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Suzuki Grand Vitara Expert Review
As one of the last small true SUVs available in today's marketplace, the 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara finds itself in the odd middle ground between larger, traditional body-on-frame SUVs and smaller car-based, front-wheel drive crossovers. Featuring compact unibody construction but with a unique ladder-frame design and a true four-wheel drive chassis, the Grand Vitara is a small vehicle that can actually cope with a little off-road action.
In 2009, the Grand Vitara received its first major update, including a revamped engine lineup featuring a base-level 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine good for 166 horsepower and a new 3.2-liter V-6 capable of 230 horses. Unfortunately, the former arrives with just four cogs in its automatic gearbox (a five-speed manual is standard), foregoing the six-cylinder's five-speed automatic.
Available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive, the Vitara has four primary trim levels to suit buyers of different needs -- from city cruising to backwoods adventuring. As can be expected, the base trim levels are rather sparse, though automatic climate control and a removable Garmin navigation unit are standard equipment.
Bodystyles: 4-door SUVEngines: 2.4L I-4, 3.2L V-6Transmissions: 4-speed automatic, 5-speed manual, 5-speed automaticModels: Base RWD, Premium RWD, XSport RWD, Limited V6 RWD, Premium Special Edition 4WD, Premium 4WD, XSport V6 4WD, Limited 4WD, Limited
The 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara was refreshed in 2009 with a minor cosmetic revamp and new engines, along with standard Garmin navigation. The Luxury trim is now renamed Limited for 2010.
After an all-new exterior for 2006, four years on, the Grand Vitara is again showing its age, appearing much like a first-generation Saturn Vue. The body is chunky and plain, though it could be argued that Suzuki went with function over form for its versa
There's nothing special in the Grand Vitara's cabin. Limited models feature single-stage heated leather seats and additional navigation features. Plastic abounds, though interior space is good and the seats are comfortable. Controls and instrumentation ar
On the highway and around town the Grand Vitara isn't as comfortable to drive as most car-based crossovers, and the base four-cylinder engine is barely up to the task, especially when combined to the old-world four-speed automatic. Opt for the six-cylinder and the Grand Vitara starts to come alive, at the expense of slightly worse fuel economy. Still, if true four-wheel drive ability is needed in a compact package, the Grand Vitara's off-road capability is better than average for its class.
Driver and front passenger front, side, and side-curtain airbags are standard across the Grand Vitara lineup, as are both traction and stability control programs.
Base RWD: 19 mpg city/ 26 mpg highwayPremium RWD, XSport RWD, Limited RWD: 19 mpg city/ 25 mpg highwayLimited V6 RWD, XSport V6 RWD, Limited V6 RWD: 17 mpg city/23 mpg highwayPremium Special Edition 4WD, Premium 4WD, Limited 4WD: 19 mpg city/23 mpg hig
- Decent fuel economy in rear-drive trim
- Capable off-roader with four-wheel drive
- Value-packed, amenity rich
- Dated styling
- Lackluster interior
- Anemic four-speed, four-cylinder combo
- Less comfortable ride than most crossovers
Needs a full revamp, stat!
- Chevrolet Equinox
- Honda CRV
- Jeep Patriot
- Toyota RAV-4


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Using the same principles of positive reinforcement behavior modification that she uses when working with dogs, dog trainer Ilana Bram describes how she got herself in the best physical shape of her life:
I'm a dog trainer. I work to help people solve issues they're having with their dogs. But sometimes, I find that I can use the same solutions I dole out to my students to train another animal with whom I'm particularly well acquainted: Me.
Take my workout habits.
I should work out because of the long-term health effects on my body. I should have enough willpower to "just do it." But I don't. For dogs, theoretical long-term results don't matter in training behavior. We might have a different temporal sense than they do, but, when it comes to the effectiveness of behavior modification, humans are not so different than canis familiaris: We need instant rewards, well managed situations, and the removal of anything punishing.
Here are some dog training methods I employed to get myself in better shape.
1. Acknowledge that going to the gym is a behavior, and behaviors are maleable
Whenever I am faced with a tricky dog training problem, I hear training-guru Karen Pryor's voice in my head, saying, "It's just behavior, and all behavior can be changed." There's no need to label the dog "stubborn" or "rude." He's just behaving, and we can alter his behavior with training. Indeed, everything any of us do is really "just a behavior." Even laying motionless on the couch watching TV is a behavior (just barely!). Similarly, working out is not some magical state that happens to strong-willed, superior beings. Exercise is just a behavior, and behaviors can be trained.
If you only go to the gym to avoid guilt — an example of negative reinforcement — or if you are mean to yourself when you don't go to the gym — an example of punishment — you will end up developing an aversion to even thinking about the gym. Every time you think about the gym, you have a bad consequences (guilt).
If you're an unmotivated dog owner, go ahead and replace every instance of the word "gym" with "dog training" in the above paragraph.
How are these situations alike? In both cases, you have trained yourself to procrastinate. It's not that you're lazy, or weak, or any such labels. Your aversion is just a trained behavior. We can change that.
Behavior is shaped by consequences. If a behavior is followed by a good consequence, the behavior is more likely to occur. If a behavior is followed by a bad consequence, the behavior is less likely to occur. By manipulating the consequences of going to the gym, I can manipulate my future behavior.
2. Figure out how to associate the gym with good things
Classical conditioning is the reason Pavlov's dogs drooled when they heard the bell. By pairing pleasant stimulus (in Pavlov's dogs' cases, food) with neutral stimulus (bell), the neutral stimulus becomes rewarding. Some rewards I use to get myself to the gym are straight up Pavlovian.
I eliminated my top gym-related aversives: looking sloppy and getting calluses. I bought nice gym clothes, and I make a point of getting my unruly hair under control and wear a touch of lipstick before spending twenty minutes in a room full of mirrors. To protect my hands, I bring grips (I don't like gloves).
There are little things, too. I decorated my gym notebook, and I use colored gel pens to track my workouts. I also use stickers, which are scientifically proven to be awesome.
[caption]My very pretty gym notebook.[/caption]
All of these positive associations help make my gym visits more enjoyable. As famous animal trainer Bob Bailey says, "Pavlov is Always Sitting On Your Shoulder." No matter what we do, we are always being classically conditioned to like or dislike our activities. Use this to your advantage.
3. Reward good behavior
Figure out what's rewarding to you, and you can use those things to positively reinforce the behavior of going to the gym.
Would you keep working if your boss stopped paying you? Pay your body for the work it does. For most people, checking off a box on a log is very rewarding, but you should tie it with a real life reward as well.
I reward the behavior of going into the gym by logging the whole workout in a my notebook — seeing the pages fill up is rewarding to me. When I get home, I log the workout on Fitocracy, a fitness social network that gamifies fitness. I also get to see my long-term progress charts. Then, I eat a delicious meal. For humans and dogs alike, food is a "primary reinforcer" and as such has a lot of power in influencing behavior. I get to eat 20% more than my caloric needs on a workout day. Talk about reward!
Measurements are important so that daily fluctuations are drowned in the bigger picture. Most people track their weight. Since my goal was to gain muscle and lose fat, I knew my weight might not change much at all. Instead, I logged waist-to-hip ratio.
Waist-to-hip ratio measures general health better than BMI or weight. It also allows for a wide variation in body types. You can be skinny, athletic, or full figured—what matters to health is the ratio. For women, a ratio between 0.7 and 0.75 is ideal. A ratio above 0.8 could indicate a problem. For men, the ideal wait-to-hip ratio is said to be 0.9.
To find your waist to hip ratio, measure your waist at the narrowest point, measure your hips at the widest point, and then divide waist by hips. Here's my data from the summer of last year until now.
Seeing the downward trend was rewarding. Taking photos can also be rewarding — sometimes more so than tracking weight. Here is another fitocracy.com user's shots of herself.
Note that she weighs the same in both pictures. If she had only tracked her weight, she might have become discouraged and quit half-way to her goal. (Click here to read her thoughts on weight loss).
4. Create an achievable plan to meet goals and determined the most efficient route.
There are many ways of getting results you want. If your dog eats the shoes in your closet, you can either try to fix the behavior, fix the door on your closet, or stop wearing shoes. All would solve the problem, but some methods are just more convenient than others.
For me, I felt the most time-effective route to improved muscle mass would be weight training.
Once you've picked a method, you need a plan. Why? Because when you have a plan, you can string together a bunch of behaviors into a "behavior chain." Behavior chains are what makes a trained dog able to open the fridge, take out a beer, and bring it to you. It learned each behavior because doing one was reinforced by the opportunity to do another. And at the end of the chained-together behaviors, there is some kind of nice reward.
When you string behaviors into a chain, you have that feeling of flow: one behavior smoothly flows into the next, so the entire chain feels like you only did one behavior. For example, driving a car is made up of a million little behaviors, but when you think about how you got home, you just think "I drove" as if it's one behavior. The same can be true for working out. Instead of having many unpleasant steps (getting to the gym, doing one exercise, walking around awkwardly, doing another exercise, and so on, then going home), you can have what feels like one behavior: "I worked out." How? By becoming fluent in each individual behavior, and by knowing during each behavior what you're going to do next.
To become fluent in each lift, get someone to show you correct form. I watched a million how-to videos on YouTube. This guy is my favorite: free, clear, accurate, and nice to look at (primary reinforcer!).
Knowing what you're going to do next becomes a reward. Your reward for doing your first set of bench press is that you get to go on to the next familiar behavior, which gets you closer to finishing your workout (and to your reward). If you finish one behavior and you don't have your next behavior already lined up, your "behavior chain" is broken, and all the work you've done to that point goes unrewarded. The consequence of all your work to that point is "stand there feeling stupid." If a behavior is followed by a bad consequence, the behavior is less likely to occur. Feeling stupid is a punishment, not a reward.
5. End workouts on a high note
Dog trainers know to put the preferred, best known behaviors at the end of the chain. Might as well do that with yourself, too. I finish off my workout with something I enjoy: a three-minute walk on the treadmill. Short and sweet.
6. Set things up to be as easy as possible
A seeing-eye dog has to learn to sit before he can learn to maneuver Madison Avenue. A marathoner starts off by taking just one step. Likewise, begin with short workouts. Keep the weights light at first. Make it easy. Reward lavishly. Remember that you're really training yourself to love training. It's not about the one lift; it's about a lifetime of fitness.
To make eating right easy, I stock my fridge with fresh vegetables and meats. The food battle is won at the grocery store. If it's not in my house, I can't eat it. It's the same advice I gave my friend when his puppy mauled his phone charger: if you hadn't left it out, she wouldn't have destroyed it. Some things are just too hard to resist.
7. Train incompatible behaviors to tip the scales toward the desired results
To keep your dog from chewing the sofa, you might give him something more appropriate to chomp on. Have a dog who begs incessantly at the table? Train him to sit nicely on a mat in the corner. The dog can't be on his mat and pawing your lap at the same time.
Similarly, the best way to "diet" is to have a belly full of vegetables and protein. Instead of fretting about what I'm not supposed to eat, I focused on all the wonderful things that I can eat.
I'm not about to appear on the cover of a swimsuit magazine, but I've never looked better naked. I dance in my seat on the way to the gym because I can't wait to get started. My body is healthier. I almost never get cold because I burn calories with my internal furnace. I can deadlift and squat my body-weight.
I never thought I'd be "the kind of person who" goes to the gym. I had an aversion to physical effort when I started out. Today I love to work out. I must be a pretty good trainer.


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Evaluation and Treatment of Oral Soft Tissue Diseases
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00001601
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : November 4, 1999
Last Update Posted : March 4, 2008
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
This study offers evaluation and treatment of patients with diseases of the mouth or systemic diseases that involve the mouth. The protocol is not designed to test new treatments; rather, patients will receive current standard of care treatments. The purposes of the study are: 1) to allow NIDCR's Gene Therapy and Therapeutics Branch staff to gain more knowledge about oral soft tissue diseases and possibly identify new avenues of research in this area; and 2) to establish a pool of patients who may be eligible for new studies as they are developed. (Participants in this protocol will not be required to join a new study; the decision will be voluntary.)
Patients of any age with oral diseases or systemic diseases involving the mouth may be eligible for this study. Women of childbearing potential and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding will only have tests and procedures and receive medications that pose no greater than a minimal risk to the fetus.
Participants will have a comprehensive dental and medical examination, including a physical examination of the head and neck. Additional tests and procedures that may be required for diagnosis and to guide treatment include the following:
- Blood and urine tests - for routine laboratory studies, assessment of kidney and liver function, and detection of viruses, fungi, bacteria or parasites
- Electrocardiogram - to record the electrical activity of the heart
- Biopsies - to examine tissue under the microscope. The method and number of biopsies depends on the individual's specific condition and the tissue to be removed. For all biopsies a local anesthetic (lidocaine with or without epinephrine) is injected at the biopsy site. A punch biopsy uses a small sharp cookie-cutter instrument to remove a small (about 1/10- to 1/5-inch) piece of skin. An excisional biopsy uses a small surgical knife or scalpel to remove a piece of tissue, usually requiring some stitches to close the wound.
- Diagnostic imaging - X-rays, photographs, or other tests as needed for diagnosis
Treatments include tablets, injections and topically applied medications. All preparations are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and are commercially available. Patient follow-up may vary from one visit to intermittent visits over a number of years, depending on the patient's condition.
|Condition or disease
|Aphthous Stomatitis Burning Mouth Syndrome Lichen Planus Mouth Disease Temporomandibular Joint Disorder
|Procedure: Electrocardiogram Procedure: Biopsies Procedure: Diagnostic imaging
|Not Applicable
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Enrollment :
|999 participants
|Official Title:
|Patient Evaluation and Treatment of Oral Soft Tissue Diseases According to Generally Available, Standard Procedures and Therapeutic Modalities
|Study Start Date :
|August 1997
|Study Completion Date :
|August 2002
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|Child, Adult, Older Adult
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Patients of any age, both genders, and all racial/ethnic groups with oral diseases or systemic diseases with oral manifestations that will help the branch fulfill the objectives listed in Section 1.0.
Women of childbearing potential, or who are pregnant or lactating, will only undergo tests and procedures, and/or receive medications for which data exists proving minimal risk to the fetus and/or child. Only diagnosis without radiographs will be performed.
A written referral is needed from the patient's physician or dentist.
No patients with significant cognitive impairment.
No pregnancy or lactation, if this status precludes proposed diagnostic procedures or therapies because of unknown, untoward effects on mother and/or child.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00001601
|United States, Maryland
|National Institute of Dental And Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
|Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|November 4, 1999 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|March 4, 2008
|Last Verified:
|August 2002
Oral Medicine
Clinical Experience
Educational Training
Oral Lesions
Aphthous Ulcers
Lichen Planus
Burning Mouth
Temporomandibular Dysfunction (TMD)
Oral Disease
Oral Manifestations
Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome
Mouth Diseases
Stomatitis, Aphthous
Burning Mouth Syndrome
Lichen Planus
Lichenoid Eruptions
Skin Diseases, Papulosquamous
Skin Diseases
Stomatognathic Diseases
Joint Diseases
Musculoskeletal Diseases
Craniomandibular Disorders
Mandibular Diseases
Jaw Diseases
Muscular Diseases
Myofascial Pain Syndromes


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1333 W. Spurgeon Fort Worth, TX 76115
We changed our Twitter name!
The Fort Worth Independent School District has a new Twitter handle! Formerly known as @FortWorth_ISD , we are now @FortWorthISD.
Yes, we've removed the underscore from the Twitter handle. You'll find the District under @FortWorthISD on every social media platform! Be sure to follow @FortWorthISD on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates on all #FWISD events, programs, and news.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and the Fort Worth ISD Mobile App for the latest information


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Gain real-world insight
At SCAD you'll study luxury and fashion management within one of the world's most famous schools of fashion. You'll work in beautiful, inspiring surroundings, be invited to our unforgettable signature events, and receive guidance from industry leaders who regularly visit with us. With inspiration like that, it's no wonder the SCAD student experience is so highly admired.
A perfect place to learn the business of fashion
Our luxury and fashion management students study and seek inspiration in fabulous SCAD facilities around the world. From Savannah's Morris Hall, a learning center designed expressly for students of the high-end retail marketplace, to bustling SCAD Atlanta and SCAD Hong Kong, we offer it all.
Premium resources always at your fingertips:
- Built-in wall displays for developing retail brand presentations
- Computer labs with 3-D modeling software for building and staging retail store layouts
- Beautiful conference space and smart lecture rooms
- Dedicated graduate student lab
- Resource room with access to fabrics research, fashion books and magazines, and trend services Peclers Paris and WGSN
- Media station equipped with an interactive Steelcase media:scape table and wall-mounted monitors for easy collaboration
Insight from the greats
We frequently bring in industry experts to work with our students and speak about the latest trends in the fashion market. Recent guests include Joshua Schulman, president of Bergdorf Goodman; Robert Duffy, president of Marc Jacobs; Domenico De Sole, chairman of Tom Ford International; and Sally Singer, digital creative director of Vogue.
"If you're a [fashion designer], you better have someone who understands the business of fashion — production, marketing and sales. These are all things that make for a great designer."Kelly Cutrone | Founder of People's Revolution
A full roster of inspiring events
Students reap the benefits of enticing annual events such as the SCAD Fashion Show, SCAD Seen and SCADstyle, bringing leaders of luxury and fashion right to your doorstep to share their insights and wisdom.
SCAD Fashion Show
Billed as one of the premier student shows in the country, the SCAD Fashion Show presents juried collections of student work in an event that's streamed live and covered by international media. Each year as part of the show, former Vogue editor André Leon Talley presents his namesake Lifetime Achievement Award to an outstanding fashion icon.
View more events on our calendar
Make your SCAD experience even more unforgettable
Spend a quarter abroad at one of our international locations to gain cultural perspective, add a worldly dimension to your résumé, and draw inspiration from the sights, sounds, and characters of an entirely new setting.
View our locations
Invest in your future
Request more information from SCAD and we'll send you everything you need to know to begin your career in the luxury market.


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So Awesome and Terrifying at the same time. H.P. Lovecraft would be proud
on October 23, 2010 at 4:00 am
Posted In: Uncategorized
This is the type of thing I imagine when I read a story by H.P. Lovecraft… or when I go to a family reunion. The animation on this clip is so weird, but sooooo well done. I couldn't tell it[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…


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9-41 Non-Resident Travel Insurance Agent (Firm)
"TRAVEL INSURANCE" is defined by law as policies and certificates of travel insurance which may provide coverage for risks incidental to travel, planned travel, or accommodations while traveling, including, but not limited to, accidental death and dismemberment of a traveler; trip cancellation, interruption, or delay; loss of or damage to personal effects or travel documents; baggage delay; emergency medical travel or evacuation of a traveler; or medical, surgical, and hospital expenses related to an illness or emergency of a traveler. Any such policy or certificate may be issued for terms longer than 90 days, but each policy or certificate, other than a policy or certificate providing coverage for air ambulatory services only, must be limited to coverage for travel or use of accommodations of no longer than 90 days. The license may be issued only:
A licensee shall require each employee who offers policies or certificates under this subparagraph to receive initial training from a general lines agent or an insurer authorized under chapter 624 to transact insurance within this state. For an entity applying for a license as a travel insurance agent, the fingerprinting requirement of this section applies only to the president, secretary, and treasurer and to any other officer or person who directs or controls the travel insurance operations of the entity.


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A pacemaker is a small, battery-powered device that sends out small
electrical impulses to make the heart muscle to contract. The pacemaker itself
is a waterproof object about the size of a silver dollar. A pacemaker consists
of a pulse generator and battery that create the electrical impulses, and wires
(leads) that transmit electricity to the heart.
Pacemakers help your heart beat in a regular rhythm and at a normal
speed. They are inserted to treat a heart rate that is too slow, too fast, or
Pacemakers are typically placed under the skin of the chest. These
pacemakers are permanent. But sometimes, pacemakers are needed for only a short
time to help a person in the hospital with heart rhythm problems. A temporary
pacemaker is not surgically inserted but is worn outside the body. Temporary
pacemakers are used only while a person is in the hospital.
Last Revised:
June 2, 2011
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Rakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


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Jim Kershaw-Fk Series Folding Utility Knives
At Design Interviews
Interview with Jim Kershaw : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. Jim Kershaw : Taking design cues from high-end super cars, a legend in aviation, and a dominate ocean predator, the industrial design of IRWIN's new folding utility knives with BladeLock Technology is engineered for the professional tradesman. While capturing the aggressive edge of the famed World War II P-51 Mustang in overall design, the contour of the knife's top spline mirrors the profile curve of a sleek Italian super car. The detail scallop in the knife's blade holder follows the lines of a super car's air ducts, while the cast iron finger grooves mimic the gill slits of the powerful Mako shark. Marrying these three iconic symbols of sleek design, IRWIN's new knife program takes hand tool design to the next level. At IRWIN Tools, we design and develop innovative hand tools and power tool accessories with the world's professional tradesmen in mind. Our obsession with our end-users and the in-depth consumer research we conduct allowed us to identify the frustrations tradesmen experience with folding utility knives that are in the market, today. With this data, it allowed us to design and engineer the next generation of IRWIN folding utility knives that are compact, durable, and easy-to-use with patented innovative features and desirable benefits. .Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. Jim Kershaw : From day one of this project, we set out to learn what our end-user, professional tradesmen, really wanted in a folding utility knife. Listening to their needs and working side-by-side with end-users to show them the possibilities, through meaningful design, we were able to develop something together; folding utility knives that would meet and exceed their expectations on and off the jobsite. .Frank Scott: What are your future plans for this award winning design?. Jim Kershaw : These new knives will hit the North American market in May 2013, and will roll-out to other parts of the world later in 2013. Ultimately, our goal is get these knives in the hands of our users as soon as possible. .Frank Scott: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?. Jim Kershaw : The entire development process, which includes thorough consumer insight/user validation, concept generation, and prototype testing takes approximately 18 months in total; however, the design and ID deliverables were completed in 6 months. .Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. Jim Kershaw : The product design was conducted 100% in-house at our office in Huntersville, North Carolina (USA). As a product development team, we knew there were too many unmet needs in the folding utility knife space, and by working directly with our end-users, professional tradesmen, we created a compact, durable, and easy-to-use solution featuring patented innovation. .Frank Scott: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?. Jim Kershaw : These new folding utility knives were designed by IRWIN Tools and will be sold under the IRWIN brand. .Frank Scott: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?. Jim Kershaw : Internally, as a cross-functional product development team, we conducted highly inclusive concept reviews and ideation sessions, focused on our consumer insights research and design briefs. .Frank Scott: Who is the target customer for his design?. Jim Kershaw : Professional Tradesmen, those in the construction and maintenance repair trades. .Frank Scott: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?. Jim Kershaw : The next generation of IRWIN® Folding Utility Knives with BladeLock Technology feature patented technology engineered to keep your blade locked in, preventing the blade from releasing while the knife is in-use. IRWIN's proprietary BladeLock Technology allows the blade to be changed only when the blade holder is in the 45° position and the blade release button is engaged, allowing the blade to come out only when you are ready to change the blade – never by accident. Backed by IRWIN's Lifetime Guarantee, these durable folding utility knives also feature a compact, easy-to-use design which includes a liner lock for safe one-handed operation and a 16° cutting angle for ultimate comfort and control. Whether you need the compact durability of the FK100 or the versatility of built-in blade storage and screwdriver of the FK250, IRWIN is the new standard in folding utility knives. .Frank Scott: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?. Jim Kershaw : Good ole pen/pencil & paper, as well as Sketchbook Pro and Solidworks software. .Frank Scott: What is the most unique aspect of your design?. Jim Kershaw : The most unique aspect was the way the inspirational elements supported improved ergonomics and a better folding utility knife experience for the user. Designed with nature and technology in mind, the overall product design, and areas like the contour of the knife's top spline, facilitates the knife's unique 16° cutting angle and prevents hand fatigue. Unique aspects of design give the user greater control, improved ergonomics and a better overall feel when compared to other folding utility knives. .Frank Scott: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?. Jim Kershaw : Several internal brainstorming sessions were conducted with various team members, ranging from Designers, Engineers, Product Managers to Consumer Insights Specialists. Our main focus and collaboration, however, was with the end-user to make sure that we were able to design a product for professional tradesmen, one that met their needs. .Frank Scott: What is the role of technology in this particular design?. Jim Kershaw : Patented technology played a key role in designing these particular IRWIN knives as they all feature IRWIN's proprietary BladeLock Technology, which allows for the utility blade to be changed only when the blade holder is in the 45° position and the blade release button is engaged. This unique design allows the blade to come out only when the user is ready to change the blade – never by accident. .Frank Scott: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?. Jim Kershaw : Yes, from the onset of the project we've used several different forms of data and consumer insight research to understand the frustrations, usage, and needs of our core end-users, professional tradesmen, globally. Their experience and keen understanding of their craft, married with our ability to engineer and design tools that extend their capabilities were instrumental in this project. Data was collected from various field visits, prototype testing, focus groups, and panel reviews. .Frank Scott: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?. Jim Kershaw : Our primary design challenge was to create an innovative folding utility knife that had several built-in features and additional tools while keeping the design compact and ergonomic yet durable enough to withstand the conditions professional tradesmen work in every single day. After conducting numerous job-site and in-field visits, our team realized that in order to achieve this objective the knives hard to be designed using one continuous spline and a 16° cutting angle that would allow for total comfort. .Frank Scott: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?. Jim Kershaw : We're proud of what we were able to accomplish as an international product development team and wanted to show how being rooted in consumer insights and inspired industrial design could produce award winning product. .Frank Scott: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?. Jim Kershaw : I learned to not get emotionally attached to my design. Often times, designers can take negative feedback personally, but in this project I learned that any feedback is good feedback, and in order to truly design a great product you have to detach your emotions and remain focused on the goals. .
Jim Kershaw-Fk Series Folding Utility Knives Images:
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Working Families Party seeks to become a rising force in city, state
BRIDGEPORT -- It's 7:45 p.m. on Sept. 4. In 15 minutes the polls will close on what could be a historic Board of Education election.
In an office in dire need of renovation on Stratford Avenue, Lindsay Farrell sits at a table, her laptop perched in front of her and a handful of cell phones piled next to her. Her fingers hurriedly dial a number and Farrell tries to convince the voice on the other end to rush to the polls and vote.
Farrell is executive director of the Connecticut Working Families Party, an independent third party better known for cross-endorsing candidates than running their own.
But on this night, they are running two candidates, John Bagley, a former NBA player, and Barbara Pouchet, an employee of State Farm Insurance.
If all goes well, the pair will join Maria Pereira and Sauda Baraka, Working Families Party incumbents who were displaced from the board when it dissolved itself last July and the state stepped in an appointed a board. They were then given their seats back by the state Supreme Court.
The Working Families Party hopes its members on the school board can forge an alliance to wrest a majority voice away from the Democrats.
The party's move to gain power comes at a time when Mayor Bill Finch is supporting a charter change that would give the mayor the power to appoint board of education members in the future.
A win on this night would make the Working Families Party a viable alternative to the Democrats.
A loss could turn it into an after thought -- just another marker in the cemetery of third parties.
The Working Families Party was born in 1998 in New York through a coalition of organized labor and community action groups like ACORN.
In 2002 it appeared in Connecticut catching voter interest with an agenda of raising the minimum wage, creating green jobs, pushing for affordable health care, advocating for better education and opposing tax breaks to companies shipping jobs overseas.
Eight years later, the party claimed it gained enough power that its cross-endorsement of Dannel P. Malloy, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, helped lead to his victory. The 26,308 votes Malloy received on the Working Families line along with the 540,970 on the Democratic line bested the 560,874 Republican Tom Foley received.
Yet the Working Families Party has only 171 registered voters in Connecticut and just three of those in Bridgeport, according to the Secretary of the State's Office.
"Really? We have that many?" said Farrell, the 32-year-old New Haven resident who in March became the party's executive director. "I think I can name seven."
Even Farrell, herself, is a registered Democrat.
"We don't encourage voters to register with our party," she said. "We prefer they be able to vote in primaries for candidates who support our priorities."
Farrell said her party offers "a viable alternative to party politics and machine politics."
In Hartford, three council members and a Registrar of Voters are Working Families members.
By 9 p.m. Farrell has her answer.
Bagley, the retired basketball star, finishes fourth and with it, gains the party's third board seat. Pouchet doesn't win a seat, but he garners more votes than Republican Joe Borges, the retired registrar of voters.
"I can't win as long as I have an `R' (Republican) next to my name," said a dejected Borges. "But if they (Working Families) do things right they could be a real threat to Democratic control here. High ranking Democrats should be afraid of them."
Pereira said the party is gaining strength.
"We have elected three candidates," she pointed out. "The Republicans only elected a Registrar of Voters. We bring a fresh point of view to Bridgeport."
In Bridgeport, the Working Families Party is considered a force by Donald Greenberg, an assistant professor of politics at Fairfield University; a concern to Mario Testa, the Democratic Town chairman and a godsend to the Republicans by Borges, who believes its Democratic leanings could split that party's vote enabling a Republican to sneak in.
Greenberg said the party could pick up more seats by running a full-slate in next year's municipal election.
But to do so, Greenberg advised that the party to expand on its Board of Education success by building a base, choosing a recognizable leader, pinpointing issues and running larger slates.
"Any win from now on is a big plus for them," he said.
And a concern to many Bridgeport Democrats.
"The Democrats made the Working Families what they are by allowing them to cross-endorse its members and build a name," Greenberg said. "They got their percentages up high enough to become a legitimate third party."
Testa agreed "100%."
"I always opposed that cross-endorsement," he said "... I always believed if you are a Democrat, you run as a Democrat and you win or fail as a Democrat."
But John Stafstrom, a former Democratic town chairman, is not convinced the independent party is gaining power.
"They showed some success in an off-season election," said Stafstrom. "I don't think they would do well citywide in a general election."
To Farrell, November 2013 is a long way away.
She's focusing on November 2012. That's when the electoral ballot will include a charter revision proposal that if approved by voters would give the mayor the power to appoint the entire school board in the future.
"We don't trust a mayor to make the right decisions," Farrell said.
So she's mobilizing another grassroots effort of knocking doors, calling voters and handing out informational sheets.
Before Election Day, she said she and Bagley knocked on well over 1,000 doors.
All that may be good, but Andrew Fardy, a 40-year Democratic party worker who dropped his affiliation last week, said more has to be done.
While he was impressed with the visits from Working Families' volunteers during the Board of Education election, he suggests they recite a better script, simplify their message, dress more for success than leisure and get the people to the polls.
If they can do that, he said, the "days of the Democrats running Mickey Mouse, Humpty Dumpty and Donald Duck and getting them elected" could be over.
firstname.lastname@example.com; 203-330-6286; http://twitter.com/mmayko2011


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Honors & Awards
To find any past award recipients, please use the following search tool. Fill in any or all of the following information and click 'search' for a list of award winners that meet your criteria. When searching by name, simply place in the last name you are searching for.
The GCAA National Office is continually in the process of compiling and processing the records of the honors and awards. If you have information you think may help the association, contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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A Florida circuit judge is being investigated for attempting to "friend" a plaintiff in a lucrative divorce case that the judge was about to decide, according to reports.
Circuit Judge Linda Schoonover's questionable behavior got her into hot water when an appeals court ordered her off the court case after attempting to friend a Winter Springs woman, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The report goes on to say that after the woman didn't "friend" her, Schoonover decided on a punitive property and debt-sharing ruling against the woman. Despite the indiscretion in January, other lawyers and people complained about the judge's behavior before and Schoonover is now barred from hearing cases from 17 lawyers. She is referred to as "emotional, plays favorites and either doesn't know the law or chooses not to follow it," the Sentinel wrote.
"She's got too much power and lacks the ability to control herself," Russell Hershkowitz, an Altamonte Springs attorney who is one of the 17 lawyers Schoonover cannot preside over, told the Sentinel.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Schoonover has been criticized over:•Punishing a Winter Springs real-estate agent with an unduly harsh property and debt-sharing divorce ruling after the woman did not respond to a Facebook "friend" request.•Refusing to listen to evidence from a litigant who annoyed her.•Repeatedly and improperly ordering litigants to one specific psychologist — Andrew Pittington of Lake Mary — an act that lawyers and other judges says she has no authority to do.•Serving as her own lawyer in a property dispute with a niece and nephew while she was a judge, something prohibited by Florida judicial canons.


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Mississippi Vital Records does not process credit cards. VitalChek, a private company, provides the following for Mississippi Vital Records:
- Secure ordering on-line or by phone
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VitalChek offers convenient ordering and delivery, but adds a fee ($8.50) to the $17 charge for a certified copy from MSDH . To avoid additional fees, you can order from MSDH by mail.
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Order by Phone
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Novus B 7 steel chrome, cream and gold finish
For your stapling pleasure, I present to you another simple yet elegant example from the Novus company. The B 7 mirrors the design of the B 22 including the push button spring action loading. The color scheme is a bit warmer than the blue and grey of the B 22 and coincidentally, it matches the corrosion of the steel. Sometimes these happy accidents happen.
Excerpt from the Stapler of the Week, July 16, 2010.


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The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) is a common platform through which startups, innovation-driven enterprises, service providers, research and academic institutions, and community leaders connect, share ideas, and offer tools and resources to accelerate the growth of businesses and industries in the state and beyond. Illinois technology leaders now have a go-to network for sharing and learning about all of the exciting innovations happening in our state.
© Illinois Science and Technology Coalition
Illustration by Dieter Braun


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Inwood House Royal Visit from Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden
Wednesday, May 10, 2006,Inwood House 320 East 82nd Street, New York City-- Inwood House held a special reception for Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden at the Inwood House Maternity Residence for pregnant teens in foster care and homeless pregnant teens. Queen Silvia of Sweden was presented with the 2006 Inwood House Youth Opportunity Award. Queen Silvia is the founder of the World Childhood Foundation which supports the Inwood House's Teen Choice program, our internationally recognized teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS prevention program in 11 NYC schools. In addition to Queen Silvia, guests included members of Queen Silvia's Board and Foundation funders, Inwood House Trustees, Corporate Advisory Board members, our young people and staff. Queen Silvia is an internationally renowned advocate for children and young mothers. Queen Silvia's efforts earned her a U.S. State Department designation as a Hero Acting to End Modern Day Slavery for her success in having the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children adopted worldwide. Established in 1999 by Queen Silvia, the World Childhood Foundation's goal is to promote opportunities for vulnerable children to develop into strong, secure and responsible human beings. World Childhood Foundation funds projects in fifteen countries. PHOTO CREDIT: ©Manhattan Society.com 2006 by Gregory Partanio |tel:718.614.7740 |e-mail: email@example.com More


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Scholars Program
Every year since 1985 the Research Institute has welcomed scholars, artists, and other cultural figures from around the world to work in residence at the Institute on projects that bear upon its annual research theme. While in residence, they pursue their own research projects, make use of Getty collections, and participate in the intellectual life of the Getty Center and the Getty Villa.
Art and Ecology (Research Institute)
The 2019/2020 scholar-year theme invites scholars to address the strategies and forms through which ecological concepts are generated, adopted, staged, and negotiated in the realm of the visual arts and architecture. The intersections of art and ecology raise important questions about how artistic practices have sought to understand our place in nature and the deep entanglements of natural and cultural formations throughout history. The terms are to be taken broadly: art as product, practice, or skill; and ecology as biological environment, built system, or metaphor for interdependence and connectivity.
From Paleolithic figurines to sculptural interventions in the landscape, or from sacred gardens to the golden ratio in architecture, ecological considerations in art range from the stylistic to the geopolitical, from the material to the philosophical. This multivalent discourse on art and ecology incorporates conservation efforts in the age of the Anthropocene as well as critical endeavors to decentralize the human in favor of the animal, the natural, or the post-human. At the same time, technological advances in archaeology, climate science, and the digital humanities are opening new pathways to ecological understanding and merit scholarly reflection.
The Classical World in Context: Thrace (Villa)
The Getty Scholars Program at the Villa for the 2019/2020 term will consider the ancient culture of Thrace, in particular its relations to its southern neighbor Greece and, in a later period, Rome. The Thracians feature prominently in Greek history and are well attested in literature, art, and archaeology. No doubt interacting already in the Bronze Age, Thracians had particularly close relations with the Greek colonists who settled along the Black Sea coast in the seventh century BC, including those who took an interest in the gold and silver mines in Thracian territory. Although adversaries during the Persian Wars, Thracians were later employed as soldiers to fight beside the Athenians and became a familiar sight in Greece. The Odrysian kingdom united the various Thracian tribes in the mid-fifth century BC and survived into the first century AD. The rich archaeological remains of Thrace, including royal burials with superb gold, silver, and bronze works, attest to the sophistication of the culture, which combined local, Greek, and Persian elements. In turn, Thracian religion, including Orphic beliefs and the worship of the goddess Bendis, had a profound influence in Greece.
MONUMENTALITY (Research Institute)
The 2018/2019 academic year at the Getty Research Institute will be devoted to MONUMENTALITY. Monuments and the monumental address fundamental questions of art and architectural history such as size and scale. Applicants are encouraged to address monumentality in all of its distinct forms, as embodied by various cultures and powers throughout history. Research trajectories to consider include the role of monumentality as a tool for nation building, the subversive potential of monument making, and the monumental in buildings, sculptures, installations, murals, and even small-scale objects.
The Classical World in Context: Persia (Villa)
For a second year, the 2018/2019 term of the Getty Scholars Program at the Villa will address the political, intellectual, religious, and artistic relations between Persia, Greece, and Rome from the ninth century BC to AD 651. The Greeks viewed the Persian Empire, which reached from the borders of Greece to India, as a vastly wealthy and powerful rival and often as an existential threat. When the Macedonian king Alexander the Great finally defeated the Persians in 331 BC, Greek culture spread throughout the Near East, but native dynasties—first the Parthian (247 BC–AD 224) and then the Sasanian (AD 224–651)—soon reestablished themselves. The rise of the Roman Empire as a world power quickly brought it, too, into conflict with Persia, despite the common trade that flowed through their territories.
Iconoclasm and Vandalism (Research Institute)
Iconoclasm raises contentious questions that transcend cultural and temporal boundaries. It can be understood as vandalism, destruction, or a means of repression, all of which fundamentally put culture at risk.
However, iconoclasm can also be a form of protest or a vehicle for creative expression. Iconoclasm is transformative, creating entirely new objects or meanings through alterations to existing artworks. Charged with symbolism, these remains testify to a history of reception, offering clues about the life and afterlife of an object. To a certain extent, all radical changes in cultural production can be described as iconoclastic.
The Classical World in Context: Persia (Villa)
The Getty Scholars Program at the Villa for the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 terms will address the political, intellectual, religious, and artistic relations between Persia, Greece, and Rome from the ninth century BC to AD 651. The Greeks regarded Media in western Iran as one of the great kingdoms of the East, but it was the Persian Empire, forged by the Achaemenid Dynasty (sixth to fourth century BC), that became their principal adversary. Reaching from the borders of Greece to India, the Persian Empire was viewed by the Greeks as a vastly wealthy and powerful rival and often as an existential threat. When the Macedonian king Alexander the Great finally defeated the Persians in 331 BC, Greek culture spread throughout the Near East, but native dynasties—first the Parthian (247 BC–AD 224) and then the Sasanian (AD 224–651)—soon reestablished themselves.
The rise of the Roman Empire as a world power quickly brought it, too, into conflict with Persia, despite the common trade that flowed through their territories. The 2017/2018 scholar year is the first of two that will be devoted to this theme.
Art and Anthropology (Research Institute)
The global turn in art history seems to be intensifying a rapprochement with anthropology, leading to a more deliberate inclusion of untraditional, vernacular, and indigenous arts. This process challenges both the canons of art and the methodologies in the different fields of art history, as these two disciplines adapt to the analysis of the cultural production of art and material culture from around the world. These developments build on the legacy of structural anthropology, which has had a significant impact, particularly on contemporary art, since the 1960s, and the profound exchanges that have occurred in the prehistoric, pre-Columbian, African, Oceanic, and Asian fields, which have combined archaeological and ethnographic data to analyze their objects of research.
The Classical World in Context: Egypt (Villa)
For a second year, the Getty Scholars Program at the Villa will focus on relations between the cultures of the classical world and Egypt, which had a crucial, and often reciprocal, impact on cultural trajectories in both spheres from the Bronze Age through the coming of Islam. Priority will be given to research topics that are cross-cultural and interdisciplinary, utilizing a wide range of archaeological, textual, anthropological, and other evidence. This forms the first in a series of research projects that will investigate the ways in which the classical world interacted with the surrounding civilizations of the Mediterranean, Near East, and beyond through trade, warfare, diplomacy, cultural influence, and other forms of contact from the Bronze Age to late antiquity.
Art and Materiality (Research Institute)
In the past decade, a greater attention to the art object and its materiality has enhanced the study of art history, opening new avenues of investigation. Combined with more historical methodologies, the focus on the materiality of artworks is offering profound insights into their meanings. Artists across time and space have infused materials not only with ritual and symbolic significance but also social, political, and economic functions. Art historians, increasingly in collaboration with conservators and scientists, are gaining insight into the process of art making from raw material to finished object, the chaîne opératoire, as well as the strategic deployment of materials both for their aesthetic qualities and for their power to signify. The inquiry into an artwork's materiality raises questions about procurement, trade, value, and manufacturing on the one hand, and, on the other, about the materiality of mechanically reproduced objects or of ephemeral, durational, and conceptual works. Finally, as artworks move between cultures, their materials—whether feathers, shells, marble, or oil paint—are given new meanings, thereby accumulating additional interpretive layers.
The Classical World in Context: Egypt (Villa)
From the Bronze Age through late antiquity, the cultures of the classical world have interacted with the surrounding civilizations of the Mediterranean, Near East, and beyond through trade, warfare, diplomacy, cultural exchange, and other forms of contact. These interactions had a crucial, and often reciprocal, impact on cultural trajectories in both spheres. In the first of a series of scholarly programs and related exhibitions exploring these interconnections, the 2015–2016 Getty Villa scholars will focus on relations between the cultures of the classical world and Egypt from prehistory to the coming of Islam.
2014/2015: Object—Value—Canon
Art-historical interpretation has traditionally proceeded from the description of an object; to discussions about its artistic, cultural, or commercial value; and then to attempts to place the object in a canon with other works. With the movement of art history from a Western-oriented discipline to a global one, this interpretive process—and the terms themselves—must be examined in a new way. Object, value, and canon have different significances in other historical and social contexts. A more diverse integration of understudied visual and archaeological objects necessitates a reassessment of the traditional approach in order to enrich the understanding of the world's artistic heritage. In addition to the global turn, current technological developments present their own challenges to traditional art-historical methodologies, including expansive but unauthoritative resources. The objects as well as the canon must be reevaluated in the era of digital humanities.
2013/2014: Connecting Seas: Cultural and Artistic Exchange
Water has long been a significant means for the movement of goods and people. Sophisticated networks, at a variety of scales, were established in antiquity around the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, and later in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Together with sporadic and accidental encounters, these networks fostered commerce in raw materials and finished objects, along with the exchange of ideas and cultural concepts. Far from being barriers, seas and oceans were vital links connecting cultures. The 2013–2014 academic year at the Getty Research Institute and Getty Villa will be devoted to exploring the art-historical impact of maritime transport.
How has the desire for specific commodities from overseas shaped social, political, and religious institutions? How has the introduction of foreign materials and ideas transformed local artistic traditions, and what novel forms and practices have developed from trade and other exchanges, both systematic and informal? What role do the objects born of these interactions have in enhancing cultural understandings or perpetuating misunderstandings? How has the rapidly accelerating pace of exchange in recent years influenced cross-cultural developments? The goal of this research theme is to explore how bodies of water have served, and continue to facilitate, a rich and complex interchange in the visual arts.
How has the desire for specific commodities from overseas shaped social, political, and religious institutions? How has the introduction of foreign materials and ideas transformed local artistic traditions, and what novel forms and practices have developed from trade and other exchanges, both systematic and informal? What role do the objects born of these interactions have in enhancing cultural understandings or perpetuating misunderstandings? How has the rapidly accelerating pace of exchange in recent years influenced cross-cultural developments? The goal of this research theme is to explore how bodies of water have served, and continue to facilitate, a rich and complex interchange in the visual arts.
2012/2013: Color
Color is an essential component of artistic production and therefore should be fundamental to art historical analysis. The topic of color can be explored from various angles, giving insight into the aesthetics, symbolism, psychology, technology, materiality, conservation, and production of works of art. The Getty Research Institute invites proposals for the scholar year that address the artistic use of color from ancient to contemporary times in any culture. Proposals focused on the Research Institute's collections will be given particular consideration.
In addition to the theme of color, we also welcome applications from scholars engaged in research projects on classical and ancient Mediterranean art and archaeology, the reception of antiquity, and other topics pertaining to the collections, resources, and programs of the Getty Villa.
In addition to the theme of color, we also welcome applications from scholars engaged in research projects on classical and ancient Mediterranean art and archaeology, the reception of antiquity, and other topics pertaining to the collections, resources, and programs of the Getty Villa.
2011/2012: Artistic Practice
Scholars in Residence, 2011/2012
Artists mobilize a variety of intellectual, organizational, technological, and physical resources to create their work. This scholar year will delve into the ways in which artists receive, work with, and transmit ideas and images in various cultural traditions.
At the Getty Research Institute, scholars will pay particular attention to the material manifestations of memory and imagination in the form of sketchbooks, notebooks, pattern books, and model books. How do notes, remarks, written and drawn observations reveal the creative process? In times and places where such media were not in use, what practices were developed to give ideas material form?
In the ancient world, artists left traces of their creative process in a variety of media, but many questions remain for scholars in residence at the Getty Villa: What was the role of prototypes such as casts and models; what was their relationship to finished works? How were artists trained and workshops structured? How did techniques and styles travel?
An interdisciplinary investigation among art historians and other specialists in the humanities will lead to a richer understanding of artistic practice.
At the Getty Research Institute, scholars will pay particular attention to the material manifestations of memory and imagination in the form of sketchbooks, notebooks, pattern books, and model books. How do notes, remarks, written and drawn observations reveal the creative process? In times and places where such media were not in use, what practices were developed to give ideas material form?
In the ancient world, artists left traces of their creative process in a variety of media, but many questions remain for scholars in residence at the Getty Villa: What was the role of prototypes such as casts and models; what was their relationship to finished works? How were artists trained and workshops structured? How did techniques and styles travel?
An interdisciplinary investigation among art historians and other specialists in the humanities will lead to a richer understanding of artistic practice.
2010/2011: The Display of Art
Scholars in Residence, 2010/2011
Display is a driving force in the art world by bringing together ideas with objects and creating narratives that assign meanings. Our experience of any object and the meaning we take from it change with the social, political, economic, and cultural contexts of its display. In some cases, objects only become works of art by virtue of being displayed.
The modern museum's raison d'être is display, and the study of museums and their history will be of interest during this scholar year, as will the relationship of display to conservation and interpretation. Aspects of display related to antiquity will also form a special focus. Finally, a particular display may itself be an artful endeavor worthy of study.
The modern museum's raison d'être is display, and the study of museums and their history will be of interest during this scholar year, as will the relationship of display to conservation and interpretation. Aspects of display related to antiquity will also form a special focus. Finally, a particular display may itself be an artful endeavor worthy of study.
2009/2010: The Display of Art
Scholars in Residence, 2009/2010
To display an object is to assert that it is worthy of inspection. The object may be considered culturally important or beautiful or the product of extraordinary skill, and its display may itself be an artful endeavor worthy of study. The creation of determined viewing conditions brings together ideas and objects, creating narratives that assign meanings, so that our experience of any object and the meaning we take from it change with its mode of display. Consider a cult statue set in an ancient temple, carried away and displayed as booty in a triumphal procession, reused as spolia, showcased in a sculpture garden, recast in plaster for artists to study, adorning the hall of a country house, exhibited in a national museum, reproduced on a postcard, and given a virtual existence on the web. The life story of a work of art requires attention to the social, political, economic, and cultural contexts of its display.
Scholars in Residence, 2008/2009
Networks and BoundariesThe study of the visual arts can and does cross cultural, civilizational, ethnic, religious, and geographic boundaries. Cultural exchange takes place through kaleidescopic networks that are themselves dynamic and transformative. These exchanges are integral to the construction of boundaries, contributing to definitions of self and other. The contact zones within which they occur are marked by appropriations, hybridizations, and syncretisms—all of which remap cultural boundaries. The study of the visual arts has its own networks and boundaries, including interdisciplinarity and divisions between national, area, and world histories. How freely have artists, art objects, and artistic concepts and practices moved across socio-political and cultural boundaries? And with what results? How closely do artistic crossings and their analyses map onto larger networks of power and economics? How do we negotiate the different demands of local cultural contexts with larger regional and/or global concerns?
The Power and Function of Ancient Images
In 2008–2009 the scholars program at the Getty Villa built upon the work of Villa Professor François Lissarrague and focused on the creation, circulation, and reception of images in antiquity. How ancient images functioned in later periods was also of interest. The Greek polis gave birth to a foundational system of representation based on a precise idea of the human body. How were these representations employed? What were the Bronze Age antecedents of such images? What criteria did the Etruscans and the Romans use in selecting and reproducing Greek images? More generally, how did images "react" to the subjectivities of viewers both at the centers and the periphery of the Greco-Roman world?
2007/2008: Change
Scholars in Residence, 2007/2008
The question remains open: can change—by definition an object of inquiry that exists between and above the physical objects of art–historical investigation—come back to its former centrality? How would that be accomplished? And is it necessary at all?
Cultural Identity and the Peoples of the Ancient Mediterranean
Scholarship on cultural identity generally privileges the ways that groups differentiate themselves from others. Attention is paid to the drawing of boundaries between communities by the deployment of identifying symbols and practices ranging from dress and language to works of art and religious ritual. Indeed, the binary self versus other structures most research in this area.
In 2007–2008, the Villa scholars program built upon the work of Erich Gruen (in residence for the year as Villa Professor) to explore another aspect of cultural differentiation in the context of the ancient Mediterranean world. In constructing cultural identity, ancient peoples often willingly acknowledged their ties to others. How did ancient Mediterranean peoples visualize themselves as part of a broader heritage? How did they forge links with other groups? What happens to research in this area when similarities and togetherness are stressed rather than differences and otherness?
2006/2007: Religion and Ritual
Most art-historical investigation into religious art has taken the art as its point of departure. It may be beneficial to focus more directly on religious habits of mind themselves and see how they express themselves in other areas of creativity. We might even ask to what degree traces of a culture's religious or spiritual mentality are registered in art where no overt religious purpose is expressed. Conversely, emergent secular outlooks may most vividly be registered in ostensibly religious images and symbols. We might also ask whether an emphasis on visual interest excludes a large body of material deemed "minor" or "popular," a good deal of it ephemeral, which may tell us more about a historical religious culture than works that lend themselves to elegant formal analysis. Finally, given that the categories now used to think about the transaction between the arts and religion were not in place when many of the works were produced, to what degree can one gain access to a religious sensibility through art history in its present condition?
2005/2006: Duration: Persistence of Antiquity
The familiar melancholy that has attended the recollection of antiquity as fragment and ruin stands in contrast to the vitality of its traditions as they persist in popular forms almost beneath the level of conscious reflection. One has only to turn to the astrological forecasts in the daily newspaper to encounter the living relics of ancient magic and superstition. When Renaissance poets and artists embraced the rediscovered images of the Olympian gods, these entities did not relinquish their longstanding place in the social imaginary as celestial powers governing human affairs. Oral, divinatory, and festive traditions have played parts in the persistence of antiquity every bit as important as literate ones, often continuing unabated when textual transmission falters. Each repetition and adaptation of some element of classical culture represents its concrete survival into a new era, such that we ourselves live within a web of thoughts, beliefs, and mental associations many centuries old—and this deep continuity can even be obscured by self-conscious episodes of "revival" or "rebirth." As a theme, the persistence of antiquity can bear on research in nearly all places and periods within the traditions of Western culture and in every setting where those traditions have been exported and contested.
2004/2005: Duration
No work of art, however enduring, can be literally timeless. Stone crumbles; pigments fade; paint cracks and flakes; buildings rot and collapse. The gardens of Le Nôtre as much as Robert Rauschenberg's Grass Painting, the latex sculptures of Eva Hesse no less than a vernacular shingle cottage in New England—all exist within a process of growth or decay rather than as completed, unchangeable objects. The temporal dimension of art and architecture extends from evanescence to apparent endlessness. Recent trends in sophisticated art practices have emphasized duration in spectatorship, inviting the interaction of viewers and incorporating their movements through space. In dance, music, theater, film, and the novel, an unfolding over time has always been their essence; and increasing attention is being paid to the historical imprint of such temporal art forms on the creation and experience of painting, sculpture, and architecture.
2003/2004: Markets and Value
Works of art are commonly acknowledged to have "aesthetic value" and "market value," but defining these terms and the relationship between them has been a persistent challenge. These two notions of value have often been aligned, with great material worth and cultural renown accorded to the same objects. This has led a few scholars to take the extreme position that there is no meaningful distinction between market and aesthetic value: arguing that, especially in the modern economy, works of art are merely cultural commodities. Most scholars persist in maintaining that the psychic, symbolic, and intellectual satisfactions provided by works of art cannot be reduced to the measure of the market; yet any meaningful history of taste, consumption, and display requires that the aesthetic and the economic be correlated. The 2003-2004 Scholar Year at the Getty Research Institute focused on theoretical approaches to assigning value in art and on empirical studies of how emotive, cognitive, and economic values have been intertwined in the history of art.
2002/2003: Biography
Biographical narrative has been central to the practice of art history since the publication of Vasari's Vite de piu excellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori italiani (1550), but its validity can no longer be taken for granted. Surveying an artist's work and relating it to his or her life history has been challenged by newer theoretical and contextual approaches. Biographical narrative has been criticized for relying on false assumptions about unities of period, life, and work. Even the very possibility of a coherent "subject" for biography has been questioned. Critics have emphasized that biography is a genre, conforming to rhetorical conventions and historically specific traditions of use. A generation of sustained critique has weakened biography's authority, but it is by no means certain that a wholesale jettisoning of biographical method would not entail significant losses for art historical research. Scholars engaged with identity-based practices, for example, insist that the artist's background is crucial to interpretation. While biographical methodology is debated in academia, well-researched biographies for the general reader have never been more popular.
2001/2002: Frames of Viewing: Perception, Experience, Judgment
In recent years a number of disciplines have returned to the fundamental problem of how body, mind, and culture combine to produce perception and aesthetic experience. Contemporary approaches—from studies of contexts of beholding to measurements of eye movement to theories of the gaze—belong to a rich history of attempts to comprehend perception and its consequences, among them the judgment of certain experiences and objects as aesthetic. This scholar year was devoted to the exploration of attempts, past and present, to understand how art is framed by perception, experience, and judgment.
2000/2001: Reproductions and Originals
The ideas "original objects" and "reproductions" are problematic ones — as if an artwork could ever be entirely without precedent or understood apart from the historical conditions of its (re)production and reception. Terms like "original" and "copy" are implicated in one another and in intermediate terms like "imitation," "replication," "homage," or "appropriation." These terms have been employed in investigating a wide range of questions in the history of art and culture. Greek sculptors, whose products came to define a Western figural canon, worked largely in a serial, reproductive mode of bronze casting. Printmakers in early modern Europe conceived of reproductive engraving as possessing an aesthetic and cognitive value independent of the paintings that served as their models. In various studio systems, the actual hand of the master is not deemed as essential. What then is the status of replicas and how can this be distinguished from contemporary market-driven notions of originality? With the modern era came reproduction by mechanical means, which altered the artwork's value, or so it has been claimed. Nineteenth-century debates about the relation of photograph to original, viewers to viewing, and copyright resemble in some ways current debates about digitization, suggesting that innovations in reproductive technologies might profitably be compared.
1999/2000: Humanities in Comparative, Historical Perspective
Some see the humanities as the bearers of a culture's deepest values and expressive resources. Others see them as an elite field of overprotected specialists working on esoteric and irrelevant topics. What do the humanities teach? to whom? for what? How is that teaching related to what is taught by the arts? And how do the answers to these questions differ in various countries and historical periods?
1997/1998 and 1998/1999: Representing the Passions
The theme for the 1997/1998 and 1998/1999 scholar years was "Representing the Passions." Scholars in residence at the Research Institute studied the ways in which strong, ungovernable emotions have been represented and classified. Clearly there is an important social need to name the passions, thus distinguishing them from one another, and to develop gestural and rhetorical conventions and codes about them. Yet their ungovernability threatens either to break through or to be lost by the cultural conventions and codes that attempt to fix, ritualize and control them. The problem of coping with this ungovernability has been wrestled with by theorists of human nature, language, and politics since antiquity, and it continues to confront artists of all kinds—painters, actors, writers, musicians. "Representing the passions" is a problem which is woven into the history of the arts and humanities and is an intricate part of their pattern still.
1996/1997: Perspectives on Los Angeles: Narratives, Images, History
The Research Institute's 1996/1997 residential scholar program, Perspectives on Los Angeles: Narratives, Images, History, was devoted to research on Los Angeles and to comparative projects that viewed the city in relationship to other hemispheric and global sites. Scholars in residence had the opportunity to participate in a number of corollary programs developed by the Research Institute on issues of identity, community, and public culture, as well as programs having to do with preservation, resource development, and the comparative study of cities in the Americas at the turn of the century.
1995/1996: The Nature and Idea of Collecting
During the 1995/1996 year Getty Scholars explored the nature and idea of collecting as a topic broadly defined to include: the social and institutional practice of collecting; how it reflects the values of a given community, region, and era; systems of display and classification; and the emergence of new languages and classes of collecting. Among the areas studied by this year's Getty Scholars were the collecting practices of Renaissance Italy, the dispersal of the art collections of Great Britain after the Civil Wars of 1640, and the social function of collecting in Oceanic cultures.
1994/1995: Memory
For the 1994/1995 year, invitations were extended to a broad range of scholars whose work explored the subject of memory as a psychological, cultural, and historical practice. A particular focus of study was the modes in which memory is organized, whether oral, corporeal, or institutional.
1993/1994: The Americas
Scholars chosen for the 1993/1994 year were engaged in research of the most varied aspects of the cultures of the Americas, from Pre-Columbian times to the present. Their contributions addressed issues related to empire, colonialism, diasporas, and cultural contact, as well as the impact of these events on artistic and cultural production.
1992/1993: The Metropolis as Crucible
During the 1992/1993 year, scholars whose work explores the metropolitan experience and its impact on culture in its many social, literary, industrial, and visual aspects were invited to the Research Institute. The fields of study represented included art, architecture, ethnic studies, literature, philosophy and film.
1991/1992: Popular and Mass Culture
Scholars for the 1991/1992 year engaged in research that advanced our understanding of the realms of expression variously labeled traditional, popular, folk, ethnic, and commercial. They explored the thresholds between these categories and what is generally defined as high culture. Their research focused on the nature and impact of popular and traditional beliefs on religion, education, imagery, and culture from the Middle Ages to the present. The fields of study represented included art, architecture, dance, literature, philosophy, and film.
1990/1991: Time and Ritual in Antiquity
This scholar year was originally centered around classical antiquity. A broad spectrum of scholars working in that field were invited, together with a smaller satellite group working on the Ancient Near East, Africa, Precolumbian America, and Asia. As acceptances were received, however, the majority came from the satellite group of scholars, who were working in areas of antiquity outside classical Greece and Rome. This turn of events generated a rich comparativist interplay among scholars studying Precolumbian and colonial Peru, Africa, the Ancient Near East, Etruscan Italy, and the Hellenistic world. In the end, only Asia was unrepresented.
1989/1990: The Avant-Garde
The scholars for the 1989/1990 year played an important role in the development of a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the arts of the early twentieth century—especially those called avant-garde—by increasing our understanding of the cultures in which they flourished. The fields of interest represented included comparative literature, the history of art and architecture, musicology, psychology, and film history.
1988/1989: The Production of Artifacts and the Formation of Disciplines
During the 1988/1989 year scholars focused on the distinctive qualities of cultural products selected for historical analysis or the ways in which scholarly interpretations are linked to particular methodological and theoretical assumptions. Many stressed close observation of cultural customs, traditions, and patterns of production. Others examined disciplinary practices and their interpretive strategies. Vital contributions were made toward fashioning interdisciplinary approaches for analyzing cultural continuities and changes. This group of scholars was drawn from the fields of anthropology, ethnography, the history of art, social history, and sociology.
1987/1988: Reception and Interpretation of the Arts
During the 1987/1988 year scholars pursued individual areas of research while also exploring the theme of reception and interpretation of works of art and cultural products. Scholars approached this theme from their personal areas of expertise, which ranged from photography through ethnomathematics.
1986/1987: Seventeenth Century Dutch Art and Society/Patronage
Scholars explored two research themes during the 1986/1987 year: Seventeenth Century Dutch painting and the broader issues of art patronage. The scholars were drawn from disciplines ranging from art history to economic history.
1985/1986: Aesthetic Experience and Affinities among the Arts
Those participating in the Research Institute's first Scholar year, 1985/1986, represented a diversity of interests. These ranged from Roman architectural history and Italian and French Renaissance art to the history of American music. The program was designed to bring together art historians and scholars in the social sciences and humanities to further the Research Institute's goal of fostering an interdisciplinary reexamination of art in cultures past and present.


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At its Thursday, July 18 special meeting and regular workshop, the Longboat Key Town Commission:
Was told:
• That town staff had uncovered $80,823 in budget cuts as a result of a budget study proposed by Key residents Lenny Landau and Phillip Younger. Town staff will continue to look for budget cuts before the recommended budget is presented Aug. 1.
• Less than 300 water users are not in compliance with the town's backflow prevention ordinance, which requires backflow devices to be installed by July 1. The town will not assess fines or shut water off to those users for at least another month while town staff works with customers and visits the sites to see if water users are in compliance.
• A voluntary rebuild ordinance that allows non-conforming properties to voluntarily rebuild to their current density.
• An ordinance that allows for the distribution of 250 tourism units.
• An ordinance that modifies portions of the existing outline development plan and site plan processes to address the voluntary rebuild ordinance and update sections of the zoning code.
Forwarded to the Monday, July 6 regular meeting for formal action:
• A beach funding resolution that allows the town to remain eligible for state grants.
• A minor adjustment to the legal description of a submerged land easement from the state that's needed for the emergency water interconnect with the city of Sarasota.
• A resolution that allows the town to apply for state revolving fund loans for the Mid-Key pump station rehabilitation and the potable water transmission main upsizing project.
• A resolution that allows the town to complete the required documentation for approval of a bank qualified loan for capital improvement projects to the town's water and wastewater utility program.
• Bay Isles Road 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. July 4 for the Freedom Fest Parade.
• The medical director contract for Dr. Steven Newman for an additional three years.
At its Thursday, July 18 special meeting and regular workshop, the Longboat Key Town Commission:


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Struggling Harrell designated for assignment
HOUSTON -- Lucas Harrell's time with the Astros appears to be over after the club designated him for assignment late Tuesday. He was told of the move after taking the loss against the Royals, falling to 0-3 with a 9.49 ERA in three starts this year.
Harrell's stock had fallen significantly since his breakout 2012 campaign in which he was 11-11 with a 3.76 ERA in 32 starts. He struggled to find consistency last year and wound up leading the American League in walks and losses while teetering between the rotation and bullpen.
"I think the reality is we gave him all of last year and three starts this year," general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "He deserved all that opportunity because he was good for us in 2012, but quite frankly we feel like at this point a change of scenery may be in the best interest of both Lucas and the Astros. Whether that means with another club or Triple-A, it's not something we feel like we can continue to do in Houston at this point."
Harrell told MLB.com it's probably time to move on, though the Astros could still wind up sending him to Triple-A.
"I was definitely surprised," he said. "I kind of saw it coming a little bit. Just in my starts, there was a ball off the wall here and plays here or there where it could have been a lot different. But they've got their plans and I understand that. I think it's best for both parties to kind of go their separate ways."
Manager Bo Porter said Harrell could benefit from going elsewhere.
"Sometimes situations run [their] course," he said. "Lucas Harrell is a Major League pitcher and we wish him nothing but the best. At the same time, sometimes a change of scenery is probably the best for a guy, and that's the point we got to as an organization."


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Homosexuality and disease
and health
|More on
Homosexuality increases the spread of contagious diseases relative to heterosexuality which is less likely to spread disease.
Homosexuality and AIDS
For a more detailed treatment, see AIDS.
AIDS was introduced to mainstream America by promiscuous homosexuals in San Francisco and a few other urban centers. The term "gay disease" originally carried no bad connotation; it was named by a physician who himself was homosexual, who had noted the correlation between the constellation of symptoms and the men having sex with men.
When a stigma became associated with the term, gay rights activists began to object to the use of the term. They also began to deny the fact that the disease was primarily associated with homosexual activity, as well as downplaying the fact that anal intercourse tends to injure the delicate tissues of the rectum.
MRSA and Homosexuality
For a more detailed treatment, see Homosexuality and MRSA.
- Incidence of the new variant is 13 times higher in San Francisco's heavily gay Castro neighborhood and surrounding zip codes than in the city's general population. That concentration — and the fact that many infections appear on the buttocks and the genital region — is leading researchers to suggest that MDR staph is being spread through sexual contact.
- MDR staph is related to an MRSA strain called USA-300 that has appeared in schools, prisons and athletic teams around the country. But MDR staph is even more resistant to antibiotics. [1]


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Your treatment program can be divided into 5 different stages:
• Stage 1 -- which is before you begin your hepatitis C treatment,
• Stage 2 -- the first 3 months of your treatment program,
• Stage 3 -- months 4 through 6,
• Stage 4 -- months 7 through 9, and
• Stage 5 -- months 10 through 12.
In each stage of the treatment, there is a slightly different focus. Stage 1 can be called the INFORMATION stage. Stage 2 is the ACTION stage. Stages 3,4, and 5 can be called the BLOCKING, CONTROL, and DESTINATION stages. Though each stage may have a slightly different name and focus, they all contribute to the main goals of taking care of your liver, and removing the hepatitis C virus from your blood.
Let's talk more about the stage of treatment you are currently in, or will begin today.