thoughts and their experiences on it. Many have a particular pet project they feel most passionate about; others have made an experience on the job they are keen to share. Thus grew the idea of creating a little guest blog within the Kiva Fellow Blog. I offered to all staff to publish their thoughts and words on the Fellows' blog as a way to make readers aware that Kiva doesn't just connect lenders with borrowers, but that it connects lenders with local staff with borrowers with friends with staff with borrowers with lenders with… stop! Let's just say: Kiva connects people through lending!
Rosa Gonzalez is the first staff member of FRAC who agreed to share her experience. She was hired by FRAC as their English-Spanish translator a few days after I joined the organization as a Kiva Fellow. Rosa translates both borrower profiles and journals for FRAC borrowers before they are being published or sent to lenders. But let me introduce Rosa in her own words – you will immediately see that they are pure poetry.
Continue Reading 24 April 2012 at 08:58 Emmanuel von Arx 5 comments
Producto Creer: How for a Bank Doing the Right Thing Can Pay Off
By Emmanuel M. von Arx, KF16, Guayaquil (Ecuador)
My host and Kiva´s partner organization Banco D-MIRO provides over ten different types of microloans to borrowers in and around Guayaquil: among them loans to finance housing improvements, school expenses, medication, and loans awarded specifically to employees, young clients with a business idea but no experience, and – as Ecuador´s only microfinance institution – discount loans for HIV-positive micro-entrepreneurs. Yet, one borrower group beats all other borrowers in their dedication and commitment to paying back their loans on time: the well over 400 disabled borrowers of Banco D-MIRO, whose payment discipline has turned "their" loan – "Producto Creer" ("Product Believe") – into the most successful and inspirational product of D-MIRO´s extensive spectrum. The delinquency rate of Producto Creer is by far lower than that of any other major micro-loan type of Banco D-MIRO, which means that borrowers of Producto Creer are better at paying back their monthly rates than any other client group! In these times of economic and social turmoil, Banco D-MIRO´s Producto Creer may be a much needed reminder that it may pay off for banks to do the morally right thing.
Continue Reading 20 December 2011 at 04:00 Emmanuel von Arx 1 comment
A Typical Day in the Life of a Kiva Fellow: Loan Officer Training (Video Blog Post)
By Emmanuel M. von Arx, KF 16, Guayaquil (Ecuador)
Video posts on a "typical day" in the life of a Kiva Fellow are a time-honored tradition on the Fellows Blog. Without any more words, here is my contribution to the video series of documenting a typical day in the life of a Kiva fellow. Like all previous contributors to the series, I am keenly aware that there is no "typical day" for Kiva Fellows. But taken together, the growing number of "typical day"-videos may at least convey something of the diversity, unpredictability, spontaneity, and joy that a typical untypical day of a Kiva Fellowship entails. Enjoy!
Continue Reading 6 December 2011 at 04:00 Emmanuel von Arx 3 comments
Village Banks BY Farmers FOR Farmers: A Microcredit Labor of LoveBy Julie Kerr, KF16, Costa Rica Part 2: Microfinance Models in Costa Rica – Featuring FUDECOSUR (See Part 1 for details on how FUDECOSUR's village banking model works)
The warm red earth pulls me in, as I follow FUDECOSUR loan officers on their labor of love.
Serpentine paths lead us through farm lands carved out of dense swaths of jungle, as borrowers take us to the plots of land they proudly cultivate, thanks to the help of Kiva lenders.
As I slip and surf along steep paths slick and thick with monsoon rain, sprawling ferns the size of a family hut, reach out to us, with unfurled leaves heavy with the same mist that envelopes us.
Majestic white oxen haul mighty harvests out of the valley depths, where machines dare not tread, due to thick, quicksand clay mud, which all too lovingly pulls all things passing, toward the womb of the world. We move to the side of the path, making way for the heaving beasts of burden, as they pull weighty sacks of coffee beans and other food crops, in brightly painted "carretas" (wooden carts with wooden wheels).
Continuing along our trek, we descend into a warm, moist Eden of lush green, where water-collecting trees grow taller and stronger as we approach the river.
Unlike farms I'm used to seeing in the United States, Costa Rican farms boast fields of crops coexisting with an abundance of medicinal plants and native trees, which are protected by law.
True to Costa Rica's conservationist spirit, owning land means that one is charged with protecting existing plant species essential to long term survival, while cultivating crops essential to immediate survival.
Cutting down old-growth, or endangered trees, or trees which sprout, stretch and rise along rivers, is strictly punished by hefty fines and jail time. These rules apply even if one destroys any such tree on land one owns.
The result? Farming in Costa Rica is no longer synonymous with deforestation. Because of the great care that has been taken to preserve the environment, Costa Rica has become a Mecca for biologists and laymen lovers of wildlife. The nation boasts the largest percentage of protected land in the world (25%, compared to the developing world average of 13%, and the developed world average of 8%). While making up only 0.25% of the earth's land mass, Costa Rica is home to 5% of the world's biodiversity. And though such animals are nearly extinct in neighboring countries, large jungle cats, a variety of monkeys, reptiles and amphibians, and an abundance of bird species and marine turtles, survive and thrive in the ecologically rich coast that is Costa Rica.
Protected land swells and wells with sweet, crystalline springs, rolling rivers, tumbling white waterfalls, lakes, mangrove swamps and marine estuaries brimming with life.
Due to a deep respect for the earth, exceptionally clean water and fresh air blanket the country, and are a great source of pride for Costa Ricans.
Those who work the land are especially proud of it, and in the eyes and smiles of Kiva borrowers and FUDECOSUR loan officers, beams a joy and passion that comes from living a labor of love.
In The Fields: Loan Officers Serving as Agricultural Development Partners
Not only are FUDECOSUR village banks run by village farmers, as detailed in Bank-O-Mat Under a Hot Tin Roof, but they are also trained and managed by loan officers who are farmers themselves.
As FUDECOSUR seeks to assist and develop agricultural communities by becoming an integral part of each community, FUDECOSUR's loan officers provide much more than a mere financial services relationship. Since loan officers Geiner Gonzáles Marín, Gerardo Barrantes and Danny Zuñiga all come from farms themselves, they also serve as valued partners, advisors and mentors, not only from a bank operations training and guidance perspective, but also with regards to helping clients optimize crop and livestock output.
Geiner Gonzáles Marín: Chief Loan Officer
When visiting borrowers and the lands they cultivate, Chief Loan Officer Geiner Gonzáles Marín, often leads the trek into plunging valleys or up steep mountains, with unceasing enthusiasm.
Born and bred on a coffee plantation with dairy cows and various food crops, Geiner is in his element and is unstoppable –copious rain or shine.
With an absolute passion for the land and the fruits of farmers' labor, his camera is always in hand, snapping photos of crops grown with Kiva loans. He also interviews the farmers with great interest, inquiring about crop cultivation challenges (such as destructive wilting or fungus caused by excessive rain), and offers vital suggestions on how to combat various crop infirmities and increase crop yields.
Gerardo Barrantes: Loan Officer 2
Sharing the same intense passion for the land, loan officer Gerardo Barrantes shows off photos of gigantic yucca and ayote crops he's produced organically. Clients are wowed by the 37-pound mega-vegetable Gerardo proudly cradles like a newborn child.
While eagerly inspecting and praising crops produced by Kiva borrowers, he offers guidance on stronger, more rain-resistant produce likely to benefit from organic farming methods.
Gerardo's love of the land is also reflected in his paintings. One features his childhood home – an evergreen dairy farm, fed by fresh spring water, cascading from the mountains shadowing his boyhood village. Gerardo's artisan talents are also used to turn "carretas" (ox-drawn wooden carts) into rolling works of art, for the proud farmers in and around his village.
Danny Zuñiga: Loan Officer 3
Like his counterparts, loan officer Danny Zuñiga has always had a deep desire to remain close to the land, and the people who tend it.
As a small child, Danny's mom jokes that it was hard to get him excited about school, since he preferred spending time with dad in the family sugar cane fields.
True to his passion, Danny enrolled in an agriculture-based vocational school program. From grades 7-12, Danny bussed his way to Colegio Tecnico Profesional de Platanares, which has a working coffee farm, and livestock farm full of cows, pastures, pigs and rabbits. Just like his colleagues, Danny's favorite part of the job is being out of the main office, and in the field with borrowers. As such, Danny is especially proud to help serve client needs with his agronomy training, both in theory and in practice.
In addition to informal cultivation guidance provided by loan officers, FUDECOSUR borrowers also benefit from community and business development courses funded by FUDECOSUR profits. Free technical training and education are provided to increase crop and cattle yields, improve community health and sanitation, and expand alternative job opportunities. Course themes are requested by the Village Banks, and are coordinated by the FUDECOSUR director and loan officers – who source experts in each field of training (such as technical college agronomists for crop cultivation or livestock care courses, or information technology instructors for computer training courses). Village bank communities in need have benefitted from detailed courses combining theory and practice, such as:
- Livestock Health Care and Output Optimization
- Coffee Cultivation and Output Optimization
- Hydroponic Farming Capacitation (to optimize more environmentally-friendly, and disease-free farming)
- Food Handling and Sanitation (to improve community health and support start-up food service businesses)
- Computer Training (MS Office for children and adults)
- Sewing/Clothes Making
- Community Recycling
- Water Purification
FUDECOSUR provides these free courses not only as a form of long term community development, but also believes that such courses are responsible for client loyalty and very low default rates (2% reported for 2010). The more involved FUDECOSUR is in the village bank communities, the greater affinity clients feel for FUDECOSUR as a member of their community, and the more willing and able clients are to repay loans (per FUDECOSUR's philosophy).
Furthermore, borrowers who are taught methods to improve production, make stronger clients and business partners in the future, since they'll eventually have more income resources.
In The Village Banks: Loan Officers Serving as Financial Operations Partners
Beyond working to provide agricultural communities with formal and informal business development guidance, FUDECOSUR loan officers also train farmers to run village banks, which operate in the communities where farmers reside.
With dedicated mentoring and guidance from loan officers, FUDECOSUR's Village Banks (also known as Credit Committees) are run by 5-7 dedicated volunteers, who are elected every 2 years by members of their community. Partnering with FUDECOSUR's loan officers, Credit Committees are responsible for assessing and approving loan requests, disbursing loans to borrowers, collecting loan payments, documenting all credit requests and exchanges, and monitoring borrower progress. Credit Committees are also charged with educating their community members on FUDECOSUR rules and requirements for soliciting, receiving and repaying loans.
Given their intimate knowledge of the land, FUDECOSUR loan officers are deeply respected and revered by clients as fellow farmers, who bring much-needed credit funds and education to underserved communities.
"Geiner is one of US!" Village bank members of Cedral de Cajón exclaim (referring to the Chief Loan Officer).
Since agricultural communities are commonly excluded from traditional financial services, the introduction of FUDECOSUR funds and training has given clients a renewed sense of hope, pride, and excitement.
Many FUDECOSUR clients recant tales of suffering through intimidating, confusing and lengthy application processes for traditional bank loans.
After losing money to travel costs, and crops left unattended for multiple visits to national banks, farmers are often left disheartened by rejection at the end of the process.
After struggling unsuccessfully for years to obtain national bank loans to support his farm, Antonio Vargas Hernandez, is now Vice President of FUDECOSUR's village bank in Cedral de Cajón.
"After being rejected for loans with national banks time after time, I never imagined I'd actually be running a bank!" Antonio is radiant with warm pride and enthusiasm. "I'm so proud to be able to help my community move forward with affordable loans that can be obtained right here!"
The complexity of the national bank loan process, plus the constant rejection of farmer applications, made many farmers feel inadequate and incompetent when seeking credit. In contrast, FUDECOSUR has taught clients that they are not only valued borrowers – they are also essential, competent and capable financial services partners.
As farmers with intimate knowledge of the land, and personal experience with members of their community, Credit Committees are well-suited to decide which business proposals are most apt to thrive from a micro-loan. If an unprofitable business proposal is presented (such as planting crops in areas not conducive to successful crop production), the hands-on farming expertise of Credit Committees is leveraged, to help prospective borrowers come up with alternative proposals, which will generate positive growth, and help borrowers thrive.
Because of FUDECOSUR's inclusive village banking model, farmers who formerly perceived themselves as financially illiterate, have become highly functional village bank operators who now beam with confidence.
"Loan officers like Geiner make us better people" says Arrelio Arías Brellas – President of FUDECOSUR's village bank in Cedral de Cajón. They've made credit processes easy to understand, and loans fast and easy to obtain. Because of their time and dedication, we are now equipped to help our community improve their businesses, and make life easier."
Miguel Mora Vargas, Treasurer of Cedral de Cajon's village bank, explains how loan officers lead by example, and are a great source of inspiration for village bank officers, who are also borrowers themselves.
"Geiner's hard work makes us want to work harder every day to help our community succeed. Loan officers like Geiner are always punctual, and they stay after hours to ensure all credit exchange tasks are understood and complete. Their knowledge and expertise becomes our knowledge and expertise, and we learn more every day. Our community is stronger because of FUDECOSUR."
As village bank operators express their gratitude for FUDECOSUR's inclusive and educational community development model, monsoon rains often thunder down outside, making a mighty rap-a-tap-tap chorus of sound, which mimics roaring applause.
Cedral de Cajón is just one of many communities expressing deep thanks for FUDECOSUR credit services, and the Kiva loans that help make them possible.
Time and again, I have the pleasure of seeing borrower hardships converted into eventual successes through Kiva loans, and I redefine the concept of wealth every time.
Most FUDECOSUR borrowers, due to their isolated location, have never had a relationship with a national bank, and therefore, don't even have savings accounts. They are subsistence farmers who don't become financially rich with Kiva loans, but who are able to maintain crops and cattle for more consistent production, or grow their businesses when weather and market conditions are optimal.
With each new loan received (after years of exclusion from traditional financial services), FUDECOSUR borrowers feel that their work is valued and more important than ever. With each successful harvest supported by Kiva loans, farmers stand taller. Single mothers raising pigs which give birth to litters of 6, or chickens producing piles of healthy eggs, radiate with a newfound belief in themselves as capable and successful providers for their children. Sons producing more abundant coffee beans or corn with nutrient-rich fertilizers, beam with pride, as they are able to care for aging parents, and feel confident about supporting a future family of their own.
What price tag can you place on the renewed sense of life, optimism, enthusiasm and excitement that comes from feeling valued, confident, competent, capable and hopeful?
The value, in my humble opinion, is priceless.
And though life is not easy for these hardworking borrowers, they are growing wealthy in many ways human beings should be, thanks very much in part, to generous Kiva lenders.
Past Blogs:
- Bank-O-Mat Under a Hot Tin Roof: Making Non-Profit Microfinance Sustainable
Upcoming Blogs:
- Kiva Borrower Stories and Thanks from The Field
- Jungle Journals – Adventures in the Wilds of Región Brunca
How YOU Can Help:
- Lend to a Kiva entrepreneur today!
- Apply for the Kiva Fellows Program!
- Join the FUDECOSUR lending team!
Julie Kerr is Kiva Fellow serving in San Isidro, Costa Rica. She currently supports FUDECOSUR (Foundation for the Development of Southern Communities). FUDECOSUR is a non-profit microcredit provider, dedicated to empowering Southern Costa Rica's disenfranchised agricultural sector.


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THINKADVISOR | Goldman Sachs to Offer Structured Products to RIAs on CAIS-X
Partnership Offers Institutional-Level Structured Products to Vetted Advisors
Goldman Sachs and CAIS announced on Tuesday a partnership that will bring Goldman's institutional-level structured products to independent advisors and the registered investment advisor channel.
The venture on the CAIS-X online alternative exchange is already up and running, making Goldman's structured products available to indie advisors and RIAs at no initial cost for becoming a CAIS member. CAIS now serves about 100 RIAs, and the firm is seeking to grow selectively by vetting prospective clients.
"Through the CAIS exchange, we can generate many custom conversations and allow an RIA to have a bespoke conversation with Goldman Sachs and customize a specific product," said CAIS co-founder and president Rafay Farooqui in an interview on Wednesday. "We're embedded in the product revenue stream at Goldman, and we streamline the operational efficiencies for the RIAs we take on."
Farooqui started his career at Goldman Sachs and spent much of his time there in institutional equities. As a result, he said, when working out the CAIS deal with Goldman, the two parties found an easy fit. And structured products are a natural extension of CAIS' existing offering of pre-qualified hedge funds, private equity funds and precious metals," Farooqui added.
"When we were thinking about starting a structured products group at CAIS, the driving force was RIAs and positioning with a firm that had the right product set and intellectual capital," he said. "We clicked right away with the Goldman Sachs Private Investor Products Group. It was a mutual meeting of the minds."
The products available to advisors on CAIS were previously only available to institutional investors and Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management clients.
"We are pleased to be partnering with CAIS, which has a strong reputation and relationships within the registered investment advisor community," said Bill Shelton, managing director within Goldman Sachs' Private Investor Products Group in the Americas, in a statement. "Their unparalleled technology-driven process and institutional framework delivers quality financial products to the fragmented wealth management industry, and will complement the products and capabilities we offer through the structured products group."
In 2009, CAIS launched its global alternatives exchange, known as CAIS-X, which provides advisors with a platform for conducting due diligence, analysis and trading of alternative investments. Once an order is placed, funds are held with custodians including Fidelity, Pershing, TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab. Advisors receive regular diligence reports through Mercer.


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It is pristine... till it reaches Delhi. Now there is another mission to clean it – without learning lessons from previous attempts
Puja Bhattacharjee | May 19, 2016 | New Delhi
An underground rapper who grew up on Mumbai streets, Divine spins his music around his environment and poverty. His breakout single, 'Meri Gully Mein', along with fellow rapper Naezy caught Bollywood's attention. The Hindi film 'Gully Boy' is inspired by their lives and gr
Anil Swarup, an IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre who retired in 2018, is a model bureaucrat who retained his optimism right till the end of service and exemplified dedication and commitment. His excitement at the opportunities that a job in the IAS provided is evident on every page of his new book publis
The question of reform of the civil services has been debated extensively at all levels at least over the last five to six decades after independence. Indeed, it was soon perceived that the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) may not be well equipped to deal with the problems of an emerging developing coun
Shouting vengeance at all and sundry while wriggling out of holes of our own making seems to be our very special national characteristic. Some recent instances are illustrative of this attribute. A number of business tycoons with thousands of crores of unresolved debts have fled abroad with the government
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) came into existence, based on a Resolution of the home ministry, dated April 1, 1963 – a sheer coincidence that it also happens to be April Fool's day. Over the past few months, we have seen the CBI live up to its founding day with great zeal, being i
Gujarat was passing through a turbulent phase in the 1980s. The decade began middle class agitations against new reservation policies, and the caste friction turned communal under the watch of chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki, alienating majority of urban population on both counts. The ground was ripe for


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Web Design
Web design involves the creation of the user interface of a website. This includes the graphics, the layout, and maybe even the content. The design is important because it helps attracts people to the website. The more elegant and user friendly the website is, the more likely the users are to stay longer.
Web design companies in Bowling Green offer many packages for you to choose from. Offers can range from pre-built website templates to specialized and custom built designs. Templates are inexpensive, but they require a lot of work on your part and there is also the possiblity that someone else bought the same template, so your website may not be unique. Custom built website can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars depending on your requirements and the company you are dealing with.
It may be a good idea to shop around for designers instead of design companies. They usually produce good work and are less expensive.
For more alternatives and examples, check out the florists websites, singles websites, and dental insurance websites in Bowling Green.
Back to the Bowling Green Services Page
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Details of features included in Windows Phone 7.8 have been revealed on Facebook, according to a post by Microsoft Italy. While Microsoft has released Windows Phone 8, the company's next update for customers with legacy hardware is still on the horizon, and we're unsure what's included. So what has been mentioned by Microsoft Italy?
What we do know already is the new home screen will definitely be available for Windows Phone 7.x devices. More tiles available on the home screen with larger ones being able to be configured. A greater choice of accent colours will be implemented to provide more customisation opportunities for consumers. But that's pretty much it, officially anyway.
We don't believe the employee was in the right to reveal what was published, but we're sure glad it was put live on the social network (translated):
The upgrade to 7.8 will be available for versions 7.0 and 7.5 shortly after the marketing of the devices Windows Phone 8. Among the features there is the new Start screen, the sharing of the calendar using the function Club and access to key services and content Microsoft, including Xbox Music Store library that can be enjoyed by Zune and Xbox SmartGlass.
The above quote was posted in response to a question that was published on the Microsoft Facebook page. It was quickly removed, but before it was Plaffo managed to grab a screenshot.
The translation above mentions 'Club', which is believed to be the new Rooms functionality that's included in Windows Phone 8. As well as this, both Xbox Music and SmartGlass are both stated to be on the feature list for Windows Phone 7.8.
We'll be waiting for Microsoft to announce the next update for those with legacy hardware, but should these features be included in the release it will make for a more useful upgrade. This will keep heads held high with the requirement to purchase a new handset not being present for a few more features.
via: KnowYourMobile, Plaffo; thanks, Jeremynelson1987, for the tip!


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A couple of months ago I purchased a large collection of glass plate negatives, and used several of these to illustrate a piece I wrote for Sepia Saturday about a visit to the Pleasure Palaces of Southport. In the second of a planned series of articles about this intriguing collection we return to the English coastline with six colour positive glass plate slides taken by an unknown amateur photographer.
The six slides each measure 89 x 63mm (3½" x 2½"), with the printable area roughly 3¼" x 2¼", corresponding to the standard quarter-plate format used by most amateur glass plate cameras in the early to mid-1900s. All six are coastal views but, like the rest of the collection, none have anything to indicate where they might have been taken, despite having a very English feel to them.
It was this view that provided the first clue. As a trained geologist I'm pretty familiar with landscapes and outcrop patterns produced by a variety of rock types, and this headland with its blocky nature produced by weathering of rectangular joint patterns seems to me very typical of granite.
Geology of Cornwall and Devon
portion of Geological Survey "Ten-Mile" Map (1957)
Image © and courtesy of the Ordnance Survey
From what I remember of my A-Level geology studies the only place in England that you're likely to find granite right on the coast is in Cornwall, as the portion of the Geological Survey map for that area shows rather dramatically. The red blobs are granite intrusions, and the blob at the far left covers the land around Penzance, St Ives and Land's End.
Land's End, Cornwall
View Larger Map
That still leaves a fair distance of coastline to search, but if you're visiting Cornwall, what better place to take a photograph than at Land's End, that most touristic and memorable of spots, so that's where I looked first. You can search this coastline very effectively using either Google Maps or Google Earth. Noticing that the view in that first slide had some rocks off shore, with perhaps a lighthouse on one of them, I used Google Maps to come up with this view of rocky islets a few hundred metres to the west of Land's End.
Land's End, Cornwall
Image © Tom Hurley and courtesy of 360 Cities
Google Earth gives you the opportunity to "fly through" the landscape in virtual 3-D, and to access "spherical panoramic" images hosted by 360 Cities. One of these fortuitously shows almost the exact view as in the slide, taken from Dr Syntax's Head with the Longships islets and lighthouse, as well as Kettle's Bottom rock, in the distance.
Walking a few metres out to the headland and turning right to face north-east gives us the scene shown in the second of the slides (above). The rugged coastline is identifiable by the characteristic sea arches, and a hotel building just visible on the horizon. These two panoramas can be viewed via browser on the 360 Cities web site here and here.
Harbour View A
The next three slides show a harbour, taken from different spots around the shoreline. This image is the most interesting, and in some ways frustrating, of the three. A large crowd gathers around something almost hidden from the view of the photographer. In the right foreground a neatly dressed woman pats the neck of a horse, complete with full collar and harness attached to the shafts of the cart, the buckboard of which is just visible through the crowd. Clearly the people are jostling for a closer view of whatever is on the cart. One man, wearing rolled up shirt sleeves and a flat cap, is standing at what is probably the tailgate of the cart, and has the attention of many in the crowd. At far left of the foreground, standing on some kind of platform, are three teenagers including two girls with dark blue school blazer, one with an unidentifiable crest.
A lorry with large drums piled on the back is parked between the crowd and the water. Almost hidden behind the cab of the truck, several boys play in waist-deep water. The harbour is scattered with boats at anchor, ranging from small pleasure craft to larger commercial fishing boats. A long stone wharf or breakwater extends almost across the entire width of the photo, with two lighthouses, a large one centrally placed and a smaller one at the distal end, marking one side of the harbour entrance. A couple of dozen cars, mostly black, are parked along the wharf, reminding one of that well worn quote often attributed to Henry Ford, "You can have any colour as long as it's black." The car at the far right looks like an early Morris Minor, first manufactured in 1948. Also arrayed intermittently down the wharf are a number of people standing and sitting, obviously enjoying the warm sunshine.
Harbour View B
This view of the harbour includes the shore-end of the wharf and part of a town, with a number of boats resting at anchor and several dinghies tethered by ropes and lying on the sand in the foreground exposed by an outgoing tide.
Harbour View C
A third view of the harbour is taken from the opposite direction, the photographer standing on the shore somewhere in the middle of the previous view. Boats are at anchor or under way in the small harbour, at least four of them with visible occupants, and several men, women and children can be seen on foot investigating the intertidal sand flats.
The slopes on the other side of the harbour are clad with a substantial number of buildings, indicating a sizeable town, and a smaller wharf protecting the other side of the harbour is visible in the left middle ground. At far left in the middle ground, beyond a rocky point, a beach crowded with pleasure seekers can just be made out.
St Ives, Cornwall, December 2005 (see in Google Maps)
It took a little searching, but I eventually found the harbour using Google Earth. It is St Ives, situated on the northern Cornwall coast, a town well serviced with Streetview images, which meant I could locate three perfect shots for a "Now and Then" series.
St Ives Harbour View A - May 2009
Image © and courtesy of Google Earth
The first view was clearly taken near the top of this boat ramp, and I suspect the cart contains a catch of fish, crab or lobster recently hauled onshore from one of the fishing boats now at anchor in the harbour.
St Ives Harbour View B - May 2009
Image © and courtesy of Google Earth
St Ives Harbour View C - May 2009
Image © and courtesy of Google Earth
The second and third views indicate that the photographer was walking around the harbour as the tide went out.
The last of the six slides depicts a beach at low tide, filled with dozens of people enjoying the sunny afternoon. Some recline in their deck chairs, reading newspapers, chatting to friends or watching the children playing. The photographer has caught a young boy having just bowled a ball at his sister, and she's in the act of batting it away. Two young ladies bravely sunbathe in the lea of a rocky outcrop. Another group of children are digging in the sand. One young man or woman scans the sky anxiously, wondering how much longer the sun will last or perhaps keeping a lookout for pesky seagulls.
View of Newquay Harbour entrance from Towan Beach
Image © buthe79 and courtesy of Panoramio
This has been identified as Town Beach at Newquay, which recent images show to have remained popular with holidaymakers. The rocks here are Devonian sandstones, by the way.
The clothing fashions in these photographs, particularly those worn by the women, appear to me to be typical of the post-Second World War era, i.e. the late 1940s and early to mid-1950s, illustrated by the images on Geoff Caulton's PhotoDetective web page for this period.
Detail of St Ives Harbour View A
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
It was when zooming in on these images that I noticed a very unusual feature, one that I've never previously noticed in any of the colour images that I own. Although not visible to the naked eye, the colours are actually made up of three differently coloured sets of diagonal lines. According to Robert Hirsch's history of colour photography (Hirsch, 2011), colour plates made up of a "checkerboard of red, green, and blue elements" were produced by the Finlay Colour process, also known as the Thames Colour Screen, which was originally patented in 1906 but abandoned after the Great War. It was subsequently re-introduced in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
The Paget Dry Plate process, "patented in Britain in 1912 by G.S. Whitfield and first marketed by the Paget Prize Plate Company in 1913," was a very similar technique (Wikipedia).
The system used two glass plates, one of which was the colour screen plate while the other was a standard black-and-white negative plate. The colour screen plate comprised a series of red, green and blue filters, laid down in a regular pattern of lines to form a réseau, or matrix ... Transparency positives could be made from the system's panchromatic negatives by contact printing; these positives were then bound in register with a colour viewing screen of the same type as used for exposure, to reproduce the image in colour.James Morley has a small collection of early colour positive slides produced by the Paget process here. My examples, however, appear to have been taken considerably later, probably in the very late 1940s or early 1950s.
For more coastal excursions, in various hues, visit the other participants in this week's Sepia Saturday effort.
Hirsch, Robert (2011) A Concise History of Color Photography, in Exploring Color Photography, 5th Edition, Focal Press.
Elusive colour: Paget colour system, on Captured in Colour, Australian War Memorial.