pred_label
stringclasses 2
values | pred_label_prob
float64 0.5
1
| wiki_prob
float64 0.25
1
| text
stringlengths 112
978k
| source
stringlengths 37
43
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__wiki
| 0.962324
| 0.962324
|
Minn. has less money to help heat low-income families
The Minnesota Department of Commerce says the state will receive $73 million in federal funds to help low-income families pay their heating bills. That's half of what the state got last year.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce says the state will receive $73 million in federal funds to help low-income families pay their heating bills. That's half of what the state got last year.
uncategorizedNews
Franken sponsors bill to help with heating costs
Sen. Al Franken says he is co-sponsoring a low-income energy assistance bill to help families pay their utility costs. Franken says funding has dropped despite high demand, adding he expects the measure to pass since both Republicans and Democrats get cold.
$250K grant will help low-income families get better food access
CenturyLink offering $10 Internet to low-income Minnesotans
Low-income Minnesotans can get Internet connections from CenturyLink for about $10 a month. The deal is part of CenturyLinks recent merger with Qwest. Comcast made a similar deal to win approval of its merger with NBC last month.
Heating assistance applications now available in Minnesota
Applications are now available for low income families that need help taking care of their heating bills. The program runs from October through May.
Heating help cut for 42,000 Minnesotans
Sen. Amy Klobuchar tells KARE-11 a change in a federal formula could reduce the heating aid available to Minnesotans by $160 million. But she says the change is still not a done deal.
Low-income families face health price hikes because of MinnesotaCare cuts
Low-income group falls into health care 'no-man's land'
The federal health care overhaul was aimed at providing affordable health insurance to millions of Americans who lack it. But a low-income group falls into a kind of no-man's land for affordable coverage, and Minnesota officials are considering an optional program to help fill this gap. But there is a huge unknown: cost.
Minnesota heating assistance funds getting $14 million boost
The federal government is giving Minnesota an additional $14 million to help low-income residents heat their homes this winter. Although, even with the extra aid, the state is getting about $65 million less than the $152 million last winter. The Pioneer Press reports a measure in the U.S. Senate would restore the program's funding to last year's levels.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2278
|
__label__cc
| 0.690865
| 0.309135
|
Oral History Collection - List of Interviews
Person Interviewed and Date of Interview:
Jack Alexander (1991)
Vera J. Allen, Clara Ligon, Connie Rawlins, Lacy Ward (Mar. 24, 1995)
"Anonymous" (Feb. 7, 1992)
Charles I. Baston (May 14, 1992)
Eliza Briggs (May 19, 1995)
Onan C. Burnett (Oct. 17, 1991)
Broadus O. "B.O." Butler, Sr. (May 19, 1995)
Judge Robert Carter (Oct. 5, 1992)
Geraldine Crumpler (May 19, 1996)
Deborah L. Dandridge (July 26, 1994)
Maurita Davis (July 15, 1994)
Joe Douglas (Oct. 24, 1991)
Claude Emerson (Oct. 25, 1991)
Annie V. Gibson (May 17, 1995)
Barbara Gibson (Sept. 25, 1992)
Dr. George Goebel (Oct. 12, 1994)
Mr. Greenburg (Oct. 7, 1992)
L. L. Hall (Mar. 24, 1995)
Cheryl Brown Henderson (Dec. 4, 1991)
Zelma Henderson (Jan. 31, 1992)
Barbara Henry (May 19, 1996)
Rev. E.B. Hicks (Nov. 22, 1991)
Charles "Chuck" Hill (May 19, 1996)
Oliver Hill (Mar. 21, 1995)
Christina Jackson (Sept. 20, 1991)
Eugene Johnson (Nov. 8 & 9, 1991)
Lois May Johnson (May 21, 1996)
Katherine King (Apr. 21, 1992)
John Land III (May 19, 1996)
Rev. Maurice J. Lang, III (Jan. 20, 1992)
Henry Lawson (May 18, 1995)
Ernest Manheim (Dec. 18, 1991)
Clementine Martin (Feb. 18, 1992)
Connie Menninger (Nov. 15, 1991)
Dorothy Mills (Jan. 3, 1992)
William Mitchell, Jr., Thayer Brown Phillips (Nov. 20, 1991)
Leola Brown Montgomery (Nov. 15, 1991)
Constance Baker Motley (Oct. 6, 1992)
Ida Norman (Nov. 1, 1991)
Ethel L. Parks (May 1, 1992)
Dr. Julia Etta Parks (Oct. 16, 1992)
Ferdinand Pearson (May 17, 1995)
Jean Price (Feb. 12, 1992)
Fred Rausch, Jr. (Oct. 12, 1994)
Joseph Richburg, Sr. (May 18, 1995)
Richard Ridley (Jan. 21, 1992)
Spencer Robinson
Merrill R. Ross (Nov. 13 & 20, 1991)
Constance Sawyer (Mar. 5, 1992)
Vivian M. Scales (Oct. 30, 1991)
Berdyne Scott (Nov. 24, 1991)
Deborah L. Scott (Nov. 15, 1991)
Dorothy E. Scott (Jan. 27, 1992)
C. E. "Sonny" Scroggins (July 27, 1994)
Judge Collins J. Seitz (May 20, 1996)
Irving Sheffel (Oct. 12, 1994)
Dr. Hugh Speer (Oct. 23, 1991)
Stanley Stalter (July 27, 1994)
T.J. Stovall (Dec. 6, 1991)
Charles Sudduth (July 27, 1994)
Frederick Temple, Alberta Temple, and Jeanette Dandridge (June 14, 1992)
Joe Thompson (Oct. 25, 1991)
Linda Brown Thompson (Aug. 12, 1993)
Lucinda Todd, Alvin Todd
Ruby J. Walker (Feb. 25, 1992)
Vadeth Whiteside (May 14, 1992)
Carl A. Williams, Jr. (Nov. 4, 1991)
J. Samuel Williams, Jr. (Mar. 25, 1995)
Frank Wilson (Oct. 12, 1994)
Harriet S. Wilson (Oct. 21, 1991)
Paul E. Wilson (Nov. 4, 1991)
For more information about the oral history collection and restrictions on usage, contact info@brownfoundationks.org.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2279
|
__label__wiki
| 0.644503
| 0.644503
|
Letter: Protect Boreas Ponds for future generations
By Staff|Published Fri, Dec 23, 2016
Protect Boreas Ponds for future generations
Recently, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Adirondack Park Agency concluded a series of eight, statewide public hearings regarding the classification of the Boreas Ponds Tract in North Hudson. At those hearings, the public spoke overwhelmingly in favor of a wilderness classification to protect the area.
As the review of public comments begins, the governor and his agency must follow the science, and the letter and spirit of the law, when making the final classification decision for Boreas Ponds and the entire tract.
Some spoke at the public hearings about wanting to maintain an old set of roads on the Boreas Tract to allow mechanized and motorized access. Rebuilding these dirt roads and allowing motorized vehicles and recreation will harm the lands, waters and wildlife with noise, pollution and invasive species. Most of these roads have already reverted to forest. The rest should be allowed to do the same.
In the past, these roads were never open to more than a few people. This area is now owned by 19 million people and located 20 minutes from an interstate highway. Overuse is a real danger. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand the Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness, and to protect water and wildlife while realizing its potential as a global attraction. Let’s uphold the Adirondack legacy entrusted to us by classifying Boreas Ponds as wilderness.
Barry Epstein
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2280
|
__label__cc
| 0.748163
| 0.251837
|
Tag Archives: PACs
Get Me Roger Stone
Posted on March 9, 2018 by carlosdev
Roger Stone is about as conservative as it gets.
(2017) Documentary (Netflix) Roger Stone, Donald J. Trump, Paul Manafort, Tucker Carlson, Jeffrey Toobin, Alex Jones, Jane Mayer, Wayne Barrett, Henry Siegel, Matt Labash, Nydia Stone, Michael Caputo, Charlie Black, Ryan Fournier, Mike Murphy, Steve Malzberg, Kathy Tur, Timothy Stanley, Ann Stone, Danielle Stevens, Adria Stone. Directed by Dylan Bank, Daniel DiMauro and Morgan Pehme
When looking at modern American politics, specifically on the Republican side, it’s hard not to wonder how a party that at one time was the bastion of thinkers like William F. Buckley, populists like Dwight Eisenhower and gentlemen like Everett Dirksen has become the party of trash politics, of misinformation and exclusion, of divisiveness and corruption. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce Roger Stone.
Or more to the point allow this Netflix documentary to introduce him. Described by New Yorker writer Jeffrey Toobin as “the sinister Forrest Gump of American politics,” Stone has been at the center of much of the most important political changes of the last 30 years. At 19 he was the youngest person to be called to testify before a Watergate committee; he was also one of the innovators of PACs and Super PACs that transformed campaign finance. He was a disciple of Roy Cohn, the pit bull of a lawyer who was Joseph McCarthy’s attack dog and one of the most amoral political figures to ever walk the face of the Earth. He co-founded (with Paul Manafort and Charles Black a firm that became known as the “torturer’s lobbyists” for all the third-world dictators they represented.
Perhaps worst of all, he saw political potential in a real estate mogul named Donald J. Trump. Stone groomed him over more than 30 years, pestering him to run for President (but never pushing). He is given credit for getting Trump aboard the Birther train that essentially established him as a political figure. As a campaign advisor, Stone helped shape the vicious tenor of the campaign, often seen wearing a t-shirt of former President Bill Clinton (husband to the Democratic nominee) with the word “Rape” below in a snarky parody of the Obama “Hope” poster. Stone made sure the country thought of the former President as a rapist as prodigious as Bill Cosby, conveniently ignoring the fact that his own candidate had been accused of sexual assaults himself.
Stone is an affable fellow in person, a respectable raconteur that at first glance you might not mind having a drink or two with. However, it wouldn’t take long before you notice that mostly what Stone talks about in an underhanded way is himself. He has a tremendous ego and a need to be the center of attention; it is no surprise to anyone that the Trump campaign couldn’t handle more than one ego like that That’s likely the reason why Stone was removed from the campaign itself, although he continued to offer advice when asked and support Trump on his own.
The film is divided into sections headlined by what Stone calls “Stone’s rules,” a series of aphorisms that he uses to guide his political philosophy. Some of them are meaningless; “Business is business,” for example. What the hell else would it be? There are others like “Hate is a greater motivator than Love” which is cynical in the extreme but frustrating because he’s largely right in that case.
Stone is a master of dirty political tricks and feels no remorse for anything. His guiding principle is that winning is the ONLY thing. Stone would probably tell you that you can’t implement a political philosophy if you lose; only winners get to determine the course this country and indeed the globe takes. As far as Stone is concerned, nothing is out of bounds so long as it doesn’t violate campaign laws. If the truth is stretched and people misdirected, that’s all right. If people are gullible enough to believe the big lie, then they deserve the leadership they get. It is something of a page out of the Hitler playbook.
Yes, if you haven’t noticed by now I’m a leftie that Stone would be somewhat amused by. I don’t think he hates liberals; he just wants to beat them. The fact that he’s so good at doing so tends to frustrate the hell out of the left. It allows Stone to gloat and he does so with a smug expression on his face.
As far as getting to know the real Roger Stone, don’t bet on it. Stone is a master at creating images – anyone who can characterize a real estate billionaire as a man of the people has to be admired to an extent. Although the filmmakers are also liberal (which Stone jokingly warns his friends of) in many ways Stone controls the narrative here. Although the filmmakers turn the documentary into almost a black comedy that is as cynical as can be, it is Stone having the last laugh.
This is tailor made for those conservatives who take great satisfaction in twisting the knife into bleeding hearts. Liberals may have a hard time watching this, particularly towards the end. It’s hard to watch the soul of your country being corrupted by someone who doesn’t care what the effects of this amorality has on the psyche of a nation. I’m sure Roger Stone has no issue with the Vince Lombardi quote “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” but even Lombardi knew that there were some costs that were too high to make winning worth it.
What Stone doesn’t understand – could never understand – that when you corrupt the soul of something, it ceases being what you admired about it in the first place. Making America great again has nothing to do with the rhetoric spewed by Trump, Stone and their ilk – it’s in fulfilling the dreams of the founders and those that followed them, being the place that embraced the American dream rather than trying to cut it off from the masses so that only those who have already achieved it can benefit from it. That is the real tragedy of Roger Stone – in winning he has lost everything he was fighting for, and he doesn’t even know it.
REASONS TO GO: This is in a lot of ways a black comedy; the fact that it’s true is depressing.
REASONS TO STAY: The lack of ethics is very hard to watch at times.
FAMILY VALUES: There is a fair amount of profanity here.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Stone’s political ideology was largely shaped by reading Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative at a young age.
BEYOND THE THEATER: Netflix
CRITICAL MASS: As of 3/9/18: Rotten Tomatoes: 90% positive reviews: Metacritic: 75/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: You’ve Been Trumped
NEXT: Ashes
Posted in VOD Review | Tagged 2016 Presidential election, Alex Jones, Bob Dole, cinema, Cinema365, Corey Lewandowski, dirty tricks, disinformation, Documentary, Donald J. Trump, Films, Get Me Roger Stone, Jeffrey Toobin, manipulation, movies, Netflix, PACs, Paul Manafort, political campaigns, political consultants, Republican party, Richard Nixon, Roger Stone, Ronald Reagan, Tucker Carlson, VOD Reviews, winning at all costs | Leave a reply
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2291
|
__label__wiki
| 0.781378
| 0.781378
|
Tag Archives: Sunset Strip
Posted on June 26, 2012 by carlosdev
Julianne Hough prepares for her next scene in the Broadway version of “There’s Something About Mary.”
(2012) Musical (New Line) Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Mary J. Blige, Will Forte, T.J. Miller, Kevin Nash, Jeff Chase, Celina Beach, Dan Finnerty, Angelo Donato Valderrama. Directed by Adam Shankman
Maybe I’m a bit of a music snob – all right, there’s no “maybe” about it – but my idea of fun isn’t watching a cover band butcher the hits of classic rock. However, someone had to convince a Broadway producer and then a Hollywood studio that people would love to see it. Thus began a musical that has been a huge success on the Great White Way but would that success translate to the big screen?
Sherrie Christian (Hough) is a bright-eyed blonde travelling from Tulsa on a bus to make it to the bright lights and big city dreams of L.A. And of course the first thing that happens is she gets her suitcase stolen – the one with all her record albums in it, autographed of course. Sherrie is a rocker chick, a lacquer haired blonde who dreams of Night Ranger, Poison, Whitesnake and Journey. She lives for the hard stuff.
Her mugging is witnessed by Drew Boley (Boneta), a barback with dreams of rock stardom. He is a good-hearted sort and when he hears her story, he arranges with his boss Dennis (Baldwin), owner of the world famous Bourbon Club on the Strip, to give her a job as a cocktail waitress. She comes at a critical juncture for the Bourbon. The club is in financial chaos, owing a sizable tax bill. However, help is on the way – Stacee Jaxx (Cruise), the superstar front man of Arsenal, has brought his band to play their last show ever at the Bourbon before Stacee heads out on his own solo career.
Stacee’s oily manager Paul Gill (Giamatti) tells Stacee that he will be interviewed by a Rolling Stone reporter, one Constance Sack (Akerman), one who might have a bit of an agenda and one who isn’t overly awed by Stacee’s sexual attraction. In the meantime, the new mayor (Cranston) and his shrill wife (Jones) who may have a personal vendetta, are taking aim at the Bourbon and are out to shut it down so that the Strip can be cleaned up for rich developers to make a mint on.
Of course things don’t go as planned, everybody kind of goes their separate ways including Sherrie and Drew who have become a couple, but a misunderstanding tears them apart. Of course, this being a musical, we know that a happy ending is in sight and rock and roll will save the day.
I have a thing about Broadway musicals that take pre-written songs and plug them into a cookie cutter plot. Mamma Mia kinda got away with it because it was all the music of a single band and as such meshed together well. Hear, there are a bunch of different acts (with a lot of Poison songs, but also from such bands as the ones previously named as well as Starship, Twisted Sister and Bon Jovi.
The problem is that the songs are played pretty much without any passion. Rock requires it, and this has all the energy and passion of canned elevator music. It’s just loud guitars instead of soft strings. Most of the cast do their own singing and it’s probably better than we have a right to expect. In fact, the acting is pretty solid to but with two notable – and fatal – exceptions.
Hough is best known for her stint on “Dancing With the Stars” and she also has a surprisingly sweet voice (she’s done a country album to this point). However, her acting is not quite up to the same standards. Her Sherrie is kind of annoying, to be honest but at least that’s better than Boneta, veteran of Mexican telenovelas who is simply bland. His character isn’t particularly well-defined to begin with but Boneta adds nothing to him. His voice is pleasant enough but lacks the power to really deliver on his songs.
This is really a mess. It’s not the fault of Cruise who gives a performance that reminds me of his work in Tropical Thunder but without the clever dialogue. The leads are attractive but don’t really deliver any personality, something this project desperately needed. The plot is forgettable and while the songs are good, there really isn’t anything that distinguishes them in the musical numbers from the dancing to the settings. Hough, who is indeed a talented dancer, is even given a turn as an exotic dancer – and yet she almost never dances here. Talk about a wasted opportunity – in fact this whole movie really can be counted as one.
REASONS TO GO: Ummm…you like bar cover bands?
REASONS TO STAY: Some really wooden performances. Uninspiring musical performances. Just a mess in every sense.
FAMILY VALUES: A whole lot of sexual innuendo including some fairly graphic kisses and making out. Lots of drinking – LOTS of it – and some implied drug use. Then there’s the foul language…not a ton but enough to be noticeable.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The scenes set below the Hollywood sign were actually filmed in Pompano Beach, Florida in a landfill. The real Hollywood sign is fenced out and no public access is permitted.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 6/26/12: Rotten Tomatoes: 41% positive reviews. Metacritic: 47/100. The reviews are unaccountably mixed.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Mamma Mia!
’80s ROCK LOVERS: Several stars of rock in the 80s make appearances in the protesters-rockers confrontation near the end of the scene. Among those singing “We Built This City” are Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme, Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, Debbie Gibson (yes, that one), Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, and Joel Hoekstra of Night Ranger.
NEXT: Lola Versus
Posted in New Releases | Tagged 80s, Alec Baldwin, based on a Broadway musical, boy band, Bryan Cranston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, church ladies, cinema, classic rock, Diego Boneta, exotic dancing, Films, Hollywood, interview, Julianne Hough, Kevin Nash, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, movies, musical, New Line Cinema, parental group, Paul Giamatti, reporter, reviews, rock club, Rock of Ages, Rolling Stone magazine, Russell Brand, sex symbol, stripper, Sunset Strip, T.J. Miller, Tom Cruise, Tulsa, Will Forte | 1 Reply
Joan Jett loves rock and roll; Cherie Currie loves the lifestyle.
(2010) Musical Biography (Apparition) Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Danielle Riley Keough, Scout Taylor-Compton, Tatum O’Neal, Stella Maeve, Brett Cullen, Alia Shawkat, Johnny Lewis, Hannah Marks, Jill Andre. Directed by Floria Sigismondi
The world of rock and roll is a harsh one, full of broken promises and shattered dreams. Every so often, a performer or a band will break through and change things; on other occasions, a performer or a band will succumb to the excesses of the industry. Sometimes, a performer or a band will do both.
Joan Jett (Stewart) is a young girl who idolizes Suzi Quatro and Keith Richards. She’s an adept guitarist but nobody will take her seriously and she longs to be in a rock and roll band. She meets Kim Fowley (Shannon), a fixture on the Sunset Strip in the 1970s-era Los Angeles when this all took place. Fowley sees himself as an acute judge of talent and a canny promoter who understands what sells. He longs to be a major player in the music business, something he is not at the time. He likes Jett’s look and her dream of fronting an all-woman rock band – there were none at the time that had any success, although in pop music the girl groups of the 60s (Martha and the Vandellas and over in Motown the Supremes) had met with success. However, these were women who projected a certain safe and virtuous image. Fowley – and Jett – wanted danger and subversion. Fowley hooked up Jett with Sandy West (Maeve), a drummer. The two began practicing together but the band needed fleshing out.
Cherie Currie (Fanning) is Bowie-obsessed and performs one of his songs dressed just like him at a school talent show, getting booed by her audience and flipping them off in retaliation. Her home life is falling apart at the seams – her dad (Cullen) is an alcoholic, spiraling slowly to an inevitable end and her mom (O’Neal) has fled to Indonesia to escape, leaving her with her twin Marie (Keough) as essentially sole support. Fowley discovers her and brings her to his trashy trailer to perform with the band. At first Cherie is stiff and hesitant but with Fowley pushing her/abusing her into the right attitude, her natural performing talent, sexuality and charisma come to the fore. “It’s not women’s lib,” Fowley crows, “Its women’s libido!” The remaining spots in the band are filled up with guitarist Lita Ford (Taylor-Compton) and bassist Robin Wolf (Shawkat).
The group plays a series of gigs in a series of depressing dives before Fowley gets them signed to a major label. A song, “Cherry Bomb” becomes a minor hit (although it becomes a big one in Japan) and the band begins to headline gigs and support major acts in stadiums. They go to Japan where they are mobbed by rabid fans and all of a sudden this group of young girls – all in their mid-teens at the time – suddenly are cursed with the success of the rock and roll lifestyle; plenty of sex, plenty of drugs, and not so much rock and roll. Eventually, the curse of success will overcome the band, with internal musical differences and Currie’s drug habit proving to be too much for the band to survive.
Director Sigismondi makes her feature debut here after mostly directing music videos, as well as working in fine arts (she’s a talented photographer and sculptor as well) and to her credit she makes the most of a very little. She manages to capture the look and feel of both the L.A. suburbs in the 70s (I should know – that’s where I lived at the time) and the decadent scene on the Sunset Strip.
I’ve been a big fan of Fanning for a long time and she doesn’t disappoint here. She captures the nature of the vulnerable and sometimes lost Currie nicely, showing her as clay to be molded by Fowley and drifting off-course, prey to the temptations of the road. As her family life disintegrates, she becomes more and more lost. The movie to a large extent focuses most on Currie (but to be fair, she did write the biography that the movie is based on) and Fanning handles the load nicely.
Stewart, best known as the angst-ridden Bella Swan in the Twilight franchise is surprisingly rough-edged here, showing the force-of-nature strength of Jett but also her bisexual tendencies. There is a fairly lurid make-out scene between Jett and Currie which comes off as exploitative, but given the nature of the band and the era, kind of makes sense as something like it would appear in a 70s “B” movie, which this closely resembles in tone. Stewart shows more range here than she has previously, forcing me to revise my opinion of her as a somewhat one-note actress. I look forward to seeing more from her along these lines.
Shannon is a terrific actor who has one Oscar nomination to his credit and has the chops to garner more of the same should he get the right roles. This one is not, but he does capture the manic and manipulative nature of Fowley who yearned to be a mover and a shaker, but whose claim to fame would always be this band. He often claimed he assembled the Runaways both conceptually and practically, a claim he has backed off from in recent years. Shannon is riveting in the part, capturing both the yin and the yang of Fowley who could be supportive one moment and abusive the next.
In fact, in many ways this movie sugarcoats the Runaways story, leaving out allegations of sexual and physical abuse around the band. It also leaves out the backstory of the rest of the band (in the case of Ford, at the real Lita’s request) in focusing on the two leads. The filmmakers do a disservice to the band in essentially portraying them as a two-woman creative team (in reality, West and Ford co-wrote most of the songs with Jett and Fowley). While it’s true Jett and Currie were the heart and soul of the band, it would have been nice to include more of the rest of the band’s story in the movie, particularly that of West who passed away from lung cancer just prior to the beginning of filming.
The legacy of the Runaways is undeniable; Joan Jett remains a rock and roll icon, an inspiration to young female rockers everywhere. It’s a bit of a crying shame that they remain largely unknown here and those who do know them mostly know them for “Cherry Bomb,” their signature hit. They were certainly much more than that, and anyone who has seen their Showtime documentary (which includes some incendiary performance footage) will attest to that. The movie picks up part of their essence – enough to make it worth seeing. I just wish we would have gotten a little bit more of it.
WHY RENT THIS: An authentic recreation of the time and the scene. Surprisingly gritty performances from Stewart and Fanning. Shannon shows a good deal of charisma.
WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: The movie leaves out a good deal of information, and fictionalizes or trivializes the group’s achievements.
FAMILY VALUES: There are occasionally graphic depictions of teen sex and drug use, as well as a whole lot of foul language.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Jackie Fox, the actual bass player for the Runaways, declined to give the producers of the film the rights to her life story so a fictional character was introduced to be the Runaways bassist (and ironically, has no lines in the film); Lita Ford also declined to give her rights to the producers, but did meet with Scout Taylor-Compton prior to filming and declared that even if the film was awful, Taylor-Compton at least did her character justice.
BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE: $4.7M on a $10M production budget; the movie was a flop.
TOMORROW: A Single Man
Posted in DVD Review | Tagged 70s, Apparition, big in Japan, biopic, bisexuality, Cherie Currie, Cherry Bomb, cinema, Dakota Fanning, DVD Reviews, dysfunctional family, Films, Joan Jett, Kim Fowley, Kristen Stewart, Los Angeles, Michael Shannon, movies, musical biography, rock and roll, Scout Taylor-Compton, sex drugs and rock and roll, Sunset Strip, Svengali, talent show, Tatum O'Neal, teenage sex symbols, The Runaways | Leave a reply
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2292
|
__label__wiki
| 0.50287
| 0.50287
|
Tag Archives: voices
Posted on November 10, 2014 by carlosdev
The angel on Michael Keaton’s shoulder may be a devil in disguise.
(2014) Drama (Fox Searchlight) Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Shamos, Damian Young, Keenan Shimizu, Merritt Weaver, Natalie Gold, Clark Middleton, Jimmy Marsh Garland, Akira Ito, Michael Siberry, Katherine O’Sullivan. Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inirritu
Our identity is sometimes self-affixed. Other times it is forced upon us by circumstances, or by others. When you are a celebrity, you are often trapped within the latter situation. A memorable role or performance can change people’s perception of you until you realize that you aren’t seen as anything separate from that performance or role. You become trapped in that role forever.
Riggan Thomson (Keaton) has had such a role. The superhero Birdman made his career through three hugely successful movies but after three of them he decided to turn his back on the part which by then was far too late. By the time he’d turned down Birdman 4 he was already yesterday’s news, a has-been.
Itching to make a comeback, he’s putting on a Broadway production that he has written, directed and is starring in. adapted from the Raymond Carver short story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. With his closest friend and lawyer Jake (Galifianakis) helping him with the business end, he has cast his girlfriend Laura (Riseborough), first time Broadway actress Lesley (Watts) and Ralph (Shamos), possibly the worst actor ever. When a fluke accident knocks Ralph out before the first preview performance and Jake frantic to find a replacement, Lesley offers to call Mike (Norton), with whom she once had a relationship. Mike, being a big star who could certainly draw larger audiences, is immediately brought in even though some have misgivings about Mike’s general attitude and backstabbing tendencies.
Riggan and Jake have sunk everything into this venture and know that if it fails, Riggan’s career is done. With Riggan’s adult daughter Sam (Stone) acting as his personal assistant to offer support – okay, to rip her father a new one at every opportunity, a vicious New York Times theater critic (Duncan) waiting in the wings to savage the play because she hates Hollywood stars with a passion, it is no wonder Riggan is beginning to have delusions of telekinetic superpowers, of hearing the voice of his cinematic alter-ego in his head with whom he has long conversations. Can Riggan pull this off and save his career?
Inirritu has tended to do dramas with a kind of heavy hand in the past with movies like Babel and Biutiful to his credit. This is more of a heavy handed comedy in many ways although at the end of the day I think it is more accurately classified a drama with fantasy and comedic overtones.
Keaton, who once played Batman in two Tim Burton movies back in the day, is inspired casting. In return he delivers his greatest performance to date. Riggan is a tortured soul of missed opportunities, bad turns and ill-advised choices. Those are the kinds of things that keep a person up all night and Riggan clearly isn’t getting much sleep. His chance at redemption is a long-shot at best and Riggan knows it. Years wasted away from his family that ended his marriage to a faithful wife (Ryan) and created a rift between Riggan and Sam. On top of that, he’s having delusions, hallucinations – call them what you will – which make more sense to him than the sensory input from the reality around him.
Give him a good supporting cast and a terrific script and you have a winner without fail. One of the things I like about Birdman besides Keaton is the ambiguity within the script. In many ways, you are given “just the facts” without any editorializing. You are left to make your own opinions with the information you’re given. If you need an example ask yourself this when you leave the theater: What did Sam see at the window? Those who have seen the movie will get the reference. My friends and I debated that very question after the movie was over and I don’t think any two of us had exactly the same answer.
Inarritu chose to shoot the film to resemble one long continuous shot a la Rope by Alfred Hitchcock. A lot of critics have praised this technique but I thought it got a little gimmicky, particularly near the end of the movie when they were running out of ways of transitioning from one point of view to the next.
This isn’t a mainstream movie although it isn’t so far out that mainstream audiences can’t enjoy it. This isn’t a typical indie movie either although it isn’t so Hollywood that indie audiences won’t embrace it. Not everyone is going to like it although critics have thus far enthusiastically recommended the movie but while most of the people who saw it with me admitted that they liked it, there were some who were ambivalent about it. I won’t say it’s a transformative movie experience although I will say it’s insightful – and allows you to reach those insights honestly. It is likely to be an Oscar contender although I suspect that there are other movies that are more likely to win the gold statue come February. However, I think a lot of people are going to see this as one of the year’s best movies and I really can’t fault them for that.
REASONS TO GO: May be Keaton’s best performance ever. Line between fantasy and reality is thin. Ambiguous where it needs to be. Terrific supporting cast.
REASONS TO STAY: A little gimmicky in places.
FAMILY VALUES: A whole lot of swearing, some brief violence and sexuality.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Most of the movie was shot at the St. James theater on Broadway, one of the most prestigious theaters on the Great White Way where such plays as Oklahoma, The King and I, Becket and Hello, Dolly all made their Broadway debuts.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 11/10/14: Rotten Tomatoes: 94% positive reviews. Metacritic: 89/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Big Fish
NEXT: St. Vincent
Posted in New Releases | Tagged Alejandro Gonzalez Inirritu, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough, Birdman, Broadway, cinema, desperation, divorcee, Drama, Edward Norton, egos, Emma Stone, Films, Fox Searchlight, hallucinations, Hollywood star, intensity, Lindsay Duncan, Michael Keaton, movies, Naomi Watts, Raymond Carver, reviews, superhero, typecasting, voices, Zach Galifianakis | 1 Reply
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2293
|
__label__wiki
| 0.964277
| 0.964277
|
Tarell Alvin McCraney, the writer of the play that inspired 'Moonlight,' to lead Yale's playwriting department
Photo credit:tarell-alvin-mccraney-the-writer-of-the-play-that-inspired-moonlight-to-lead-yales-playwriting-department
Blavity Team
| December 05 2016,
Moonlight is one of the most acclaimed films of 2016 and is considered to be a strong Academy Award contender when the time comes. Now, the writer behind the play that inspired the film is taking on a huge new role.
Tarell Alvin McCraney, the writer of "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue,” has been named the new chairperson for the Yale School of Drama's playwriting department.
Additionally, McCraney will also be the playwright in residence at Yale Repertory Theater.
In an interview with the New York Times, McCraney spoke on his new appointment, saying, "We’ve seen the rise of more voices in theater and especially more voices that didn’t have access before. But those voices aren’t centered. Those voices are still somehow marginalized. Are we really reflecting the community? Are their voices represented?” he said. “Those are questions for my work. I can help advocate for the voices around me.”
McCraney himself is an alum of the Yale School of Drama, graduating in 2007.
Never miss headline. Sign up for Blavity's daily newsletter.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2297
|
__label__wiki
| 0.514849
| 0.514849
|
Cellhire has been shortlisted for the York Press Business Awards in the Category ‘Exporter of the Year’
November 9, 2018 November 9, 2018 Chloe Acland
York based global telecommunications provider Cellhire, is proud to announce that it has been shortlisted for the York Press Business Awards in the category ‘Exporter of the Year’. This is the first year Cellhire has entered the awards, and will be attending the regional awards ceremony on Thursday 15th November at a black tie event at York Racecourse.
Celebrating businesses from all sectors across Yorkshire, the awards recognise the entrepreneurial success of businesses in various best practice. This years’ awards mark the 28th year of celebrating York businesses and saw more than 100 entries from a range of businesses; with three businesses being shortlisted for each category.
The annual event is hosted at York Racecourse by York Press and is sponsored by TalkTalk’s Ultra Fibre Optic project in York.
Having achieved great success in recent years, providing mobile connectivity to travellers to events such as the FIFA World Cup, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and the Rio Olympics, Cellhire is shortlisted for ‘Exporter of the Year’. The category celebrates businesses with the ability to spot opportunities in new markets, how it has been exporting to develop and grow business in York, how the business has over obstacles to enter new markets and the potential for further global reach. Cellhire has been recognised for its exports in UK airtime to global countries needing cost-effective voice and data solutions whilst travelling abroad.
Founded in York in 1987, Cellhire is a specialist global service provider. The company’s success is built on providing the very best mobile solutions available anywhere and the company prides itself on being easy to do business with. Cellhire is a leading supplier to organisers, businesses and attendees during events such as the Olympics, Paralympics and Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cups, UEFA Euro Finals, the Tour de France, Wimbledon and Cannes Film Festival.
In 2005 Cellhire won the Queen’s Award for International Enterprise as a result of its success as a specialist in the delivery of communications solutions for events around the world. The company’s commitment to delivering the highest standards of customer service is underlined by its continued attainment of ISO 9001:2015, the internationally recognised quality standard. Cellhire has service agreements with more than 50 network partners in more than 40 countries, ensuring coverage is truly global. More at cellhire.info.
Previous postA Beginner’s Guide to Apple Wallet
Next postWhy Phone Security Matters Abroad
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2299
|
__label__wiki
| 0.505429
| 0.505429
|
Favored Swimmers for the 2012 Olympics
January 26, 2012 January 23, 2012 by wendyannlewis
Favored swimmers for the 2012 Olympics are already popping up. These are the athletes representing the U.S. that are almost guaranteed to make the 2012 Olympic swim team. There are mostly men, but a few women that we suspect
will be frontrunners at the 2012 Olympics. Athletes representing the United States are ready to compete. There’s much buzz about what male swimmers will potentially beat gold medalist Michael Phelps. While Phelps will be at the games, there are a few other male swimmers that may qualify in the same competition.
Ryan Lochte – Lochte has already placed in all three medals at the games, but Phelps took the spotlight the majority of the time. He currently holds the world record in the 4×200 meter freestyle relay race. Lochte is best known for his intense freestyle racing where he accelerates by kicking his legs under the water. In the past, Lochte has won gold medals in competitions that Phelps did not compete in.
Missy Franklin – Franklin swept up several gold medals at various world competitions. She holds the world record for the 200 meter backstroke in short course and the U.S. record in 200 meter backstroke in long course. Franklin is won FINA Swimmer of the Year last year and looks to have serious momentum entering the new year. While we’re impressed with Franklin’s swimming resume, we’re even more amazed that the young American swimmer will turn 17 this May. Franklin is likely one to watch for the upcoming 2012 games, as well as future Olympics competitions.
Rebecca Soni – Soni has won silver and gold medals at the Olympics. She competed in 2008 and also holds world titles for other swim competitions. In 2008, Soni was not a favorite and beat Australian swimmer (and favorite) Leisel Jones. This was a major upset at the games, but Soni has continued to prove herself by beating world records for the breaststroke. Like Franklin, Soni began her career early proving that Franklin has plenty of room for growth.
These are just a few of the favored swimmers you’ll likely notice at the 2012 Olympics. The Olympics will be in London this summer and it’s always an exciting event for families to watch. Competitive swimmers of all ages enjoy seeing techniques and skills put to work by athletes who have been training for a lifetime. The 2008 games held many amazing moments and the 2012 Olympics look to be just as exciting in the swimming realm.
Speedo Fastskin 3
Lifeguard Rescue Equipment
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2301
|
__label__wiki
| 0.882711
| 0.882711
|
''Chelmsford City'' Racecourse
BETFRED owner Fred Done is at the heart of a new attempt to resurrect the racecourse at Great Leighs.
Done, along with SIS and Bet Solutions International, the parent company of the course's betting partner Betsi Ltd, has formed a company that has taken on the Essex track.
The new owners, who hope to rename the course Chelmsford City Racecourse subject to permission, expect to be ready in time to enter the BHA's fixture application process for 2015 in the new year.
There is no grandstand at the track but planning permission in place, while the Polytrack surface is said to be in extremely good condition.
The new owners plan to offer at least £42,000 in prize-money per fixture, with some meetings offering more.
Betfred's director of racing Joe Scanlon has been appointed as racecourse chairman. He said: “I’m delighted that a new joint venture company has acquired the assets of Great Leighs and I look forward to working with our partners.
“The track is ideally placed for Newmarket’s training centre, while the surrounding area has a total catchment in excess of three million people.
“This is an exciting challenge and represents a significant investment. Working closely with the BHA we intend to deliver a high class programme of racing which can only be to the benefit of everyone involved in our wonderful sport.”
The news is the latest twist in the remarkable story of Great Leighs which became Britain's first new racecourse for 81 years when it opened in April 2008 but closed in January 2009 after it was announced the companies owning the racecourse had been put into administration.
The track has remained closed ever since despite the efforts of previous owners MC Racetracks, who had two subsequent applications for fixtures declined by the BHA.
MC Racetracks is no longer involved and the new owners said that neither is the course's founder and former owner John Holmes, who was last week arrested along with his partner Jill Turner and a second man over allegations of involvement in a £2.4 million VAT fraud.
All three have been released and bailed to report to their local police station on March 5 and 6 next year. They have not been charged and they deny the allegations.
Source: Racing Post
Labels: Chelmsford City Racecourse, Fred Done, Great Leighs
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2302
|
__label__wiki
| 0.591093
| 0.591093
|
Born at a military base in Panama, Alexis Texas was raised in a small town near San Antonio, Texas.
Alexis describes herself as an outgoing and fun-loving person. In high school, she held tutorials for her male classmates on how to take off a girl’s bra.
While working at a college bar in October 2006, Alexis met some people working for the adult film company Shane’s World.
She agreed to appear in a film they were making entitled Shane’s World’s College Amateur Tour In Texas. Following this, she traveled to Florida to work for Bang Bros and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue adult film acting full time.
In 2009, Alexis won CAVR Performer of the year award. By that time, she had filmed over 200 scenes.
In 2009, Alexis also formed her own company, entitled Alexis Texas Entertainment, through which she launched her own web site.
Do you want to see some more from Alexis Texas?
Visit Jizz.xxx to access Alexis Texas’s free photos and video clips.
Alexis Texas, American, American Pornstar, Pornstar Alexis Texas, US Pornstar
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2304
|
__label__wiki
| 0.684861
| 0.684861
|
10 Small Towns In The United States Known For Weird Things
Maybe you are one of the lucky ones who has set your eyes on the world’s largest ball of twine, located in Kansas. Maybe you’ve even seen aliens on the highway as you’ve passed through Roswell, New Mexico, at night. Could it be that you can even brag to your friends about attending the world’s largest spinach festival in Alma, Arkansas? Or perhaps it’s always been your dream to see the world’s largest ketchup (catsup?) bottle in Illinois.
Whatever strange, silly, or (in)famous things you have seen on your travels throughout the United States, you cannot possibly see every wacky thing in every wacky town across this wacky country often simply referred to as “America.” That’s why this list of small towns famous for weird things is here for you. From the weird to the spooky, from the pointless to the dangerous, from the historic to the futuristic, this list of ten strange towns below might just make you want to go on a road trip in search of them all!
10 The Flavor Graveyard
Everybody loves ice cream, especially Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. If you stop in Waterbury, Vermont, and take a tour of the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream factory, you’re sure to get a sweet and fun experience. However, a more gruesome part of the tour leads you to a hill in the back of the factory surrounded by white picket fencing and some ghostly trees. But don’t worry, it’s just the Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard, where ice cream flavors go to die!
The Flavor Graveyard is there because of the company’s constant experimentation with weird and wacky ice cream flavors. However, some flavors are just too strange, which ultimately means they did not turn a profit. Every year, around ten or so flavors are eliminated due to low sales and become unfortunate inductees into the Flavor Graveyard. While the sweet cemetery makes for a serene setting for some of the oddest ice cream flavors to rest, only 34 graves have been dug so far out of the over 200 flavors that have been killed off as of this writing. If you can’t find your favorite ice cream flavor in your local supermarket, maybe it’s time to pay your respects at the Flavor Graveyard in Vermont.[1]
9 The Lost Luggage Capital
Alabama may be famous for college football, Southern food, and Forrest Gump, but if you’ve ever wondered where unclaimed airline baggage ends up, and you happen to be in the northeastern part of the state, make a stop in Scottsboro. When an airline cannot track down the owner of a lost item or piece of luggage, it is sent to the Unclaimed Baggage Center there. At the center, you can browse through and purchase a myriad of lost luggage items.[2]
Strange items have been found in this bizarre retirement community for suitcases. Ancient Egyptian artifacts, secret documents, and even a 5.8-carat diamond ring have been reportedly been discovered. The Unclaimed Baggage Center has even been given awards for retailer of the year.
8 Birthplace Of Captain Kirk
Riverside, a small town in Central Iowa, once had a town slogan saying “Where the best begins,” honoring its laid-back lifestyle and small-town Midwestern values. However, the town’s slogan is now “Where the trek begins,” as it is the self-described future birthplace of James T. Kirk, captain of Star Trek ‘s USS Enterprise.[3]
While Kirk has not yet been born, the town celebrates his future birth date of March 22, 2228, with a festival called Trek Fest (formerly River Fest). Note that Kirk’s birth year was established as 2233 in the Star Trek series. The 2228 date is from a book, The Making of Star Trek, published in 1968. While no Star Trek novels, television series, or movies have made clear what Iowa town Kirk was (will be?) born in, Riverside, during the mid-1980s, said, “Why not us?” Perhaps this small town truly has gone where no small town in Iowa has gone before!
7 The Devil’s Crossroads
According to lore, when blues legend Robert Johnson was a young man, he sold his soul to the Devil himself in the small town of Clarksdale, Mississippi. As the pioneering state of American blues music, Mississippi has been the home of blues greats such as B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters, to name but a few. However, Robert Johnson was said, in exchange for playing wicked blues, to have made a wicked deal with the Devil himself at what is now known as the Crossroads, where US highways 61 and 49 converge in Clarksdale.[4]
As a young man, Johnson wanted desperately to be a blues guitarist. “Voices” told Johnson to take a guitar to nearby Dockery Plantation at midnight and wait. He did, and a tall, dark man emerged, took Johnson’s guitar, played it, and then handed it back to Johnson. Immediately, Johnson was able to play blues guitar like no other ever had. If you desperately need to make a pact with the Devil anytime soon, perhaps a trip to the small town in Central Mississippi is what you need.
6 World’s Largest Time Capsule
In the small town of Seward, Nebraska, a man named Harold Davisson liked the year 1975 so much that he made sure to preserve everything he could in the world’s largest time capsule. Today, his time capsule, which is largely underground, is a tourist attraction for those passing through. With a pyramid built on top, the 45-ton vault holds more than 5,000 items from the 1970s!
The large vault made Davisson somewhat of a local celebrity in Seward, and his time capsule was sealed on July 4, 1975. Two years later, The Guinness Book of World Records certified that his time capsule was the largest in the world. However, Seward’s most famous resident received backlash from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia, which argued that their “Crypt of Civilization,” sealed in 1940, was the world’s largest time capsule. Controversy followed, but Davisson was granted the title. His capsule is due to be opened on July 4, 2025.[5]
5 The Last Sideshow Town
Gibsonton, Florida, with a population of around 14,000, is America’s one true “Carny Town.” During the early 20th century, when roaming carnivals traveled the land, many carnival workers, also known as carnies, took the summer holiday in the small town of Gibsonton, about 19 kilometers (12 mi) north of Tampa. Gibsonton is fabled for a large portion of its population having been former carnival workers and so-called “sideshow” human attractions. Gibsonton was known as a place for many such people to retire or spend the off season in a warm locale.
Many “carnies” called the place town Gibtown. In the past, the local police chief was a dwarf, and the fire chief was a 244-centimeter-tall (8′) carnival performer. As one can imagine, the carnie population in Gibtown was a closely connected community, and over time, the former carnival workers even developed their own secret language called (yes, you guessed it) carny. Additionally, the International Independent Showmen’s Association runs a very specific welfare system for retired and out-of-work carnies. These days, however, the number of former carnies in Gibsonton has greatly dwindled, and the town is more or less like any other.[6]
4 On Fire for Decades
Centralia, Pennsylvania, has been on fire since the 1960s. In the early 1980s, around 1,000 people lived in this small Pennsylvanian town about 100 kilometers (60 mi) north of Harrisburg. Centralia is more of a ghost town now; by 2010, less than a dozen inhabitants called it home.
Why is Centralia on fire, you might ask? Since 1962, there has been an intense coal mine fire burning not above but below the tiny town. Toxic smoke venting from the cracked ground, sinkholes, and underground gas explosions are pretty good reasons to avoid living in Centralia at all costs. Nevertheless, a few (brave?) residents still hang on.[7]
In 1992, the Pennsylvania government seized all properties in Centralia and condemned them. However, the handful of inhabitants in and around the town are currently allowed to stay. However, once they pass, the town of Centralia will officially be no more. In fact, some scientists believe the fire underground will go on for at least another 250 years!
3 Meet ‘The Slabs’
Residents of Slab City, California, are creatively known as “the Slabs.” This tiny town is popular for recreational vehicling in the Sonoran Desert, but, situated 240 kilometers (150 mi) northeast of San Diego, the bizarre Slab City remains a self-described city without laws. The residents, or “Slabs” as we should refer to them, share one communal shower in this dusty part of the California badlands. As many as 4,000 people may live there in the winter, when it’s cooler, but it gets quite hot in the summer.
Often occupied by hippies, the homeless, drifters, drug addicts, artists, adventurers, and local weirdos, Slab City’s residents brag about their “town” being “the last free place in America.”[8] In this lawless land, a city with no rules, some arguments have resulted in absolute chaos, with tents and RVs set ablaze and even shoot-outs and duels.
Today, Slab City is managed by the state of California, but in the past, the site was known as Camp Dunlap, a former World War II base. But why is it called Slab City? The name comes from the large concrete slabs that remained after the Army abandoned the area. The site was returned to the state of California in 1961. The state eventually destroyed the remaining slabs.
2 The Bell Witch Cave
What makes this small town of Adams, Tennessee, so scary? Well, during the 19th century, the area was said to be haunted by a demon-like witch!
The legend goes that the Bell Witch’s original name was Kate Bates (or Batts). As rumor has it, Kate entered a poorly planned land deal with the neighboring family, whose name was the Bells. Kate promised to haunt the Bell family after learning she had been tricked. She seemed to keep her scary promise after one of the Bells’ daughters appeared to show signs of possession and strange aggression toward spirituality during the time. Some rumors hold that even former US president Andrew Jackson encountered the Bell Witch after investigating the cave that Kate’s spirit now seems to inhabit as she terrifies all who go near.[9]
For roughly two centuries, people in the area have told of experiencing strange feelings when they go anywhere near the cave. Despite her being known locally as a not very kind spirit, a major dare is to repeat the Bell Witch’s original name in a mirror three times. No thanks!
1 A Town Under One Roof
In Whittier, Alaska, nearly the entire population of 218 people resides in a single building! This 14-story condominium was originally designed as an Army barracks during the 1950s and was made a residence in 1969, about five years after the Army moved out. The building, now known as Begich Towers, doesn’t just have people living in it but is nearly a fully functional tiny town under one roof. The building also serves as a church, the police station, a convenience store, and the post office for the town, 100 kilometers (60 mi) south of Anchorage.
In this so-called “town under one roof,” keeping secrets is much more difficult than in other small towns. However, since Whittier is situated between mountains and the sea, the town, or rather building, can mostly only be accessed by boat from long distances. Or, you can take a very long one-lane tunnel that runs one way underneath the mountains for certain portions of the day. While this setup might look strange, isolated, and perhaps even uncomfortable, Whittier’s residents seem to get along quite well and are a very close-knit community.[10]
10 Unconventional Types Of Tourism
Top 10 Unexpected Things About Denmark
10 Unique Museums Around The World
Travel Destinations for the Best Chocolate in the World
Black Sand Beaches
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2305
|
__label__cc
| 0.577703
| 0.422297
|
We work on a massive scale
Join our Data practice
Data is at the heart of how we’re solving some of the country’s biggest digital challenges.
At DWP Digital we don’t just work with big data, we work with massive data! We hold data for more than 20 million customers, with multiple billions of records and
millions more being added daily. Our data warehouse has over 230 terabytes of data.
We deliver data-driven intelligence, products and services that enhance our services and make a real difference to our customers’ lives.
STEPHEN, DATA SCIENTIST
"Being part of a knowledge-sharing community like this one is like sitting in the pub talking to your friends - it’s not sitting in a classroom in front of a teacher."
Work on projects like...
Universal Credit DataWorks – one of our biggest data projects; a common data infrastructure platform that’s used by all of DWP’s directorates.
Once it’s fully rolled out, Universal Credit will serve around 10 million people in near real-time, so the platform offers an exciting opportunity to create valuable insights from the data gathered.
The project was recently shortlisted for a 2018 Big Data Excellence Award.
Innovation is at the core of our data strategy, which is why we’re exploring the ethical use of Machine Learning to predict and initiate activity around our customers’ needs, and we’re exploring the use of Automation to improve decision making.
You’ll be part of a diverse community where people who have a passion for data and analytics can come together, with a shared desire to learn more.
As part of the community you’ll have the opportunity to develop new ideas and create deeper insights into some of society’s most important problems. The data, tools and sponsorship available within DWP enables collaboration to develop real innovation.
Our roles
We have exciting roles including: Data Engineers, Data Managers, Data Scientists and Digital Performance Analysts.
See all current vacancies
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2308
|
__label__cc
| 0.531287
| 0.468713
|
CED Alumni remembered
Shirley Friedman & Ralph Butterfield
April-May 2019
We are saddened to announce the passing of CED Alumna Shirley Friedman.
Friedman was born and raised in Hanford, California. She attended primary and middle schools in Hanford and then Hayward after her family moved due to her father’s job. After graduating from Hayward High School in 1952, Friedman enrolled at UC Berkeley as a Decorative Arts major.
In her time at Cal, Friedman was in the sorority Tri-Delta, where she cultivated a lifelong friendship with Joan Didion, esteemed journalist and author of several essays, screenplays, and The Year of Magical Thinking. In the classroom, Friedman studied under renowned designer Charles Eames and Rodney Friedman, Eames’ teaching assistant and her future husband. Friedman graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1956.
After college, Friedman enjoyed an active life as a wife, mother, and traveler. Shirley Friedman died surrounded by her husband, children, and grandchildren on April 3 in Kentfield, California.
Ralph Butterfield (B.Arch ‘55) AIA, a well-known San Francisco architect and CED alum, passed away on April 7, 2019, at the age of 90.
After graduating from Berkeley in 1955, Butterfield joined the firm of Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons under the mentorship of William Wurster, founding dean of the CED and esteemed architect. In his professional career, Butterfield pioneered an array of projects. His portfolio included the award-winning Parkview Heights townhouses, Daniel Burnham Court, and San Francisco Towers. He closed the firm in 1998 and became a developer, designing and building multifamily housing. He retired from practice in 2009.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2310
|
__label__wiki
| 0.53831
| 0.53831
|
Mirga Returns to LA for the Worst of Times, the Best of Times
By TIMOTHY MANGAN, Musical America, April 8, 2019
The Los Angeles Philharmonic program, Saturday night (April 6) in Disney Concert Hall, perhaps by chance, featured a trio of women, including a female soloist, a female conductor and a female composer of the world premiere. In a season, the orchestra’s centennial, chocked full of weekly surprises and innovations, few seemed to notice the newsworthiness of the triumvirate.
On the podium, returning to the space of some of her first triumphs, was Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, the young Lithuanian music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and former assistant conductor here. Unbeknownst no doubt to many in the large crowd was that they probably wouldn’t be seeing her again anytime soon. Gražinytė-Tyla, a new mother, recently announced she has cancelled all guest conducting engagements for the next two years in order to better care for her child.
It was the best of times, it the worst of times, only in reverse order. The worst came first. A performance this bad of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto has to be intentional, not inadvertent. But it was impossible to tell exactly what the intentions were of Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, whether she actually liked the old warhorse or was sending it up.
With music on the stand before her, and shoes off her feet below her, exaggeration and distortion were Kopatchinskaja’s key. It began from the get-go, with Tchaikovsky’s eloquent announcement of the soloist’s arrival, which Kopatchinskaja played softly, slowly and very freely, chopping its phrases into little bits. Mostly this was her bit, playing things slowly, considering them, toying with them, as a cat with its prey. Her exaggerated portamento became glissando. Her bow attacks were emphatic, as were her snapped releases. Tempo changes were of the whiplash variety. Her fast playing was so fast that it lost tidiness and tonal warmth.
This was the Tchaikovsky as taffy pull, sagging in the middle a good deal of the time. It was a look-at-me performance not heard since the bad old days of Ivo Pogorelich. She jumped and walked about as she played, goaded the orchestra, and generally behaved like a rock star. As the third movement began, she flipped the page vehemently on her music stand, exaggerating even that. Somehow, Gražinytė-Tyla and the orchestra managed to calmly stay with her, though the look on the faces of some of the musicians appeared less than thrilled with what was transpiring.
The audience was nevertheless thrilled by the performance and was granted an encore. But not on violin, oh no. An upright piano was wheeled onstage, and Kopatchinskaja smashed her way through “Hommage á Tchaikovsky,” Kurtag’s tone cluster slam fest inspired by the opening bars of the piano concerto. This time, the audience was confused and muted in response. Maybe the whole performance was a joke, after all.
The best came last, with Gražinytė-Tyla’s fresh take on Debussy’s La mer. While most interpreters tend to emphasize the stark power and ominous danger of the ocean evoked in this music, Gražinytė-Tyla took a gentler, less severe approach. Hers was a songful reading. The first movement, “From dawn to noon on the sea,” was beautifully flowing and steady, phrases gently curved and warm, and seamlessly stitched. Though the movement reached its two climactic moments convincingly, the overall feel was almost pastoral.
In the second movement, “Play of the waves,” she seemed to take the “play” in the title more seriously than most; these waves weren’t crashing on rocks, but of friendlier, more sportive type. Unwilling to push the tempo, the conductor uncovered a lilting waltz near the end. The finale, “Dialogue of the wind and the sea,” became more violent and tumultuous as need be, but here, too, the conductor explored the not always apparent singing qualities in this music. The ending thrilled as usual, but was more than usually well earned by being led up to gradually.
In between the two musical landmarks came the world premiere (on its second day), Unsuk Chin’s SPIRA, A Concerto for Orchestra, one of the LA Phil’s numerous centennial year commissions. On initial acquaintance, the 20-minute work seemed like another exercise in old school European avant-gardism. One looked for help in the composer’s program note and found intimations of biological processes of “growth and metamorphosis,” of “unprecedented textures, sonorities, and forms” and “ur-cells,” and that the music is “constantly changing in terms of density, color, character, and pulse, shifting between chaos and order, activity and repose.” SPIRA is a tall order, in other words.
One did hear the ur-cells, twin vibraphones gently hovering at the beginning, and returning to the fore from time to time. One did hear something like chaos and order trading places amid the general splash painting of sound. One did notice a step-wise progression of chords, the changes accompanied by a kind of shuttering in the strings, turned this way and that, as if observed from different angles. But making clear sense of the teeming mass of the entirety proved difficult.
Gražinytė-Tyla led it confidently, though, and the orchestra, used to this type of thing, appeared to take it in stride.
classical music, reviews
Debussy, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, Tchaikovsky
« Appearing in print
Review: Esa-Pekka Salonen, LA Phil, ‘The Rite of Spring’ »
There must be a good reason for posting a review the link to which was posted here less than two months earlier.
The link was good only for a couple of days. Before and after that, it remained behind a subscription paywall, where many people couldn’t read it. After two months, the rights of the review revert to me. Thus the post.
Thanks for confirming that my guess was correct: this is a good reason indeed!
Jim Eninger
Tim, please refer to the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto by what it is, a great masterpiece, not an “old warhorse.” Many thanks for the courage of seeing the empress with no clothes.
Of course it’s a masterpiece. The soloist considered it a warhorse.
How do you know that? Did she tell you? Judging by what i have heard from her (both live and recorded) so far, she approaches almost everything she plays approximately that same way – as something that needs to be reinvented. And then she “reinvents” it according to her musical instincts and taste. Some of it works, much of it doesn’t. That is my personal opinion, but i do know a few fine musicians who love most or all of it as well as a few who hate it.
The two terms – masterpiece and warhorse – are not mutually exclusive, and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is a good example. It is both.
Sure. Some folks seem to think “warhorse” is an insulting term, though. I don’t know what to call what the violinist did. “Re-inventing” is ok, but it also seemed to be making a little fun of the piece. The encore certainly went in that direction, and following how she played the concerto … well, I just don’t know. Her performance of the Violin Concerto sounded almost like a “send up” of a warhorse that has been overplayed.
According to several sources i looked at, warhorse simply means something that has been and/or being performed a lot – maybe too much. In other words, it says nothing negative about the piece itself but is somewhat negative about the possibly excessive amount of its exposure. Of course her encore was a send-up of a piece that is the very definition of a warhorse – but it wasn’t really hers; it was by Kurtag, and she made that very clear to the audience.
Your opinion of her Concerto performance is certainly valid and many musicians share it, but all i am saying is that others whose opinions i respect too have a very different impression, in some cases almost opposite. The meticulousness with which she was rehearsing the piece and her insistence on all details of her interpretation of it showed that she values it highly and takes it seriously. Unfortunately, for me personally much of it was not convincing anyway: all i heard was a considerable talent that was largely wasted by a highly questionable taste.
Oh, sure. I’ve heard from several musicians that I respect who were 100% behind her performance. That’s OK. I believe her thinking is all wrong, though.
And that would mean that so was the thinking of those several musicians. Do you not respect them anymore? Just curious…
One of musicians i know said: “It was a breath of fresh air”. Others wanted to shut all windows closed and lock the door.
I still respect the musicians who said they enjoyed the violinist. Several critics did too. C’est la vie.
Thank you for satisfying my curiosity. For me it works like this: if and when i believe that a person’s opinion about a musical matter or two is clearly “wrong”, my respect for that person’s future musical opinions goes down a notch; but i think i usually succeed in not letting it affect my respect for that person as a human being.
Paul Bodine
“she approaches almost everything she plays approximately that same way – as something that needs to be reinvented.” But — let me guess — she probably plays only overly programmed works. Because playing wonderful un-programmed works (of which there are legion) takes time, effort, and courage. Why not just cease programming/’reinventing’ these over-played masterpieces and instead play the actual score of masterpieces moldering in orchestral libraries?
Your guess is incorrect. She plays quite a bit of everything, including lots of “modern” music that cannot possibly be called “overly programmed”.
For those who are curious about this entire “controversy”: that program was recorded live and is being broadcast on KUSC this Sunday June 16 at 7 pm.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2315
|
__label__cc
| 0.669661
| 0.330339
|
Office Hour with Daniel Tunkelang
Expo Hall (Table D)
Are you a manager or executive struggling to hire data scientists? Are you thinking of interviewing for data science positions and concerned about the hiring process? Or are you interested generally in the challenge of connecting talent to opportunity in this space?
If you’ve answered yes to any of the above, let’s chat! Also happy to chat about the fun challenges building massive data products at LinkedIn.
ps. We’re hiring!
Daniel Tunkelang
Daniel Tunkelang is Director of Data Science at LinkedIn, where he leads a team straddling the boundary between science and engineering and delivering products that LinkedIn’s 200M+ members love and use everyday. He previously led a local search team at Google, and he was a founding employee of faceted search pioneer Endeca (acquired by Oracle in 2011), where he spent ten years as Chief Scientist.
Part of his mission is bridging the gap between industry and academia. He established the Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction and Information Retrieval (HCIR), which has taken place annually since 2007. In addition to speaking at two previous Strata conferences, he has organized and delivered invited talks at top international conferences focused on search, recommender systems, and social media. He wrote the first book on faceted search as part of the Morgan & Claypool Synthesis Lectures, and he is on the editorial board of the Journal of Big Data.
He holds degrees in math and computer science from MIT and a PhD in computer science from CMU, where he developed new algorithms for network visualization.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2323
|
__label__cc
| 0.711194
| 0.288806
|
Home Expert Columns Al Doyle Going Beyond Commemorative Coins On eBay
Expert Columns
Al Doyle
Commemoratives Coins
Daves Collectible Coins
Medals and Tokens
Going Beyond Commemorative Coins On eBay
By Al Doyle for CoinWeek …..
The United States Mint has issued commemorative coins tied to the 1892-93 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (often referred to as the St. Louis Worlds’s Fair) and the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Why wouldn’t numismatists pursue these historic pieces? A look at current values provides a big reality check for the person who has to watch what they spend.
Columbian half dollars are quite affordable in grades as high as MS-64, but the much scarcer commemorative quarter will cost $350 or more even in circulated condition. The 1903 gold dollars honoring Thomas Jefferson and William McKinley along with the 1904 and 1905 Lewis and Clark gold dollars requires more than $3,000 to obtain the quartet in MS-60, and prices steadily rise for better-grade specimens. Never mind the high five-figure prices for the Pan-Pac $50 round and octagonal versions. Obtaining the half dollar, gold $1 or $2.50 gold Pan-Pac are also beyond the means of many collectors.
It’s too bad that the artistry and rarity of these coins doesn’t fit into the budget of many potential buyers, but there is an alternative of sorts for those who want something eye appealing and affordable from these major events. Coins are just a small portion of the mementos and collectibles from these World’s Fairs of the distant past, and many eye-appealing objects from Chicago, St. Louis and San Francisco can be found on eBay.
Tickets to the Columbian Exposition were anything but utilitarian slips of paper. Portraits of historic figures including Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and musician George Frideric Handel (with harp) were combined with colorful and intricately engraved lettering and backgrounds. Promotions such as Chicago Day (October 9, 1893) and Manhattan Day (October 21, 1893) included special tickets. The Chicago Day admission showed a phoenix rising from the ashes, a reference to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, while the Manhattan Day ticket carried the Statue of Liberty, just seven years old at the time.
Postcards, intricately crafted sterling silver spoons, buttons, jewelry, photos, guide books, medals and other keepsakes were some among the items sold to visitors. eBay typically has somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 lots related to the Columbian Exposition. The person who could never afford an Isabella quarter can obtain hundreds of other collectibles from Chicago’s first World’s Fair and never spend more than $50 on an individual item.
If variety is your thing, look no further than the vast assortment of items sold as souvenirs in St. Louis in 1904. In addition to sterling spoons, medals and tokens, collectors can choose from glassware and pewter, calendars, postcards, booklets, jewelry and encased cents. Other possibilities for the St. Louis specialist are the 1904 Olympics held mainly at Forest Park on the city’s south side as well as the Judy Garland movie Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). The 1904 World’s Fair is woven throughout the film.
Maybe a high-grade Pan-Pac $50 is worth more than your home, but that doesn’t shut you out of building a reasonably priced collection of items from the exposition. Pan-Pac related postcards date back to 1910, as this major event was years in the making. How about a silk handkerchief with the “PPIE” logo? There weren’t as many souvenirs from the Pan-Pac as were sold at the Columbian and Louisiana Purchase fairs, but the selection is hardly skimpy.
eBay is by far the best source for the memorabilia of this trio of world’s fairs. Pieces occasionally turn up at antique shops (especially those located near the host cities), but the selection and relevant pricing data is far more comprehensive on eBay than it is by ferreting out one or two items at a time.
New inventions and futuristic concepts were a popular attraction at world’s fairs, and many of the postcards focus on that area. Attendees were exposed to many foreign cultures, as various nations set up exhibits during an era when overseas travel was slow and out of reach of all but the wealthy. Obtain the Columbian, Louisiana Purchase and Pan-Pac commemoratives if possible, but the collecting opportunities from these historic events extends far beyond coins.
Previous articleMorgan Silver Dollars – A Short History on the Pittman Act
Next articleMajor Exonumia Collection on Display at ANA’s World’s Fair of Money. VIDEO: 5:40
A Man, a Plan, a Coin: The Classic Oregon Trail Commemorative Half Dollar
Künker eLive Auction 55 of Ancient and World Coins Starts Today
Harvey Stack – Growing up in a Numismatic Family: The History of Stack’s – 1982
Extremely Rare 1920 Wilson Dollar in Gold to be Offered at July 21 Austin Auction Sale
Red Book Celebrities in the Spotlight at ANA Legacy Series
Results of Künker Summer World Coin Auctions 322-324
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2326
|
__label__wiki
| 0.688986
| 0.688986
|
View cart “Adam Weekley” has been added to your cart.
A.J. Fries
A.J. Fries graduated with a BFA from Buffalo State College in 1995. His solo exhibits include Play With Me at Big Orbit’s Soundlab in 2002, Living The Fantasy at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center in 2003, New Works at The Burchfield Penney Art Center in 2005, Recent Paintings at The Nichols School in 2006, Ignoring the Sirens at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center in 2009, andLight in Shadow at Big Orbit Gallery in 2012.
He has been included in numerous group exhibitions including, Beyond/In Western New York in 2007, Remarkable at the Indigo Gallery in 2009, The Point Show at The Sweet Lorraine Gallery in 2010, Bound Requiem at Last Rites Gallery, and The Faux Show at The Islip Art Museum in 2014.
In 2001 he was awarded a three-month residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York City, and in 2007 he was awarded a full fellowship for a month long residency at The Vermont Studio Center. In 2009 he took part in NYFA’s MARK Program for professional development for artists.
His work is included in many public and private collections, including The Burchfield Penney Art Center and The Albright Knox Art Gallery. A.J. Fries lives and works in Hamburg, New York.
www.ajfriesart.com
Return to “Select Your Artist” page
SKU: artist-ajfries Category: Art
Emily Churco
Kate Parzych
Bruce Bitmead
Candace Keegan
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2327
|
__label__wiki
| 0.770329
| 0.770329
|
Ex-Notre Dame RB Deon McIntosh’s next stop is at Wazzu
By John TaylorJun 18, 2019, 7:47 AM EDT
After a brief stop on a lower rung on the college football ladder, Deon McIntosh is back in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Speaking to 247Sports.com, McIntosh confirmed late last week that he has officially joined the Washington State football program and will play for the Cougars this fall. McIntosh spent the 2018 campaign at East Mississippi Community College — better known as Last Chance U — and earned second-team All-American honors at the junior college level.
For what it’s worth, Wazzu has not yet confirmed McIntosh’s addition to the roster.
McIntosh was a three-star member of Notre Dame’s 2016 recruiting class, rated as the No. 48 running back in the country. After redshirting as a true freshman, McIntosh ran for 368 yards and five touchdowns on 65 carries, with the yardage and scores third on the Fighting Irish in 2017.
Following the 2017 regular season, McIntosh was one of four Notre Dame players suspended for the team’s Citrus Bowl matchup with LSU for violating unspecified team rules. Nearly three weeks after McIntosh’s suspension was announced, it was confirmed that the back had been dismissed from the Fighting Irish football program.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2328
|
__label__cc
| 0.68524
| 0.31476
|
Jase's Family Fun in Disney World!
Wish kid Jase!
Jase and his family!
Jase & Mickey!
Four-year-old Jase may be small, but he’s mighty. He loves to wrestle and play with his three siblings, go on walks and explore the outdoors and imagine he’s a part of all the big, adventurous worlds he sees on TV. He was diagnosed with cancer at a young age and Make-A-Wish® granted his wish to go on his biggest and greatest adventure yet at Walt Disney World Resort® and he could hardly wait!
The whole family including Jase, his two brothers, his sister and his parents were ready to take on the thrill of Disney as soon as they landed in Florida. Once his feet hit the ground in the park, Jase was off. His parents could hardly keep up with him running from one exciting activity to the next!
At home, Jase always watched Mickey Mouse on TV and so one of his biggest dreams at the park was to meet Mickey in person. It turned out to be one of the most special parts of the whole trip! Jase got to give Mickey a big hug and the whole family took lots of pictures with him.
“[The trip] was amazing!! Jase had a blast,” said Jase’s mom. Each member of the family gained more than just memories on their trip. The entire experience gave them with the opportunity to get away and have fun. Best of all, Jase forgot about his battle against cancer and was completely free to be his adventurous and fun-loving self.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2329
|
__label__wiki
| 0.937732
| 0.937732
|
Tag Archives: Bryan Konietzko
The Legend of Korra Renewed for Season Two!
The Legend of Korra has been picked up for a second season of 26 episodes. Season One Book 1 concluded a few weeks ago and is now ready for Book 2. Book 2 is being called “Spirit” and takes place 6 months after Book 1. Season Two should also be split up as Book 3 and 4 as was confirmed by the creator, Bryan Konietzko.
The Legend of Korra stars the voices of Janet Varney who plays Korra, J.K. Simmons (The Closer), P.J. Byrne (Horrible Bosses), David Faustino (Married… with Children), Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men) and Seychelle Gabriel (Falling Skies). The show will resume in 2013 on Nickelodeon. The Legend of Korra is written and produced by Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.
via EW
Posted in Anime, Comic Con, San Diego Comic-Con, SDCC 2012, SDCC 2012 Panels, TV | Tagged Avatar: The Last Airbender, Bryan Konietzko, David Faustino, J.K. Simmons, Janet Varney, Kiernan Shipka, Michael DiMartino, Nickelodeon, P.J. Byrne, San Diego Comic-Con 2012 (SDCC), Seychelle Gabriel, The Legend of Korra | Leave a reply
Nickelodeon Announces Legend of Korra Premiere Date
The mythology of the beloved animated franchise from Avatar: The Last Airbender creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, continues with the Nickelodeon premiere of The Legend of Korra on Saturday, April 14, at 11:00 AM (ET/PT), with a one-hour television event featuring back-to-back episodes. The all-new series centers around a new Avatar named Korra, a 17-year-old headstrong and rebellious girl who continually challenges and bucks tradition on her quest to become a fully realized Avatar in a world where benders are under attack. The Legend of Korra will air regularly on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.
“Mike and Bryan created an incredibly layered world with the animated Avatar franchise — rich with mythology and artistry,” said Brown Johnson, President, Animation, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. “The Legend of Korra takes their vision even further, into a more modern world led by a new Avatar who is a fearless and spirited teenage girl.”
The Legend of Korra takes place 70 years after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender and follows the next Avatar after Aang – a girl named Korra (Janet Varney) who is from the Southern Water Tribe. With three of the four elements under her belt (Earth, Water and Fire), Korra seeks to master Air. Her quest leads her to Republic City, the modern “Avatar” world that is a virtual melting pot where benders and non-benders from all nations live and thrive. Korra quickly discovers that the metropolis is plagued by crime as well as a growing anti-bending revolution that threatens to rip the city apart. Under the tutelage of Aang’s son, Tenzin (J.K. Simmons), Korra begins her airbending training while dealing with the dangers at large.
In the premiere episode, “Welcome to Republic City,” Korra leaves the safety of her home and travels to bustling Republic City to begin her airbending training. Once there, she is shocked to find a big city full of dangers, including criminal bending gangs and a vocal anti-bending revolution. In episode two, “A Leaf in the Wind,” Korra is living with her airbending teacher Tenzin on Air Temple Island. Frustrated with her inability to master airbending, she turns her attentions to Republic City’s famous Pro-bending Arena. There she befriends two brothers, Mako (David Faustino) and Bolin (P.J. Byrne), who compete in professional bending matches. Korra is immediately drawn to Pro-bending’s dynamic fighting style.
The Legend of Korra cast includes Janet Varney (Dinner and a Movie) as Korra, David Faustino (Married…with Children) as Mako, P.J. Byrne (Horrible Bosses) as Bolin, J.K. Simmons (The Closer) as Tenzin, Steve Blum (Cowboy Bebop) as Amon, Lance Henriksen (Aliens) as The Lieutenant, Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery) as Chief Lin Beifong, Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-0) as Hiroshi Sato, Seychelle Gabriel (Falling Skies) as Asami Sato and Eva Marie Saint (Superman Returns) as Katara. The series is co-created and executive produced by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, co-creators of the Emmy Award-winning Avatar: The Last Airbender. Joaquim Dos Santos is co-executive producer.
Starting today, fans can work to unlock an exclusive sneak peek of The Legend of Korra premiere at korranation.com. Beginning April 1, fans may log on to nick.com for an interactive experience and introduction to Republic City. Show information, fun facts, micro games and additional new content make up this “Welcome to Republic City” online experience. Also leading up to the television series premiere, Xbox users will have the opportunity to download the first episode and trailer for free and purchase episodes from Avatar: The Last Airbender. The first The Legend of Korra episode will be available on VOD. In conjunction with the series premiere, Nick’s mobile channel NIMO, will have a live simulcast of the first two episodes.
Launched in February 2005, Avatar: The Last Airbender aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon and was consistently ranked among the top five animated properties on television among boys 2-11 and 6-11. Avatar: The Last Airbender was the inspiration for the Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies live-action epic adventure, The Last Airbender. In 2007, the series was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Animated Program and took home the Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation. In 2008, Avatar: The Last Airbender won a Peabody Award.
An award-winning filmmaker, DiMartino was a director at Film Roman for six years, working on the prime-time animated series King of the Hill, Family Guy and Mission Hill. During his tenure there, DiMartino animated and directed the short animated film Atomic Love, which has gone on to screen at festivals across the country including Sundance and the Los Angeles Film Festival. It also aired as part of the Nicktoons Animation Festival.
Konietzko began his career in animation as a character designer at Film Roman for Fox’s prime-time series, Family Guy. He soon moved to the post of assistant director for two more Film Roman shows, Mission Hill and King of the Hill, working beside animation director DiMartino. Konietzko then became a storyboard artist and later an art director for the Nickelodeon animated series Invader Zim.
The Legend of Korra is being produced at the Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif.
Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 17 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).
via Nickelodeon Press Release
Posted in Comic Con | Tagged Avatar: The Last Airbender, Bryan Konietzko, Daniel Dae Kim, David Faustino, Eva Marie Saint, J.K. Simmons, Janet Varney, Joaquim Dos Santos, Lance Henriksen, Michael Dante DiMartino, Mindy Sterling, Nickelodeon, P.J. Byrne, Seychelle Gabriel, Steve Blum, The Legend of Korra | Leave a reply
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2331
|
__label__wiki
| 0.86659
| 0.86659
|
Tag Archives: The Incredible Melting Man
Shout! Factory Soars into San Diego Comic Con International 2013
WITH LEADING POP CULTURE BRANDS, EXCITING HOME ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCT LINES, SPECIAL FILM SCREENINGS, ENGAGING FAN INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES, AND A HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SCREAM FACTORY™ PANEL EVENT SCREAM FACTORY™ IN THE BLOODY FLESH TO TAKE CENTER STAGE
Shout! Factory returns to Comic-Con International once again to ignite fans of all ages with a robust lineup, featuring a special panel event, five film screenings, a showcase of new home entertainment products, Comic-Con exclusive items, prize sweepstakes, surprise star appearances and engaging fan interactive activities. Moreover, Shout! Factory invites fans and convention attendees to join in on the excitement surrounding Shout’s 10th anniversary celebration at the Shout! Factory booth (#4248) on the main convention floor. Fan-favorite screen icons and comics legend scheduled to attend this incredible pop culture gathering with Shout! Factory include: Adrienne Barbeau, Len Wein, The Aquabats, and other notables. Shout’s resident geek guru Brian Ward, and Scream Factory’s resident horror aficionados Jeff Nelson and Cliff MacMillan will be on-hand for meet and greets.
Thrilling suspense and frights in full-throttle! If your idea of fun is reliving some of the most enthralling horror cult classics, loyal fans and movie buffs will not want to miss this year’s panel event : SCREAM FACTORY™ IN THE BLOODY FLESH! on Friday, July 19, 2013 at 6:30 PM (Room 24ABC). Launched in 2012, Shout’s Scream Factory™ entertainment series, devoted to fan-favorite retro horror and sci-fi films, has taken on a life of its own. With classic titles such as They Live, The Howling and Lifeforce already out, Scream Factory™ is just the place for horror fans. Join Cliff MacMillan (Scream Factory DVD Producer) and Jeff Nelson (Scream Factory Marketing Director) as they take you behind the scenes, introduce exclusive footage, and announce future releases. Also featured is special “Scream Queen” guest actress Adrienne Barbeau (Creepshow), to coincide with the collector’s edition releases of John Carpenter‘s The Fog and Wes Craven‘s Swamp Thing. The panel will be moderated by Sean Clark (host, Horror’s Hallowed Grounds).
Shout! Factory makes its mark at Comic-Con with Power Rangers photo booth, numerous Comic-Con exclusives and five special film screenings of upcoming releases and popular cult classic hits from Shout’s diverse cinema library. This year’s compelling screening lineup includes visionary director Luc Besson‘s THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADELE BLANC-SEC, Matthias Hoene‘s zombie apocalypse comedy feature COCKNEYS VS. ZOMBIES, fan favorite cult classic Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, L.Q. Jones‘ sci-fi classic A BOY AND HIS DOG, and super hero action classic CAPTAIN AMERICA starring Matt Salinger.
Putting the Pop in Your Culture at Shout! Factory Booth #4248
It wouldn’t be Comic-Con without a visit to the Shout! Factory booth. Poised to whet the appetites of Comic-Con attendees and pop-culture enthusiasts, the Shout! Factory booth will showcase the latest offerings from fan-driven product lines, along with VIP guest appearances, fan interactive activities, giveaways and much more! The Shout! Factory Store, located in Shout’s booth, is back at Comic-Con this year with a pedigree of exclusives and upcoming home entertainment offerings, including: My Little Pony Equestria Girls, Power Rangers Seasons Four-Seven,Beetlejuice: The Complete Series, Marvel Knights Animation Wolverine: Origin, Mystery Science Theater 3000 XXVII, Scream Factory Presents The Fog Collector’s Edition, Swamp Thing Collector’s Edition, and The Incredible Melting Man!
For continuing updates on Shout! Factory‘s Comic-Con activities and news, please follow us on Twitter @ShoutFactory, hashtag #SDCC13 and the studio’s official Facebook page. Can’t make it to the convention this year? Follow along on ShoutFactory.com/SDCC13 to get the scoop on real-time announcements, in-booth activities, event schedules and more from the conventional floor.
SCHEDULE OF SHOUT! FACTORY EVENTS AT COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2013 PANEL, FILM SCREENINGS, IN-BOOTH ACTIVITIES, VIP APPEARANCES AND MORE!
Preliminary schedule. * Additional VIP and surprised guest appearances will be announced next few weeks.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 (Preview Night)
Shout! Factory invites fans to celebrate its 10th Anniversary at Shout! booth #4248. Stop by for a Free 10th Anniv. tote bag.Power Rangers festivity at the booth and much more!
1:00 PM Meet The Aquabats! at Shout! Factory booth #4248
Special signing for The Aquabats! Super Show! Season One DVD
3:00 PM Power Rangers festivity at Shout! Factory booth #4248
6:15 PM Special Film Screening of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: The Movie
Location: Marriott Marquis Marina Ballroom D
9:00 PM Special Film Screening of CAPTAIN AMERICA (1990)
Location: Convention Center Screening Room
11:00 PM Special Film Screening of L.Q. Jones’ A BOY AND HIS DOG
4:30 PM-5:30 PM Special Appearance and Signing Event with legendary comics creator Len Wein (Swamp Thing, Wolverine) and screen icon Adrienne Barbeau for signings of the latest releases from Scream Factory home entertainment series SWAMP THING Collector’s Edition and THE FOG Collector’s Edition.
6:30PM SCREAM FACTORY™ IN THE BLOODY FLESH! panel event
Location: Room 24ABC, Convention Center
7:00 PM Special Film Screening of LUC BESSON’S THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADELE BLANC-SEC
8:00 PM Special Film Screening of COCKNEYS VS. ZOMBIES
Directed by Matthias Hoene and written by James Moran
10:30 AM Power Rangers festivity at Shout! Factory booth #4248
SHOUT! FACTORY BOOTH (#4248) HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
UNLEASH YOUR INNER POWER RANGER PHOTO KIOSK
If you have always dreamed of being part of the Power Rangers force, here is your chance! In celebration of Power Rangers 20th Anniversary, Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Saban Brands, will feature an interactive photo kiosk that gives you a chance to join the action. Get your photo taken with vintage Power Rangers props! Savor the moment with a photograph of your own. You’ll get a printed photo and can pick-up a digital copy online to easily share with your friends.
COMIC-CON EXCLUSIVES!
Come by to get your very own My Little Pony PrinceSS Twilight Sparkle crown!MY LITTLE PONY: EQUESTRIA GIRLS is coming to Blu-ray (Blu-ray, DVD + digital copy) combo and on DVD in the US and Canada on August 6th from Shout! Factory Kids, in collaboration with Hasbro Studios.
As part of Shout! Factory’s multifaceted celebration surrounding its 10th anniversary, Shout! is providing fans limited-edition, Shout! 10th Anniversary canvas tote bags on preview night and as a gift-with-purchase (Thursday through Sunday). With thousands of fans flocking to the Shout! Factory booth on the convention floor every year, this commemorative tote bag is only available while supplies last.
Collectible SCREAM FACTORY™ Button Pack
SPECIAL FILM SCREENINGS PRESENTED BY SHOUT! FACTORY AT COMIC-CON
LUC BESSON’S THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADELE BLANC-SEC (Friday, July 19 at 7 PM, Marriott Marquis Marina)
Journey into an awe-inspiring world of action fantasy and visual wonder with popular French comics heroine Adele Blanc-Sec as she leaps from the pages to the screen! Directed and produced by world-renowned filmmaker Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) and adapted from Eisner Award winner Jacques Tardi‘s celebrated French classic comic book series, THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADELE BLANC-SEC features a stellar cast of Louise Bourgoin (Anne Fontaine’s The Girl From Monaco), Mathieu Amalric (Quantum Of Solace), Gilles Lellouche (Love Me If You Dare), Jean-Paul Rouve (La Vie En Rose), and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (The Diving Bell And The Butterfly).
The year is 1912. This is the story of a intrepid young reporter Adele Blanc-Sec and her quest for the power of life over death. Her journey takes her to distant lands to face many dangers beneath the sands. She will go to any length to achieve her aims, including sailing to Egypt to tackle mummies of all shapes and sizes. Meanwhile in Paris, a 136 million-year-old pterodactyl egg on display in the natural history museum has mysteriously hatched, and the creature subjects the city to a reign of terror from the skies. But nothing fazes Adele Blanc-Sec whose adventures include many more extraordinary surprises…
THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADeLE BLANC-SEC arrives August 13, 2013 on DVD and on two-disc BLU-RAY™ COMBO PACK from Shout! Factory, in collaboration with EuropaCorp. Trailer
COCKNEYS VS. ZOMBIES (Saturday, July 20 at 8 PM, Marriott Marquis Marina)
Directed by Matthias Hoene and written by James Moran (Torchwood, Severance), COCKNEYS VS. ZOMBIES boasts an impressive British cast of Harry Treadaway (The Lone Ranger), Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman), Alan Ford (Snatch, Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels), Honor Blackman (Goldfinger,Doctor Who), Georgia King (The New Normal), Rasmus Hardiker (Your Highness, Lead Balloon), Jack Doolan (The Green Green Grass), Dudley Sutton (Lovejoy) and Richard Briers (The Good Life).
The Bow Bells Care Home is under threat and the McGuire’s – Andy, Terry, and Katy – need to find some way to keep their grandfather and his friends in the East End, where they belong. But, when you’re robbing a bank, zombie invasions make things a lot harder. And let’s face it, they need all the help they can get when their bank-robbing experts turn out to be Mental Mickey and Davey Tuppance. As contractors to an East London building site unlock a 350-year old vault full of seriously hungry zombies, the East End has suddenly gone to hell and the Cockney way of life is under threat. Equipped with all the guns and ammo they can carry, it’s up to the gang to save the hostages, their grandfather, and East London from zombie Armageddon.
COCKEYS VS. ZOMBIES will be released simultaneously in theaters and day-and-date on VOD Friday, August 2, 2013. Trailer | Official Site.
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE (Thursday, July 18 at 6:15 PM at Marriott Marquis Marina)
After six seasons of sublime, nerdy fun on television, the cult comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000 took to the big screen in 1996 for its deliriously funny takedown of the 1955 alien invasion epic This Island Earth.
Evil scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester explains the premise at the start: in his quest for world domination, he devises a scheme to subject the human race to the worst movies ever made.He tests his plan on Mike Nelson, the sole human aboard an Earth-orbiting space station known as the Satellite of Love.But our hero and his two robot sidekicks turn a lemon into a much funnier lemon by showering This Island Earth with wisecracks, ridicule and general silliness.The human race may never be rid of cheesy movies, but when the critics are this nutty, who cares?
Starring Michael J. Nelson, Trace Beaulieu, Kevin Murphy, Jim Mallon; Based on the television series by Joel Hodgson; Produced and directed by Jim Mallon. Shout! Factory will release MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE Collector’s Edition Blu-ray+DVD combo pack on September 3, 2013.
A BOY AND HIS DOG (Thursday, July 18 at 11 PM at Marriott Marquis Marina)
Directed by L.Q. Jones and based on the award-winning novella by acclaimed science-fiction author Harlan Ellison, A Boy And His Dog is a dark and often wickedly funny trip through a post-apocalyptic world, where the friendship between a boy and his dog is the only currency that matters
World War IV lasted only five days but has ravaged Earth, leaving its survivors to battle for food, shelter and companionship in a post-atomic wasteland.This celebrated sci-fi tale follows the exploits of Vic (Don Johnson) and his sardonic telepathic dog, Blood, as they struggle through the barren wilderness in search of food and women. In the midst of their meager existence, Vic and Blood encounter Quilla June (Susanne Benton), a dubious young woman who lures them into a surreal city deep beneath the Earth’s surface. Initially elated to find a colony of survivors, Vic and Blood quickly learn this city is not what it seems.
Winner of the 1976 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, A Boy And His Dog stars Don Johnson, Susan Benton and Alvy Moore; produced by Alvy Moore; Written for the screen and directed by L.Q. Jones.
On August, 6th, 2013 Shout! Factory will debut this off-beat cult film classic for the first time on Blu-ray.
CAPTAIN AMERICA 1990 Action Super Hero Movie Classic (Thursday, July 18 at 9PM at the Convention Center screening room)
A film by Albert Pyun and starring Matt Salinger, Ronny Cox, Ned Beatty, Darren McGavin, Michael Nouri and Scott Paulin
Long ago, Steve Rogers (Matt Salinger) was a true American hero, a brave super soldier created by scientists to help the Allied Forces fight for freedom in World War II. But during a battle with the sinister Red Skull (Scott Paulin), he was lost, entombed in ice. Decades later, his body has been found and revived and Steve must again don the mantle of Captain America to help save the President of the United States (Ronny Cox) – and the world – from his arch-nemesis once and for all.
CAPTAIN AMERICA Collector’s Edition Blu-ray™ is available now from Shout! Factory.
SHOUT! FACTORY HOME ENTERTAINMENT HIGHLIGHTS
The Aquabats! Super Show! Season One
From the co-creator of Yo Gabba Gabba!, Aquabats! frontman Christian Jacobs has crafted the perfect blend of live-action and animationfollowing the amazingly wild comic antics of The Aquabats, the galaxy’s first group of musical, crime-fighting superheroes! MC Bat Commander, Crash McLarson, Ricky Fitness, EagleBones Falconhawk and Jimmy The Robot will take you along on their most outrageous adventures to protect the world from the creatures and super villains out to destroy it. All 13 Season One episodes of wacky crime-fighting, music videos and outlandish villains are included in the 2-Disc deluxe collection, along with a ton of bonus features. Trailer
Beetlejuice: The Complete Series
It’s Showtime! Featuring all 94 episodes in a 12-DVD box set, Beetlejuice: The Complete Series follows the escapades of Lydia Deetz, a teenage goth girl with a love of all things macabre, and her best friend Beetlejuice, an undead, bug-eating prankster from the Neitherworld.The only way Beetlejuice can visit the Outerworld (also know as the town of Peaceful Pines) is when his name is repeated three times, but unfortunately for him that is the same way to send him back! Known for its witty dialogue, tongue-in-cheek humor and satire-filled plots, this quirky series was based on the highly popular 1988 Tim Burton film of the same name. Trailer
MARVEL KNIGHTS ANIMATION WOLVERINE – ORIGIN
This summer, Marvel fans will learn the secret history of WOLVERINE that changed the Marvel Universe forever! Written by Eisner Award-winner Paul Jenkins from a story by Joe Quesada, Paul Jenkins and Bill Jemas with captivating artwork by Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove. The adventures of Wolverine’s early days and the startling revelation of his true origins are brought to life when MARVEL KNIGHTS ANIMATION’S WOLVERINE: ORIGIN debuts for the first time on home entertainment shelves nationwide on July 9, 2013 from Shout! Factory. This highly anticipated Marvel Knights Animation presentation boasts engaging storytelling combined with visual rich animation and insightful bonus content. Trailer
My Little Pony Equestria Girls, the full-length feature introducing an exciting dimension to the incredibly popular My Little Pony brand, is coming to Blu-ray (Blu-ray, DVD + digital copy) combo and on DVD in the US and Canada on August 6th from Shout! Factory Kids, in collaboration with Hasbro Studios.
When Twilight Sparkle’s crown is stolen from the Crystal Empire, she pursues the thief, Sunset Shimmer, into an alternate world where she finds herself turned into…a teenage girl! To regain her crown and return to Equestria, Twilight must learn how to fit into this strange, new world and defeat Sunset Shimmer in a competition to become crowned Princess of the Fall Formal at Canterlot High. Luckily, she will have the assistance of Spike and five teenage girls who remind her of a certain group of ponies back home.
For more information on My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, please visit www.mlpeg.com.
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Trailer
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: Volume XXVII
This summer, throw a mad monster party with the motley crew of the Satellite of Love as they celebrate the release of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: XXVII! Available July 23rd from Shout! Factory, this 4-DVD box set is a schlock-tastic monster movie mash featuring four episodes never-before-available on DVD: The Slime People, Rocket Attack USA, Village Of the Giants and The Deadly Mantis. There may be no finer-and certainly no funnier–meditation on monsters than this collection of episodes from the cult comedy series.As food for thought, we are served subterranean slime people, giant praying mantises, Soviet spies and–perhaps the most terrifying of all–enormous teenagers from the disturbing menu of America’s twisted psyche. Battling these Goliaths for us with their slingshots of sass and silliness are Joel, Mike and their robot henchmen, Tom Servo and Crow.The monsters are gruesome and the movies even more so, but the riffs are risible and retaliatory, proving definitively that revenge is actually a dish best served funny.
Power Rangers: Seasons Four – Seven
Four complete Morphenomenal seasons in one limited-edition collection! Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa have been defeated once again, but the Command Center is in ruins, and King Mondo is on his way to conquer Earth! It’s now time to see what the Power Rangers arereally made of! Picking up right where Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers left off, Power Rangers: Seasons 4-7 continues the saga of the heroic “teenagers with attitude” through four more unforgettable seasons: Power Rangers ZEO, Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers In Space and Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. For the first time on DVD, you can now have all 183 episodes of these four epic seasons on 21 action-packed DVDs in one deluxe collection! POWER RANGERS: SEASONS 4-7 also contains an exclusive disc of rarely seen archival material and brand-new retrospective featurettes including interviews with members of the cast, creative team, fans and much, much more!
Following its debut in 1993, Saban’s iconic live-action pop culture series Power Rangers quickly became the most watched children’s television program in North America. Emphasizing the importance of teamwork, responsibility and helping others, the series follows the adventures of a group of ordinary young people who “morphed” into superheroes. This long-running series has been seen in more than 150 countries, translated into numerous languages, and remains a mainstay in children’s programming blocks.
Now you can return to where the phenomenon began and re-live these thrill-packed adventures when Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Saban Brands, unleashes a cornucopia of home entertainment offerings, many of which have never been released on DVD. Through unprecedented access to Saban Brands’ vast archive of content, many of these DVD collections produced by Shout! Factory boast extensive bonus materials and collectible packaging, making them must-haves for loyal fans and collectors.
SCREAM FACTORY™ HOME ENTERTAINMENT SERIES
Further underscoring its position as a premiere horror genre-centric entertainment provider in North America, Shout!’s SCREAM FACTORY™ continues to raise the bar in curating and revitalizing some of the most enthralling horror cult classics in lavish packages crammed with compelling, high-value extras. These titles, many of which have never been available on Blu-ray™, are presented in anamorphic widescreen screen, and most will be released as a “Collector’s Edition,” jam-packed with new bonus content, extensive archival materials, a collectible cover featuring newly rendered retro-style artwork, a reversible wrap with original theatrical key art and much more. Whether reliving the brilliance of these underrated cult classics or sharing them with a new generation of horror enthusiasts, there’s plenty of treats for loyal fans to sink their teeth into from SCREAM FACTORY. Visit http://www.youtube.com/screamfactorytv.
SCREAM FACTORY™ PRESENTS
The Fog Collector’s Edition
Directed by legendary filmmaker John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing), The Fog is a spooky and atmospheric tale of a Northern California coastal town under siege by reveng-seeking dead souls! Highly regarded by both fans and critics as one of the true classics of the horror genre, The Fog boasts an all-star cast that includes Adrienne Barbeau (Creepshow), Jamie Lee Curtis (True Lies), Janet Leigh (Psycho), Tom Atkins (Halloween III), John Houseman (The Paper Chase), and Hal Holbrook (Lincoln). THE FOG is a nail-biting ghost story experience that you will never forget!
Featuring makeup effects from six-time Best Makeup Oscar®-winner Rick Baker (An American Werewolf In London, Ed Wood, Men In Black) and written and directed by William Sachs (Galaxina, Exterminator 2), The Incredible Melting Man delivers the gelatinous goods while humanizing a character rapidly losing his humanity. In short: it’s bloody good! In The Incredible Melting Man, Colonel Steve West has just returned from an incredible history-making flight to Saturn when he is hospitalized with an ailment that baffles the entire medical community. His flesh is melting and to stay alive he must consume human flesh and blood. The infected Colonel West escapes from the doctor’s supervision and hides in the surrounding community where he begins to hunt for human flesh. Who can stop the Incredible Melting Man?
Science made him a monster. Love changed him even more! SWAMP THING is the story of a half-human/half-plant superhero that is the perfect blend of thrills and chills from master of horror Wes Craven (A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Last House On The Left, The Hills Have Eyes). The Swamp Thing Blu-ray + DVD combo pack features high-definition anamorphic widescreen presentations and exciting bonus content, includingall-new interviews with Adrienne Barbeau, co-creator Len Wein and actor Reggie Batts, as well as commentary tracks with writer/director Wes Craven and makeup effects artist Bill Munn.
via Shout! Factory Press Release
Posted in Comic Con, San Diego Comic-Con, SDCC 2013, SDCC 2013 Booth Info, SDCC 2013 Exclusives, SDCC 2013 Panels | Tagged A Boy and His Dog, Adrienne Barbeau, Beetlejuice, Brian Ward, Captain America, Cliff MacMillan, Cockneys vs. Zombies, Equestria Girls, Jeff Nelson, John Carpenter, L.Q. Jones, Len Wein, Luc Besson, Marvel Knights, Matt Salinger, Matthias Hoene, My Little Pony, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, Power Rangers, San Diego Comic-Con 2013 (SDCC), Sean Clark, Shout! Factory, Swamp Thing, The Aquabats, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, The Fog, The Incredible Melting Man, Wes Craven | Leave a reply
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2332
|
__label__wiki
| 0.885833
| 0.885833
|
THE TRITON GAME PLAN | UTE REVIEW – Mitsubishi Triton
Big deals at the top end of town – Words by Neil Dowling
THE multi-million-dollar contract for about 540 vehicles awarded to Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd (MMAL) by one of Australia’s biggest construction and building companies, WA-based BGC (Australia) Pty Ltd, represents first blood for the new Triton dual-cab ute.
The deal includes about 340 Tritons, with the remainder made up of ASX and Eclipse Cross models for sales and administration, and Outlander models for management. The contract has started with 40 Tritons delivered, and the rest rolling out over coming months.
Competing against the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Holden Colorado for the contract, the Triton won after an intensive four-month on-road and analytical investigation by BGC, using algorithms including whole-of-life calculations.
BCG is based in WA and has most of its operations in that state, particularly the Pilbara. However, the company has substantial business interests in NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria, and this led to the decision-making process subsequently using four of each brand in its assessment.
It started the tender process in July last year at a time when the new Triton was still six months away from launch.
BGC group fleet manager Peter Owen told Delivery that the company was given a preview of the new Triton in August, coming in before the tender closed. Vehicles were then made available to BGC by Mitsubishi before the Australian launch of the ute.
Four examples of each ute were circulated through 40 BGC staff members around Australia, and each employee involved actively critiqued each model they drove.
BGC director Sam Buckeridge said the selection exercise took six months to complete. “We have staff participation as part of the tender process and vehicle evaluation,” he said.
“This is important because although the dollars matter, it is the staff that have to live with the vehicles. Their opinion is very important to the decision. The employee testing involved ease of use, cabin space, cargo payload, fuel economy, safety and comfort.”
According to Mr Owen: “The Triton received top rating from both the rigorous evaluation of the numbers, and the people who will drive these vehicles every day.”
The number-crunching by BGC and its fleet management partner Summit Fleet Leasing and Management then had to meet “fit for purpose” and “whole of life” parameters established by BGC and calculated for the four-year period. This included the leasing costs, the effects of the fringe benefit tax, cost of maintenance, and ownership.
Summit is owned by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, the second-largest bank in Japan, which last year announced an alliance with the nation’s biggest bank, Mitsubishi UFG Finance Group. The alliance started with the sharing of ATMs in Tokyo.
Mitsubishi will supply the Triton dual-cab ute in different variants, though the majority will be GLX grades with the Advance Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) pack that includes autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and automatic headlights.
In a statement, MMAL’s head of fleet, Fulvio Fattore, said the contract was a great opportunity for Mitsubishi to work with BGC and showcase the capability of the new Triton. “It validates what we believe is a great vehicle,” he said.
“BGC’s endorsement of the Triton is recognition that Mitsubishi is leading the market in fleet suitability, and especially in driver preference.”
BGC (Buckeridge Group of Companies) was started by the late Len Buckeridge in 1959 and covers residential and commercial construction, the manufacture of construction materials and building products, road transport and property management.
Mr Buckeridge’s company concept was to create an integrated supply chain that makes its own concrete, bricks and windows, and owns quarries. It has a transport fleet of about 750 vehicles, made up of 500 cars and commercials, and 250 trucks.
Sogo Shosha
In Japan, the term sogo shosha means “general trading company”. Unlike typical Western trading companies and Japan’s 9000 other trading companies, the sogo shoshas are distinguished by their international networks, their trade of numerous commodities, and their large market shares.
For example, a sogo shosha may control about 10 percent of Japan’s trade, handle a range of 10,000 to 20,000 products including food, clothing, automobiles, and appliances, and have a network of more than 200 offices throughout the world.
The sogo shosha are also characterised by their ability to issue large volumes of credit and to help small manufacturers buy and sell goods in the global market. These trading companies serve as intermediaries for distribution at home and abroad for Japanese companies. The major sogo shosha include Mitsubishi, Mitsui, C. Itoh, Sumitomo, Marubeni, Nichimen, Kanematsu-Gosho, and Nisso Iwai Corp.
Mitsubishi Corporation is Japan’s largest trading company (sogo shosha) and a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. Mitsubishi Corporation employs more than 60,000 people and has seven business segments, including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemicals and food.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2336
|
__label__cc
| 0.596229
| 0.403771
|
7 Countries Considering Abandoning the US Dollar By Jessica Hupp
By Jessica Hupp
11/07/07 “CurrencyTrading“
It’s no secret that the dollar is on a downward spiral. Its value is dropping, and the Fed isn’t doing a whole lot to change that. As a result, a number of countries are considering a shift away from the dollar to preserve their assets. These are seven of the countries currently considering a move from the dollar, and how they’ll have an effect on its value and the US economy.
Saudi Arabia: The Telegraph reports that for the first time, Saudi Arabia has refused to cut interest rates along with the US Federal Reserve. This is seen as a signal that a break from the dollar currency peg is imminent. The kingdom is taking “appropriate measures” to protect itself from letting the dollar cause problems for their own economy. They’re concerned about the threat of inflation and don’t want to deal with “recessionary conditions” in the US. Hans Redeker of BNP Paribas believes this creates a “very dangerous situation for the dollar,” as Saudi Arabia alone has management of $800 billion. Experts fear that a break from the dollar in Saudi Arabia could set off a “stampede” from the dollar in the Middle East, a region that manages $3,500 billion.
South Korea: In 2005, Korea announced its intention to shift its investments to currencies of countries other than the US. Although they’re simply making plans to diversify for the future, that doesn’t mean a large dollar drop isn’t in the works. There are whispers that the Bank of Korea is planning on selling $1 billion US bonds in the near future, after a $100 million sale this past August.
China: After already dropping the dollar peg in 2005, China has more trouble up its sleeve. Currently, China is threatening a “nuclear option” of huge dollar liquidation in response to possible trade sanctions intended to force a yuan revaluation. Although China “doesn’t want any undesirable phenomenon in the global financial order,” their large sum of US dollars does serve as a “bargaining chip.” As we’ve noted in the past, China has the power to take the wind out of the dollar.
Venezuela: Venezuela holds little loyalty to the dollar. In fact, they’ve shown overt disapproval, choosing to establish barter deals for oil. These barter deals, established under Hugo Chavez, allow Venezuela to trade oil with 12 Latin American countries and Cuba without using the dollar, shorting the US its usual subsidy. Chavez is not shy about this decision, and has publicly encouraged others to adopt similar arrangements. In 2000, Chavez recommended to OPEC that they “take advantage of high-tech electronic barter and bi-lateral exchanges of its oil with its developing country customers,” or in other words, stop using the dollar, or even the euro, for oil transactions. In September, Chavez instructed Venezuela’s state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA to change its dollar investments to euros and other currencies in order to mitigate risk.
Sudan: Sudan is, once again, planning to convert its dollar holdings to the euro and other currencies. Additionally, they’ve recommended to commercial banks, government departments, and private businesses to do the same. In 1997, the Central Bank of Sudan made a similar recommendation in reaction to US sactions from former President Clinton, but the implementation failed. This time around, 31 Sudanese companies have become subject to sanctions, preventing them from doing trade or financial transactions with the US. Officially, the sanctions are reported to have little effect, but there are indications that the economy is suffering due to these restrictions. A decision to move Sudan away from the dollar is intended to allow the country to work around these sanctions as well as any implemented in the future. However, a Khartoum committee recently concluded that proposals for a reduced dependence on the dollar are “not feasible.” Regardless, it is clear that Sudan’s intent is to attempt a break from the dollar in the future.
Iran: Iran is perhaps the most likely candidate for an imminent abandonment of the dollar. Recently, Iran requested that its shipments to Japan be traded for yen instead of dollars. Further, Iran has plans in the works to create an open commodity exchange called the Iran Oil Bourse. This exchange would make it possible to trade oil and gas in non-dollar currencies, the euro in particular. Athough the oil bourse has missed at least three of its announced opening dates, it serves to make clear Iran’s intentions for the dollar. As of October 2007, Iran receives non-dollar currencies for 85% of its oil exports, and has plans to move the remaining 15% to currencies like the United Arab Emirates dirham.
Russia: Iran is not alone in its desire to establish an alternative to trading oil and other commodities in dollars. In 2006, Russian President Vladmir Putin expressed interest in establishing a Russian stock exchange which would allow “oil, gas, and other goods to be paid for in Roubles.” Russia’s intentions are no secret–in the past, they’ve made it clear that they’re wary of holding too many dollar reserves. In 2004, Russian central bank First Deputy Chairmain Alexei Ulyukayev remarked, “Most of our reserves are in dollars, and that’s a cause for concern.” He went on to explain that, after considering the dollar’s rate against the euro, Russia is “discussing the possibility of changing the reserve structure.” Then in 2005, Russia put an end to its dollar peg, opting instead to move towards a euro alignment. They’ve discussed pricing oil in euros, a move that could provide a large shift away from the dollar and towards the euro, as Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter.
What does this all mean?
Countries are growing weary of losing money on the falling dollar. Many of them want to protect their financial interests, and a number of them want to end the US oversight that comes with using the dollar. Although it’s not clear how many of these countries will actually follow through on an abandonment of the dollar, it is clear that its status as a world currency is in trouble.
Obviously, an abandonment of the dollar is bad news for the currency. Simply put, as demand lessens, its value drops. Additionally, the revenue generated from the use of the dollar will be sorely missed if it’s lost. The dollar’s status as a cheaply-produced US export is a vital part of our economy. Losing this status could rock the financial lives of both Americans and the worldwide economy.
This entry was posted in Business, China, Iran, Korea, News &-or Politics, Politics, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and tagged North Korea. Bookmark the permalink.
← Blair ‘knew Iraq had no WMD’ By David Cracknell
The Impossibility of American Empire By William Pfaff →
2 thoughts on “7 Countries Considering Abandoning the US Dollar By Jessica Hupp”
U ? Authority | May 1, 2008 at 10:43 AM
demand for our dollar export is dwindling,
barrels o money, not good for kindling,
we’re the ones falling, for the swindling.
When its over, its just begun,
taxmans commin’, with a gun,
your future, well, i’m very sorry, son.
R. J. Connors | November 7, 2007 at 8:06 PM
It’s been a long time in the making but it looks like the party is about to go into high gear.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2340
|
__label__cc
| 0.681719
| 0.318281
|
Tag Archives: Branding
Taking a Hike Plaque and Keeping up with the Jones’
01/30/2013 By David Clevenger in Uncategorized Tags: Advertising, Branding, Communications, Creativity, Editing, Grammar, Marketing Leave a comment
As it does occasionally, The New York Times in a recent article asked twenty questions about advertising, the media, and popular culture. Here are two questions about ads in 2012 that caught my attention:
Do any of the copywriters who crafted the ads for the Crest Pro-Health Clinical Line of oral-care products sold by Procter & Gamble realize that the way they punctuated the headlines, which read “Take a hike plaque, and don’t hurry back,” suggests that consumers ought to get their hands on a “hike plaque,” whatever the heck that might be?
Will any English teachers who wear the Jones New York clothing sold by the Jones Group scold the copywriters who came up with the headline “Keeping up with the Jones’ ” for the brand’s ads?
Clearly, the Crest ad is missing an important comma after “hike,” a comma necessitated by the fact that the sentence is addressing plaque, telling it to take a hike. The comma is necessary here just as it would be in a sentence such as, “Go to the office, Bob.” Since this mistake is frequently made in advertising, my guess is that even in an example like this, the writers would not have known that they needed a comma.
The Jones ad leaves one asking, “Keeping up with the Jones’ what?” Clearly the writers meant to say “Joneses,” meaning to not fall behind in the competition to own as many possessions as your neighbors, whose last name is Jones. But by adding the apostrophe instead of the “es,” they made the name possessive, and so it requires an object, such as car, which is, perhaps, speeding down the road, and you are trying to catch up with it. Or maybe it could refer to lifestyle, which would be appropriate in this case, but even then “lifestyle” would have to be added to the sentence, so the reader does not have to guest what it means.
You can read the other 18 questions from the article at http://ow.ly/gJP2A .
An Apostrophe Where It Shouldn’t Be
12/29/2012 By David Clevenger in Uncategorized Tags: Branding, Editing, Grammar, Marketing Leave a comment
What is it about apostrophes that makes people want to insert them into places where they have no business being placed?
I first noticed this sign, “Voted Best Sub’s By Our Customers,” with its glaringly wrong apostrophe several months ago, and have been waiting to see if someone would catch the mistake and correct it.
No one has.
It’s hard to see how the misuse of this apostrophe was overlooked by the owner of the restaurant or the painter of the sign, regardless of their education levels or disinterest in grammar. Could it be that they have never really looked at the sign, or that they simply don’t care? Could it be that not a single customer has mentioned the mistake, or that in hearing about it, the owner just passed the comment off as being unimportant?
Cleaning Ducks
12/11/2012 By David Clevenger in Uncategorized Tags: Branding, Communications, Editing Leave a comment
The phone rang the other day. When we picked it up, a computer voice said, “This is Dave from Cleaning Ducks.”
He was calling to see if we wanted our “ducks” cleaned.
Since we don’t have any ducks, and probably wouldn’t want them cleaned, anyway, we hung up.
Come to think of it, we don’t have any chickens, turkeys, or any other kinds of fowl, either. And if we did, I’m sure we’d have a bowl of water big enough for them to clean themselves, if for some reason, they felt they needed to spruce up a bit.
I’m certain Dave, whoever he is, has a legitimate business and makes a good living cleaning air-conditioning and heating ducts in houses around the suburbs. But one has to wonder why—if his business is sophisticated enough to have a computer-calling system—he didn’t take the time to listen to what it said, and to correct the pronunciation of “ducts.”
Ducts—not ducks—are the main focus of his business. Certainly the word should be pronounced correctly.
Photo: Shutterstock/WilleeCole
On the Wings of Brand, Marketing and Manufacturing
09/18/2012 By David Clevenger in Uncategorized Tags: Branding, Business Communications, Corporate Reputation, Culture, Marketing 1 Comment
iPhone 5 photo by Eric Risberg, AP
Apple’s iPhone 5 does not go on sale in stores until Friday, yet the company has already broken records with the number of pre-ordered devices sold through its website. Customers bought out its initial supply in about 60 minutes and then bought more than two million devices in the first 24 hours the iPhone 5 was available online—about twice the number of last year’s iPhone 4s sold in a day, which was itself a record for the company.
Last week people started lining up at some of the company’s stores to be among the first to buy the new phone when the doors open Friday morning. Let me be clear: People were camped out eight days before the device goes on sale at the stores.
Why do people get so excited over yet another model of this smartphone that has looked so much the same since 2007 that most people can’t tell one version from the next?
It’s a combination of Apple’s brand, its marketing expertise, and its manufacturing details.
Few people would doubt that Apple has among the best—if not the very best—brand in the technology industry, a brand that still generates a feeling that the company makes products “for the rest of us,” as it stated many years ago when fighting for its life against all the Microsoft-based computers. That sense of being among the few who feel like an Apple insider and being among the “lucky” who own one of its products still exists—somehow—even though Apple now ranks as the largest U.S. company (measured by stock-market price).
We “lucky ones” must know there’s nothing unique about owning an Apple product; after all, it sold two million of them in 24 hours last week and is expected to sell nearly 50 million in the fourth quarter alone—enough to slightly move the overall U.S. economy forward. This reality sits in the back of our minds, but it can’t override our perception that runs clearly amuck in the front. It’s a lifestyle choice that we have bought in to—like owning a dog or driving a BMW.
That perception, embedded by brand, is driven by marketing and manufacturing.
It’s likely every company that makes cellphones introduced a new model in the past few months. In fact, some companies rushed their products to market just ahead of the iPhone 5 announcement last week, trying to gain some media coverage before being drowned out by reporters and bloggers loudly proclaiming the virtues of the new Apple device.
Yet, it’s unlikely you can name another company that held a major PR event for its new phone—especially one that drew hundreds of top tech reporters and bloggers from around the world, and then put a video of the two-hour event on its website where, one would guess, it was watched (in part or full) by thousands of consumers, and by an untold number of PR and marketing professionals trying to learn how it’s done.
These professionals (who consider such things in hopes of copying their effectiveness) also wonder how such a highly promotional statement as the following could work its magic yet again: “iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet, the most beautiful product we’ve ever made, and we hope customers love it as much as we do.” This statement is used not only by Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, in the news release announcing the record-breaking pre-orders, but over and over again in the video.
And it works. Consumers believe it every time they hear it.
Then there’s Apple’s focus on trying to make the best product possible, a focus held dearly by Steve Jobs for his entire career (both times at Apple, at Next and at Pixar) and engrained deeply into the culture of the company. Whether Apple succeeds at this goal is debated—sometimes. But by trying, and then telling us and showing us that its trying, Apple goes a long way toward making the goal a reality in the minds and hands of millions of people.
A short iPhone 5 video on Apple’s website shows part of the manufacturing process and repeats language similar to that used in the Apple news release announcing the device: “Designed with an unprecedented level of precision, iPhone 5 combines an anodized aluminum body with diamond cut chamfered edges and glass inlays for a truly incredible fit and finish.”
Watching these edges being cut leaves some viewers amazed at the care put into the phone’s manufacture and leaves them knowing (before they’ve ever held the device) that it will feel like a piece of art in their hands—not a mere appliance on which to make calls and send texts. It increases their urgency to own one, an urgency like that felt by a rare-art collector bidding on a Gauguin or a Monet.
Each of those who have already pre-ordered the iPhone 5, who are now waiting in line to buy it on Friday, or who will be among those to have it before year end—each will feel that the device he/she will soon own will not be just one of millions of copies, but the only one. It will be masterpiece.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2345
|
__label__wiki
| 0.798377
| 0.798377
|
Three quarters of The Spectator’s 2018 revenue growth came from subscriptions
January 7, 2019 by Jessica Davies
When No. 10 Downing Street got in touch with The Spectator last November and requested to write a rebuttal to an article published the previous week, the publisher knew it was on to something.
The article in question was a deep legal analysis of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, delivered in a tongue-in-cheek format broken into 40 points. Titled “The Top 40 horrors lurking in the small print of Theresa May’s Brexit deal,” the article was popular among subscribers and resulted in the U.K. Government’s legal team writing a rebuttal: “The Brexit deal: 40 rebuttals to Mr Steerpike’s 40 horrors.” The two articles alone generated 333 new paying subscribers for The Spectator last November, the publisher said, and helped it reach a record of 1,000 new paying subscribers in one week.
A heavy bit of legalese, albeit delivered in a digestible format, isn’t the kind of article the publisher thought would drive subscriptions. But a new way of monitoring its analytics has shed new light on what kinds of articles are most popular with subscribers, and can then be used to attract more, according to The Spectator’s editor Fraser Nelson.
The Spectator has a metered paywall, which allows people to read three articles before they must register their name and email address to unlock a further five. Being a relatively lean operation of 63 staff, though, with three digital hires set to join in the next few months, the magazine doesn’t have the resources to buy costly analytics tools that larger media companies typically use. Instead, The Spectator developed its own analytics tool over the summer, which shows more closely what subscribers are reading, rather than just general traffic to the site and what free articles are being consumed. The tool spotlighted some surprises for the editorial team: It is the heavier in-depth analysis of political developments subscribers have flocked to, rather than lighter, news-based articles.
“Previously, I’d have thought that running an article of 40 legal points around something like this was a bit of a nerdy indulgence,” said Nelson. “People likely have better things to do on a Saturday than read that. But the fact it was so popular with subscribers showed there was a real hunger to understand it [the deal] in depth.”
The Spectator doesn’t break out its exact split of advertising to subscriptions revenue, but Nelson was clear that he expects future growth to come from reader revenue. In 2018, subscriptions drove three-quarters of the publisher’s revenue growth, though Nelson wouldn’t reveal specific figures.
Nelson attributed that growth partly to a newfound confidence in what to commission based on subscriber consumption, as well as changes made to the payment model last summer. The magazine has gone for the Netflix-esque free-month sample followed by a weekly £8.99 ($11.50) for digital-only subscriptions and £11.99 ($15.25) for print and digital, rather than its former £12 ($15.27) for 12 weeks and no free-month sample. Since that change in the summer, subscriptions have climbed to 73,000, up from around 60,000 last April.
Although The Spectator has a metered paywall, it isn’t interested in scaling its non-subscriber traffic. In 2019, it will focus purely on driving subscriptions and reducing churn, rather than attracting new readers. Currently, retention is around 85 percent, says the publisher. Subscribers currently read a daily average of three articles on the site, and Nelson wants to push that up to four and a half per day. Subscribers, in general, have started spending more time on the site, with 35 percent of site visitors now being subscribers versus those consuming free articles.
Retention is often the part of the subscriptions equation neglected by many publishers, notes Gregory Harwood, director at strategy and marketing consultant Simon-Kucher and Partners. “More often than not, a lot of time, resource and effort is invested in acquiring customers and insufficient time is spent ensuring they stick around,” he said. “This ultimately requires a change of mindset internally which can only come from the leadership team.”
The Spectator isn’t alone in having enjoyed the same Brexit bump that many other British subscriptions-led publishers have experienced, similar to the Trump bump enjoyed predominantly by U.S. publications. But Nelson isn’t concerned that the windfall has faded.
“You could say the same for the Scottish Referendum, the snap [U.K. prime minister] election, the Trump phenomenon — we seem to be pretty well stocked for political crisis right now,” added Nelson.
Image: courtesy of The Spectator
Dogs on treadmills: Publishers are finding LinkedIn isn’t just for business and careers news
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2346
|
__label__cc
| 0.698761
| 0.301239
|
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert: The Final Sonatas at Wigmore Hall
By The Cross-Eyed Pianist | April 8, 2016 April 8, 2016
Mozart, Piano Sonata in B flat major, K570
Beethoven, Piano Sonata no. 31 in A flat major, Op.110
Haydn, Piano Sonata in D major, Hob XVI:51
Schubert, Piano Sonata no. 20 in A major, D.959
Wigmore Hall, London, Wednesday 6th April 2016
Sir András Schiff is traversing the final three piano sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert in concerts across America and Europe. Twelve sonatas in total are spread across three concerts which celebrate the sonata form, “one of the greatest inventions in Western music” (Schiff), a structure central to the oeuvres of all four composers and a means by which we can observe their development at key stages in their creative lives.
The triptych of concerts also explores the notion of “late style”. In considering Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, lateness is relative, almost a philosophical construct. Haydn and Beethoven were long-lived (by the standards of their day), while Mozart and Schubert died young. But it is the intensity of their lives and creativity that matters here: for example, in the last year of his life, Schubert’s output was astonishing – the string quartets and Symphony in C major, the ‘Schwanengesang’ song cycle and many other works in addition to the three final piano sonatas.
Posted in Concert Review, General and tagged as Andras Schiff, last sonatas, London concerts, The Final Sonatas, Wigmore Hall, Wigmore Hall reviews.
Jonathan Zoob says:
I enjoyed your review of Andras Schiff but it has been known for a LONG time now that Schubert didn’t write the “Great” C major Symphony in the last year of his life. It dates from 1825.
I agree about Schiff – I think he lost the divine spark some years ago and doesn’t seem to communicate nearly so strongly nowadays.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2349
|
__label__cc
| 0.672151
| 0.327849
|
From Patrimonio Hoy to Arte en Concreto: Tailoring a Social Responsibility Program at CEMEX Puerto Rico
Ivey School (U of Western Ontario)
This case examines how CEMEX adapted its flagship corporate social responsibility (CSR) program (Patrimonio Hoy) to the specific socio-economic realities of Puerto Rico—Fundacion Arte en Concreto (the Foundation). The Foundation was a partnership between a number of entities in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. For CEMEX, the main partner and founder, Arte en Concreto provided a way to promote concrete as an art form while contributing to the economic and social development of Puerto Rico. The goal of the Foundation was to rehabilitate prisoners through vocational training. The case also examines a number of external factors that affected the Foundation in 2008-09, such as global and local economic recessions, a slowdown in the construction sector, destabilizing effects for a public-private partnership of a new political party in government, and a general distrust of CEMEX's environmental record. The staff at the board of directors needed to develop a strategy that could guarantee the future of the Foundation.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2353
|
__label__wiki
| 0.74812
| 0.74812
|
Banned group recruiting at Northeastern University
Boston Church of Christ targets students for membership
The Northeastern News/March 3, 1999
By Christine Walsh
The small square flyers seemed innocent enough as they circulated around Northeastern's campus last week.
"Come join us as we examine the difference that faith can make in our daily lives," the advertisement proclaimed. "Following the service there will be free food and fun as we watch the Super Bowl together on a giant screen."
But this wasn't just any Super Bowl party. It was sponsored by the Boston Church of Christ, a religious organization forbidden to recruit on most local college campuses, including Northeastern.
The party was the latest in the church's attempts to recruit members, usually college students who are new to the area.
Although it has attempted to become a recognized student group, the Boston Church of Christ has been banned from Northeastern's campus for at least the past 10 years, said Sister Rosemary Mulvihill, director of NU's Spiritual Life Office.
The main reason is the church's methods of recruiting, Mulvihill said.
"Their recruitment is often duplicitous; it's not always as it seems," she said.
The Boston Church of Christ was not available for comment.
It starts off harmlessly enough. A church member will invite a student to a social event, without letting on that it's sponsored by the Boston Church of Christ. The student accepts the invitation and is later inundated with phone calls from church members.
"They follow up with phone calls and continually pursue the person," Mulvihill said. "It really takes away a person's freedom."
An additional concern is the church's literal interpretation of Scripture. They pressure members to believe there is only one "Way" at a time when it's healthy for students to ask questions and explore their faith.
Over time, members become cut off from their families, friends and roommates, Mulvihill said. Often, students' grades will suffer.
"It also seems to take up a lot of students' time and money in an inordinate way," she said. "A lot is asked of the members of this group."
Members of the Boston Church of Christ often target students who are lonely and vulnerable, those who are looking for God but don't know where to start, and those who have reached a low point in their lives, Mulvihill said.
In the past week alone, Mulvihill has heard at least four complaints about the church. One was about an NU employee who was encouraging students to join the cult. Parents and roommates worried about students spending too much time with the group.
Last year, Mulvihill worked with a student who had so much difficulty separating from the Boston Church of Christ that she withdrew from the university and had to seek counseling.
Mulvihill is concerned about the number of students who report being harassed by the group. Some students have had to change their phone numbers.
A middler history major, who would not reveal her name for fear that the church would try to contact her, said students need to be educated about cults on campus.
A lifelong Bostonian, the student has had several encounters with the Boston Church of Christ. She is also a member of the Campus Crusade for Christ, a resident assistant and an orientation leader who often fields complaints from students about the cult.
"I've known about them all my life," she said. "Not a week goes by that I haven't heard about them."
Earlier this year, she said, the church was running a focus group out of one of NU's residence halls, a privilege reserved only for sanctioned student groups. And recently, she found some of them holding a Bible study in the Marino Recreation Center.
"They had a freshman with them who didn't know better," she said. "She could really feel their love and acceptance."
The student admits that members of the Boston Church of Christ "are some of the nicest people I've ever met." That can make it even easier for susceptible students to fall into their trap.
As a member of the Campus Crusade for Christ, the student worries that students will confuse cults with sanctioned student groups. In fact, cult education is no longer a part of summer orientation because students ended up perceiving religious student groups to be cult-like.
Mulvihill said it is healthy for students to join on-campus religious groups like Hillel, the Newman Club and the Campus Crusade for Christ.
"A lot of student religious groups on campus represent a variety of traditions, all of which are people searching for the truth as they know it," she said.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2354
|
__label__wiki
| 0.869338
| 0.869338
|
The Church of the Poison Mind
Lonely freshmen looking for friends and God find the International Church of Christ instead.
PitchWeekly/November 23, 2000
By Deb Hipp
A thousand disciples attended the final service of the Evangelizing the Heartland conference at Bartle Hall over Labor Day weekend. Members of the International Church of Christ had traveled from their churches in Lawrence, Wichita, Columbia, St. Louis, and Manhattan to join the Kansas City Church of Christ in advancing the Great Commission -- the evangelization of the world.
The overhead lights dimmed, and the stage filled with beaming men and women who began to sing and sway to a bouncy rendition of "I'm on the Gloryland Way." Richard Dixson, lead evangelist for the Kansas City Church of Christ, sang along as he marched from one side of the stage to the other, pumping his arms and clapping his hands. The disciples knew all the words by heart. Excitement mounted with each rousing song. Soon, however, it was time for a moment of prayer. "God, we want to see the whole heartland evangelized so you can have more children in your kingdom," Dixson prayed.
After the prayer, he gave an account of his own introduction to the church years ago. Three disciples in the campus ministry had approached him while he was a senior at the University of Kansas, he told the worshipers, and eventually one of them got through. When he finished his story, two huge screens on stage displayed a video about the International Church of Christ's campus ministries.
"I want to fill this stadium with disciples," shouted a Kansas State University student as he stood in an empty stadium in the video. "I was met at the UMKC campus and baptized seven months ago," a young woman declared as the waters of the J.C. Nichols fountain gushed behind her. A KU student perched atop a statue in front of Strong Hall held up his arms and exclaimed that he couldn't wait to bring more disciples into the kingdom.
He won't have to wait long. Campus ministries were on the minds of nearly every speaker at the convention.
"For every thousand students at local universities, there will be a hundred disciples," Curt Simmons from the St. Louis church predicted when it was his turn to speak. "We'll saturate the campuses and aim for valedictorians, top recruits, and athletes."
Even so, Simmons warned the people spread out before him, making disciples of college students won't be easy. There will be persecutors. Successful college ministries will require the greatest faith.
"There have got to be more prayer nights, more all-night prayer sessions, more Bible talks," he proclaimed. In his years with the International Church of Christ, Simmons said, he has seen the power of faith more than once.
"I remember a young Christian man who in his first months as a disciple only came to church on Sundays and had a non-Christian girlfriend," Simmons recalled. But even that man changed his ways and went on to become a ministry leader. And Simmons would never forget the young couple who "blew off special contribution and instead used the money for a family vacation." They too mended their ways.
"Are you sold out to the kingdom of yourself?" another speaker asked. "Even as disciples, we sometimes sell out to our selfish goals and ambitions." He tells the biblical story of Ananias, who fell down and died after holding back part of the money he was supposed to give to the apostles. Disciples of the International Church of Christ, however, know better than to hold anything back.
"I remember when I was a young campus student, and I cleaned out my wallet to send someone to the India ministry," the speaker reminisced. Soon he moved on to the matter at hand.
"Now we're going to take a special contribution." As he spoke, a young man sitting toward the back of the room took a $10 bill out of his wallet and folded it in his hand.
"The need I'm going to ask you for this morning is $40,000," the speaker continued. "There are about a thousand people here today -- that's $40 per person." The longer he spoke, the more tentative the young man with the $10 became. Soon the bill was folded up out of sight in his palm.
"But I'm not asking you to just give $40," the speaker went on. "Some of you have been blessed this year. You can give more. What I'm asking for today is that you give all that you can." But in the International Church of Christ, "giving all that you can" is rarely enough.
On a Tuesday morning in October, Jessie, A senior at KU, strolled the Kansas Union with a stack of books and a Bible in hand. "We're having a Bible talk in 10 minutes," she told student after student. None of them could make it, but Jessie wasn't discouraged. She invited others who studied at tables in the dining area.
Soon her friend Nikki arrived with another girl, Jessica, and the three slipped into Alcove D, a conference room adjacent to the dining room. Before long, two more students and the leader of the Bible talk, Josh Mitchell, joined them. His campus ministry, Jayrock, is part of the Lawrence Church of Christ. Jayrock holds Bible talks every Tuesday morning in Alcove D and every Tuesday night at Nikki's apartment at Jayhawk Towers. Nikki shares the apartment with two other Jayrock members, and Jessie lives just down the hall with two other disciples.
Jessica, a freshman, had been searching for a church since she arrived at KU this fall from Goodland, Kansas. She listened closely as Josh asked the members of the group to name things that people put before God. School, the opposite sex, ourselves, they answered. They all turned to the book of Luke and read about giving up worldly possessions. If they were willing to give up obsessing about material things, Josh said, God would make sure they were satisfied. Jessica followed along in Nikki's Bible.
Just a few weeks ago, two girls invited her to a Bible talk as she studied in the student union, Jessica tells Pitch Weekly. She was touched by their gesture of friendship and was quick to attribute their meeting to fate. "I thought it was kind of amazing, the chance they took to talk with someone they didn't even know," says Jessica. "It really touched my heart. It was like, 'That's God telling me that I need to go to church.' I'm a believer that God leads people in the right direction."
Jessica, who was baptized into the mainline Church of Christ years ago, says her parents know she attends this new church, although "they aren't familiar with this particular section."
Jessie hasn't told her yet that the Lawrence Church of Christ isn't exactly a "section" of the church that Jessica attended as a child or that Jayrock has a controversial history at KU.
Three years ago, campus ministries at the University of Kansas held a forum after a student complained that she had unwittingly joined a "cult" that called itself the Kansas City Church of Christ. The girl and two other students scheduled the forum to make other students aware of the group. "She got very involved with the church and saw her life was being controlled," says the Reverend Thad Holcombe of Ecumenical Christian Ministries on the KU campus. "She said, 'I want to warn other people.' She was adamant." But this was only Jessica's third Bible talk, and she'd been to only one church service so far.
Jessie and Nikki were eager to guide Jessica in her religious quest. They had already scheduled her for an off-campus Bible study on Thursday at another member's home. If everything went as planned, within a matter of weeks Jessica would join Jessie and Nikki -- who sat on either side of her sharing their Bibles -- as a disciple.
"There is not a set rule or law or way of doing things that make a religious person," Jessica said after the Bible talk. "I don't believe there is only one church and you have to belong to that church to go to heaven." But the members of Jayrock and the Lawrence Church of Christ still have plenty of time to convince Jessica otherwise.
Kim Krecek didn't know much about the Denver Church of Christ in 1987, but she was impressed immediately by its members' enthusiasm. At 22, she felt at home with so many people her own age. She once had been a member of the mainline Church of Christ, but this church was nothing like the one she had known.
The singing wasn't stoic, and the members seemed filled with the light of God even when they weren't in church. She soon got involved with three women who guided her through a series of Bible studies in which she learned that everything she had once believed about being a Christian was wrong.
The word "Christian" was used only three times in the New Testament, they told her, but "disciple" was used 270 times. Jesus intended for his followers to be disciples, they said, and because this church expected its members to emulate the lives of Jesus' disciples -- by totally committing their lives to God -- the International Church of Christ (then known as the Boston Movement) was in fact the one true church.
At one of the Bible studies, members asked Krecek to write down all of her sins and read them to the other three women. She spoke of the pain she had carried for years because her older brother had sexually abused her.
Church leaders later introduced her to a group of women members who also had suffered sexual abuse, and they encouraged the women to talk openly about how the abuse had affected their lives. For the first time, Krecek felt accepted. However, to be a part of the group, she had to be a member of the church. After a few weeks of Bible studies, Krecek was baptized into the Denver Church.
Baptism is an important ritual that symbolizes the cleansing of past sins, the death of an old life, and the resurrection of a new life with God. The International Church of Christ teaches that a person cannot enter heaven without being baptized and that God himself adds baptized disciples to the church.
"It went very quickly, and that's the way they do it," says Krecek. "They don't give you time to think, do research, or talk to anyone." The International Church of Christ has a habit of "shotgunning" scripture by taking it out of context to back up its practices, she says. One such practice is assigning each member a "discipler."
Krecek was immediately given a discipler to guide her in her new life. Church members say the discipling relationship is one of equality, in which both disciples have the responsibility of keeping the other's life free from sin. However, Krecek soon found out that no "sin" escaped the scrutiny of her discipler.
If Krecek chose not to attend one of the numerous church activities, her discipler demanded to know why. There must be some hidden sin in her life that she wasn't talking about, her discipler told her, some reason she avoided her fellow disciples. Even when Krecek attended every church service and Bible study and read her Bible daily, her discipler determined that if Krecek had nothing to confess, she must then be guilty of "the sin of pride."
Two months after she became a member, Krecek went out of town for a two-week training period in the National Guard Reserves. Her roommates -- she was now living in a two-bedroom apartment with four other disciples -- made up flash cards with Bible verses so she could study while she was away. Each night during Guard training, Krecek sat alone on her cot and flipped through the flash cards, studying her Bible until it was time to sleep. By the time she returned home, she was troubled by how much she had changed in just two months.
"I realized how self-righteous I had become and how my life revolved around the church," she says. The Bible was the only book she read, and she spent hours copying down select scriptures that church leaders had insisted she memorize. She lived with disciples, socialized only with disciples, and reported her every thought to her discipler. As Krecek's doubts grew, her discipler became even more controlling.
One time Krecek got "rebuked" for getting a haircut without first seeking the advice of her discipler. Disturbed by the growing role of the church in her life, she called a friend, Dave, a police officer, and scheduled a ride-along with him so they could talk. But because Krecek had a pre-church history of promiscuity (which she had confessed in the Bible studies leading to her baptism), her discipler objected.
"My discipler had a total freak attack because I was going to be alone with a man in a car for eight hours in broad daylight," recalls Krecek. She had already been rebuked a few weeks earlier when a male disciple had noticed her playing on the floor with toddlers in the church nursery. Because she had been down on all fours, her discipler told her, she had stirred lust in his heart and must learn to act more like a good sister in Christ.
Krecek went on the ride-along anyway. As she told Dave about her new life in the church, he listened in disbelief. A church that told its members where to live, where to work, what to study, who they could date, and how to cut their hair, he told Krecek, wasn't a church -- it was a cult. The more they talked, the more Krecek decided it was time to tell the Denver Church of Christ -- and the members who had become her entire social circle -- goodbye. She could stay with her mom in Tucson for a while and regain control of her life.
She returned to her apartment and started packing, but because Krecek lived with four other church members, it took only a few minutes for word to get out that she was soon to be a "fallaway." The phone rang all afternoon as leaders desperately tried to convince her to change her mind. Her roommates formed a prayer circle in the living room.
"I wasn't allowed in the prayer circle," says Krecek. Instead, she was its focus as her fellow disciples conspicuously prayed that she would make the right decision. Krecek left and headed toward Tucson. The farther she got from Denver, the clearer her head became. But she soon realized that the church was never far behind. Within a year, Krecek joined the Army and was stationed in Germany. Even as she began a new life, however, she was haunted by thoughts of the sexual abuse she had only begun to explore with the other women in her group.
"The Church of Christ had opened a door that had been shut for a long time, and I didn't know what to do with all that baggage that came up," Krecek says. For months, she drank heavily and was tormented by nightmares. One night during her guard duty as an MP, she looked at the rifle she held in her hands and considered ending her life. Instead, she turned to an Army chaplain, who removed her from MP duty while she worked through her abuse issues in counseling. When she was 28, she left the Army and moved to Kansas City, where for the first time in her life, she lived on her own.
Although she didn't attend church, Krecek spent the next three years studying a number of religions in hopes of someday reestablishing a spiritual connection. One day, while she was having dinner at a Westport restaurant, a man named Rex introduced himself and invited her to a '70s dance with his church group, the Kansas City Church of Christ. Krecek accepted the invitation but didn't tell him that she once had been involved with the church in Colorado.
"I was curious," she says. "I wanted to see if anything had changed." Also, she found the church's reappearance in her life significant. "I kept thinking, 'I'm searching for something spiritually fulfilling. Is it just coincidence that at this point in my life, this church re-enters my life?'" Maybe it was the one true church, she thought, and this was her final chance to make things right. "They really hammer in that they are the only true church and if you leave, you are going to hell," says Krecek. "It's literally pounded into you."
After several weeks of church services, Krecek was again interested in the church and agreed to go to some Bible studies. She also admitted to Rex that she had once been a member of the Denver church. Kansas City leaders called the church in Denver to get the details of her original baptism, but they deemed it invalid since the evangelist who performed it had since become a fallaway himself.
Krecek's Bible study leader, Kathy, was determined to get her to confess all the sins she had committed since leaving her life as a disciple.
"The analogy she used was to picture Jesus as a baby, and every sin I'd ever committed was like taking a brick and crushing his head," says Krecek. "At that point, a wall went up. I didn't start to cry or break down, and they said, 'Okay, let's end this for tonight.' They knew they'd gone too far." Within a few weeks, though, Krecek was back at a special Friday night church service called a "chariot ride." Out of the 30 or so people attending, all but six were International Church of Christ members.
"They served punch and cookies and it was all very innocuous," says Krecek, "but the name 'chariot ride' is very apt because it takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotion."
First, potential disciples watched The Big Splash, a funny movie about baptism, to lighten things up. Speakers then got up and explained why the newcomers needed someone to guide them. But Krecek was unmoved until the next part of the chariot ride -- a music video of the crucifixion.
"It was very graphic, the whole crucifixion scene, with blood dripping down Jesus' face, the thorns digging into his head, and bloody flesh dropping into the dirt. Afterward, I was so psyched and awed and in a completely altered state of consciousness by what I'd just seen." By the time it was finished, Krecek had made up her mind. She wanted to be restored.
The next day, during a freak snowstorm in October, she studied with Kathy over the phone. Kathy was adamant: For Krecek to be saved, she must be rebaptized by members of the Kansas City Church of Christ. Her baptism by the fallaway evangelist in Denver was invalid. Krecek disagreed, but Kathy insisted.
"The issue she kept hammering on was whether I truly forgave my brother for the sexual abuse. If not, my baptism was invalid," says Krecek. They talked for four hours, and Kathy always returned to the same issue of the abuse. "Eventually, I was crying and just agreeing with everything she said," says Krecek. "It was like she inserted a crowbar and opened everything back up." That night, Krecek lay in bed unable to sleep. When she finally dozed off, her brother's face haunted her dreams.
The next day, Krecek decided that even though the Kansas City church was in a different city, its leaders were no less manipulative than the ones she had known in Denver. The night before, they had made plans for her to come over to Kathy's house after work, but Krecek called and left a message canceling the Bible study. She knew that if she went over there, the other disciples would have her baptized by the time she left.
"They would do it in the bathtub if they had to," says Krecek, who received at least a dozen phone messages the next day from church members trying to convince her to return. She never called them back. "I knew I was vulnerable. I just said, 'No more of this.'"
For many former members of the International Church of Christ, however, leaving the church they once believed to be their one chance at salvation is not that simple.
Todd Masters, who was a Bible talk leader at the International Church of Christ's KU ministry until three years ago, has counseled a dozen or so former members in Kansas City and Lawrence. He says he's the only former member he knows of who still faithfully reveres God.
"Most need extensive counseling and are in pretty bad shape when they get out," says Masters. The church preys on troubled individuals, he says, and for those people, "it seems a relationship with the church only made matters worse."
Leaders of the International Church of Christ insist that their church, like Jesus' church in the book of Acts, demands total commitment from its members, and these fallaways simply weren't up to the task. They're now considered "persecutors" lured away by Satan from the one true church.
Many of those former members post their stories on Web sites devoted to warning others about the manipulative tactics of the International Church of Christ. No matter what city in which the former members were involved with the church, their stories are remarkably similar. They were controlled by overbearing disciplers who threw their confessed "sins" back at them when they questioned the discipler's advice. They were pressured to give large amounts of money to the church, and those who refused were rebuked for being rebellious. Most believed that once they left, they would surely go to hell.
Amelia Kleyman, a former member of the Kansas City Church of Christ, was asked to read a letter, or "sin list," to women in her Bible study group during the "light and darkness study," one of 12 studies leading to baptism. "They stressed that any sin I had ever done had built a huge wall between me and God, and to take down that wall I had to confess all of my sins by writing a letter to God." Kleyman says church members used the list against her later, when they wanted to argue that her actions were linked to her sinful nature. Her fellow church members used the letter in a "breaking session," designed to convince her that, in rebelling against the opinions and suggestions of her discipler, she was living in sin.
"I rarely went to bed before 1:30 a.m.," says another former member. "I tried hard to balance my life toward the end of my time in the church, but as a result I was often accused of not doing enough and being lazy, among other things."
According to their Web sites, there are thousands of such former members. Still, the church continues to grow at a fast pace. The International Church of Christ claims to have recently achieved its goal of planting a church in every United States city with a population of 100,000 or more. It has 393 churches in 170 countries. "A disciple is baptized every 25 minutes somewhere around the world," Kip McKean, the leader of the International Church of Christ (although the church insists Jesus is its true leader), has claimed. The church recruits primarily on college campuses.
At nearly every university where it operates, the International Church of Christ's campus ministries have stirred controversy for their aggressive recruiting techniques. At some colleges, family members have grown concerned that their children have joined a cult and yanked them off campus. Other parents found themselves distanced from their kids, who became so involved with the church that they rarely visited home. The University of Cincinnati kicked the church group off its campus, only to have it return later under the name Campus Advance. Several universities nationwide have banned the groups from using school facilities for their meetings.
The Kansas City Church of Christ is listed as a student organization at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. At Kansas State University, the campus group is listed under the name Cats for Christ. Although Jayrock has not drawn criticism, it is definitely active, says Jim Musser of Campus Christians at KU. Musser participated in the 1997 forum, and just a few weeks ago, he says, a couple of students contacted him with concerns about the Lawrence church. "They felt it was a great group at the start," says Musser. "Then they started getting all sorts of pressure, with people calling them all the time and telling them they weren't Christians if they weren't baptized into the Lawrence Church of Christ." The students who called him were not too traumatized, Musser says, but "it's like when you run out of a burning house. You're just relieved that you're safe. They were just glad they saw through it before they got deeply involved."
Recruiting college students into the International Church of Christ is an organized process that campus ministry leaders have perfected over the course of 20 years, since the church's beginnings as the Crossroads Movement. Later, the church changed its name to the Boston Movement because its church in Boston, which still attracts thousands to its services, served as the mother church. In 1992, the church changed its name to the International Church of Christ. Its local Churches of Christ are always preceded by the name of the city in which they are located; it is unaffiliated with the mainline Churches of Christ.
McKean himself was baptized while he was a 17-year-old freshman at the University of Florida in 1972. He remains in control of the church's operations, and all leaders ultimately report to him. He has since moved the church's headquarters from Boston to Los Angeles, where he and his family reside in a condo in Pacific Palisades.
Church leaders urge members to live sacrificially, especially when it comes to the church's "special contributions," two or three times per year. Krecek, who nearly sold her television once to attend a church conference in Boston, has known members who sold plasma and even their wedding rings because of pressure to contribute. "I've heard of some of the churches asking for 12 times the member's normal weekly contribution," Krecek says.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2355
|
__label__wiki
| 0.574875
| 0.574875
|
Student Q&A: Looking at the Big Picture of PTSD
Lesley Sasnett transferred from the University of Southern California to Temple in January 2015 from an MSW program into the dual MSW-MPH program. She is a veteran of the Army, having been stationed in Germany, the Netherlands, and Kosovo. As a military contractor, she served for 15 years as a trainer and intelligence specialist throughout the U.S., Iraq, and Afghanistan. Upon completion of her degree this spring, Sasnett will pursue a Master of Science in nursing at Johns Hopkins University, with plans to become a psychiatric nurse specializing in treating veterans with PTSD.
What brought you to Temple’s MSW-MPH program?
When I started grad school at USC I wanted to work with veterans, specifically veterans with PTSD. Social work was good, but I had a feeling I was missing something. I took an epidemiology class during my first semester here, and it was exactly what I’d been looking for. I just decided to focus on epidemiology. It lays an excellent foundation for understanding how population health and disease distribution affect individuals and their treatment. Plus, I just find it fascinating.
How has your understanding of PTSD changed?
Epidemiology has given me a much more holistic understanding of what makes people, especially veterans, vulnerable to PTSD. Through my research I’ve come to understand how reactive our healthcare system is, and how that contributes to policies and resources that can affect the way we treat PTSD.
When did you first become interested in PTSD?
I always knew that I wanted to work in behavioral health, and after a couple of deployments, after seeing firsthand what happens out there, I decided that I want to be able to continue helping service members when they go back to civilian life.
Can you say more about that?
I never experienced combat directly, but our base was just like any other: We were hit with mortars and rockets and things like that. When you’re on constant alert, your way of life changes, and the things that you focus on change.
How does that change your perspective?
Among other things, it changes your perspective on what trauma is. You don't necessarily have to have been in an IED blast. Just living in a high-stress environment for prolonged periods is its own kind of trauma. That hypervigilance becomes the norm. Both times I came back from Afghanistan, it took me a good three or four months to readjust to a "normal" environment.
What inspired you to help other veterans?
On my second deployment, which was my first deployment to Afghanistan, a retired Navy SEAL gave us a class on PTSD and suicide. He told us the story behind his PTSD and how it affected his life, and it was so powerful. It really spoke to me and I just knew I wanted to work with these guys, who need so much help.
How is Temple helping you to work toward your goals?
The greatest thing about Temple’s MPH program is that it's given me room to grow and has given me tools to make informed decisions about my career. Right now my goal is to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner, hopefully with the VA or another organization that works specifically with veterans, but Temple has helped me be more flexible and open to change.
What part of this work means the most to you?
There are so many things that veterans are facing that contribute to systemic problems like homelessness and substance abuse. Those need to be addressed as much as the mental illness itself. I feel that if I can do anything in a public or community health capacity, that alone would make a difference.
How has the program been a good fit for you as a veteran?
It's such an accepting program. I came in as a career changer without any public health experience, and I’ve received so much support and encouragement. I also feel like I’ve found a very strong team. That sense of camaraderie becomes very important when you’re from a military background.
What strengths can veterans bring to the field of public health?
Real world experience. Maybe a veteran hasn't worked in a clinical field dealing with patients, but they've dealt with the problems. Veterans have a level of maturity and a different perspective that I think enhances any learning environment.
What would you say to a fellow veteran thinking about coming to Temple?
I would absolutely recommend both the school and the program. The public health program is very diverse, and it’s a close-knit community, even as it’s been growing in the past few years. The fully online program I think will make it even more diverse, and with that will come more opportunities to learn from all kinds of people and experiences. The MPH also provides a fantastic foundation for specialization later. You can go into policy, epidemiology, biostatistics. There are so many different things that could come out of it.
Learn more about MPH programs in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
Learn more about graduate programs in Social Work as well as the MSW-MPH and other dual degree programs.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2357
|
__label__wiki
| 0.924747
| 0.924747
|
Tag Archives: ‘Abdul Wahhab
Islamic State Hits Syria Hard As U.S. and Allies Ramp up Offensive, Ukraine and Russia Make Progress and Catalonia Looks For Independence Following Scotland’s Vote
On Thursday, Islamic State fighters besieged a Kurdish city in northern Syria after seizing 21 villages forcing neighboring Kurds in Turkey to call to arms followers to resist the group’s advance, Tom Perry and Laila Bassam report, Islamic State Seizes Syrian And Kurdish Villages In Major Assault. The attack on Ayn al-Arab, Kobani in Kurdish, came two days after U.S. military officials said the Syrian opposition would be needed in order for the Syrian Kurds to defeat the Islamic State. U.S. President Barack Obama last week said he would strike the radical Islamist group that used Syria as a base to advance its pan to reshape the Middle East according to the radical views of Sunni Islam. The United States is conducting air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and now Obama has authorized surveillance flights over Syria. Ocalan Iso, deputy head of the Kurdish forces in Kobani, told Reuters via Skype, “We’ve lost touch with many of the residents living in the villages that ISIS (Islamic State) seized.” The Kurds appealed for military aid from other Kurdish group including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party who issued a call for young men in Turkey’s southeast to join the fight in norther Syria. On their website, in a statement, PKK said, “The youth of northern Kurdistan (southeast Turkey) should go to Kobani and take part in the historic, honorable resistance.” As night fell, a Reuters witness said 3,000 men, women and children waited at the Turkish border 6 miles from Kobani as Turkish forces stopped the crowd from crossing. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara: “We’re ready to help our brothers who are building up at the borders regardless of their ethnicity, religion and sect. But our priority is to deliver aid within Syria’s borders.” Redur Xelil, spokesman for the YPG, said Islamic State had encircled Kobani, telling Reuters via Skype.: “We call on world powers to move to halt this barbaric assault by ISIS.” Obama’s plan to expand support for groups fighting Islamic State in Syria focus on Sunni Muslim insurgents deemed moderate by Washington. On Friday, several thousand Syrians mostly Kurds crossed into Turkey finding refuge from the Islamic State militants who took over villages in northern Syria in the past 28 hours, the Associated Press reported, Syrian Kurds fleeing IS group cross into Turkey. In a statement on his website, Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraq’s largely autonomous Kurdish region, said the Islamic State’s “barbaric and terrorist acts” on the Kobani area in northern Syria “threaten the whole entirety of the Kurdish nation and it has targeted the honor, dignity and existence of our people.” He also said, “The ISIS terrorists perpetrate crimes and tragedies wherever they are, therefore they have to be hit and defeated wherever they are.” The main Kurdish forces in Syria called the People’s Protection Unit or YPK have been battling the Islamic State for more than a year, but is viewed with suspicion by mainstream Syrian rebels and there Western supporters due to their supposed link to President Bashar Assad’s government. Meanwhile, France on Friday conducted its first airstrikes against the Islamic State group destroying a logistics depot that it controlled, Iraqi and French officials said, according to Jamey Keaten, France strikes Islamic State group’s depot in Iraq. President Francois Hollande confirmed the hit in northern Iraq, saying, “Other operations will follow in the coming days with the same goal – to weaken this terrorist organization and come to the aid of the Iraqi authorities. There are always risks in taking up a responsibility. I reduced the risks to a minimum.” Qassim al-Moussawi, spokesman for the Iraqi military, said four French airstrikes hit the town of Zumar, killing dozens of extremist fighters. France has become the first foreign country to publicly add military aid to the United Stated airstrikes against the group. In Washington, Congress approved with a vote of 78-22 in the Senate, a bill already approved by the House 273-156 Wednesday, to allow funding for the government after the end of the budget year on Sept. 30 and allow the U.S. military to train and equip Syrian rebels for a war against ISIS on Thursday night, the Associated Press reported, Strong Senate vote for Obama on Syria rebel aid. In the Senate, 44 Democrats, 33 Republicans and one independent voted for the bill, while 9 Democrats, 12 Republicans and one independent opposed it. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told one House committee that Obama “is not going to order American combat ground forces into that area.” Obama’s general plan is to have U.S. troops train Syrian rebels at camps in Saudi Arabia, a process that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, said could take a year. Kathleen Miles reports, Iranian Foreign Minister: America Helped Create ISIS And Is Taking The Wrong Approach … Again, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday that the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the U.S created ISIS and foreign military presence will only create new terrorists. During a discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations, Zarif said: “If you look at the essence of ISIS, it’s the product of foreign invasion. Foreign presence in any territory creates a dynamic for demagogues like ISIS to use the resentment in the population of being occupied.” He noted that the Islamic State began with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Islamist leader of the anti-American insurgency in Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion. He continued on to say: “As a principle, we do not believe that injection of foreign forces, either air or ground, solves our problem. We continue to have serious doubts about the willingness and ability of the U.S. to seriously engage this menace across the board –- and not just pick and choose where to engage. People need to be realistic. The so-called Syrians moderates — look at what’s happening on the ground — they control no territory. They can have no influence in fighting against either ISIS or the Syrian government. Syria is either controlled by the government or by ISIS. The U.S. cannot effectively fight against both at the same time.” Referring to the meeting in Paris and the U.S. led coalistion to fight ISIS, Zarif said: “Most participants in that meeting in one form or another provided support to ISIS … at the end of the day, creating a Frankenstein that came to haunt its creators. [Extremists] do not fly into Iraq. They come on foot from somewhere, and they don’t come from Iran. You can look at the addresses, and I believe every location was [represented] around the table in Paris.”
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Poroshenko renewed his call for American weaponry during his address to a joint meeting of Congress, expressing his appreciation for non lethal assistance from the U.S. but saying it was not enough to quell the violence in eastern Ukraine. the Associated Press reports, Ukraine’s pleas for lethal aid from US go unmet. Poroshenko, before heading to the White House to meet with Obama, said, “Blankets and night vision goggles are important, but one cannot win a war with a blanket.” The White House announced a new $46 million security package for Ukraine’s military that included counter mortar radar to detect incoming artillery fire, vehicles and patrol boats, body armor and heavy engineering equipment. In addition, $7 million will go to humanitarian organizations to assist people affected by the violence. Regarding his discussion with Obama and the desire for lethal American military assistance, Poroshenko told reporters: “I am satisfied with the level of our cooperation with the United States of America in the defense and security sector. I cannot say more, but I am satisfied.” In the Oval Office, Obama sat side by side with Poroshenko declaring, “The people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.” Ukraine and the Russian-backed separatists agreed to a cease-fire on Sept. 5, but the deal has been violated repeatedly. Both sides have promised to regroup and continue fighting, if required. Poroshenko came to Washington seeking lethal military assistance to help push back the Russian forces. His request has support from some members of the Obama administration, as well as lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted unanimously Thursday to advance legislation that would authorize $350 million for military assistance including anti-tank weapons. Senator Robert Menendez, D-N.J., who chairs the committee, said, “President Putin has upended the international order, and a slap on the wrist will not deter future Russian provocations. In the face of Russian aggression, Ukraine needs our steadfast and determined support, not an ambiguous response. ” Obama has argued more weapons into the conflict will not de-escalate the situation. However, Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, said, “The more costly the Ukrainians can make any fighting for the Russians, the less Moscow’s interest in resuming the conflict.” While sanction from both the European Union and the United States have had a negative impact on Russia’s economy, they have done little to detour PUtin’s tactics. Meanwhile, back in Ukraine, Yuras Karmanau and Mstyslav Chernov report, Ukraine, Russia, Rebels Agree To Buffer Zone In Peace Talks, Saturday that sporadic artillery fire hit part of eastern Ukraine hours after negotiators agreed to create a buffer zone between government troops and pro-Russian militants by halting their advances, pulling back heavy weapons and withdrawing foreign fighters. Despite a ceasefire agreement that has been in place since Sept. 5, the fighting between the two sides has been deadly. Shelling could be heard in Donetsk and rebels opened fire on the village of Stakhanovets in the Luhansk region, according to the Interior Ministry. Ukrainian national security council spokesman Volodymyr Polyoviy said Saturday that about 20 rebels and one soldier had been killed in clashes but did not specify if those took place after the negotiators agreed on the buffer zone around 4 a.m. The deal reached by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the Moscow-backed rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe says the two sides should stay where they were Friday and make no attempt to advance. According to the report: “Under the deal, each party must pull back artillery of 100 millimeters (about 4 inches) or larger at least 15 kilometers (9 miles), setting up a buffer zone that would be 30 kilometers (19 miles) wide. The longer-range artillery systems are to be pulled even farther back to make sure the parties can’t reach one another. The deal also specifically bans flights by combat aircraft over the area of conflict and setting up new minefields.” NATO’s top general, U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, hopes the agreement announced Saturday to create a buffer zone between Ukrainian government troops and the pro-Russian militants will succeed in stabilizing the situation. On Friday, Reuters reports, US, Canada send jets to intercept Russian aircraft, that U.S. and Canadian fighter jets intercepted Russian aircraft flying near U.S. and Canadian air space this week, a military spokesman confirmed. On Wednesday, six Russian aircraft entered the United States’ air defense identification zone (ADIZ), an area beyond sovereign U.S. airspace, according to a statement from NORAD, a U.S. and Canadian aerospace command, and U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM). In response, “two Alaskan-based F-22 fighter jets acting under the authority of NORAD identified and intercepted two Russian IL-78 refueling tankers, two Russian Mig-31 fighter jets and two Russian Bear long-range bombers in the ADIZ, west of Alaska,” the statement said. On Thursday, Canadian fighter jets intercepted two Russian Bear long-range bombers in the Canadian ADIZ. John Cornelio, a spokesman for NORAD and NORTHCOM, said that such intercepts had happened over 50 times in the last five years as Russian aircraft conducted exercises.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s vote for independence from Britain ended with voters resoundingly rejecting independence, but helped pave the way for a possible vote for Catalonia who wants independence from Spain, Jil Lawless and Danica Kirka report, Scots reject independence in historic vote. The historic vote and referendum ultimately prevented the rupture of a 307 year old union with England and brought a sigh of relief to Britain’s political establishment including Prime Minister David Cameron, who faced demands for his resignation if Scotland broke away. The vote on Thursday saw an unprecedented turn out of 85 percent with 55 percent against independence and 45 percent in favor. Alistair Darling, head of the no campaign, said Friday from Glasgow: “We have chosen unity over division. Today is a momentous day for Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole.” Cameron from his Downing Street office lived up to his promise to Scotland to give new powers on taxes, spending and welfare and the new plans will be agreed upon by November with draft legislation by January. He added, “We will ensure that those commitments are honored in full. We have heard the voice of Scotland, now the voices of millions in England must be heard.” Cameron also said people in other parts of the U.K. should also have more rights to govern their own affairs, particularly in England. The No campaign won the capital city, Edinburgh, by a margin of 61 percent to 38 percent and triumphed by 59 percent to 41 percent in Aberdeen, the country’s oil center. The Yes campaign won Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, but it was not enough. The vote to keep the U.K. together helps it avoid substantial loses to its territory and oil reserves and prevents it from having to find an new base for its nuclear arsenal housed in Scotland. The no vote also allowed the United Kingdom to keep its influence within international institutions including 28 nation European Union, NATO and the United Nations. Additionally, Britain avoids a prolonged period of financial insecurity that were predicted by Scotland’s independence. AOL reports, Catalonia pushes for independence following Scottish vote, hours after the vote on Friday, Spain’s Catalonia region took steps toward holding their own independence referendum. Catalonia’s regional parliament authorized a consultation vote on independence for the region with a presumptive November 9 date. However, the Spanish government condemned the possible vote as illegal. Due to Spain’s painful financial crisis, nearly two million people lined the streets of Barcelona a week earlier in support of independence. The decades-old independence movement has also been bolstered by Scotland’s referendum. Catalonia’s President Artur Mas told reporters he admired the U.K.’s commitment to a democratic referendum and expected the same process from Madrid. “It is more important to hold the referendum than the independence. … This represents high-quality democracy.” But Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who opposes Catalan independence, has been quick to congratulate Scotland for choosing not to break with the U.K. Catalan independence faces a battle due to the Spanish constitution that requires the authorization by Spanish parliament for any referendum. Spain will most likely take the Catalan parliament’s new law to the country’s constitutional court that favors Madrid over Barcelona. If held, Catalonia’s planned referendum would not result in legal separation from Spain, but provide President Mas with a political mandate to pressure Madrid for independence.
Posted in 2014, activism, al-Qaida, bombing, civil rights, conflict, congress, controversial, crime, death, goverment, human rights, insurgency, international, Iran, Iraq War, Islamic State, militants, military, news, peace, people, politics, Russia, terrorism, tragedy, United Nations, United States, US, violence, war, white house, world
Tagged 'Abdul Wahhab, Abd Al Wahhab, Air Strikes ISIS, America ISIS, Arming Syrian Rebels, Barack Obama, Catalonia Independence Vote, Catalonia Referendum, Catalonia Scotland, Catalonia Spain, Coalition of Repenters, Iran ISIS, Iran Nuclear, Iran Syria, Iran Zarif, Iranian Foreign Minister, Iraq Iran, Isil, Isis, ISIS Iran, Isis Iraq, Isis Syria, ISIS U.S., Islamic State, Islamic State Barack Obama, Islamic State Group, Islamic State Iran, Islamic State Iraq, Islamic State Syria, Islamic State Threat Obama, Islamic State War, Javad Zarif, John Kerry, Kurdish Villages, Mohammad Javad Zarif, obama, Obama Isil, Obama Isis, Obama Isis War, Rebels Ceasefire, Reuters, Russia Rebels, Russian separatists, Saudi Arabia, Scotland Britain, Scotland Independence Vote, Scotland Referendum Vote, Scotland UK, Scotland Votes No Independence, Secretary of State John Kerry, Separatists Ukraine, Syria Paris, Syria Peace, Syria Peace Talks, Syrian rebel aid congress, Syrian Rebel vote Congress, U.S. Air Strikes ISIS, Ukraine, Ukraine Buffer Zone, Ukraine cease fire, Ukraine Ceasefire, Ukraine Moscow, Ukraine Putin, Ukraine Russia, Ukraine Russia Peace Talks, Ukraine Russian Separatists, Vladmir Putin, Wahhabism, Zarif, Zarif Nuclear
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2359
|
__label__wiki
| 0.71633
| 0.71633
|
Blog posts on "PPP"
Bringing renewable energy to a small Philippine island
On Malalison Island, in the Philippines, people are enjoying 24/7 electricity service through the use of solar hybrid technology, a new kind of battery storage and smart metering.
Bambang Susantono
Cebu airport expansion clears path for future large-scale PPPs in Philippines
Distinguished as 2015 Transport Deal of the Year by Project Finance International magazine, the project is a milestone for the government's PPP program.
Christine Genalin Uy
Updated economic outlook following Nepal’s earthquake — needs and priorities
Immediately after the devastating 25 April earthquake in Nepal, ADB made an initial assessment of how the catastrophe would affect the country’s economic growth. Here’s an update on the background, needs, and priorities following last week’s strong aftershock.
How PPPs are helping Papua New Guinea government deliver better rural primary health services
The health status of the population of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has deteriorated since the 1980s due to neglect of the health system, especially in rural areas, where 87% of the population live. An estimated 40% of rural health facilities have closed or are not fully functioning.
Sakiko Tanaka
Re-examining ADB’s future role in the health sector
ADB is currently reviewing its role in the health sector. Strategy 2020 proposes 80% investment in core sectors, and 20% in other sectors including agriculture, and health and social protection as non-core sectors. But investments in health have been declining in the past few years, and based on new Country Partnership Strategies, will decline further in coming years. ADB has now reached a point where it struggles to sustain a critical staff capacity in the health sector.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2362
|
__label__wiki
| 0.519367
| 0.519367
|
Tagged / immigration
HE Policy update for the w/e 6th July 2018
EU, Funding opportunities, international, NHS, policy jforster
The Government has announced that from 2019/20 EU nationals will continue to be eligible for home fee status for undergraduate, postgraduate and advanced learner financial support from Student Finance England for the full duration of their course as per current rules. Sam Gyimah said:
“EU students, staff and researchers make an important contribution to our universities. I want that contribution to continue and am confident – given the quality of our HE sector – that it will.”
UK (home) student fees will remain frozen at £9,250 (full time) and £6,935 (part time) for 2019/20. The maximum fees for accelerated courses have not yet been confirmed. The student loan repayment threshold will remain at £25,000. These arrangements will be laid before Parliament for confirmation in early 2019.
Meanwhile the post-18 education and funding review continues. Jane attended the Wonkhe “Proceed with Caution” event on Tuesday, and it was a lively and stimulating affair, as you will have seen if you follow @policyBU on Twitter (if you don’t, try it, we won’t sulk if you later unfollow us).
Wonkhe were live blogging during the day and you can read it here. They have all the links to the materials referenced.
The first part of the day focussed on data and context for the discussion about fees.
Anna Vignoles, one of the authors of the infamous IFS report on LEO graduate earnings data that we reported on a few weeks ago, talked about what the research showed and why it was important. Anna acknowledged that the data told us something about government subsidy, might be useful to [some] students, and then more controversially, might highlight where programmes could be developed to improve employability. It does not tell us anything about current course quality [please take note, politicians and media commentators]. Anna also pointed out that, as the data was adjusted for prior attainment, and showed socio-economic gaps in earnings after graduation means that the expansion of HE has not consistently supported social mobility.
Our thoughts: importantly on the subsidy point, there are other relevant issues – the government may decide to subsidise courses because they do, or they don’t, on average increase earnings – but they may also decide to do so because they meet a societal or economic need. Or they might subsidise people not courses – ie choose who to subsidise not what. Or they might of course choose which institutions to subsidise – as they do for research.
Andrew McGettigan gave a brilliantly clear exposition of the current accounting position for student loans and the perverse incentives for government that it creates, by hiding the true impact of the loan system on the economy – the “fiscal illusion”. To quote Wonkhe: “Accounting conventions make it look like our loan system creates a surplus – flattering the headline deficit figures. In reality, it does not. And the terms of reference of the post-18 review precludes any modification of this practice”.
This is going to change, because the Office for National Statistics are undertaking a review, after being told off by their EU counterpart. His main message is that this needs to be sorted out, because accounting should not drive policy – but he pointed out that an accounting change is more likely to leave the government with less, not more, money to spend on implementing the outcomes of the HE review. That change to the repayment threshold earlier this year suddenly looks even more like a strange way to prioritise government spending on HE.
In one of the most through provoking sessions of the day, London Economics presented a model and then moved swiftly on to some options for the HE review. Their slides are here and are well worth a look. The recommendations are controversial – some of this was prompted by the Diamond review of funding in Wales.
Up next was Philip Augar, Chair of the independent advisory panel to the review. He didn’t give much away – positively declining to answer two questions and ducking or giving very general answers to many. Some potential leads:
He is very focused on simplifying the system so everyone can understand it. Or maybe improving the way it is explained so everyone can understand it. The first would require some major change. The second less so, it would be more about labels (graduate contribution not a loan)
He mentioned employers a lot. Might there be an apprenticeship levy type contribution for degrees? He did talk about skills shortages and graduates doing non-graduate jobs, and referred to strengths – and weaknesses – in the sector, but refused to be drawn on the latter.
What is most interesting is what he described as his remit – to come up with some interesting options for the government to pick from. They will be practical, realistic and simple and build on existing initiatives. And may be ignore by a government that in March will be stuck with the outcome of the ONS review and dealing with Brexit? The BBC review of the speech is here. There’s another twitter thread from Rosemary Bennett of the BBC here
Later sessions focussed on a discussion about value for money – most of which has been well rehearsed in other contexts, but there was a good level of debate and some interesting points. Amongst them were the point that the government is with one hand telling students not to worry about student debt (because it is income contingent) and on the other hand raising concerns about responsible lending. The squeeze on living costs and cap on maintenance loans is driving students to take out other loans for sums or to work too many hours. The focus in the public debate on debt and interest, and on tuition fees, is unhelpful. Living costs are the real practical day to day challenge for students – which is why most of the panellists agreed that maintenance grants should be a priority
It does feel as there is a perfect storm coming – and while the timing might suggest that this review is headed for the filing cabinet, the costs involved will mean that something will have to be done.
Immigration – borders open for science
Sam Gyimah spoke at a science park opening on Thursday to announce a relaxation of the immigration regulations which will allow an influx of scientific talent to the UK. Gyimah stated
“it was only the first step towards a liberalisation of visa restrictions on scientific talent amid concerns that Brexit could damage the UK’s ability to attract bright academics from overseas.”
The Government coverage of the speech states the relaxation is Britain’s new unique selling point and aims to establish Britain as the ‘go-to place for science and innovation’.
The new scheme will allow non-EEA researchers, scientists and academics to reside in the UK for up to two years. It forms a new element within the Tier 5 (Government authorised exchange temporary worker) visa route. UKRI and 12 other approved research organizations (including Natural History Museum) have the ability to directly sponsor individuals to train and work in the UK.
Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes, stated:
“I recognise the crucial contribution science makes to the UK economy and society and I am determined that the UK will continue to welcome leading scientific and research talent from around the world…We must have an immigration system that makes sure we can attract leading international talent and benefit from their knowledge and expertise.”
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will monitor this new scheme with UKRI regularly to ensure it meets the criteria for a Tier 5 scheme.
In his speech Gyimah stated:
“we…face a longer-term question: what should our post-Brexit economy look like? And we cannot wait till the Brexit deal is done to answer it… With the City less profitable today than it once was, and North Sea output naturally declining, the search is on for the next wave of world-leading British businesses… We need new sources of growth, and a vision of how to succeed. And we need to set a direction that will sustain us not just for the next 9 months, but for the next 30 years…The businesses of the future will be based on science, research and technology. The world is changing, and the UK needs to take advantage of this… To tackle the grand challenges our society faces, and to move up the economic league table, we need to double down on our strengths in science, technology and innovation.
This is partly a matter of investment. A decade ago, they idea that government investment had a role to play in fostering innovation was contentious, even controversial… investment is about much more than just public money. For every pound of public R&D in the UK, business contributes 2. And it takes more than R&D to build successful businesses. That’s why we are also working hard to create the conditions for greater long term private investment.
Now is the right time to ask ourselves some big questions when it comes to our public R&D investment. How can we do more to ensure our investment crowds in private money? Have we struck the right balance between funding for basic and applied research?
We should be proud that so many of the best and brightest from other countries choose to bring their knowledge and skills to Britain, and we should recognise that our economy is stronger for it. I don’t believe that the vote for Brexit was a vote for the UK to close ourselves off from the world.
We also need to make the most of our openness to ideas. We should learn from the sharp-eyed heroes of the Industrial Revolution and think not just how we commercialise our own technology, but what we can learn and borrow from the best research around the world.”
Gyimah went on:
“It is also time to ensure our institutions are playing the most effective role they backing innovation…Our universities are an intrinsic part of our innovation economy. Our best universities are not just powerhouses of research – they are also deeply connected to their local and national businesses, and to their community. There is an important geographical angle to consider. It is no surprise that many of the UK’s most successful publicly funded labs and institutions are in the Oxford-Cambridge-London triangle, because we rightly fund research on the basis of excellence and not political patronage, and one corollary of that is that the most successful universities have consistently punched above their weight in winning further research funding. But it is important that we recognise that, when it comes to innovation, there is life outside the Golden Triangle. Indeed, sometimes the private sector seems quicker to realise it than public research funders.
I want to see to N8 Alliance of Northern Universities become powerhouses of economic growth in their area, and to ensure we back innovation wherever it may be… But universities are not the only institutions that are can drive innovation. We should also consider how our regulatory systems can encourage innovation, by making sure that our rules keep up with the pace of technology and business change.”
Gyimah went on to:
Launch the new £10 million Regulators’ Pioneer Fund, as an integral part of the Industrial Strategy. The fund will invest in initiatives to support businesses that are bringing innovative products to market
Announce the Government Office for Science will work with UKRI and the Better Regulation Executive to develop standards for new technologies and their applications (to build on work for self-driving car testbeds).
State: “We need to consider whether we have struck the right balance between encouraging spin-outs and maximising university revenues.”
He concluded by stating: “By drawing on our national strengths of openness, entrepreneurship and strong institutions, we can make the UK a true platform for innovation. This in turn will help establish the UK’s place in the world, and our future prosperity.”
Gyimah’s speech was covered in The Times: UK opens door to gifted foreign scientists.
Mature students and cold spots
UCAS published a report into admissions patterns for mature applicants: Full report
“Research published by UCAS shows that mature students are more likely to apply to universities and colleges close to home, primarily for a limited selection of vocational subjects, and when there are fewer jobs available. Our analysis also shows significant regional variations in entry rates to full-time higher education among mature students, and these differ notably from the patterns in entry to university among applicants of different age groups.
The report Admissions patterns for mature applicants (5.37 MB) compares the characteristics within groups of mature students aged 21 and over, to those aged 18, applying for full-time undergraduate courses. The key findings are as follows:
Living at home – mature students are more likely to live at home while studying full-time, and this likelihood increases with age. Half of 21 to 25 year olds live at home while studying, compared to nearly 80% of those aged 30 and over. In comparison, 18 year olds are more likely to attend a university over an hour away from their home, with over 50% having a drive time of 70 minutes or more.
Vocational subject choices – mature students are typically drawn to a small range of courses, with subjects allied to medicine (including nursing), education, and social studies the most popular. As more female students typically apply for these courses, this may explain why more than 70% of mature students over the age of 31, accepted to full-time degrees, are female.
Entry rates by region – in 2017, for mature students aged 21 to 50, entry rates to higher education by UK country and region are highest in Scotland, followed by London. However, due to differences in age distribution across the regions, entry rates vary by region for different age groups of mature applicants, with London having the highest entry rates for those aged 36 to 50.
Applications are higher when the job market is weaker – there appears to be a relationship between applications and the number of job vacancies. When the number of UK employment opportunities was at its lowest, between 2009 and 2011, application rates for full-time undergraduate courses from mature students peaked. Since 2015, the number of job vacancies has increased, while application rates for full-time study have declined. This suggests mature students look to the employment market when jobs are plentiful, and apply to higher education when jobs are sparse.”
Clare Marchant, UCAS’ Chief Executive, said:
‘Mature students have different motivations, expectations, and needs compared to their younger counterparts. Entering full-time higher education as an older student is a life-changing commitment, reflected in the focused choices many older students make to pursue highly vocational subjects.”
This was written up on Wonkhe by David Kernohan, and reported in the Times Higher a
The same day a report was issued by IntoUniversity at a conference looking at the geography of higher education, access and participation. Chris Millward, the Director of Fair Access and Particpation gave a speech:
So far, so not very surprising. So what were the remedies that he proposed?
“Strategic and sustained work to:
engage with local communities, schools and colleges on expectations, pathways and attainment before HE
recognise background within admissions and support transition into HE
develop skills and attributes for employment and absorptive capacity for graduates in local areas”
Meanwhile the OfS is going to ensure:
“Pressure for individual universities and colleges to:
demonstrate continuous, year-on-year improvement through their access and participation plans by:
reducing the gaps in access, success and progression for underrepresented groups among their own students
improve practice, including through better evaluation and sustained engagement with schools from early years and with employers.
Sector-wide support for:
availability and use of more common and rigorous data and evidence to target and evaluate access and participation work
collaborative working between different universities and colleges and with schools and employers, e.g. NCOP
advancement and sharing of innovative and effective practice, e.g. Barriers to Student Success”
And Chris Millward also wrote a blog:
‘To ensure the benefits of higher education flow back into local economies and public services throughout the country, there need to be better opportunities and support for people who want to study close to home and later in life, as well as for young people who live on campus.
‘The Office for Students is challenging higher education providers to reduce the gaps in access and outcomes for mature students through access and participation plans, which universities and colleges must have approved if they wish to charge higher tuition fees.”
We were puzzled by some of the analysis of this – which seems to imply that mature students are first deciding to go to university and then choosing a course, which happens often to be a vocational one, and happens often to be close to home. And then of course the implication is that graduates of “vocational” courses are less well paid, see the headline story on fees and funding , and that by choosing local courses they may be choosing less good courses. This was the line taken by Chris Parr on Research Professional.
In our view, this analysis is upside down – if mature students are choosing vocational courses, it is likely to be because they have a vocation – and have decided that they want to pursue it. They may study locally because they may have family or other ties, or financial concerns that make it difficult to travel. And they may choose low-tariff courses – but in some cases that may be because one of the reasons they are mature students is that they didn’t get very high grades at school but are now coming back to education. Those local, low tariff vocational programmes may be an important means of allowing mature students with potential to gain life changing experience and qualifications that will enable them to give back to their communities as well as improve their own lives.
So the OfS focus on access, participation and outcomes is important, but once again, we need to be careful to challenge views that success is only measured in terms of entry tariffs and graduate salaries. And too much focus on improving choice may miss the point for many mature students who can’t take advantage of the options.
Part Time Students and ELQs
As well as the decline in mature students, the decline in the numbers of part-time students has also been widely discussed as a challenge for the Post-18 review, and of course many mature students will also be part-time, so the same issues may apply.
This week the House of Lords held a debate on part-time and continuing education. Criticism for ELQs featured heavily in the debate. An ELQ (Equivalent and Lower Qualification) is when a student already holds a qualification at the same or a higher level than the programme they intend to study. A student with an ELQ cannot access student maintenance loan or tuition fee funding from the Student Loan Company – meaning they, or their employer, has to fully self-fund. There are a small number of courses that the Government considers a priority where the ELQ rule doesn’t apply and students can access student finance. Furthermore, a student with an ELQ can actually be charged above the £9,250, up to £13,000 (BU does not charge this higher fee for ELQ students).
Baroness Bakewell led a debate on part-time and continued education, in particular the future of the Open University (OU). She said the OU’s purpose was to promote greater equality of opportunity and widen access to the highest standards of education. There had been a fall in part-time and mature students and the OU had been hit particularly hard by this drop. According to universities, she said, the cause had been the rise in the cap on part-time fees to £6,750 a year and the introduction of maintenance loans had not alleviated the issue significantly. The post-18 review were welcomed by the Baroness, but she warned that this should not be a missed opportunity. She urged the minister to ensure that the post-18 review addressed a major review of student finance and that it considered different policy responses for different types of students.
“It must reappraise the availability of maintenance grants and the restrictions on maintenance loans, and it must further relax restrictions on equivalent or lower qualifications, ELQs. I ask, above all, that it prioritises mature students and lifelong learning.”
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con) thought that the ELQ rule was a major cause in the decline of part-time education. Bakewell agreed this was contributing factor.
Baroness Bakewell spoke highly of Birkbeck University, of which she has been head for 10 years. She insisted the main cause of the decline in part-time students was the rise in tuition fees, which explained in part why mature students were no longer willing to take the risk of more debt. She asked the Government to provide a part-time premium to universities and colleges to promote the supply of part-time courses and stop relying on maintenance loans for part-time students, as the latter would increase their debt. She called for the reduction of fees in line with any premium provided for universities.
Baroness Garden of Frognal (LD) spoke highly of the work and the opportunities that the two universities offered. She called on the Government to release colleges from the tortuous and pointless demands of GCSE maths and English resits
Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (Lab) suggested the establishment of a “learning nation fund” to go to the parts of the country where there are no opportunities.
Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho (CB) thought that there was a need to build wider partnerships into different communities, with employers and with government, with the skills needed to build a modern and resilient society. She added she would do her best to ensure that OU was fit for the future and asked what funding plan the Government had.
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean spoke critically about the ELQ rule, adding that at one point 50% of Birkbeck’s students had an ELQ and now it was 5%.
Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab) noted that the Welsh Government was introducing a student support package to offer parity of support for full time and part time students alike and the university there was experiencing substantial increases in early registrations for study in the coming year.
Lord Addington (LD) argued that the Open University had a tremendous the capacity for credit transfer. “It is a conduit between different skills being credited in another institution.”. He thought ELQ decision and fees should be removed.
Lord Haskel (Lab) asked about the national retraining scheme, which was promised by the end of the Parliament and talked about the importance of retraining and continuing the relationship between universities and their alumni.
Viscount Hanworth (Lab) spoke critically of the current offerings of FutureLearn – “threadbare and compare unfavourably with the traditional course materials of the Open University”. He noted that large industrial enterprises were no longer as keen as they once had been to sponsor the education of their workforce.
The Lord Bishop of Oxford called for proactive investment in part-time, continuing, lifelong education, accessible in every place and to every part of society. “This new deal needs to be means tested, as we have heard, at the point of delivery, to prevent the stagnation of much of our economy”.
Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con) criticised the current student finance system and interest rates.
Lord Shipley (LD) asked the Government to look urgently at whether it was justifiable for tuition fees for part-time students in England to be two and a half times higher than in the rest of the UK. He also reminded the Government that around 20 million adults in the UK did not have level 4 qualifications, which he considered a huge untapped resource.
Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Lab) argued for more flexibility in education and spoke about the need to provide progressive pathways: “It is desperately important that people can move from one sector of education and one type of qualification approach, and we need credit accumulation and credit transfer to become an integral part of all we offer to part-time and mature students.”
Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab) suggested a single national portal showing career opportunities with available jobs, apprenticeship options and links to training requirements and a strategy for retraining and upskilling at all levels. He also called for flexibility.
Government Whip, Viscount Younger of Leckie, talked about the steps the Government had taken to address the fall in part time students, such as the Higher Education and Research Act. He noted that in 2016-17, 47,000 OU students were able to benefit from a tuition fee loan for undergraduate courses and the Government had removed the so-called ELQ restrictions. He mentioned that HEFCE—now replaced by the Office for Students—targeted an element of the teaching grant in recognition of the additional costs of part-time study. He added that the Government had tabled regulations that would allow part-time students on higher education courses to access maintenance loans similar to those received by their equivalents on full-time courses.
Viscount Younger of Leckie noted that:
the Government was committed to seek to introduce maintenance loans for part-time distance learning courses.
on credit transfer, he said the Section 38 of the Higher Education and Research Act allows such arrangements
on the post-18 review, he said the panel would publish its report at an interim stage at some point this year, before the Government concluded the overall review in early 2019. He noted the word flexible “was very much in there”.
according to the findings of the work that the Economic Affairs Committee, he noted the Government had overhauled apprenticeships to focus on quality and are fundamentally transforming technical education.
on the national retraining scheme, which would be set up by the end of the Parliament, he said that the strategic direction of the scheme was set by the National Retaining Partnership.
Motion agreed.
Digital Accord
On Thursday Matt Hancock (Secretary of State for Digital) visited Paris to announce a new agreement to strengthen ties between the UK and France’s digital industries. The five-year accord aims to boost both countries’ digital economies and forge closer links between the leading companies in France and the UK. It forges closer working between each country’s leading digital research centres to deepen collaboration. The UK’s Alan Turing Institute signed the agreement with the French institute DATAIA. The two organisations will pursue collaborative research in areas of shared interest, e.g. in fairness and transparency in the design and implementation of algorithms. They will share expertise and visiting researchers will spend time at each Institute and hosting joint workshops and funding calls.
At the UK-France Digital Colloque – a summit of more than 350 businesses, researchers and officials from both countries – Mr Hancock and Mr Majoubi signed an accord on digital government committing UK and France to extending their cooperation in the digital sector on innovation, artificial intelligence, data and digital administration.
Digital Secretary Matt Hancock said:
“The UK is a digital dynamo, increasingly recognised across the world as a place where ingenuity and innovation can flourish. We are home to four in ten of Europe’s tech businesses worth more than $1 billion and London is the AI capital of Europe. France is also doing great work in this area, and these new partnerships show the strength and depth of our respective tech industries and are the first stage in us developing a closer working relationship. This will help us better serve our citizens and provide a boost for our digital economies.
Because throughout history, the nations who get the technology right in their era are the nations who succeed. And in our era, our challenge is these data-driven technologies that are transforming our economy and society beyond recognition. If we get them right, and work with other nations to do so, it will lay the path for productivity, prosperity, and a better quality of life. That is why this colloque is so important. Bringing together some of our greatest minds, to discuss the big issues and opportunities that lie ahead. So please keep creating, innovating and making the impossible possible. Because technology was forged by humankind. So we need to make it work for humankind.”
Read Matt Hancock’s speech in full here, it’s a lovely opportunity to brush up on your French.
LEO data accessible through Unistats
The LEO (Longitudinal Education Outcomes) data is now available on Unistats through a user friendly interface. Applicants can access data on their chosen course to find out the national average salary for a graduate of that type of course. They can also select a HE institution and see the salary range of its graduates across all disciplines.
The OfS consulted prospective students on what graduate outcome information they would find useful. OfS report that applicants said they wanted to consider a range of factors when making decisions about future study and OfS expected earnings to play a role in decisions made by many students and be a key factor for some. The OfS expect to expands access to this dataset for prospective students in the future by incorporating responses from the new Graduate Outcomes record when this becomes available in 2020. Read the OfS press release here.
Conor Ryan, Director of External Relations at OfS, said:
“Adding the LEO earnings data to Unistats provides more valuable information to assist students in their course decision making. It comes as the Office for Students is developing our Information, Advice and Guidance strategy to help prospective students find and understand the information they need to make decisions about what and where to study…The Office for Students will take a leading role in ensuring the availability of unbiased information to help all students make informed choices. This should put students in a better position to make the most of their education experience and future careers.”
STEM – Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had recent discussions with the Minister for Women and Inequalities on increasing the number of girls who choose to study STEM subjects at school; and if he will make a statement. [158682]
Nick Gibb:
The Government has taken focused action to increase the take-up of STEM subjects amongst all teenagers, and since 2010 there has been an 18 per cent increase in the number of entries by girls to STEM A levels in England. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, plans to meet the Minister for Women and Equalities in the coming months to discuss how to build on this so that more girls are taking STEM subjects at all levels.
The Department funds the Institute of Physics to deliver an intervention to increase the number of girls studying physics at A level. The Department also funds a number of other programmes to improve the quality of teaching STEM subjects and to encourage take up. For instance, the Department is investing £84 million to improve the teaching of computing and increase participation in computer science. This includes a programme to identify effective approaches to increase participation in computer science amongst girls.
STEM: Equal Pay – Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to tackle the gender pay gap in STEM industries. [158753]
Victoria Atkins:
In 2017 we introduced ground breaking regulations requiring large employers from all sectors, including STEM industries, to report gender pay gap information annually.
This increased level of transparency highlights where women are being held back in the workplace, and is motivating employers to tackle their gender pay gaps.
Government will be engaging with businesses and educators over the coming months to understand more about the barriers for women in the STEM workforce.
Lord Watson Of Invergowrie : Further to the Written Statement by the Minister for Immigration on 15 June (HCWS768), what criteria were used to determine which countries were included in the expanded low-risk Tier 4 visa category for overseas students; and why India was not amongst them. [HL8807]
Baroness Williams Of Trafford :
Careful consideration is given to which countries could be added to Appendix H of the Immigration Rules, taking into account objective analysis of a range of factors including the volume of students from a country and their Tier 4 immigration compliance risk.The list of countries in Appendix H will be regularly updated to reflect the fact that countries’ risk profiles change over time.
Q – Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had and with whom on funding for mental health services at universities; and if he will make a statement.
A – Sam Gyimah:
Mental health is a priority for this government. This is why the Department for Health, together with the Department for Education, have published a joint green paper on Children and Young people, which sets out plans to transform specialist services and support in education settings and for families.
In higher education, there is already much work underway to improve the quality of mental health services for students, alongside services provided by the NHS, including through the NHS programme Improving Access to Psychological Therapies.
In addition, we are in the process of introducing a University Mental Health Charter, backed by the Government and led by the sector. This will drive up standards in promoting student and staff mental health and wellbeing.
Higher education institutions (HEIs) are autonomous bodies, independent from government. HEIs are not only experts in their student population but also best placed to identify the support needs of their particular student body.
Universities UK published its ‘Minding Our Futures’ guidance on 10 May 2018 which recommends: Links between NHS providers and student services to create ‘student mental health teams’ will help support students within the university provision and facilitate timely and seamless referrals for those who need specialist help.
NHS Recruitment Drive
NHS England has launched an £8 million recruitment campaign following their research which showed although nurses and doctors are the most trusted and respected professionals in society the majority of the public don’t know the wider range of careers available. Under the banner ‘We are the NHS’ the recruitment drive aims to education and highlight the vast range of opportunities available to work within the NHS. It will initially focus on nursing, prioritising key areas (mental health, learning disability and community and general practice nurses) that are essential to deliver the long term plan for the NHS. While it will primarily target school children aged 14-18 aiming to increase the total number of applications into the NHS by 22,000, it also hopes to double the numbers of nurses returning to practice and improve retention of staff in all sectors.
The campaign hopes to improve the skills shortage the NHS is currently experiencing. In a 6 month period in 2017 there were over 34,000 nursing vacancies reported, with over 6,000 in mental health and 1,500 in community nursing. The campaign also hopes to work with parents to address gender stereotyping and address the perception that while nurses are ‘caring’ they can also be leaders, innovative and academic.
Professor Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “The NHS is our country’s most loved institution and that is down to the expert skill, dedication and compassion of its brilliant staff.
“There are over 350 careers available within the NHS giving young people an astonishing range of options. Nursing and midwifery make up the largest part of the workforce and as I know from personal experience, provides a unique opportunity to make a real difference to peoples’ lives in a way that simply cannot be matched.
“Nurses and midwives provide expert skilled care and compassion, and they are highly talented leaders in the NHS. This campaign is all about inspiring young people and others who want a change of career to come and work for the NHS and have a rewarding and fulfilling career that makes a real difference.”
The autumn will see the recruitment drive expand when the Department of Health and Social Care will run a national adult social care recruitment campaign to raise the profile of the sector and attract people to consider it as a career.
Applied Health Research – The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has announced £150 million of funding for applied health research aiming to tackle the key issues with the healthcare system. The funding will cover the pressures caused by our ageing population, the increasing demands on the NHS, and multimorbidity alongside the need to increase research in public health, social care and primary care. Of the new funding £135 million will be for new NIHR Applied Research Collaborations which will undertake applied health and care research and support implementation of research into practice.
Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:
“As the NHS celebrates its 70th birthday, more people than ever before are living longer lives thanks to the dedication of hardworking staff. It is therefore vital we harness technology to develop the next generation of innovative treatments as part of the Government’s long term plan for the NHS.
That’s why I want our world-leading academics, researchers and technology experts to work with frontline staff to develop the innovations which not only allow people to live longer, but also to lead healthier lives, so the NHS can continue to provide world-class care to all.”
Health Minister Lord O’Shaughnessy stated:
“With a growing and ageing population, maintaining a world-class NHS depends on harnessing the discoveries of cutting edge research and rapidly bringing them into every day healthcare…The UK has a proud tradition of ground-breaking medical R&D and this funding means our country can continue to lead the world.”
Parliament enters recess on Tuesday 24 July so the volume of announcements and news will likely slow. We’ll continue to send a shorter policy update through the recess period on the weeks when there is sufficient content to share. Parliament reconvenes on Wednesday 5 September.
Click here to view the updated consultation tracker. Email us on policy@bournemouth.ac.uk if you’d like to contribute to any of the current consultations.
New consultations and inquiries this week:
A sustainable future for international students in the UK
Forensic gait analysis
Zulfiqar Khan is the first BU academic to submit an elevated pitch to the Industrial Strategy Grand Challenges. Read his engaging posts on Clean Growth and Future of Mobility. Log in and leave a comment on his research to promote BU and support his ideas.
There is still time to submit your ideas and research to the Grand Challenges – deadline 21 July. This could be your first step towards policy influence and societal impact! Contact Sarah if you need support.
There have also been outcomes published to several items:
The Government have issued a summary of responses and guidance to the HE decarbonisation
The EUA have shared a presentation of their findings with us on the doctoral education survey.
While the Science and Technology Committee’s investigation into an immigration system that works for science and innovation remains open they have published a new tranche of the oral and written evidence here.
The Scottish Education and Skills Committee survey into young peoples’ destinations (support and information) has reported already – see Learner Journey: Education, Training and Work.
Finance Education: 70% of students state they wish they’d been better education in managing their finances before starting university. 50% acknowledge that when they are short of money their diet suffers, and 46% said that their mental health suffers, with 78% worrying about making ends meet. Read more in The 2018 Student Money Survey. The BBC covered the survey noting that poorer families often contribute to their children’s finances whilst at university than richer parents. Cosmopolitan magazine examines a student’s outgoings and questions when the maintenance loan is generous enough.
To subscribe to the weekly policy update simply email policy@bournemouth.ac.uk
JANE FORSTER | SARAH CARTER
Policy Advisor Policy & Public Affairs Officer
Follow: @PolicyBU on Twitter | policy@bournemouth.ac.uk
Tags: Digital ELQ Fair Access Graduate Outcomes immigration industrial strategy Major HE review mature students mental health part-time students Review of post-18 education STEM student finance unistats widening participation
HE Policy update for the w/e 22nd June 2018
EU, Funding opportunities, innovation, international, nhs, policy, Student Engagement jforster
Another big week in policy land. We’ve big features on grade inflation and post-qualification admissions to get your brain buzzing.
Brexit news for EU citizens setting in the UK
This week the Government released further details on how EU citizens and their families could apply for settled status through the EU settlement scheme. The link also contains the draft immigration rules. The Government issued a news story on the settlement scheme, it sets out the 3 steps applicants will complete – prove identity, demonstrate they live in the UK, declare that they have no serious criminal convictions.
Key information on the scheme:
It is proposed that an application will cost £65 and £32.50 for a child under 16. For those who already have valid permanent residence or indefinite leave to remain documentation, they will be able to exchange it for settled status for free.
The Home Office will check the employment and benefit records held by government which will mean that, for many, their proof of residence will be automatic. Those who have not yet lived in the UK for five years will be granted pre-settled status and be able to apply for settled status once they reach the five-year point. From April 2019, this second application will be free of charge.
The new online application system will be accessible through phones, tablets, laptops and computers. The Government will provide support for the vulnerable and those without access to a computer, and continues to work with EU citizens’ representatives and embassies to ensure the system works for everyone.
The settlement scheme will open in a phased way from later this year and will be fully open by 30 March 2019. The deadline for applications will be 30 June 2021.
The Home Office will continue to engage with stakeholders, including employers, local authority representatives and community groups, about the detailed design of the scheme before the Rules are laid before Parliament.
Immigration Minister, Caroline Nokes, said: “EU citizens make a huge contribution to our economy and to our society. They are our friends, family and colleagues and we want them to stay. This is an important step which will make it easy for EU citizens to get the status they need to continue working and living here. We are demonstrating real progress and I look forward to hearing more detail on how the EU will make reciprocal arrangements for UK nationals living in the EU.”
On Tuesday the Commons Science and Technology select committee debated an immigration system that works for science and innovation. The witnesses highlighted that flexibility and speed of application were essential and advocated for a frictionless reciprocal immigration system between the UK and the EU. Read the full text of the session here. Key points:
Science and Technology to be within the broader immigration system rather than separate special arrangements or a two tier system. A transition period may be necessary.
One witness argued for a reciprocal arrangement with EU scientists.
It was noted the EU are currently developing a directive allowing free movement within the EU of individuals on science visas from outside the EU.
Mobility for short stays is essential, e.g. conferences and discussion groups – these short stays should not require visas.
One witness noted the limited ability of small British companies that needed to bring in talent to grow. She raised that this successful navigation of the immigration system was essential and the needs of small business had to be considered within the general immigration system design.
The problems with using salary as a proxy for awarding tier 2 visas was discussed, particularly with the regional variability within the UK
One witness argued that research activity needed to be permitted in the indefinite leave to remain rules.
The limitations of the shortage occupations list were noted, i.e. retrospective analysis of data created a significant lag within the system and it wasn’t responsive enough. It was postulated that these problems would resolve if the cap was removed.
Parliamentary Questions – Immigration
Sam Gyimah responded to a parliamentary question on visa requirements for students of Indian nationality studying in the UK (full text here) stating there was no limit on the number of genuine international students who can come to the UK to study and
“we welcome the increase in study related visa applications from Indian students since last year and the fact that over 90% of Indian students who apply for a UK visa get one. This shows that international students continue to recognise the benefits of studying in the UK, and are responding to our excellent higher education offer.”
Commenting on student immigration, Alp Mehmet, Vice Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “Genuine students are, of course, welcome but this is a slippery slope. The last time that the student visa system was loosened in 2009 it took years to recover from the massive inflow of bogus students, especially from India. We cannot afford another episode like that.”
And there was a further question on immigration:
Q – Gordon Marsden: What additional criteria will be used to decide whether (a) India and (b) other additional countries will be eligible for inclusion in the low-risk Tier 4 visa category for overseas students.
A – Caroline Nokes: We have regular discussions with the Indian Government on a range of issues including on visas and UK immigration policy. Careful consideration is given to which countries could be added to Appendix H of the Immigration Rules, taking into account objective analysis of a range of factors including the volume of students from a country and their Tier 4 immigration compliance risk. The list of countries in Appendix H will be regularly updated to reflect the fact that countries’ risk profiles change over time.
There were three further questions on Indian students this week, all received the same response as above.
British Nationals Abroad – home fees?
Q – Paul Blomfield: whether UK nationals resident in the EU who fall within the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement will be treated as home students for the purpose of university fees after December 2020.
There are currently specific provisions in the rules that provide access to student support for persons who hold settled status in the UK, and who have left England to exercise a right of residence elsewhere in the Economic European Area (EEA) or Switzerland.
We have agreed with the EU that equal treatment principles will continue to apply for those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. This means that UK nationals resident in the EU (and EU nationals resident in the UK) before the end of the implementation period on 31 December 2020 will be eligible for support on a similar basis to domestic students in the relevant member state. It will be for member states to decide how they will implement the citizens’ rights deal in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement. Entitlement to student finance and home fees status after 31 December 2020 for those outside the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement is under consideration.
Thursday’s headlines for the sector were all about grade inflation, the actual report is here. The biggest increases are shown on page 16 – Surrey, East Anglia, Dundee, University of West London, Imperial, Huddersfield, Greenwich, Southampton Solent, Wolverhampton and Aston. These charts showing the absolute highest and lowest proportion are interesting and do raise some questions about whether the call for benchmarks is partly driven by the juxtaposition of our oldest and some of our newer universities in this first group. The arguments about prestige (made in the context of a discussion about REF and TEF) in this HEPI paper by Paul Blackmore come to mind. “Although the basis on which graduates and employers make decisions is a complex one, some institutions clearly have more powerful signalling effects than others.”
Research Professional have another helpful summary with responses from Nicola Dandridge, Nick Hillman and others
Between 1997 and 2009, the proportion of “firsts” awarded increased from 7 to 13 per cent, and in the next seven years it doubled, reaching 26 per cent by 2017. The percentage of students being awarded a 2:1 has also risen from 40 to 49 per cent since 1995, meaning that the proportion of undergraduates awarded either a first or 2:1 has risen from 47 to 75 per cent in the last 22 years. There are now 40 institutions that award firsts to at least 30 per cent of their students. The report, A degree of uncertainty: An investigation into grade inflation in universities, says that one of the most likely explanations for the grade inflation is a lowering of degree standards by institutions. It states that some academics have reported pressure from senior managers to do so, and says that half of universities have recently changed the way that they calculate their students’ final grade so that the proportion of top grades they award keeps pace with other institutions”….
“Harriet Barnes, head of higher education and skills policy at the British Academy—which operates the Humanities and Social Sciences Learned Societies and Subject Associations Network—told HE it was “difficult to see how a national assessment would work without encouraging universities to standardise course content and assessment in some way”. “This would threaten academic diversity, limiting students’ opportunities to fully explore their discipline, and undermining teaching by academics who are leaders in a specialist area,” she said. “We also have concerns about the feasibility of learned societies setting national assessments. Not every discipline is represented by a single body, and many are run by volunteers without the capacity to set and monitor assessments.”
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, told HE that asking learned societies to design assessments was “an odd suggestion”, and that it was “surprising to see Reform recommending less autonomy for institutions” “I’ve long been interested in getting learned societies and others more involved in preparing course materials and helping shape courses,” he said, “but it would make most sense to do that for first-year students adapting to higher education rather than those specialising later on in their degree.”
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the Office for Students, said in a statement that “if there is artificial grade inflation this is not in the interests of students, employers or the higher education sector”. She added that work was “currently under way by the OfS and other partners to assess the complex issues” tackled in the report.”
The BBC story is here.
With the counter arguments, Jim Dickinson writes on Wonkhe:
““Establishing causality is problematic, yet the correlational evidence suggests that when tuition fees rise, so does the proportion of top degree outcomes”. Maybe that big investment means they’re working harder. Maybe more students are working hard to achieve the standard. Maybe teaching has improved, and assessment has become more diverse. Maybe more students are taking resists. After all, “inflation itself must be driven by factors that directly translate into universities awarding higher marks”.
Trouble is, the report then goes on to look at all the other reasons that the sector has cooked up for the miracle. A pro-VC from UEA is mocked for citing improved entry qualifications, though without mentioning the student to staff ratio shift from 18:1 to 13:1 in the rest of his quote. Degree algorithm fiddling is cited, recycling a debunked quote. And without any reference to hard work or student support or assessment techniques, it then finds a handful of academics’ anecdotes to say they’ve been pressured to lower standards. Cue the A-levels chorus of “we worked harder and so did students” from the sector, falling on deaf ears in the press and the think tanks.”
There is an interesting comment in response on the Wonkhe article:
“Quick summary of previous responses, querying the assumption that grade inflation is necessarily bad.
1) If attainment gaps have closed (e.g. male/female gap, affluent/deprived student background gap, white/ethnic minority gap) by the under-achieving group catching up with the higher-achieving group, grade inflation is probably a positive thing.
2) If average marks awarded have risen (i.e. it is not just the case that the degree classification proportions have shifted), and if positive skew in the distribution has not been replaced with negative skew, this indicates that grade inflation is not the only potential explanation.
3) Even if grade inflation as conventionally understood has occurred, the cure could be worse than the disease. The cure could take the form of students undermining each other rather than working collaboratively, seeking to manipulate or complain against lecturers, students motivated by mark gain rather than a desire to learn (not the same thing), even higher levels of mental health anxiety than present.
4) In most subjects, students achieving first class degrees do not have better career outcomes than students with lower second class degrees. This suggests that employers do not rely on degree class as a signal and have developed effective recruiting mechanisms”
The sector wasn’t standing still on grade inflation before this week’s announcements. UUK were already tackling the issue:
The first element of this work responds to the specific request to clarify how the sector defines degree classifications. This work is on course to produce a reference document by September, and this will aid the transparency and consistency of approaches to degree classification and standards across the sector. The work is founded on the view that students should be assessed against clear criteria rather than setting quotas for the number of students who can achieve a 1st or 2.1. Quotas can demotivate students and devalue the level of knowledge gained over the course of their studies. The reference document is intended as a practical tool to aid academic practice and to improve understanding of the classification system, including among employers. The reference point will also be useful for new providers who gain degree awarding powers without prior validation by an existing degree body, and the established academic frameworks that come with this relationship. However, it will still be essential for universities to set and maintain their own academic standards, rather than simply marking against an off-the-shelf set of criteria.
This is also discussed on Wonkhe. “There is also a need for the sector to take meaningful and timely action to respond to stakeholder concerns on grade inflation, as other contributions to Wonkhe and elsewhere have suggested in recent days. UKSCQA will lead the coordination of a sector response on this issue.”
HEPI have published a guest blog – The hard truth about grade inflation – by Dr Andrew Hindmarsh, Head of Planning at the University of Nottingham, and he also oversees the preparation of data for the Complete University Guide. It busts a number of theories:
So-called grade inflation has been greatest at universities with low average tariff scores and least at those with high average tariff scores. One explanation for this could be that the average tariff score has increased more at universities where the average score was lower to start with. If those low tariff score universities had had entry standards that had been rising faster, then you might expect there to be an impact on the subsequent attainment of the students. See Graph 3 shows that this has not been the case. In fact, the average tariff score of universities in quartiles 1 to 3 have all gone down, while only those in quartile 4 (the highest) have gone up.
What about teaching quality – could that explain the pattern of changes? Could it be that the universities with the best teaching quality have seen outcomes improve the most? One possible measure of teaching quality is the TEF (Teaching Excellence Framework) outcomes. …the hypothesis fails – it is the Bronze institutions which have seen the biggest changes in degree outcomes.
The questions on teaching in the NSS could be an alternative measure of teaching quality and this time there is a run of data so the change in NSS scores can be correlated with the changes in degree classification.However, once again the hypothesis fails: there is no correlation between the change in NSS scores on questions 1 to 4 between 2013 and 2016 and the change in degree classifications
So, what is going on? There are plenty of hypotheses left which our database cannot test. One change that has been happening is an increasing use of the full range of marks, particularly in Arts subjects. In the past, there was a tendency to avoid giving high marks with those above 80 in the Arts being very rare indeed. These high marks are much more common in the Sciences, particularly the numerical sciences, where it is possible to achieve maximum marks on mathematical problems. However, many universities are now actively encouraging all subjects to use the full range of marks with the result that, when an average mark is calculated, this is more likely to fall above a particular class boundary as the higher marks pull up the average. This hypothesis also explains why the proportion of first-class degrees has risen faster than the proportion of 1st/2:1s as you would expect more of the high marks to be obtained by students already at or close to a first-class standard. The conclusion must be that this is a complex subject and, while some explanations for changes in degree classifications can be ruled out, there are plenty more to be considered. The accusation that grade inflation is the cause needs to be justified with evidence rather than simply asserted as if it were a self-evident truth.
We’ll have to wait for the outcome of the OFS work referred to above to see what happens next.
Sam Gyimah gave a reassuring answer to a parliamentary question this week. It was focused on the TEF but if extrapolated into the context of the single national assessment recommended to tackle grade inflation it is reassuring to know the Government doesn’t anticipate going even further to observe ‘classrooms’.
Q – Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Office for Students on the merits of observing teaching as an element for assessment in the teaching excellence framework.
Higher Education (HE) institutions, as independent and autonomous bodies, are responsible for the range and quality of the courses they deliver. Assessing the performance of an institution through observation would jeopardise the autonomy of the HE sector.
The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) uses a range of existing metrics related to teaching and learning to make an assessment of teaching excellence, alongside a submission of evidence from the providers themselves. The metrics used for the assessment are all well-established, widely used and trusted in the HE sector. The department consulted extensively on the metrics used in the TEF.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not discussed with the Office for Students, the observation of teachers as an additional element within the TEF.
Senior Pay Guidance
The OfS has now issued guidance on VC and senior pay. Universities are required to report and justify the VC’s total remuneration package and details of senior staff paid over £100,000. OfS will publish these details across the sector annually commencing in 2019. Nicola Dandridge commented: The Office for Students is today setting out our increased expectations around senior pay. Higher education providers will have to give us full details of the total pay package of their vice-chancellor. In addition, they will have to provide detailed justification of this package. As part of this, we will be looking at the ratio between the head of institution’s pay and the pay of the other staff at the institution. This will provide additional visibility and transparency – and enable us all to ask tough questions as necessary.
In response to the guidance UCU general secretary Sally Hunt noted of the OfS requirements: much of the information being called for is already available in universities’ accounts or through freedom of information (FOI) requests.
The guidance was well covered in the media this week: Times, Guardian, THE, Independent.
In the Independent article Michael Barber is reported as stating the OfS will look for salaries that ‘stick out like a sore thumb’… such as … “Like a modest size university, and you are regional and you are not playing globally, and your pay is the same as a top university competing in the global market for research.”
Political Crystal Ball
Dods (political monitoring consultants) have produced a series of short policy lookahead guides contemplating what is coming up politically in the following spheres over the next six months:
Science Tech and Digital
The Education Sector
Environment and Rural Affairs
The Post Qualifications Admissions – how it works across the world report was released on Tuesday comparing the UK’s HE admissions system with that of 29 other countries worldwide. The document critiques the UK’s system of offering a HE place before a student’s final grades are known, particularly noting the unreliability of provisional grades (only 1 in 6 accurately predicted).
The report calls for more than just post-qualification offer making. It outlines enhanced support for choices and decisions and a pre-results preparation week to aid social mobility (see page 17 onwards). The report does acknowledge the benefits of the current pre-qualifications admissions system: it aids students from under-represented backgrounds because they are often predicted higher grades than they achieve (page 5); changing to a post qualifications system would squeeze teaching as exams would need to move earlier in the year, it would also reduce the time HE providers have to consider applications and decide on whether to offer a student a place.
The report was commissioned by UCU and compiled by Dr Graeme Atherton (Director of social mobility organisation NEON). Given the author’s champion of disadvantage it’s interesting the report has received conflicting responses with no clear consensus of whether a change would support or further hinder underrepresented or disadvantaged groups in society.
UCAS responded to the report stating changing to a post qualifications admission system would force structural change to the school system and stating it would be harder for poorer pupils who would have to make decisions after they had finished their exams and left school. Clare Marchant (UCAS): “students from disadvantaged backgrounds would be less likely to have access to teachers and support in making application choices“.
Meanwhile The Sutton Trust argue that Atherton’s claim that under-represented students receive higher predicted grades is incorrect stating ‘high attaining disadvantaged students are more likely to have their grades under-predicted than their richer counterparts. This could result in them applying to universities which are less selective than their credentials would permit.’
UCU’s press release leads a further attack on unconditional offer making. Unconditional offers were previously seen as a supportive measure for social mobility, for example, for a young student within the care system who needed stability and security over their university destination prior to giving up their living accommodation. However, unconditional offers have increasingly received poor press over the last two years claiming students become lazy and don’t try so hard at exams once they have a guaranteed offer or that it pushes an able student towards a lower tariff university when their results would be accepted at a more prestigious institution. Concerns were also raised about unconditional offers last week at Buckingham’s Festival of HE.
The BBC has covered the report.
The report also highlights some of the challenges that the other systems face. One notable issue in some European countries is that almost automatic admission based on results plus low fees leads to huge dropout rates, e.g. in France. And if the focus is almost exclusively on grades it’s likely another subset of WP students will be disadvantaged. The report raises some questions but it would be interesting to do an analysis of other metrics such as completion and satisfaction, and WP indicators as well as graduate outcomes.
There are other issues with the current system that have been raised in recent times – e.g. concerns about the role of personal statements and the role of social capital. Given the author’s day job at the National Education Opportunities Network (NEON), there is a focus in the report on equity in the system.
The article below raises the question of conflict of interests – would such a system reduce or increase game playing in the competition for students? – note last week’s discussions in Buckingham about unconditional offers (which many commentators see as a “bad thing”).
Research Professional have a great article on the report. As the article notes there is unlikely to be a rush to review this given all the other government priorities. But as new A levels come in, raising uncertainty about grades this year, might there be more applicants choosing to use clearing to trade up or take a year to consider and apply afterwards. And whether over time this might therefore become more of a priority for review?
On Thursday there was a debate in the House of Commons on the Erasmus+ programme and discusses the future position of the UK with regard to the scheme post Brexit. The House of Commons Library have produced a briefing note on Erasmus+.
Some fun facts on Erasmus+ taken from the briefing:
The EU sees Erasmus+ programmes as a means of addressing socio-economic issues that Europe may face like unemployment and social cohesion.
10,944 students in higher education in the UK participated in the 2016 applications for study placements abroad through the Erasmus+ scheme.
In 2015-16, the most popular host countries were France (2,388), Spain (2,131), Germany (1,312), Netherlands (701), and Italy (687).The UK was the 7th highest participating country in the programme in 2015.
The total value of all Erasmus+ projects funded in the UK has increased in each year from €112million in the 2014 ‘call’ to €143million in 2017.
The Erasmus+ programme is run on run seven yearly cycles and the current cycle will end in 2020.
The UK Government has promised to underwrite funding that was due to continue after Brexit and UK citizens are currently encouraged to apply for funding under Erasmus+.
On 30 May 2018 the EU Commission announced that it is proposing that for the next cycle starting in 2021 any country in the world will be able to participate if they meet set requirements. It is unclear at present what the UK’s participation in Erasmus+ will be after Brexit but the announcement opens up the possibility of the UK’s continued involvement in the programme.
The Future of the Erasmus+ Scheme after 2020: House of Commons Debate
The Erasmus+ debate span a number of topics: social mobility, UUK’s Go International project, strategy for how students would continue exchanges with EU universities in the event of a Brexit no deal.
Sam Gyimah stated: he recognised that international exchanges were “important to students, giving them social mobility and widening their horizons, and it is valuable to our soft power.” And to clarify the Government’s position on the future participation of Erasmus+ post 2020 within the uncertainty of Brexit he committed that the Government would “discuss with the EU the options for future participation as a third country, as the Prime Minister has made clear, on the basis of a fair and ongoing contribution. So we have accepted that we will want the option to participate and we know we must pay into the programme, but obviously we want the contribution to be fair and we will have to negotiate the terms.” He reassured the House that the Government were “actively engaged in the discussions on the design of the programme and we have made the EU aware of our desire to participate in the programme, and there is a lot to welcome in the framework proposals.” On cost, he said the Government had noted “the proposal for the budget to be doubled, so we need to discuss our participation based on a sensible and hard-headed assessment of the UK’s priorities and the substantial benefit to the EU should the UK decided to participate.”
Read the full text of the debate here.
STEM skills
The Public Accounts Committee has been running an inquiry into Delivering STEM skills for the economy and published a report on Friday. STEM is recognised as essential to the future of UK industries and the Government has been running initiatives to improve STEM skills in the workforce including a substantial focus on STEM curriculum in schools. Although some initiatives to address STEM skills shortages have been successful there remain problems:
Women remain underrepresented in STEM courses and jobs – only 8% of STEM apprenticeship starts are undertaken by women.
In 2016 only 24% of those with STEM degrees were working in a STEM field six months after graduation.
The Government has focussed on schools to grow the next generation of skilled STEM workers. However, the report finds that the quality of careers advice in schools is patchy at best, perpetuating misconceptions about STEM careers. In addition, the way that schools are funded will restrict the likelihood of pupils moving to other, more STEM-focused learning providers, such as the new institutes of technology.
The Government is also unable to accurately assess the volume of the STEM skills shortage.
To make better informed decisions, [Government] departments also need to tackle the apparent lack of industry and commercial experience on their STEM boards and working groups.
Government departments spent almost £1 billion between 2007 and 2017 on initiatives to encourage more take-up of STEM subjects.
The Committee made 8 recommendations:
Following publication of the Migration Advisory Committee report in September 2018, BEIS and DfE should, within six months, set out the further steps they will take to ensure that STEM skills shortages are addressed.
DfE should set out what specific steps it will take to ensure that Skills Advisory Panels are sufficiently aware of national and global skills supply issues to be fully effective.
By summer 2018, the departments should review the membership of all STEM boards and working groups, and address any shortfalls in expertise—for example, in industry knowledge or experience in STEM learning and work.
DfE must identify as soon as possible whether financial incentives for teacher training have delivered value for money, and report its findings to the Committee as promised (i.e. have the teachers remained in the profession).
By the end of 2018, the departments should establish, and start to monitor progress against, specific targets relating to the involvement of girls and women in key STEM learning programmes such as apprenticeships.
DfE should make better use of data on career destinations and salaries to incentivise young people to work towards careers in particular STEM sectors where there is higher need. As part of its plans to improve the quality of careers advice, DfE should work with Ofsted to consider rating the quality of advice provided in schools.
As a matter of urgency, DfE needs to develop a clearer plan for how new types of learning institution, such as the institutes of technology, will attract the numbers of students they need to be viable.
DfE should ensure it has effective monitoring systems in place to quickly identify apprenticeship programmes that are not fit-for-purpose, along with poor quality provision, and the action it will take in each case
Meg Hillier MP chaired the inquiry, she commented:
“Warm words about the economic benefits of STEM skills are worth little if they are not supported by a coherent plan to deliver them. Government must take a strategic view, properly informed by the requirements of industry and the anticipated impact of Brexit on the UK’s skills mix.
But Government also needs to sharpen its focus on the details, from providing sound advice to pupils through to ensuring schools have the right skills in the classroom and STEM-focused institutions are properly supported. Poor-quality apprenticeships must be weeded out and there is still much work required to address the striking gender imbalance in STEM apprenticeships.”
Read the Committee’s press release: Sharper focus needed on skills crucial to UK productivity
STEM Parliamentary Questions
Q – Robert Halfon: what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of students with a qualification in Design and Technology GCSE to filling the skills gap in engineering.
A – Nick Gibb:
The design and technology (D&T) GCSE is a useful qualification for those pupils considering a career in engineering. The Department has reformed the D&T GCSE to ensure that it is a valuable qualification and includes the knowledge and skills sought by leading employers. Content has been aligned with high-tech industry practice with strengthened technical, mathematical and scientific knowledge.
Q – Robert Halfon: what information he holds on the reasons for the decline in the number of entries to Design and Technology GCSE since 2010
Design and Technology GCSE entries have declined since before 2010. In 2016/17 over 150,000 pupils in England entered a Design and Technology (D&T) GCSE at the end of Key Stage 4, which is over 25% of all pupils (data source).
Subject experts identified a number of issues with the previous suite of D&T GCSEs. They advised that the GCSEs were out of date, did not reflect current industry practice, and lacked sufficient science, technology, engineering and mathematics content. These issues could have had an effect on take up. One issue was that there were six separate GCSEs focusing on different materials (such as resistant materials and textiles) or particular aspects of D&T (such as product design and systems and control). These did not allow pupils to gain a broad knowledge of the design process, materials, techniques and equipment that are core to the subject. The Department has reformed the D&T GCSE to address these issues. There is now just one GCSE title which emphasises the iterative design processes that is at the core of contemporary practice and includes more about cutting edge technology and processes. The new GCSE now effectively provides pupils with the knowledge they need to progress to further study and careers, including in high-tech industries.
Q – Robert Halfon: what steps he is taking to revise the national curriculum to ensure that students are prepared for T-levels.
T-levels will provide students with knowledge and the technical, practical skills needed to get a skilled job. They will also allow students to progress into higher levels of technical training including degree courses in subjects relevant to their T-level.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State announced in April that he would make no changes to the National Curriculum within the lifetime of this Parliament; and there should be no need to do so to prepare pupils for T-levels. All state schools are required to teach broad and balanced curricula that will provide young people with the skills and knowledge they need to undertake post-16 education and training; and the design of T-levels will take into account the knowledge and skills that pupils obtain through the current National Curriculum and reformed GCSEs.
The DfE has published the research report: TEF and informing student choice: Subject-level classifications, and teaching quality and student outcome factors. The report notes that TEF was introduced to measure teaching quality and student outcomes to drive up teaching quality within the HE sector and inform prospective students so they can make more informed choices when choosing a HE institution. The research behind the report consider the methodology behind how subject level TEF could be delivered and gathered applicant and student views on what was important to them. The report will help inform the next iteration of the TEF.
Here are the key conclusions:
For subject level TEF CAH2 was preferred due to its accuracy for making subject-level classifications, and is considered most sufficient for providing information to help applicants choose where to study. (See here from bottom of page 39 to understand CAH2.) It was recognised some the CAH2 categories needed rewording, particularly subjects allied to medicine which needs more in-depth consideration. The Broad (7 subject) classification system was not helpful to applicants.
The study also highlights a number of teaching quality and student outcome factors that could be considered when further developing subject-level TEF. It’s important to consider teaching quality factors that have a short term impact on student satisfaction whilst at University with those having a longer term impact (such as graduate outcomes). There were a handful of factors that were low on the analyses and potentially, from a student perspective, could be deprioritised from subject-level TEF development. This includes teaching staff contracts, class sizes and the academic qualifications of teachers.
The research looked at the awareness and influence of the TEF awards on students currently or about to start at a HE institution.
2/5 (two-fifths) of 2018/19 applicants were aware of what TEF refers to;
1/8 had used the TEF to inform their choice of institution, or intended to do so.
1/4 were aware of the TEF award given to their first-choice institution.
The research stated that as TEF becomes more embedded, we would expect applicant and student awareness and usage of TEF to grow over time, and the results from this research will form the baseline against which future awareness and student engagement can be measured.
The research concluded:
The study demonstrates that applicants and students would value the introduction of subject-level TEF ratings. Around three-quarters of all applicants and students (68 -78%) reported that they would find subject-level TEF awards useful while only a tiny minority (3-5%) suggested it was of no use. Applicants that were aware of the provider-level TEF and its purpose were also more likely to consider subject level TEF to be useful.
Some parliamentary questions from this week relevant to the TEF:
Q – Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Office for Students on the adequacy of the metrics for the Teaching Excellence Framework.
To enable students to make the best decisions about their future, it is important that they have consistent independent information about the courses they are considering. The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) metrics focus on what matters to students: teaching quality, the learning experience, and student outcomes. The development of subject-level TEF will give students more information than ever before. The department has worked collaboratively with the Office for Students (OfS), and the Higher Education Funding Council for England before that, throughout the development of the TEF.
The metrics used for TEF assessments are all well-established, widely used and trusted in the HE sector. We consulted the sector extensively on the design of TEF, including the metrics to be used, in 2016. We have recently concluded a consultation on subject-level TEF and the OfS has completed the first year of the pilot of subject-level TEF. Findings from those exercises, including on the operation of the metrics, will be shared between the department and OfS and will inform the further development of the TEF.
Q – Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of efficacy of untrained PhD students being employed by universities to teach undergraduates.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency collects and publishes data on the teaching qualifications of academic staff, but this does not enable an assessment of the efficacy of those staff or any PhD students that are teaching in universities. The Higher Education and Research Act enshrines the principle that higher education institutions are autonomous organisations with freedom to select, appoint, or dismiss academic staff without interference from government. However, the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) recognises and rewards excellent teaching in higher education. The Teaching Quality measure within the TEF core metrics uses data from the National Student Survey, including student views of the teaching on their courses. In addition, the new Office for Students published its regulatory framework in February of this year. This includes a condition that all registered higher education institutions must deliver well designed courses that provide a high quality academic experience for all students – and that providers should have sufficient appropriately qualified and skilled staff to deliver that high quality academic experience.
Science and Innovation Investment
On Thursday Greg Clark (Secretary of State, BEIS) highlighted new investment in UK talent and skills to grow and attract the best in science and innovation. Key points:
£1.3 billion boost to attract and retain world-class talent and guarantee the UK’s position at the forefront of innovation and discovery through the modern Industrial Strategy
Prestigious £900 million UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowship Scheme – open to best researchers from around the world the investment will fund at least 550 new fellowships for the brightest and best from academia and business
The inaugural UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship Scheme will receive £900 million over the next 11 years, with 6 funding competitions and at least 550 fellowships awarded over the next 3 years. The investment will provide up to 7 years of funding for early-career researchers and innovators, including support for part-time awards and career-breaks, providing flexibility to researchers to tackle ambitious and challenging areas. For the first time ever, this type of scheme will now be open to businesses as well as universities. The scheme aims to help the next generation of tech entrepreneurs, business leaders and innovators get the support they need to develop their careers. It is open to best researchers from around the world, ensuring the UK continues to attract the most exceptional talent wherever they may come from.
Complementing the Future Leaders Fellowship Scheme, the Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, British Academy, and Academy of Medical Sciences will collectively receive £350 million for the prestigious fellowships schemes. This funding will enhance the research talent pipeline and increase the number of fellowships on offer for high skilled researchers and innovators.
Over the next 5 years, £50 million has been allocated through the National Productivity Investment Fund for additional PhDs, including 100 PhDs to support research into AI, supporting one of the Grand Challenges within the Industrial Strategy and ensuring Britain is at the forefront of the AI revolution.
There was a Parliamentary Question about UKRI this week.
Q – Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) fulfils its mission to push the frontiers of human knowledge and understanding by appointing active research scientists to the UKRI Board.
A – Sam Gyimah: In line with the Higher Education and Research Act (2017), the Government has appointed UKRI Board members with experience across research, innovation and development, and on commercial and financial matters. This enables the UKRI Board to support and hold the organisation to account, ensuring it delivers effectively, rather than to supply discipline-specific expertise. That expertise is provided by the councils, who are uniquely positioned to understand the latest challenges and opportunities in their specific field, and they include a range of experts, including active researchers.
New LEO data
The DfE have issued the Graduate outcomes (LEO): subject by provider, 2015 to 2016, and have also published employment and earnings outcomes of graduates for each higher education provider broken down by subject studied and gender. The longitudinal education outcomes (LEO) data includes information from the Department for Education, Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs. The release uses LEO data to look at employment and earnings outcomes of higher education first degree graduates 1, 3, and 5 years after graduation in the tax years 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016.
Main Document: Graduate Outcomes (LEO): Subject by Provider, 2015 to 2016
Full data release: Official Statistics, Graduate outcomes (LEO): subject by provider, 2015 to 2016
Gender stereotypes in advertising
Growth in creative industries
Home Office immigration charges
Resignation: The Trade Minister, Greg Hands, resigned this week in protest at the Heathrow expansion. George Hollingbery has been appointed. Previously George was Theresa May’s Parliamentary Private Secretary.
Environment: Research Professional report on the Plastics Pollution Research fund. And there is a parliamentary question on the Environment Plan.
Q – Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to involve scientists, economists and environmentalists in developing a set of metrics to measure the progress of the 25 Year Environment Plan; and when those metrics will be published.
A – Lord Gardiner of Kimble: We have engaged with scientists, economists and environmentalists from a number of external organisations since January to inform the development of a comprehensive suite of metrics and indicators.We will engage further with interested parties over the summer to canvas views on what this suite of indicators and metrics ought to cover. This will be achieved through a combination of publicly available briefing papers and targeted technical meetings with individual organisations and small groups of interested parties. The package of metrics we propose will then be subject to a further period of formal consultation in order to ensure we get this important measure absolutely right.
HE Sector Finances: The House of Commons Library has released information on HE Finance Statistics. It considers how the balance and make-up of university income and expenditure has changed over time, particularly since 2012. Summary from Dods: After many years of increased income, expenditure, more staff and students, the higher education sector in England especially faces on ongoing fall in income from the public sector, falling numbers of some types of students, particularly those studying part-time and much less certainty about the future make-up and nature of the sector as a whole. This has meant that the future public/private funding mix, size and role of the sector are the focus of more attention than at any time in the recent past. This note gives a short factual background on changes in income, expenditure and staffing since the sector took its present form in the mid-1990s. It also gives some information on variations between institutions. It includes data on all Higher Education Institutions in the UK.
Social Impact of Sport: The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee held an evidence session on the social impact of participation in culture and sport this week. The witnesses stated that sports, arts, and cultural provision yielded significant social benefits, including educational and health benefits. However, it was noted that data collection and analysis needed to improve to fully demonstrate this. There was discussion that good programmes were underway but best practice needed to be shared more effectively and communication of what was available needed to improve. It was felt that the Government should link up the various programmes underway and communicate the holistic benefits of sporting and cultural interventions. Contact Sarah for a fuller summary.
Tags: admissions Brexit erasmus grade inflation Graduate Outcomes immigration innovation investments LEO skills STEM subject level TEF teaching excellence framework TEF UKRI
HE policy update for the w/e 15th June 2018
Centre for Excellence in Learning, EU, Events, international, policy, Student Engagement jforster
A busy week for publications this week, while the government have been busy with Brexit votes and there is a positive story about immigration rules.
The Economics of HE
Commons Public Accounts Committee – The Commons public accounts committee published its report on the higher education market on Friday. After some interesting evidence sessions, Research Professional report that the outcome is disappointing:
“Rather than providing an analysis of the problem and proposed solutions as we saw in the Lords economic affairs committee’s report [see below], the PAC report takes the form of an exam question and moves rapidly—after two pages—to conclusions and recommendations. The recommendations mostly involve asking the Department for Education to return to the committee.
Those who work in universities will be familiar with complaints from students about the lack of detailed feedback they receive after going to all the effort of submitting a considered piece of work. The PAC might want to reflect on whether this report is an adequate response given the public concern over whether the fees and loans system is fair on students….
It’s all a bit vague, which is terribly disappointing given the very good evidence the committee received in this area. The recommendation is formulaic and is drawn in a broad way that lets the department off the hook. It will be quite easy to provide evidence of how the department is putting pressure on universities.”
The conclusions and recommendations are here. No new news – please define the market, set up an evaluation framework for careers (a CEF?), evidence of success in WP and put pressure on providers, guidance to help students to change institution and a performance framework for the OfS (OfSEF?).
The Department treats the higher education sector as a market, but it is not a market that is working in the interests of students or taxpayers. There is greater competition for students between higher education providers, but no evidence that this will improve the quality of the education they provide. Higher education providers have increased their marketing budgets in order to attract students rather than compete by charging different tuition fees. However, the amount of funding for higher education (primarily via tuition fees) has increased by 50% since 2007/08. It is therefore critical that the higher education market is delivering value for money, both for individual students and the taxpayer. The new sector regulator, the OfS, has a primary objective that students “receive value for money”. But neither the OfS nor the Department has articulated well enough what value for money means in higher education, or how they will seek to monitor and improve it.
Recommendation: The Department should write to the committee by October 2018 to explain what it expects a successful higher education market to look like.
Young people are not being properly supported in making decisions on higher education, due in large part to insufficient and inconsistent careers advice. The substantial financial commitment required and wide variation in outcomes from higher education mean prospective students need high-quality advice and support to make decisions that are right for them. The complexity of the market and the volume of information available makes it difficult for prospective students, most of whom are teenagers, to assess the quality and suitability of higher education institutions, raising questions over whether student choice alone will drive up the quality of provision. A wide range of other factors influence students’ decisions, such as marketing by higher education providers, the reputation of institutions and their perceived prestige, a student’s family background, as well as the location and costs of travel and accommodation. High-quality, impartial careers advice is critically important, but the support available to students in schools is not good enough. The Department acknowledged that it needs to improve the quality of careers advice for young people. It told us that its Careers Strategy, published in December 2017, will have a “real impact” on young people’s lives and help students make choices which best fit their own aptitude, skills and preferences, but it is not clear how or whether the department will ensure high quality careers advice at school level. It is too early to judge its success, but action is needed quickly and the strategy should be robustly evaluated to ensure it is achieving its aims.
Recommendation: The Department should write to the Committee by October 2018 with details of progress it has made with its careers strategy and the impact it is having. It should set up an evaluation framework to enable it to assess progress.
The Department does not have enough of a grip on actions to widen participation in higher education, and is over-reliant on the actions of some universities. The Department’s reforms are designed in part to ensure equal access to higher education, regardless of a student’s background. However, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are still far less likely to enter into higher education than those from more advantaged backgrounds. There have also been substantial drops in part-time and lifelong learning, which are critical to social mobility. The Department told us that it has introduced a Social Mobility Action Plan to address inequalities across the education system, and one of the roles of the OfS will be to ensure best practice in reaching out to students from disadvantaged background is being applied across the higher education sector. However, we are concerned that the incentives in the higher education market do not sufficiently support widening participation. Outreach activities are primarily conducted by universities and while there are areas of good practice, some universities who find it easy to recruit students are not pulling their weight. The OfS told us that each higher education provider will set targets for widening participation and improving outcomes for disadvantaged groups, and it will oversee these Access and Participation Plans, which will be a condition of registration. But it remains to be seen whether the plans to improve performance will have an impact on the life chances for disadvantaged groups.
Recommendation: The Department should provide us with evidence of how it is widening participation and opening higher education to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Department should demonstrate how they will maintain pressure on providers to measure success.
Students have limited means of redress if they are unhappy with the quality of their course, even if they drop out. The relationship between students and higher education institutions has changed substantially since tuition fees were introduced, with a much greater emphasis on whether a course or institution offers value for money. An effective market requires empowered consumers who can switch provider if they are dissatisfied, but this is not the case in the higher education market. Across the sector, only 2% of students transfer provider each year, and students are more likely to drop-out altogether if they are dissatisfied with their course rather than switch provider. When students do switch providers or drop out, they are unlikely to get any of their fees back unless they can demonstrate that they were misled in some way. The OfS will require universities to demonstrate what arrangements they have in place for facilitating transfers, and it will have a responsibility to make sure there is better use of transfers where appropriate. However, given the relative weakness of students as consumers, it is vital that the OfS uses its full powers actively, and works effectively with other regulators, such as the Advertising Standards Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority, to ensure the market functions in the interests of students.
Recommendation: In developing the new regulatory framework, the Department and OfS must ensure students’ interests are protected. The OfS should include clear guidelines to enable students to shift courses or institutions more easily.
The new Office for Students has not yet articulated how it will support the varied and complex interests of students. It told us that, as the sector regulator, its role is to regulate universities and colleges “on behalf of students”. However, it is clear that these interests are varied, complex and often competing. The OfS told us that it has established a student panel, although it has chosen not to work with the National Union of Students, to inform how it makes decisions and to ensure that its definition of the student interest is defined by students themselves. It also told us that it plans to develop a student engagement strategy to clarify what the interests of students are so that it can feed these into its regulatory framework, which would include quality of teaching, feedback and graduate outcomes as key areas of focus. But until the OfS has sufficient clarity over what it is trying to achieve in the interests of students, it will not be able to effectively monitor and evaluate the success of its regulatory approach.
Recommendation: The Office for Students should report back in six months to set out in detail how it will measure and report on its performance in regulating for students, and be clear about what its priorities are in protecting student interests.
The summary of the summary is this bit: “We spoke to the Office for Students at its inception and hope that it will set a clear marker that it really is acting in the interests of students from day one. It is still unclear how it will gauge the real concerns of students and ensure that institutions are delivering and sanctioned when they let students down.”
House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee – The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the Economics of higher, further and technical education inquiry has reported. They find that the system of post-school education in England is unbalanced with too much emphasis on full time university degrees, and as a result offers poor value for money to individuals, taxpayers and the economy – and they stress the need for immediate reform. As an official Committee the Government are expected to take note of, and respond to, the report – although it’s not binding on the Government. The current HE Review will certainly include these findings within its deliberations. There is a short summary pamphlet issued by the Committee here.
The report notes that undergraduate HE studies dominate post-school choices. They attribute this to the HE Finance system making it an easy option, alongside the lack of alternative viable, consistent and quality alternatives. The report notes this is not in the country’s best interest.
The key recommendations are:
Other post-school options need more funding – Funding for post-school education is too heavily skewed towards degrees. Public funding across all forms and institutions in higher and further education should be better distributed. There should be a single regulator for all higher education (Level 4 and above – the Office for Students is noted) and a single regulator for other post-school education (Level 3 and below).
Reversing the decline of part-time and flexible learning – The decline in part-time learning in higher education is a result of restrictions around accessing loans for students who already have a degree, the increase in tuition fees in 2012 and the lack of maintenance support for part-time students (which will be available from 2018/19). Funding restrictions have also led to a decline in part-time study in further education. A credit-based system whereby people can learn in a more modular way and at their own pace should be introduced.
Apprenticeships – The Government’s target of three million apprenticeships has prioritised quantity over quality, and should be scrapped. The Government must renew its vision for apprenticeships, concentrating on the skills and choices that employers and individuals really need. The Institute for Apprenticeships should be abolished and replaced with a new regulator for Level 3 and below qualifications, and the Office for Students should take responsibility for those at Level 4 and above.
Reforms to student loans and widening maintenance support – The Government claims the high level of interest charged on student loans makes the system progressive, but it is middle-earning graduates who end up paying back most in real terms. The interest rate should be reduced to the 10-year gilt rate, currently 1.5 per cent, from the current rate of RPI plus 3 per cent.
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, Chair of the Economic Affairs Committee, said:
“The way we expect students to access higher and further education is deeply unfair. We must create a single system, including apprenticeships, that offers more choice and better value for money.
Maintenance support should be available for all students studying at Level 4 and above. The means-tested system of loans and grants that existed before 2016 should be re-instated, and total support increased to reflect the true cost of living.
We recommend that the interest rate charged on post-2012 student loans should be reduced to the level of the ten-year gilt rate. This would mean reducing the interest rate from around about 6 per cent today, to 1.5 per cent. No student should incur interest while studying.”
The report also noted:
The statistical claims made by the Government about the relationship between higher education and economic growth are oversimplified. Whatever relationship may or may not have existed in the past, the assumption that sending increasing numbers of today’s young people to university to study undergraduate degrees is the best option for individuals and the economy is questionable. The evidence suggests that there is a mismatch between the qualifications and skills provided by the higher education system and the needs of the labour market. A substantial proportion of current graduates may have been better off pursuing other higher education qualifications in areas where there are skills shortages.
The aim of the 2012 reforms to create an effective market amongst universities has not been achieved, as evidenced by the lack of price competition. We have seen little evidence to suggest that the higher education sector is suitable or amenable to market regulation. We are concerned that the replacement of nearly all grant funding by tuition fees, coupled with the removal of the cap on student numbers, has incentivised universities to attract prospective students onto full-time undergraduate degrees. This may also explain the striking increase in grade inflation.
The combination of incentives to offer and study for undergraduate degrees has had a negative effect on the provision and demand for other types of higher education.
The Teaching Excellence Framework will not impose sufficient discipline on the sector to ensure the quality of the ever-increasing provision of undergraduate degrees. The framework is based on metrics which are too general to relay much information about the quality of an institution or course and are too dependent on unreliable surveys. Risk is borne almost entirely by students and taxpayers rather than the institutions.
With this in mind, there was a parliamentary question on TEF this week:
Q – Gordon Marsden: T what external organisations he plans to consult to take forward his Department’s commitment to appoint an independent reviewer of the teaching excellence framework and its criteria of operation.
A – Sam Gyimah: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education will appoint a suitable independent person for the purpose of preparing a report on the operation of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF), in accordance with the Higher Education and Reform Act 2017. In taking decisions about the TEF, he will take account of advice from partners in the higher education sector. That includes the department’s TEF Delivery Group, which is comprised of representative organisations from the sector plus the Office for Students and the devolved administrations, and gives advice on the design and development of the TEF.
Wonkhe have an analysis of TEF year 3 grade inflation data:
“Every institution where data is presented showed evidence of grade inflation [Ed: or just improvement in outcomes?] when comparing the most recent year of first class awards with the supplied historical comparator, in some cases up to a 20 percentage point difference. Most institutions also showed a steady increase over the most recent three years, all of which were substantially above the earlier figure.
Every institution showed a rise in the number of first class degrees, and a fall in the number of 2:2, third class or other honours degrees.
What doesn’t the data tell us? Resits, basically. We don’t know to what extent degree candidates are simply not accepting lower awards, and instead choosing to resit elements of their course to achieve a higher award. We also do not know to what extent institutions are encouraging this – in light of the continued idiocy of certain parts of the rankings industry in including “percentage of first class degrees” in league tables, or in the light of student care (and a weather eye on DLHE metrics).
The simple proportions are also less reliable for smaller institutions, where you would expect to see a greater fluctuation year on year and cohort by cohort. And we don’t (yet – this may come in future years when the data is derived centrally from HESA) get any splits – of particular interest here would be prior qualifications, but we already know that various student attributes are a good predictor of final grade.”
And the BBC has cut last week’s IFS data and has an interactive tool – adding “But remember, there’s more to life than money…” and the all-important qualifier: “Earnings for different professions may vary over time. The figures are based on students graduating between 2008 and 2012.” Read last week’s policy update for some critical perspectives on the relevance of this data for current applicants. Past performance is not really a guide to future performance – and some graduates may end up doing a different job to the rest of the cohort….
There were two Parliamentary questions about research funding, one in the context of Brexit
Q – Kemi Badenoch: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the maintenance of funding for (a) universities and (b) research projects after the UK ceases to receive European Research Council funding.
The UK is eligible to fully participate in all aspects of the Horizon 2020 programme, including the European Research Council (ERC) while we remain a member of the EU. The Joint Report, reflected in the draft Withdrawal Agreement, envisages that UK entities’ right to participate will remain unaffected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU for the duration of the programme and the lifetime of projects funded under Horizon 2020.
If necessary, the Government’s underwrite remains in place. This guarantees the funding for UK participants in projects ongoing at the point of exit, as well as any successful bids submitted before the UK leaves the EU.
As part of our future partnership with the EU, the UK will look to establish a far reaching science and innovation pact. The UK would like the option to fully associate to the excellence-based European research and innovation programmes, including Horizon Europe, the successor to Horizon 2020. The UK intends to play a full and constructive role in shaping these proposals and we look forward to discussing the detail of any future UK participation with the Commission.
Q – Rebecca Long Bailey: When the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy plans to publish a roadmap for meeting his target of increasing investment in R&D to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027.
A – Sam Gyimah: Since the publication of the Industrial Strategy, we have been speaking to businesses, academics and other stakeholders to develop the roadmap. Through this engagement we are exploring the barriers to increased R&D investment by business, the greatest opportunities for R&D growth over the next decade, and the key policies Government should prioritise to reach the 2.4% goal and deliver economic and societal impact.
Immigration & International Students
EU Students – This week both Layla Moran (Lb Dem Education Spokesperson) and Universities UK have been pressurising the Government to clarify the fee status of EU students for the 2019/20 academic year, warning of a further drop in EU numbers. The Scottish Government confirmed the fee status for EU students in February this year.
Alistair Jarvis, Chief Executive of Universities UK, said: “Students from across the EU, who bring great economic and academic value, are already enquiring about 2019 study, but face uncertainty on the expected financial costs of doing so. We know from research that the majority of international students start their research about studying abroad more than 12 months in advance of actual enrolment…there is now an urgent need for clarification to be provided across all parts of the UK. It is critical that action is taken to prevent a drop in EU applications next year.”
Non-EU Doctors and Nurses – Immigration Relaxation – The Government have announced a relaxation on the Tier 2 visa cap which currently limits immigration of non-EU skilled workers to 20,700 per year (see Politics Home) to ensure that non-EU doctors and nurses will be outside of the cap.
The Telegraph reported that a much wider review is expected: “businesses and employers will be able to recruit an extra 8,000 skilled migrants a year from other professions including IT experts, engineers and teachers, effectively increasing the cap by 40 per cent.”
Changes to the immigration rules were announced on Friday that come into force on 6th July that do not seem to go that far:
increasing the number of countries that benefit from a streamlined Tier 4 student visa application process – 11 additional countries including China have been added
leave to remain for children under the Dubs amendment – including study and healthcare for children who do not qualify for refugee or humanitarian protection leave
changes applying to Afghan interpreters and their families that were announced recently
the change relating to non-EU doctors and nurses who will no longer be in the Tier 2 visa numbers cap
including fashion designers and TV and film professionals in the exceptional talent visa
Opposition to Theresa May’s immigration policies, including whether international students should be included in the overall net immigration target, has been widely reported in the press over the last couple of years, including a lack of support for the current approach from Cabinet members. The change in relation to the NHS may be the start of something bigger. The promised Immigration White Paper was postponed due to the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) investigations into workers within the UK labour market and the impact of international/EU students (due to report in September). Meanwhile there have been pressing calls from the sector (notably from HEPI following the publication of their research into benefits of international students) for the MAC Committee to report ahead of September.
The Immigration White Paper is now rumoured to be scheduled for release in July, to allow for consultation prior to the European Council leaders’ summit on the 18 and 19 October (the target date to agree a withdrawal treaty). The Immigration Bill is expected to be presented to Parliament before 2019.
‘Start up’ Visas – The Home Secretary has announced that people who want to start a business in the UK will be able to apply for a new “start-up” visa from Spring 2019. This is aimed to widen the applicant pool of talented entrepreneurs and make the visa process faster and smoother for entrepreneurs coming to the UK. It will replace the previous visa for graduates, opening it up to a wider pool of talented business founders. It will require applicants to have acquired an endorsement from a university or approved business sponsor, including accelerators.
The Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, said:
“The UK can be proud that we are a leading nation when it comes to tech and innovation, but we want to do more to attract businesses to the UK and our migration system plays a key part in that.
That’s why I am pleased to announce a new visa for people wanting to start a business in the UK. This will help to ensure we continue to attract the best global talent and maintain the UK’s position as a world-leading destination for innovation and entrepreneurs.
This initiative builds on other recent reforms to the visa system – including doubling the number of visas available on the Exceptional Talent route to 2,000 per year – and shows the government’s commitment to making the UK a dynamic, open, globally-trading nation.”
International Students – During an American Senate hearing the US confirmed they will limit the study visa of Chinese students studying in ‘sensitive’ fields (robotics, aviation, high-tech manufacturing) to a one year duration with an option to renew and extend study into subsequent years after consideration. The hearing, Student Visa Integrity: Protecting Educational Opportunity and National Security, (originally titled ‘A Thousand Talents: China’s Campaign to Infiltrate and Exploit US Academia’). A spokesperson from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated the policy decision was not driven by race or ethnicity but by the need to safeguard American Intellectual Property in the face of “the fact that China has a publicly-stated policy goal of acquiring sensitive information in technology around the world …that they seek access and recruit global experts regardless of their nationality to meet their science and technology aims.” In opposition to the visa limitations testimony was given on the value of international students at the hearing. What is most interesting is the difference in attitude between the US and UK in the consideration of the benefits of an international student population that the hearing revealed.
In the UK international students are welcomed for the diversity they bring, the further invigoration and internationalisation of the curriculum, the income boost through tuition fees, the levels of postgraduate students, and the significant economic ‘side effects’ benefiting the geographical community (see HEPI). There is also an assumption that (due to the visa system) most international students will return home, having originally chosen to study here to enhance their own international career standing or bring fresh skills back to their own community (a personal motivation).
Yet the opinion expressed in the American Senate hearing was that the international students should be contributing to American society (and paying for the privilege of doing so): “Most students and visiting scholars come to US for legitimate reasons. They are here to… contribute their talents to [the US].” Senator Cornyn (Chair of the hearing). Most likely American academia would have alternative viewpoints to Senator Cornyn on the valuing of international students. Also this appears to be a niche policy decision to infuse intellectual property security concerns into the visa approval process rather than a blanket policy.
Britain and America are two of the major world players in attracting international students and both now have elements of unwelcome emanating through policy decision. It’s notable that Chinese student numbers are the biggest international group to access UK universities; in 2015/16 1 in 4 international originated from China..
Widening Participation and Achievement
There were several parliamentary questions within the widening participation sphere this week.
Part Time Students – Q – Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to higher education funding on student numbers at the Open University in each year since 2011.
The government recognises the decline in part-time study within the sector, and is aware of the impact this has had on the Open University. That’s why the government is committed to supporting part time students and since 2012, it has paid the tuition fees of students studying on part-time courses up-front through a system of subsidised fee loans.
In addition, new part-time students attending degree level courses from August 2018 onwards will, for the first time, be able to apply for up-front loans to help them with their living costs. Subject to the development of a robust control regime, these loans will be extended to students on distance learning courses from August 2019.
The government continues, through the Office for Students (previously Higher Education Funding Council for England), to provide direct grant funding to support successful outcomes for part-time students. This was worth £72 million in the current academic year (2017/18), and the Open University received a sizeable amount of this funding.
This funding reflects the particular costs associated with recruiting and retaining part-time students and includes funds to support successful outcomes for part-time students. The Open University received £48 million to support teaching activity in 2017/18.
Effective Deployment of WP – Q – David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the widening participation funding is deployed effectively. And Q – David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds attending university.
The following response covered both questions: A – Sam Gyimah:
Widening participation in higher education remains a priority for this government. We want everyone with the potential to have the opportunity to benefit from a university education, regardless of background or where they grew up.
University application rates for 18 year olds to full-time study remain at record levels. The proportion of disadvantaged 18 year olds entering full time higher education has increased from 13.6 per cent in 2009 to 20.4 per cent in 2017. Building on this our major review of post-18 education and funding will consider how disadvantaged students receive maintenance support both from government and from universities and colleges and how we can ensure they have equal opportunities to progress and succeed in all forms of post-18 education.
We have set up the Office for Students (OfS) with powers to drive forward improvements in access and participation and we have asked the OfS to do more to maximise the impact of spending in this area. In their business plan the OfS plans to evaluate the return on investment on access and participation. We have also asked the OfS to set up an Evidence and Impact Exchange to improve the impact and value for money of providers’ access and participation expenditure.
In addition, through the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, we have introduced the Transparency Duty requiring registered higher education providers to publish data on application, offer, acceptance, dropout and attainment rates of students by ethnicity, gender and socio-economic background. This will hold the sector to account for their record on access and retention of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and shine a light on where they need to go further
Targeted Outreach – Q – Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with (a) the Director for Fair Access and Participation and (b) the Office for Students on strengthening university programmes aimed at potential applicants between the ages of 11 and 16 from disadvantaged black, working-class white and other communities. And Q – Gordon Marsden: what discussions he has had with universities and their representative bodies on extending their outreach activities for disadvantaged groups of young people between the ages of 11 and 16.
In our first guidance to the Office for Students (OfS) we have asked them to challenge higher education (HE) providers to drive more progress through their Access and Participation Plans. Prior attainment is a critical factor in entering higher education and we are asking providers to take on a more direct role in raising attainment in schools as part of their outreach activity. The OfS have also established the National Collaborative Outreach Programme to target areas where progression into higher education is low overall and lower than expected given typical GCSE attainment rates.
Through the Higher Education and Research Act, we have introduced a Transparency Duty requiring higher education providers to publish data on application, offer, acceptance, dropout and attainment rates of students by ethnicity, gender and socio-economic background. This will hold the sector to account for their record on access and retention of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and shine a light on where they need to go further.
Officials and I are in regular contact with the OfS, including the Director for Fair Access and Participation, and the higher education sector to discuss issues around widening access.
Disabled Applicants – Q – Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Office for Students on encouraging university applications from potential applicants with disabilities.
Widening access to higher education among under-represented or disadvantaged groups is a priority for this government. In our first guidance to the Office for Students we have asked them to ensure that higher education providers include, within their access and participation plans, those students that have been identified as requiring the most support. This includes students with disabilities.
Higher education providers have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with disabilities
Through access agreements – in future known as access and participation plans – higher education providers expect to spend more than £860 million in 2018/19 on measures to improve access and student success for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is a significant increase from £404 million in 2009.
Change in turbulent times
HEPI released Policy Note 7 – Change is coming: how universities can navigate through turbulent political times. It focussed on three key drivers for Universities: internationalisation, the impact of disruptive technologies, and changes to education delivery – the power not only to change the way we teach and learn, but also how we manage information and collect data.
“Rebooting learning for the digital age? As shown by HEPI report 93, improvements across the world in technology have already led to improved retention rates and lower costs:
in the US, technology-enhanced learning has produced better student outcomes in 72 per cent of projects and average savings of 31 per cent;
in the University of New England in Australia, student drop-out rates have reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent via learning analytics; and
at Nottingham Trent University, 81 per cent of first year students increased their study time after seeing their own engagement data “
“Demand for higher education to 2030 As HEPI report 105 uncovers, universities in England should be preparing themselves to take on at least 300,000 additional full-time undergraduate places by the end of the next decade. This is good news in the long-term but the scale of the transformation that is required now – in terms of increasing capacity – is substantial.
Many universities are already concentrating on the long-term picture. This is best shown by the improvements to university estates. Yet, with a smaller pool of prospective students being relied upon to fill these resources in the short-term, we can expect competition between institutions to increase sharply over the coming years – particularly if it becomes more common for students to switch providers of higher education mid-course under the new regularly landscape of the Office for Students (OfS).”
To steer effectively through the troubled waters the policy note suggests:
“On the one hand, this involves coming together to:
learn from each other’s experiences in the global context;
identify common challenges;
develop appropriate fixes; and
present a collective voice in the sector against current political sentiment.
On the other hand, this also involves enhancing the distinctiveness of higher education institutions to:
ensure they make a real difference on the ground in other parts of the world;
ensure challenges specific to different institutions do not get lost in the general policy debate;
develop appropriate strategies for success; and
get ahead in an environment of increased competition.
Coming together in unity to learn from one another and develop appropriate strategies, while still maintaining the diversity that is unique to UK higher education, is what will help universities to overcome some of the biggest emerging policy challenges of our time – posed by the pressures of internationalisation, advancements in technology and domestic political developments. Universities today ultimately have two obligations on their hands – the first, to ensure their own individual successes and, the second, to preserve their part in a healthy, wider higher education sector, complete with variety and choice, for generations to come.”
Student experience – what students really want and why it matters
BU hosted Dr Diana Beech from the Higher Education Policy Institute on Wednesday morning for a policy breakfast, part of this year’s CELebrate symposium. In a packed room and despite the early start, we had a great discussion about student perceptions, value (and value for money). You can read about it and find links to the survey, her slides and other HEPI reports referred to elsewhere on the research blog here.
Student loans – the numbers
The Student Loans Company have published their statistics for England for the financial year 2017-18.
The amount lent in financial year 2017-18 to Higher Education borrowers was £15.0billion, an increase of 11.9% when compared with 2016-17. A total of £222.3m was lent to Further Education borrowers.
The amount lent in financial year 2017-18 for Postgraduate Masters was £582.9million.
Net repayments posted to customer accounts within Higher Education amounted to £2.3billion in the financial year 2017-18, an increase of 16.0% compared with 2016-17 (including £399.2million in voluntary repayments).
The balance outstanding for Higher Education (including loans not yet due for repayment) at the end of the financial year 2017-18 was £104.6billion,an increase of 17.0% when compared with 2016-17.
With the entry of the Higher Education 2018 repayment cohort into repayment in April 2018, there were 3.8 million borrowers liable for repayment and still owing (an increase of 4% compared to April 2017). There were a further 1.2 million borrowers not yet liable for repayment bringing the total still owing to 5.0 million.
The average Loan Balance for the Higher Education 2018 repayment cohort on entry to repayment was £34,800. This is a £2,380 increase on the previous year average of £32,420.
880,400 (18.6%) of the Higher Education borrowers who had become liable to repay since ICR loans were introduced in 1998 have fully repaid their loan.
Student Drug Attitudes
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and University of Buckingham have released a YouthSight survey on attitudes towards drug use based on the responses of 1,059 full-time undergraduate (UG) students. On the number of students who have never (71%) or regularly (11%) use drugs the findings contrast slightly from the April 2018 NUS report which noted higher usage. HEPI explain that the NUS sample was targeted and believe this report is more representative of full-time UG students.
Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI said:
‘This survey provides an important corrective to some of the wilder ideas about today’s students. They are more hardworking and less hedonistic than is often supposed… Our survey shows most students support their institutions taking a tougher, rather than a more relaxed, line on the use of illegal substances by fellow students.’
The survey explains student drug use as attributable to:
47% peer pressure
81% took drugs for recreational purposes
6% took drugs to cope with difficulties with exams
When considering if their HE institution has a drug problem the respondents split with 39% identifying a problem, and 44% stating there wasn’t. The students were concerned about the impact of drug use personally and in society. 88% were concerned drugs negatively impacted mental health; 68% felt it contributed to crime; and 62% were concerned about the cost of the health care burden caused by drug users. Many students recognised excessive alcohol consumption as a serious threat (87% considered alcohol overuse as very serious or quite serious compared to 64% on drug use). The report stated 62% of students want their university to ‘take a stronger line’ on drug dealers and ‘students who repeatedly use drugs’.
There is still time to contribute to the industrial strategy topical blogs because they’ve extended the deadline until 21 July – yippee! Get your thinking caps on and get in touch with Sarah!
Local MPs: Richard Drax (South Dorset) used his prime minster question this week to call for her to support a grant for Weymouth’s harbour wall. The PM responded that there were various options that grant funding had to look at carefully, but said that this project was on a list of potential recipients. She anticipated a decision by the summer.
The House of Commons library have let an AI programme loose in Hansard looking at Brexit.
Tags: apprenticeships Brexit credit transfer Graduate Outcomes HE review immigration international students part-time students research funding Review of post-18 education student experience student finance teaching excellence framework Technology Enhanced Learning TEF widening participation
HE policy update for the w/e 25th May 2018
BU Challenges, BU research, EU, Funding opportunities, innovation, international, policy, Research news, Student Engagement jforster
In the PM’s speech this week referred to below, she mentioned the implications of Brexit for research:
…. since 2010 the number of overseas students coming to study at UK universities has increased by almost a quarter. The UK will always be open to the brightest and the best researchers to come and make their valued contribution. And today over half of the UK’s resident researcher population were born overseas.
When we leave the European Union, I will ensure that does not change.
Indeed the Britain we build together in the decades ahead must be one in which scientific collaboration and the free exchange of ideas is increased and extended, both between the UK and the European Union and with partners around the world.
I know how deeply British scientists value their collaboration with colleagues in other countries through EU-organised programmes. And the contribution which UK science makes to those programmes is immense.
I have already said that I want the UK to have a deep science partnership with the European Union, because this is in the interests of scientists and industry right across Europe. And today I want to spell out that commitment even more clearly.
The United Kingdom would like the option to fully associate ourselves with the excellence-based European science and innovation programmes – including the successor to Horizon 2020 and Euratom R&T. It is in the mutual interest of the UK and the EU that we should do so.
Of course such an association would involve an appropriate UK financial contribution, which we would willingly make.
In return, we would look to maintain a suitable level of influence in line with that contribution and the benefits we bring.
The UK is ready to discuss these details with the Commission as soon as possible.
Some more flesh was put on these bones by a policy paper from the Department for Existing the EU: Framework for the UK-EU partnership Science, research and innovation
AI, data and other Industrial Strategy news
The PM made a speech this week announcing 4 “missions” that sit below the Industrial Strategy with a focus on AI and data, amongst other things– you can read my blog of the highlights here
In related news, Innovate UK published a report on the immersive economy
And the government issued 4 calls for ideas and evidence on the PM’s 4 missions. They want new ideas here:
AI and data: “we have one question: Where can the use of AI and data transform our lives?”
Ageing society: “we would like to hear your thoughts on the following: How can we best support people to have extra years of being healthy and independent?
Clean Growth: “we would like to hear your thoughts on the following: How can our construction industry use its existing strengths to halve energy use in buildings?”
Future of mobility: “we have one question: How can we ensure that future transport technologies and services are developed in an inclusive manner?.
If you’d like to contribute to any of these, please contact policy@bournemouth.ac.uk
Subject level TEF
You can read BU’s response to the subject level TEF consultation here. We agree with the issues raised below and we advocated a new model because of serious problems with both Model A and Model B. We also suggested a longer time frame (because of the volume of work involved, not complacency), and disagreed with both grade inflation and teaching intensity metrics. And we challenged the awards at both institutional and subject level, proposing instead two awards (good and excellent/ excellent and outstanding) with stars for subjects.
Interesting developments for TEF (and more generally), the OfS have published their timetable for NSS and Unistats data for 2018:
The Office for Students (OfS) is applying the Code of Practice for Statistics to its data publication in anticipation of its designation as a producer of official statistics by July 2018. This has implications for the pre-publication access that we can grant to NSS outcomes and Unistats data, as these will now be treated as official statistics. As a consequence, we will now publish the NSS public dataset at the same time as providers are able to access their own data 2 on Friday 27 July 2018.
There will also be no provider preview as part of the annual Unistats data collection and publication process, and data available in system reports will be limited to that essential for quality processes associated with the Unistats return.
In June 2018, we will add earnings data from the Longitudinal Education Outcomes dataset for English providers to Unistats.
From September 2018, we will begin to use the Common Aggregation Hierarchy developed for the Higher Education Classification of Subjects to present data on Unistats in place of the current subject hierarchy.
The Unistats website will be updated in June 2018 to include Year three outcomes from the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework.
And :
Following consultation on the outcomes of the Review of Unistats in 2015, the funding bodies are working together on options for a replacement for the Unistats website. This new resource would draw on the findings from the review about decision-making behaviour and the information needs of different groups of prospective students. We will progress this work in stages – ensuring that it is developed in a way that meets the needs of prospective students across all countries of the UK – and will provide the sector with periodic updates, the first of which will be in summer 2018.
Research Professional have a neat summary of the sector response.
On Wonkhe:
panel chair Janice Kay of the University of Exeter reflects on progress made and the challenges – and opportunities – arising from the exercise. “when breaking down the metrics into 35 subjects, cohort sizes can be small” “ it is clear that the current format of the seven subject groupings poses challenges. For example, while it may reduce the writing load by asking institutions to describe its subjects in a summated way, it has sometimes limited what subjects can say about themselves, making it difficult to identify what happens in individual subjects. And we have heard that the format can increase writing effort, even if volume is reduced… It’s critical during this exercise that the written judgments can continue to do this, and that holistic judgments are not captured by metrics. There is therefore a question whether metric and written submission data can be better balanced in Model B.” Plus some credibility issues with Model A
Melanie Rimmer, chief planner at Goldsmiths, University of London, ponders the likely outcomes of the subject-level TEF consultation. “Model B best meets the primary intention of Subject-Level TEF – that being to provide greater information to students – since it allows for greater variation between outcomes for subjects. However, highlighting variation in provision will only be attractive to institutions where that differentiation is a better rating than the current provider-level rating. If you want to hide weaker performance, then opt for Model A. The main argument in favour of Model A is that it will reduce the burden of submission and assessment. That will be attractive to institutions which, having been through the exercise once and established their credentials, perceive the requirements of TEF as an unnecessary additional imposition that will deliver minimal return. Solid Golds and Silvers are likely to prefer Model A for this reason. Those at the borders of the ratings, with an eye on how close they are to moving between them, are more likely to see value in the greater effort required by Model B.” “Those which are unlikely to see their rating change, or indeed which might see their metrics moving in the wrong direction and worry about a lesser rating, will naturally support longer duration awards. Those hoping to gain a shinier medal as a result of improving performance will see value in more regular submissions.” “There are, however, bound to be areas of common ground on the consultation proposals. Every institution I have spoken to has identified a problem with the subject classifications, highlighting why combining disciplines X and Y makes no sense in their institution. However, in each case the disciplines cited are different because the issues stem primarily from institutional structures.”
Stephanie Harris of Universities UK (UUK) looks ahead to the future of TEF and the forthcoming statutory review of the exercise.
Claire Taylor of Wrexham Glyndŵr University looks at TEF from a quality enhancement perspective and considers the options for institutions in devolved nations. “perhaps the very act of putting together the written submission also provides an opportunity for us to engage with an enhancement agenda. By reflecting upon TEF metric performance within the written submission, providers have an opportunity to outline the qualitative evidence base in relation to enhancement, evaluation and impact, within the context of their own overall institutional strategic approach to improving the student experience”. But: “the introduction of grade inflation metrics during TEF3 is of questionable value. Such a metric does not consider the contexts within which providers are operating. Providers have robust and detailed mechanisms for ensuring fair and equitable assessment of student work, including the use of external examiners to calibrate sector-wide, a system that contributes positively to the enhancement agenda and to which the grade inflation metric adds little value.”, and “The consultation asks for views around the introduction of a measure of teaching intensity. In my view, the proposed measure has no meaning and no connection to excellence, value or quality, let alone enhancement. There is the potential for the information to be misleading as it will need specialist and careful interpretation”
with an updated TEF diagram, “The Incredible Machine”, David Kernohan and Ant Bagshaw look at TEF3 and question its compatibility with the earlier versions of the exercise. “So what – honestly – is TEF now for? It doesn’t adequately capture the student experience or the quality of teaching. It does not confer any benefit – other than a questionable marketing boost – to providers, and there is no evidence that students are making serious use of it to choose courses, universities, or colleges. Internationally, concerns have already been raised that the three-level ratings are confusing – it’s been widely reported that “Bronze” institutions are often not considered to meet the UK’s laudably stringent teaching quality thresholds. And it is not even a reliable time series – a TEF3 Gold is now achievable by an institution that would not have passed the test under TEF2 rules. Later iterations may well be built “ground up” from subject TEF assessments, once again changing the rules fundamentally. Let’s not even mention TEF1 (it’s OK, no-one ever does) in this context.”
From Dods: The Science and Technology Committee have published its report from the Algorithms in decision-making inquiry which acknowledges the huge opportunities presented by algorithms to the public sector and wider society, but also the potential for their decisions to disproportionately affect certain groups.
Press Release: Committee sets the agenda for new algorithmic ethics agency
Full Report PDF: Algorithms in decision making
Report Summary: Link
Report Conclusions and Recommendations: Link
The report calls on the Centre for Data Ethics & Innovation – being set up by the Government – to examine algorithm biases and transparency tools, determine the scope for individuals to be able to challenge the results of all significant algorithmic decisions which affect them (such as mortgages and loans) and where appropriate to seek redress for the impacts of such decisions. Where algorithms significantly adversely affect the public or their rights, the Committee highlights that a combination of algorithmic explanation and as much transparency as possible is needed.
It also calls for the Government to provide better oversight of private sector algorithms which use public sector datasets, and look at how best to monetise these datasets to improve outcomes across Government. The Committee also recommends that the Government should:
Continue to make public sector datasets available for both ‘big data’ developers and algorithm developers through new ‘data trusts’, and make better use of its databases to improve public service delivery
Produce, maintain and publish a list of where algorithms are being used within Central Government, or are planned to be used, to aid transparency, and identify a ministerial champion with oversight of public sector algorithm use.
Commission a review from the Crown Commercial Service which sets out a model for private/public sector involvement in developing algorithms.
Social Mobility Commission
Under the 10 minute rule, the Chair of the Education Committee Robert Halfon introduced legislation to give greater powers and resources to the Social Mobility Commission (SMC), the body set up to promote social justice. (Link here at 13.52.09pm). It will have its second reading on 15th June.
The Committee published a draft Bill in March alongside its report. In its report, the Committee called for the establishment of a new implementation body at the heart of Government to drive forward the social justice agenda.
And in the meantime, the Government have announced a recommendation for a new Chair. Dame Martina Milburn has spent 14 years as Chief Executive of the Prince’s Trust, supporting more than 450,000 disadvantaged young people across the country in that time, with three in four of these going on to work, education or training. She is also a non-executive director of the National Citizen Service and the Capital City College Group, and was previously Chief Executive of BBC Children in Need and of the Association of Spinal Injury Research, Rehabilitation and Reintegration.
From Dods: Last Friday the Science and Technology Committee announced that it intends to develop its own proposals for immigration and visa rules for scientists post-Brexit. This work follows the Government’s rejection of the Committee’s call for the conclusions of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) relating to science to be brought forward to form part of an ‘early deal’ for science and innovation.
News Story: An immigration system that works for science and innovation inquiry launched
Inquiry Page: An immigration system that works for science and innovation inquiry
The Committee published its report on “Brexit, Science and Innovation” in March, and has recently received the Government’s response. The report welcomed the Prime Minister’s call for a “far-reaching pact” with the EU on science and innovation and recommended that an early deal for science—including on the ‘people’ element—could set a positive tone for the rest of the trade negotiations, given the mutual benefits of cooperation on science and innovation for the UK and the EU.
The Committee will draw on the submissions to its previous Brexit inquiry and the sector’s submissions to the MAC to construct its proposals for the immigration system, but further input to this process is welcome on the following points:
If an early deal for science and innovation could be negotiated, what specifically should it to contain in relation to immigration rules and movement of people involved with science and innovation?
What are the specific career needs of scientists in relation to movement of people, both in terms of attracting and retaining the people the UK needs and supporting the research that they do?
What aspects of the ‘people’ element need to be negotiated with the EU-27, as opposed to being simply decided on by the Government?
On what timescale is clarity needed in relation to future immigration rules in order to support science and innovation in the UK?
Tags: ageing society artificial intelligence Big data Brexit clean growth environment environmental sustainability immigration industrial strategy social mobility subject level TEF TEF
BU research, EU, Funding opportunities, Impact, policy, Research communication, Research news, Research Training, RKE development framework, Training, Uncategorized jforster
Summit on BME Leadership in HE
This event was hosted by AdvanceHE, the new agency that was formed recently to include the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, the Higher Education Academy and the Equality Challenge Unit.
Wonkhe have pointed out that:
“So far only 45 out of 167 higher education institutions have signed the Advance HE Race Equality Charter’s principles [BU is one of them]. Of those 45, only nine have actually been formally recognised for demonstrating evidence of their commitment. The first wave of eight 2015 Charter award holders are reapplying for accreditation this summer.”
Baroness Valerie Amos spoke at this event on 16th May and also wrote in the Guardian. about leadership.
“There are deep-seated prejudices and stereotypes which need to be overcome. University leaders need to acknowledge that we are not doing enough. The UK has some of the best universities in the world – but what is the point of that if we are not offering real equality of opportunity?”
Also in the Guardian on Wednesday was an article by Shakira Martin, President of the NUS, who spoke at the same event.
“This year has also seen black students fighting back, rising up, taking to the streets, starting campaigns and writing powerful letters, like the three brave students from the University of Exeter, to say enough is enough. However, the onus should not be on them to tackle discrimination. The sector is pretty good at sharing best practice. This is one area where distinct, hardline initiatives are needed in abundance. Institutions must be bold. It only takes one or two to get serious about dealing with the issue head-on and others will follow suit.”
Launch of UKRI
UK research and Innovation have published its Strategic Prospectus which create a research and innovation system that is fit for the future and equipped to tackle the environmental, social and economic challenges of the 21st Century. As the press release outlines, the prospectus is the start of this process and over the next 12 months UKRI and its councils will continue to engage with their communities, the wider public, and undertake research, to further develop individual strategic delivery plans. Please see the following links for more information:
Press release: UKRI will ensure everyone in society benefits from world-leading research and innovation
UK Research and Innovation (PDF) – Strategic Prospectus: Building the UKRI Strategy
UK Research and Innovation (Web) – Strategic Prospectus: Building the UKRI Strategy
UKRI will work with its partners to push the frontiers of human knowledge, deliver economic prosperity, and create social and cultural impact. It describes four underpinning areas key to delivering this:
Leading talent – nurturing the pipeline of current and future talent
A trusted and diverse system – driving a culture of equality, diversity and inclusivity and promoting the highest standards of research, collaboration and integrity
Global Britain – identifying and supporting the best opportunities for international collaboration
Infrastructure – delivering internationally-competitive infrastructure to ensure we have the best facilities to foster innovation and conduct research
Over the coming months, UKRI will be conducting research and consultation to further develop its approach to working with others and to answer a series of big questions. These include how to grow the economy across different regions of the UK whilst continuing to expand our existing world-leading excellence; how to reduce the gap in productivity and the best approaches to developing talent across the diverse population of the UK, providing the skills needs of the future.
UKRI Chief Executive Professor Sir Mark Walport said:
“Our Strategic Prospectus has been developed to ensure that everyone in society benefits from the knowledge, innovation, talent and ideas generated from our funding. UK Research and Innovation builds on the excellence of our individual councils. We will work collaboratively with researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs to develop the most exciting ideas and innovative technologies and bring these to fruition. Delivering this success will take commitment, a collective effort and new, ambitious ways of working.”
Vision: • We will push the frontiers of human knowledge and understanding. • We will deliver economic impact • We will create social and cultural impact by supporting society to become enriched, healthier, more resilient and sustainable.
Values: Collaboration, Excellence, Innovation, Integrity
On talent: We will:
Seek to increase skills at all levels, to maintain a broad disciplinary skills base, and work with partners to identify key skills gaps and build capacity. We will support vocational education and apprenticeships alongside more traditional pathways through higher education. • Support individuals to move between business and research careers, creating opportunities to develop careers in ways that stimulate creativity and innovation.
Back universities to develop vibrant research environments which act as magnets to attract and nurture talent.
Support multidisciplinary teams when these are needed to conduct research and innovation. This will require the creation of more highly valued roles for technologists, data scientists and others for the teams that are needed to tackle tough challenges.
Promote continuing professional development, accompanied by lifelong learning and training throughout the careers of researchers and innovators.
On the system: We will:
Drive change, both as an employer and through our research and innovation funding. • Embed equality, diversity and inclusion at all levels and in all that we do.
Seek to create a culture that facilitates and safeguards the opportunities for all to be respected and treated fairly.
Take an evidence-based approach, commissioning and funding research and evaluations to understand the issues, what interventions work – and what does not work. • Collaborate and engage with partners nationally and internationally, to gather evidence and ideas, to help catalyse and facilitate change.
On Research culture: We will prioritise four related areas:
Research and innovation ethics – norms that define acceptable behaviour and practice
Conduct – the use of honest and verifiable methods in proposing, performing, and evaluating research
Reproducibility – the ability to achieve commensurate results when an experiment is conducted by an independent researcher under similar conditions
Analysis of funding mechanisms and metrics and their impact on culture
On transparency: We will:
Identify the highest value areas where UKRI can drive improvements to the open research system in the near to mid-term.
Build on the expertise in Councils and the wider community to identify technological innovations that could transform open research.
Engage with Government and external groups to ensure the UK continues to play a leading role in the international open research movement
Haldane Principle:
“(page 9): 3 In engaging with UKRI, BEIS will have regard to the Haldane principle …..The HER Act defines more precisely how the Haldane principle will apply with respect to UKRI. For the science and humanities councils…. section 103 sets out that the Haldane principle is the principle that decisions on individual research proposals are best taken following an evaluation of the quality and likely impact of the proposals (such as a peer review process). Section 97 provides equivalent measures for the activities of Research England. Strategic, long term decision making requires input from both subject matter experts and central government, as explained in the written ministerial statement. This includes investment in large capital infrastructure and research treaties. The Haldane principle does not apply to the government’s funding of innovation and the activities of Innovate UK.”
From Dods, referring to an article in Politico: May intervenes to speed up new UK immigration plan. The Government have purportedly brought forward plans to publish the Immigration White Paper before the summer recess. This new timetable, if accurate, means the White Paper will be published before the long-awaited Migration Advisory Committee’s report into the economics of immigration, due to be published in September. Formerly, Home Office officials had said this report would inform Government immigration policy, justifying the long delay in publishing the White Paper.
More definitely, the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee have announced a new inquiry into “an immigration system that works for science and innovation”.
“The Committee published its report on “Brexit, Science and Innovation” in March, and has recently received the Government’s response. The report welcomed the Prime Minister’s call for a “far-reaching pact” with the EU on science and innovation. We had recommended that an early deal for science—including on the ‘people’ element—could set a positive tone for the rest of the trade negotiations, given the mutual benefits of cooperation on science and innovation for the UK and the EU. The Committee now intends to produce its own proposals for an immigration system that works for science and innovation, with the aim of completing this in advance of the MAC’s report later this year.”
The Committee Chair, Rt Hon Norman Lamb MP, said:
“It was disappointing that the Government doesn’t see the need to secure an early science pact, and assumes that scientists are happy to just wait and see what’s in the Immigration Bill next year. We’re going to roll up our sleeves now and set out our proposals for an immigration system that works for the science and innovation sector.”
“Today’s revelation that more than 1,600 IT specialists and engineers offered jobs in the UK were denied visas between December and March sends the message that the UK is not interested in welcoming science talent at the moment. The Government needs to work quickly to correct that impression.
The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 6 June 2018 – please contact policy@bournemouth.ac.uk if you would like to submit evidence to this inquiry.
Post-18 review
The Secretary of State for Education has written to the Chair of the Education Committee about the HE review:
“You asked for clarification on how the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding will inform my department’s preparations for the next spending review, particularly with regard to further education. The Spending Review 2019 will provide an opportunity to set budgets and fund government priorities across the whole DfE remit from 2020-21 onwards. The Department’s preparation for the Spending Review will include consideration of any recommendations from the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding.”
I presented this week on engaging with policy makers, part of a regular series of workshops that we run at BU for academic and professional support staff. Read my blog here.
And while we’re talking about the “what”…did you know that government departments publish their areas of research interest? This is a guide to where research funds might go, and is useful if you are thinking about policy impact. The collection is here, and four new ones were added on Thursday:
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The DCMS one says “It is designed to encourage researchers and academics to explore those topics that could be of benefit to DCMS and our sectors and act as a starting point for future collaboration.”
Digital Health, Life Sciences
The government have published the annual report from the Bioscience and health technology sector database for 2017 – there are some interesting graphics and context for the strategic investment areas:
There is scope for an argument about focus on place for the industrial strategy here – the detailed maps in the main report highlight the weakness in the South West but opportunity for Bournemouth given our location almost in the South East and close to London.
Digital Health – strength and opportunity
Medical Technology – strength and opportunity
And out on Monday, this report from the National Centre for Universities and Business:
“To compete, the UK must ensure that its universities are as embedded into the digital health knowledge exchange process as those in California and Massachusetts. Furthermore, as the UK cannot outspend the US, our systems for procurement and deployment into the NHS, and the high quality of research in UK universities, must be connected more effectively in the ecosystem. We noted earlier that patients and consumers are willing to share their data for research – although there is a sensible debate about opt-in versus opt-out, and patient control over what might be shared – but there remain significant standardisation challenges across primary and secondary care systems that must be overcome to drive research excellence.”
Postgraduate loans and numbers
New data from the Office for Students shows an increase in postgraduate masters’ student numbers since the introduction of the postgraduate masters’ loan. · Read the news item in full on the Office for Students website.
The effect of postgraduate loans data – key findings (the survey uses HESA data)
In 2016-17 postgraduate masters’ loans of up to £10,000 were introduced to assist students with tuition fees and living costs.
In 2016-17 there was an overall increase in entrant numbers but only for students to eligible courses. The number for non-eligible courses decreased. Single-year transition rates straight from undergraduate degree to postgraduate study saw a similar increase in students to eligible courses.
Age: The largest increase in entrant numbers on eligible courses and increase in transition rates have been for students aged 25 and under. Overall, the age profile of entrants to postgraduate study has changed slightly, with a larger proportion of younger students than in previous years.
Gender: Male and female entrant numbers on eligible courses both show an increase. Similarly, there has been no difference between the genders in transition rates or loan take-up.
Ethnicity: There has been a larger increase in entrant numbers on eligible courses for black students than for white students, which has resulted in a change in the ethnic composition of the postgraduate entrant population. The proportion of postgraduate entrants on eligible courses who are black has increased from 8 per cent in 2015-16 to 11 per cent in 2016-17.
Disability: Disabled students comprised 12 per cent of the entrant population on eligible courses in 2015-16. However this has increased to 15 per cent in 2016-17.
Educational disadvantage: The proportional increase in entrant numbers on eligible courses, and increases in one-year transition rates, has been greatest for students from the lowest-participation areas. This means that those from the lowest undergraduate participation areas are now more likely to enter postgraduate study immediately after undergraduate study than those from the highest participation areas.
The proportion of students who were eligible for a loan and took one out was greatest among:
students aged 25 and under on entry
students who declared a disability
students from lowest-participation areas.
For all student groups, the proportion of graduates able to realise their intention to continue postgraduate studies has increased. However, the increase was greatest among:
students aged 26 and over
The Intentions After Graduation Survey data., key points:
Between January and April 2017 final year undergraduates on first degree courses were invited to answer the survey about their intentions after graduation. Overall, nearly 83,000 final year students from 268 UK higher education providers that take part in the National Student Survey (NSS) responded to the Intentions After Graduation Survey. This analysis focuses on almost 70,000 students at 238 English providers.
While the students’ most frequent intention within six months from graduation is to ‘look for a job’ (around 50 per cent of respondents each year), there is a clear upward trend in the percentage of students who intend to undertake postgraduate (PG) study. Among 2016-17 respondents, more than one student out of five selected ‘further study’ as their intention after graduation.
For all students, the intention to continue studying becomes greater further in the future (i.e. more than six months after graduation). Of students who are certain or likely to study at PG level in the future, 55 per cent intend to look for a job or have already been offered a job when surveyed.
In terms of motivation, almost 70 per cent of the students who intend or are likely to continue studying selected ‘interest in the subject’ as a reason for their intention. Only 35 per cent of the students would continue to study, among other reasons, to get a better job or to open up more career choices.
Female students are more likely to intend to continue to study than male students, as are black students relative to other ethnic groups. Also, young students from the lowest-participation areas are more likely to state an intention to continue study relative to those from higher-participation areas
The Office for Students is recruiting for its committees – provider risk, quality assessment and risk and audit.
Care leavers will be boosted by a new £1,000 bursary payment if they choose to do an apprenticeship from August 2018, the Government announced on 17 May
Tags: BME Digital Health equality and diversity HE review immigration inclusivity life sciences Office for Students policy impact postgraduate students Review of fees and funding Student loans UKRI
HE policy update for the w/e 29th March 2018
Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, Impact, innovation, international, policy, Research news, Student Engagement jforster
The Creative Industries Sector Deal has been announced. You can read the document here.
The press release says:
As part of a Creative Industries Sector Deal, to be announced today by the Digital and Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Co-Chair of the CIC, Nicola Mendelsohn, more than £150 million is being jointly invested by government and industry to help cultural and creative businesses across Britain thrive.
A Cultural Development Fund will also be launched for cities and towns to bid for a share of £20 million to invest in creative and cultural initiatives. The power of culture and creative industries to boost economic growth is evident across the country…[NB Bournemouth is identified as high growth]
The Sector Deal aims to double Britain’s share of the global creative immersive content market by 2025, which is expected to be worth over £30 billion by 2025. To seize on the opportunity of this expanding market, government is investing over £33 million in immersive technologies such as virtual reality video games, interactive art shows and augmented reality experiences in tourism.
Britain is already leading the way in developing immersive technologies. PWC has predicted that the UK’s virtual reality industry will grow at a faster rate than any other entertainment and media industry between 2016 to 2021, reaching £801 million in value, and that by 2021 there will be 16 million virtual reality headsets in use in the UK.
Improving the nations skills is at the heart of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy and to ensure the industry has the skilled workers it needs to deliver this, up to £2 million will be made available to kickstart an industry-led skills package, including a creative careers programme which will reach at least 2,000 schools and 600,000 pupils in 2 years. A new London Screen Academy, with places for up to 1000 students, will also open in 2019.
New Quality Code published
After a consultation proposing changes to the UK Quality Code for HE, (you can read BU’s response here) the QAA have published the new, very short Code. There’s some commentary on Wonkhe here. It really is short – in a 7 page document there is only one real page of content – but there is more guidance to come.
HE Review
To inform our BU response to the HE Review all staff and students are invited to consider the issues in this (anonymous) 5-minute survey. Please take a look at the survey questions as we’d like to hear from as many staff and students as possible. You don’t have to answer all the questions! The major review of HE will shape the HE system, including how universities are funded for years to come. The survey will be available to staff and students until Friday 20th April.
The Department for Education also published a research report by Youthsight on the influence of finance on higher education decision making
Amongst its findings:
University was the only option considered by the majority of applicants (75 per cent), especially those applying to the higher-tariff universities (78 per cent). This was consistent across socio-economic backgrounds. Getting a job and travelling were the main alternatives considered by applicants
Financial factors were not the biggest influence on the final decision to apply to university. The most important factors were the desires to be more employable, to achieve the qualification and to pursue an interest in a subject. This was the case for applicants from both the higher and the lower socio-economic groups.
Lower socio-economic group applicants placed a higher importance on grants, bursaries and living costs than applicants from higher socio-economic groups, although finance still remained a secondary influence on their decision to apply to university.
The course offered (82 per cent of applicants), university reputation (58 per cent), and potential for high future earnings (41 per cent) were the most commonly cited major influences on applicants’ choices about where to study.
Differences in bursaries offered, tuition fees charged and the ability to continue living at home were secondary factors when choosing where to study. These factors accounted for three of the bottom four of eleven factors tested that might influence which university to choose. However, they were more important for lower socio-economic group applicants.
The maintenance loan, repayment threshold and particularly maintenance grants and university assistance were more important to members of the lower socio-economic group than the higher socio-economic group in alleviating cost concerns.
And the government have published the outcomes of their 2014/15 student income and expenditure survey. There is a lot of data and there are lots of interesting charts, including figure 2.6 (the influence of financial support on my decisions), table 3.7 (what support English domiciled students received by mode of study), figure 4.3 (breakdown of total student expenditure (this one excludes the tuition fee but there is also a chart that includes it), figure 4.4 (total expenditure and housing costs).
The data from both these reports will be pored over to support responses to the HE review.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights has published its report into free speech in universities. The Committee has also published its own guidance for universities and students:
Press Release: Serious barriers limit free speech in universities
Report (PDF): Freedom of Speech in Universities
Report: Summary
Report: Conclusions and recommendations
Guidance: Free speech: guidance for universities and students organising events
Charity Commission Response: Charity Commission responds to Joint Committee on Human Rights
The Committee don’t identify many actual cases of free speech having been prevented but note a “chilling effect” (it’s hard to prove a negative, of course). The report identifies factors that potentially limit free speech in universities:
regulatory complexity
intolerant attitudes, often incorrectly using the banner of “no-platforming” and “safe-space” policies
incidents of unacceptable intimidating behaviour by protestors intent on preventing free speech and debate
student Unions being overly cautious for fear of breaking the rules
unnecessary bureaucracy imposed on those organising events
fear and confusion over what the Prevent Duty entails
unduly complicated and cautious guidance from the Charity Commission.
That an independent review of the Prevent policy is necessary to assess what impact it is having on students and free speech, after evidence the Committee took demonstrated an adverse effect on events with student faith groups
That the Charity Commission, which regulates student unions as registered charities, review its approach and guidance, and that its actions are proportionate and are adequately explained to student unions and don’t unnecessarily limit free speech
That the Office for Students should ensure university policies proactively secure lawful free speech and are not overly burdensome
That student societies should not stop other student societies from holding their meetings. They have the right to protest but must not seek to stop events entirely
That while there must be opportunities for genuinely sensitive discussions, and that the whole of the university cannot be a “safe space.” Universities must be places where open debate can take place so that students can develop their own opinions on unpopular, controversial or provocative ideas
Groups or individuals holding unpopular opinions which are within the law should not be shut down nor be subject to undue additional scrutiny by student unions or universities.
Chair of the Committee, Harriet Harman MP, said:
“Freedom of speech within the law should mean just that – and it is vital in universities. Evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights showed that there is a problem of inhibition of free speech in universities. While media reporting has focussed on students inhibiting free speech – and in our report we urge universities to take action to prevent that – free speech is also inhibited by university bureaucracy and restrictive guidance from the Charity Commission. We want students themselves to know their rights to free speech and that’s why we’ve issued a guide for students today.”
Some particular points to note:
41 The imposition of unreasonable conditions is an interference on free speech rights. We do not, for example, consider it a reasonable condition that, if a speaker gives an assurance that their speech will be lawful, they be required to submit a copy or outline of their speech in advance.
42 In our view, freedom of expression is unduly interfered with:
when protests become so disruptive that they prevent the speakers from speaking or intimidate those attending;
if student groups are unable to invite speakers purely because other groups protest and oppose their appearance; and
if students are deterred from inviting speakers by complicated processes and bureaucratic procedures.
It is clear that, although not widespread, all these problems do occur and they should not be tolerated.
60 Whilst there must be opportunities for genuinely sensitive and confidential discussions in university settings, and whilst the original intention behind safe space policies may have been to ensure that minority or vulnerable groups can feel secure, in practice the concept of safe spaces has proved problematic, often marginalising the views of minority groups. They need to co-exist with and respect free speech. They cannot cover the whole of the university or university life without impinging on rights to free speech under Article 10. When that happens, people are moving from the need to have a “safe space” to seeking to prevent the free speech of those whose views they disagree with. Minority groups or individuals holding unpopular opinions which are within the law should not be shut down nor be subject to undue additional scrutiny by student unions or universities.
91 Universities must strike a balance to ensure they respect both their legal duty to protect free speech and their other legal duties to ensure that speech is lawful, to comply with equalities legislation and to safeguard students. It is clearly easier to achieve this if debate is carried out in a respectful and open way. But the right to free speech goes beyond this, and universities need to give it proper emphasis. Indeed, unless it is clearly understood that those exercising their rights to free speech within the law will not be shut down, there will be no incentive for their opponents to engage them in the debate and therefore to bring the challenge that is needed to develop mutual understanding and maybe even to change attitudes.
93 It is reasonable for there to be some basic processes in place so that student unions and universities know about external speakers. Codes of practice on freedom of speech should facilitate freedom of speech, as was their original purpose, and not unduly restrict it. Universities should not surround requests for external speaker meetings with undue bureaucracy. Nor should unreasonable conditions be imposed by universities or student unions on external speakers, such as a requirement to submit their speeches in advance, if they give an assurance these will be lawful.
Migration Advisory Committee report on EEA and non EEA workers
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has published its interim update on the impact of EEA and non-EEA workers in UK labour market. This is the first MAC inquiry of two – the second one is the one about students, this was more general and about workers across all sectors.
The update sets out a summary of the views expressed by employers and of the regional issues raised. They add that “these themes seem the best way of summarising the views expressed to us but should not be taken to imply that the MAC endorses a sectoral and/or regional approach to post-Brexit migration policy.” The MAC has also published the responses to their call for evidence, broken down by sector.
Report (PDF): EEA-workers in the UK labour market: Interim Update
Call for Evidence: Responses by Sector
Call for Evidence: Education Sector
The report includes the following findings:
The vast majority of employers do not deliberately seek to fill vacancies with migrant workers. They seek the best available candidate.
Employers often reported skill shortages as one reason for employing EEA migrants.
Many EEA workers are in jobs requiring a high level of skill that take years to acquire. But, some of the claims about necessary skill levels seemed exaggerated.
Within occupations, EEA migrants are better educated than their UK-born counterparts.
The MAC view is that, from the economic perspective this does amount to saying that it is sometimes possible to hire a given quality of worker for lower wages if they are an EEA migrant than if they are UK-born.
To the extent that EEA migrants are paid lower wages than the UK-born this may result in lower prices, benefitting UK consumers. Our final report will also consider these possible impacts.
Many responses argued that a more restrictive migration policy would lead to large numbers of unfilled vacancies. The MAC view is that this is unlikely in anything other than the short-term.
The MAC view is that it is important to be clear about what the consequences of restricting migration would be.
Research bodies update
This week is the launch of UKRI – it is worth looking at their objectives.
.The Council for Innovate UK has been announced. The members are:
Sir Harpal Kumar, who will serve as Senior Independent Member through his role as UK Research and Innovation’s Innovation Champion and work closely with the board
Dr Arnab Basu MBE, Chief Executive, Kromek Group plc
Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE FREng FRS (Julia King)
Professor Juliet Davenport OBE, Chief Executive, Good Energy
Dr John Fingleton, Chief Executive, Fingleton Associates
Priya Guha, Ecosystem General Manager, RocketSpace UK
Dr Elaine Jones, Vice President, Pfizer Ventures
Professor John Latham, Vice-Chancellor of Coventry University
Sir William Sargent, Chief Executive, Framestore
Stephen Welton, Chief Executive, Business Growth Fund
The REF panels have also been announced – follow this link to see the lists.
Q Andrew Percy MP
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that prospective undergraduates understand the potential effect of their choice of course on their prospects post-graduation.
A Sam Gyimah MP The department is working to make destinations and outcomes data more accessible to prospective students, to help them compare opportunities and make informed choices about where and what to study.
On the 12 March 2018, I announced an Open Data Competition. It will use government data on higher education providers so that tech companies and coders can create websites to help prospective students decide where to apply. This competition will build on the government’s Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) dataset, which gives information on employment and salaries after graduation.
Alongside this, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has requested that the Office for Students include LEO data on the Unistats website as soon as possible.
Q Angela Rayner MP To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the value of plan 1 student loans that will not be repaid.
A: Sam Gyimah MP: It is estimated that the value of the plan 1 student loan book that will not be repaid was £13.1 billion as at 31 March 2017, when future repayments are valued in present terms. The face value of the plan 1 student loan book was £42.8 billion at this time. This information is in the public domain and published on page 155 of the Department for Education’s 2016-17 Annual Report and Accounts which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfe-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017.
Q Angela Rayner MP: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the written ministerial statement of 31 October 2017 on government asset sale, HCWS205, what methodology his Department used to decide which loans from the plan 1 loan book would be sold.
A Sam Gyimah MP: The loans sold in December 2017 were a selection of loans from the plan 1 loan book issued by English Local Authorities that entered repayment between 2002 and 2006.
These loans had the longest history of repayments, the longest servicing history and the most accurate data on borrowers’ historic earnings. This information allowed the government to most accurately value these loans for sale.
The government’s objective when issuing loans to students is to allow them to pursue their education regardless of their personal financial situation. Once this objective has been met, however, retaining the loans on the government’s balance sheet serves no policy purpose. These loans could be sold precisely because they have achieved their original policy objective of supporting students to access higher education.
Pursuant to Section 4 of the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008, a report on the sale arrangements was deposited in the House libraries on 7 December 2017 (deposit reference DEP2017-0778): https://www.parliament.uk/depositedpapers.
Q: Angela Rayner MP: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the written statement of 6 December 2017 on Government Asset Sake, HCWS317, what assessment he has made of the net fiscal effect of the sale of the student loan book after accounting for reduced income arising from lost repayments.
A: Sam Gyimah MP: The government only sells assets when it can secure value for money for taxpayers from doing so. In assessing the value for money of the sale, the government took into account repayments foregone on the loans sold. In executing the sale, we achieved a price that exceeded the retention value of the loans sold, calculated in line with standard HM Treasury green book methodology.
Selling financial assets, like student loans, where there is no policy reason to retain them, where value for money can be secured and where borrowers are not impacted is sound asset management. The sale ensures government resources are being put to best use and is an important part of our plan to repair public finances.
Tags: creative industries free speech freedom of speech HE review immigration Industial Strategy Innovate UK Migration QAA quality code ref2021 student finance Student loans UKRI widening participation
HE policy update for the w/e 1st December 2017
BU research, Business Engagement, EU, Funding opportunities, Fusion, Fusion themes, HEIF, Impact, innovation, international, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Knowledge Transfer Partnership, PG research, policy, Public engagement, Research assessment, Research news, Uncategorized jforster
The KEF is coming
On 1st December, HEFCE launched a consultation on the new Knowledge Exchange Framework – the KEF – which was announced earlier in the Autumn by the Jo Johnson – as the “third leg” of the HE stool*. Putting aside the rather unflattering stool analogy, we prefer to think of this as the third side of the Fusion triangle. (For those of you who have not yet looked at the staff consultation on the BU2025 strategy, spoiler alert – the proposed new Fusion device is more of a vaguely triangular swirl. Much more inclusive and dynamic. And better colours than the red and yellow of the previous one.) But anyway, knowledge exchange is an important part of what we do at BU and this is important.
The consultation, which closes at the end of January, will give us a chance to contribute to the design of this framework. The HEFCE press release says “The KEF metrics system will provide more information for the public and businesses on the performance of universities in knowledge exchange – how they share knowledge, expertise and other assets for the benefit of the economy and society. The aim is to provide regularly updated data that enables fair comparison between institutions’ performance in knowledge exchange. This will help to support further improvements in universities and promote accountability, responsiveness to economic and societal needs and effective use of public funds.”
So much like the TEF this is being pitched as being about value for money and choice (for those interested in funding research or choosing where to work). And, like the REF (indirectly), and as with the TEF (at least as originally planned – more on this later), there are cash incentives for universities to do well in this new framework via HEIF funding.
“The KEF metrics will help support the Industrial Strategy, which includes the commitment announced on 27 November to increase Higher Education Innovation Funding to £250 million by 2020-21. This increase will allow Universities to work with businesses of all sizes to support the delivery of the Industrial Strategy in diverse ways.”
And of course, like the TEF, the key to all of it is the metrics. A metrics working group has been established – details of the people are below.
There are only 5 questions, as follows.
What approaches and data need to be used to ensure a fair and meaningful comparison between different universities, taking into account factors that might impact individual institution’s knowledge exchange performance (such as research income, size or local economic conditions), whilst allowing identification of relative performance? How should benchmarking be used?
Other than HE-BCI survey data, what other existing sources of data could be used to inform a framework, and how should it be used?
What new (or not currently collected) data might be useful to such a framework?
How should KEF metrics be visualised to ensure they are simple, transparent and useful to a non-specialist audience?
This is a bit of a concern. If it measures research income, there is a great risk of it being circular – and therefore not inclusive across the sector. This would conflict with the principles behind the Industrial Strategy – which are about focussing on areas of strength – wherever they are. We would prefer it not to be entirely metrics based (as we said for the TEF – where the written submission became a key part of the process and had a significant impact on the outcome in some cases).
Questions 2 and 3 are the opportunities to get into this debate – even through the questions are framed as questions about metrics. The letter from the Minister commissioning the work is a bit more helpful: “The design process should: …
Consider whether additional metrics can be devised and collected to provide a more comprehensive view of the effectiveness of universities’ external engagement, whilst having regard to the burden and cost of collection.
Take into account factors that might impact individual universities’ knowledge exchange performance, such as the university’s research income, size or local economic conditions, to ensure comparability between institutions …”
We will be working with RKEO to draft a BU response to this, so please contact policy@bournemouth.ac.uk if you would like to contribute to this process.
The key people involved: “The technical group, chaired by Professor Richard Jones FRS, University of Sheffield, will advise HEFCE and later RE on the design and delivery of the new KEF metrics system. The group’s members have been chosen to provide expertise in knowledge exchange metrics and external insights on performance. The members of the KEF metrics technical advisory group are:
Chair: Professor Richard Jones, FRS, Professor of Physics, University of Sheffield. EPSRC Council Member.
Tomas Coates Ulrichsen, Research Associate, Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation, University of Cambridge.
Alice Frost, Head of Knowledge Exchange policy, HEFCE / Research England.
Alice Hu Wagner, Managing Director for Strategy, Economics and Markets, British Business Bank.
Professor Graeme Reid, Professor of Science and Research Policy, University College London. Member of the Research England Council.
Mr Peter Saraga CBE, FREng, Senior Independent Member on the Research England Council. Former Managing Director of Philips Research Laboratories UK, Chair of HEFCE’s UKRPIF panel, and formerly President of the Institute of Physics and Vice-President of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Stian Westlake, Policy Adviser to the Minister for State for Universities, Research and Innovation at Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
BEIS observer: Carolyn Reeve / Thomas Crawley.
HEFCE / Office for Students observers: Mario Ferelli, Richard Puttock
Higher Educations Statistics Agency (HESA) observer: Andy Youell, Director of Data Policy and Governance, HESA.
Head of secretariat: Hamish McAlpine, HEFCE / Research England
Professor Trevor McMillan, Vice-Chancellor of Keele University, has been leading work on the principles and good practices of university knowledge exchange since 2015. He will continue to do so, including providing advice to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). For the KEF metrics system, Professor McMillan and his university expert group will advise on the value of the exercise for good practice development within universities”.
*(with REF and TEF – we’re in TLA chaos. Even though the TEF is now TESOF (SO = student outcomes) but we’re not allowed to call it that). Arguably as has been noted elsewhere, the KEF should be KEEF – Knowledge Exchange Excellence Framework). As we have also noted before, many voices have suggested that the OfS should be the OfSHE (Office for Students and Higher Education). But TLAs are the thing, it seems).
And…the major review of fees and funding….
We have discussed the options for fees and funding a lot recently, as the “national debate” that followed the election was continued over the summer and the debate shifted to whether there would be a review or not after the Conservative Party Conference in October. The Minister told Wonkfest in early November to watch for it in the budget, but no…. The BBC reported on 1st December that it is actually happening – so please keep watching this space.
Future of skills and lifelong learning report
The Government Office for Science have issued the Future of Skills and Lifelong Learning report. In 112 pages it sets out a pathway to develop skills in the UK to support the Industrial Strategy, productivity and improve wages (and health and wellbeing along the way).
The focus on workplace learning, placements and work experience, and the role of extra-curricular activities are very interesting and consistent with the BU approach in many ways – so this is interesting for us. It also raises interesting questions about supply and demand and information flows.
To quote from the executive summary:
“Young adults in the UK have relatively poor literacy and numeracy and there are signs that we are falling further behind international competitors. …Seven OECD countries have numeracy scores equal to or higher than the UK for all age groups, and the number of countries increases considerably if the UK’s high-performing 60-65 age group is excluded. Literacy for UK 16-19 year-olds is ahead of only Chile and Turkey among a group of 24 (mostly OECD) countries. Literacy and numeracy performance varies between UK regions, with London and the South East achieving the highest scores …There is also evidence of intergenerational effects, with poor parental attainment reflected in the educational outcomes of the child. Breaking out of this cycle may require interventions that target both the parent and child, for example family learning programmes. Improvements to literacy and numeracy continue beyond school and higher education into the early years of work, suggesting that workplace environments play an important role in developing these skills.
Employers believe labour market entrants are not properly prepared for the workforce; again the UK compares poorly against other countries. Employers are looking not only for better literacy and numeracy, relevant qualifications and/or discipline-specific training but also for more positive attitudes towards work as well as ‘character’ attributes. Greater collaboration between employers and education providers may help to ensure that education-leavers are equipped with the skills that are in demand. Work placements and experience can help individuals gain the non-academic skills desired by employers. However, only around one-third of employers offer these opportunities and they are predominantly found in the South East of England. Informal learning also has a part to play, including participation in peer-to-peer learning or sports and other extra-curricular activities.
The UK has relatively large mismatches between the supply of and the demand for skills. Skills underutilisation is particularly high in the UK, while at the same time there are shortages of some particular high-level skills. Such mismatches imply that education providers are not offering, or students are not selecting, the courses that match with employers’ skills needs, and that future skill needs are not being fully anticipated. Improving the quality of and access to labour market information may be able to help address this.
Many places and sectors in the UK are in “low skills equilibrium”. A low skills equilibrium occurs when the availability of low-skilled jobs is matched by a low-skilled workforce, such that students have limited incentives to gain higher skills (or to remain in that place if they have them) and employers adapt to but are constrained by the skills supply. This is a stable equilibrium that can only be changed if supply and demand for skills are addressed together. If only the supply of skills improves, not the demand, it will create surplus and underutilisation or prompt migration to where those skills are in demand. This suggests that close partnerships between employers and providers of education and training are required to avoid mismatches, or improved infrastructure is needed to facilitate longer commuting distances.
Participation in formal learning declines with age. Adult learning is in overall decline and is disproportionately taken up by wealthier, more highly skilled individuals. Formal workplace training has also declined over the last 15 years. This may in part be explained by the fact that learning by adults aged 55+ has shifted from formal to ‘informal’ channels in the last decade or so, with higher socio-economic groups more likely to engage in such self-directed or peer-driven learning, potentially because of positive prior experience of education. While cost and lack of time are reported as common barriers to adult learning for individuals of all skill levels, individuals with no qualifications are more likely to cite attitudinal barriers including lack of confidence, lack of interest, and feeling too old to learn. However, low skilled individuals or those from poor socio-economic backgrounds and minority groups, reap the greatest rewards from learning. If the former trend persists, it suggests that older and particularly lower skilled individuals will be especially vulnerable in a future labour market that is likely to place a premium on lifelong learning.
And one conclusion:
“Analysis of the wage benefits associated with higher levels of education suggests that the returns on learning are substantial. A 2013 estimate found that an individual who has earned a bachelor’s degree will earn on average £210,000 more over the course of their lifetime, after taxes and loan costs, than someone with only A-levels. The benefit is greater for women, at £252,000 than for men, at £168,0006 (BIS, 2013b, p.5).”
As noted, this was published last week and we are still digesting it (another 100+ pages). However, at least the models are simplified from the Green Paper (10 pillars etc). Now it has 5 foundations: Ideas, People, Infrastructure, Business Environment and Places and 4 grand challenges. The paper says “Our focus on them responds to the detailed feedback to the Green Paper”.
To coincide with the publication of the Industrial Strategy White Paper, UUK has published new guidance for businesses on how best to involve and engage with universities when developing a sector deal.
So what is actually going to happen? There is more detail below – and some practical steps to implement it:
“We will create an independent Industrial Strategy Council that will develop measures to assess and evaluate our Industrial Strategy and make recommendations to the government. The Council will have access to relevant government data and will be funded to commission specific evaluation projects as appropriate. It will be drawn from leading business men and women, investors, economists and academics from across the UK.”
“Investing in R&D to transform our economy. For the UK to become the most innovative country in the world we need a generational increase in public and private R&D investment. In this strategy we commit to reach 2.4 per cent of GDP investment in R&D by 2027 and to reach 3 per cent of GDP in the longer term, placing us in the top quartile of OECD countries. If we meet this target we will transform our economy. It could increase public and private R&D investment by as much as £80bn over the next 10 years, with much wider benefits across the UK economy.”
As a first step we will invest an additional £2.3bn over what was previously planned in 2021/22, raising total public investment in R&D to approximately £12.5bn in that year alone.
We will work with industry in the coming months to develop a roadmap for meeting this target. This will provide a framework to drive business investment in R&D and focus on key sectors, technologies and clusters, including by optimising government investment to drive private investment in R&D and considering further opportunities to improve the business environment, including access to finance, regulatory frameworks, and intellectual property. This will maximise the impact of public investment in science and innovation to support businesses to invest more and drive outputs to realise our commitment to invest 2.4 per cent of GDP in R&D.
We will invest a further £725m in a second wave of the Industrial Strategy Challenge programme across the UK to respond to some of the greatest global challenges and opportunities – from climate change to automation….
We will invest £300m over the next three years in world-class talent including in priority areas aligned with the Industrial Strategy, such as artificial intelligence, to enhance our skilled workforce and attract private sector R&D investment. This investment will focus on collaboration and the flow of people between industry and academia and interdisciplinary and cutting-edge research and innovation to support the Industrial Strategy programme and the Grand Challenges. Support will range from Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and PhD programmes, with strong and flexible links to industry, to prestigious awards that support rising stars and the top talent from both the UK and overseas.
We will work with our leading universities, research institutes and UK Research and Innovation to increase global investors’ R&D activities taking place in the UK. Of the world’s 2,500 top R&D investors, just 50 businesses are responsible for 40 per cent of private sector investment globally. If we could attract an additional five per cent of R&D from these top 50, UK based R&D would increase by around a third.
We will work with UKRI to develop a new competitive Strategic Priorities Fund…This will support high quality R&D priorities which would otherwise be missed – multidisciplinary and inter-disciplinary programmes identified by researchers and businesses at the cutting edge of research and innovation. …. UK Research and Innovation strategy will deliver a real-terms increase in council budgets of approximately 20 per cent between 2015/16 and 2019/20. We will also increase support for Quality-Related research through Research England. This recognises the vital importance of providing underpinning funding for our world-leading universities to invest in the excellence and impact of their research and ensure the sustainability of our research infrastructure.
We will improve the UK tax system to support innovation. ….
We will make it easier to finance innovation by increasing the resources for government agencies that promote and fund innovation like Innovate UK – our world leading innovation agency that supports businesses across the UK to collaborate and innovate – and the British Business Bank..
We are also allocating a further £44m of grant funding to enable Innovate UK to fund £150m of responsive grant competitions in 2017/18. This will allow it to support hundreds more high-growth businesses, collaborations and industries to innovate and compete in future global markets. In addition, Innovate UK will pilot new ways of financing innovation: – £50m Innovation Loans pilot over the next two years to target the most promising projects in viable businesses on the cusp of commercialisation, but not yet ready to access loans from commercial lenders; and – an Investment Accelerator pilot to bring in seed equity alongside grant funding by matching the most innovative early stage businesses with investors. …
We will develop an agile approach to regulation that promotes innovation, the growth of new sectors, and innovative market entrants while ensuring effective protections for citizens and the environment. An example is establishing a clear framework for autonomous vehicles and, through our Digital Charter, building agreement on the ethical and effective use of new technologies and data. …
We will improve public procurement as an important source of finance for innovative businesses that does not dilute their equity and gives an endorsement for others to invest. …. we will refocus the [Small Business Research Initiative] SBRI programme to increase its impact for innovative businesses, aligning it with Grand Challenges and building capability in the public sector to drive productivity by adopting SBRI solutions. As a first step, this month we announced a new GovTech Catalyst with a GovTech Fund of up to £20m over three years, which will use SBRI to support tech firms to provide the government with innovative solutions for more efficient public services
“We will:
raise total research and development(R&D) investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027;
increase the rate of R&D tax credit to 12 per cent;
invest £725m in new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund programmes to capture the value of innovation;
establish a technical education system that rivals the best in the world to stand alongside our world-class higher education system;
invest an additional £406m in maths, digital and technical education, helping to address the shortage of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills;
create a new National Retraining Scheme that supports people to re-skill, beginning with a £64m investment for digital and construction training;
increase the National Productivity Investment Fund to £31bn, supporting investments in transport, housing and digital infrastructure;
support electric vehicles through £400m charging infrastructure investment and an extra £100m to extend the plug-in car grant;
boost our digital infrastructure with over £1bn of public investment, including £176m for 5G and £200m for local areas to encourage roll out of full-fibre networks;
launch and roll-out Sector Deals – partnerships between government and industry aiming to increase sector productivity. The first Sector Deals are in life sciences, construction, artificial intelligence and the automotive sector;
drive over £20bn of investment in innovative and high potential businesses, including through establishing a new £2.5bn Investment Fund, incubated in the British Business Bank;
launch a review of the actions that could be most effective in improving the productivity and growth of small and medium-sized businesses, including how to address what has been called the ‘long tail’ of lower productivity firms;
agree Local Industrial Strategies that build on local strengths and deliver on economic opportunities;
create a new Transforming Cities fund that will provide £1.7bn for intra-city transport. This will fund projects that drive productivity by improving connections within city regions; and
provide £42m to pilot a Teacher Development Premium. This will test the impact of a £1000 budget for high-quality professional development for teachers working in areas that have fallen behind.
These policies, alongside the many others set out in this document, are the first strategic actions of a long-term approach to transform our levels of productivity and our earning power as a nation, as businesses, as places, and as individuals. We are ready to be judged on our performance in implementing them.
The Home Office released quarterly and annual immigration statistics including data on study visas here: Why do people come to the UK? (3) To study
The data relating to study found in the year ending September 2017:
An increase of 8 per cent in Short-term student visas
A 6 per cent increase in University sponsored study visa application
Increases of 9 per cent for Russell Group universities to 87,362,
A decrease of 4 per cent in applications for the Further education sector
Nationalities data for the year ending September 2017 (top 5):
China: +15 per cent
United States: +6 per cent
India: +27 per cent
Hong Kong: +5 per cent
Saudi Arabia: -2 per cent
The lead story is the rise in visa applications for Indian students, with the first annual rise in applications since 2010: THE Article. [thanks to Dods for the summary].
Jo Johnson has tweeted about this.
Committee inquiries
Two parliamentary committees on issues of key importance to the higher education sector are now taking written evidence.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry into freedom of speech in universities has a deadline for written evidence of 15 December, while the Treasury Committee’s inquiry into student loans will accept submissions until 31 December.
Earlier this week Professor Julia Buckingham, Vice-Chancellor of Brunel University London, represented UUK before the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee in relation to its ongoing inquiry into the economics of higher, further and technical education.
Tags: freedom of speech immigration industrial strategy Industrial Strategy challenge fund KEF Knowledge exchange framework lifelong learning OFS skills student finance teaching excellence framework TEF tuition fees
HE Policy update for the w/e 17th November 2017
Funding opportunities, policy, Research news, Student Engagement jforster
There’s a veritable feast of HE policy for you to enjoy this week – lots on the budget and fees and funding, another section of the OfS consultation including quality, consumer protection, student protection plans and student transfers, and an update on engagement with schools.
Fees, loans, funding – and the Budget
Philip Hammond’s imminent delivery of the Budget on Wednesday 22 November has caused a mini flurry of organisations releasing reports and evidence aimed to influence. Here’s UUK’s.
It may be too late. Speaking at Wonkfest on 6 November Jo Johnson’s tone of certainty suggested plans were already ready. Of course it wouldn’t be the first time Johnson’s opinion has diverged from the government on expected policy, nor the first time the Prime Minister makes a last minute policy changing decision….
A Budget snippet that Johnson trailed at Wonkfest, to the consternation of the audience, was the suggestion that universities may pick up the tab for the repayment threshold reduction in the student loan repayment rate. While it may be unwise to speculate, your fearless Policy team will once again have a go:
Option 1: The Government could cut all tuition fees down to a lower level without replacing the lost income universities receive.
This reduces the Government’s subsidy for student loans, however it is socially regressive, because it mostly helps those students who go on to earn most. .
However, that is a purely economic analysis – there are many in the sector and politicians who believe that the impact of loans is not purely financial but has effect on behaviour, discouraging those from poorer backgrounds or who don’t expect to have high earnings from applying at all. That argument is of course countered by those who rely on the data that shows that student participation from low income backgrounds is going up steadily – and that at least until last year, there was a strong upward trend in applications overall (which may now have stalled). Note that OFFA do not support direct financial help as a method for increasing participation (they are usually talking about bursaries but the same may hold true for grants)
Option 2: The Government could reduce or abolish tuition fees for a specific group, such as students most in financial need.
This would reduce the Government’s subsidy for student loans
It is a socially progressive policy which supports the Government’s social mobility aims by tackling the debt adversity of the most disadvantaged students. It would help them to attack Labour’s (regressive) 2017 general election promise to abolish tuition fees – and winning back lost voters is of paramount importance to the Conservatives.
It would be easy for the Government to implement this change quickly – as soon as the 2018/19 intake.
Under this scenario it would unlikely that the Government would replace the lost income to universities – so the impact of this would be to force efficiencies within the sector (Johnson is renowned for saying that HE institutions haven’t experienced austerity and have ‘had it good’ for a long time).
In effect, the fees from richer students would be subsiding the poorer students. Universities with the largest number of low income students would be most affected (with the Russell Group relatively unscathed).
This may be a well-planned long game – the Office for Students will have increased power to interrogate and publish admissions statistics to highlight “gaming” and the new Director of Access and Participation can sanction universities through the TEF for a fall in recruitment of low income students. The use of contextual admissions has also been debated widely in the media in recent weeks.
Option 3: The Government could decide to differentiate tuition fees based on subject, allowing subjects with the highest graduate earnings, employment rates and value added to charge the highest fees. The subject level TEF pilots have recently commenced (over 2 years), so such a decision would seem to be premature. However, a consultation in conjunction with the subject-level TEF outcomes ready for swift implementation in 2019 seems plausible. This approach might also mean that high cost subjects (e.g. STEMM) could remain at the highest chargeable fee, but the government could remove the current funding top ups and so reduce the overall cost (and reduce university income still further). See this Sunday Times article on differentiated fees per subject and institution.
Option 4: There have been suggestions of controlling the number of places for certain subjects based on the jobs needed by the economy. The Lords’ Economic Affairs Select Committee has been conducting a series of oral evidence sessions to investigate The Economics of Higher, Further and Technical Education. There is much more from this debate in the section below but this exchange is interesting:
Willetts: Essentially, there is a group of high-earning courses: law, economics and management. There is a group of middle-earning courses, mainly STEM subjects. There are less well-paid graduates. The worst paid are in the performing arts. That is another reason why it proves very difficult to get into differential fees. We could charge more for graduates doing courses with high pay but how then would we exempt fees or justify charging higher fees for skills shortage areas such as STEM or medicine.
Adonis: Tiered fees of that kind are precisely what the Australians have.
Willetts: Yes, and it is not satisfactory. Australia is in a mess; it has static levels.
Option 5: Continuing in this vein the Government may reconsider the original TEF proposal to set limits on which institutions can charge the higher tier of fees. You will recall that the TEF proposal was to let Gold and Silver rated institutions raise their fees each year- linked to a percentage of the inflation cap, but this idea was postponed in response to feedback from the House of Lords. Using new employability and earnings data (to be included in the TEF from this year) the argument may now be that students studying at an institution likely to result in a highly paid job could reasonably be expected to pay more upfront. And a recent student opinion surveys suggest students would be willing buy into such a ‘guarantee’ (see UPP, page 17). Earlier in the term some institutions within the Russell Group were lobbying for this. However, given that far fewer WP students currently apply or are admitted into the Russell Group institutions this would negatively impact the Government’s social mobility agenda. Of course the government may believe that the OfS provisions on WP will address this.
Option 6: And of course other options that do not hit tuition fees are also available. The Sutton Trust (see later in this Policy Update) would like to see a return to grants. The IFS have published a paper on “options for reducing the interest rate on student loans and introducing maintenance grants” – as two key options for the government, which are being called for – including by UUK. they conclude that both of these options could be done at a reasonable cost in some circumstances but that both would benefit high earning graduates most and make very little difference to the rest. As with an across the board reduction in fees (see above) this would therefore be regressive, but might have a beneficial effect in terms of increasing participation.
Option 7: The current Office for Students regulatory consultation (see below) considers the future use of the teaching grant (the grant to universities topping up high cost subjects, specialist support and innovation). It states the OfS will continue the current approach “but it will also wish to deploy the teaching grant strategically, taking into account Government priorities. This will enable it to influence sector level outcomes…” Could this mean government inadvertently pushing institutions to conform to a similar set of ideals (to attract the money) at a time when institutions need to differentiate themselves to compete successfully for students in a squeezed market? If so it could also be contrary to the regional specialities (responding to place) within the industrial strategy.
And more: Differentiated caps and varying loans might seem unattractive to Government due to its complexities to both administer and communicate to the electorate. It is also poor timing given the significant press covering Steve Lamey’s dismissal from the Student Loans Company after claiming it was a “mess” and badly run.
In last week’s policy update we wrote about HEPI’s paper which revealed the extent to which it can be argued that tuition fees from all students, but particularly international students, subsidise research costs. Jo Johnson has long been rumoured to be vexed at the cross-subsidisation that exists within the sector. So will we see a shake-up aimed at research funding too? Given the instability associated with Brexit, the Government’s focus on industrial strategy to boost the economy, in particular their aim to capitalise on innovation and the commercialisation of research, and the recent cash injections announced for R&D might research survived unscathed? It is not a stretch to imagine that this would disproportionately benefit some institutions more than others given the current rhetoric around outcomes (outputs) and institutional status.
Lastly, Conservative think tank Bright Blue have proposed that universities themselves should contribute financially to the sustainability of the student-loans system by repaying the Government subsidy for student loans. This subsidy is currently estimated as 20-30p for each £1 lent. Bright Blue is quick to remind that the cost of such a subsidy wouldn’t be so high if universities didn’t all charge the highest fee. Bright Blue continues:
“Certainly, there are an awful lot of expensive institutions producing graduates with earnings that mean their student loans must be subsidised, costing the taxpayer a lot of money…Thanks to the new Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) dataset., which uses HMRC and Student Loans Company data to accurately link nearly all graduate salaries to institutions attended, it is now possible to expose such universities. Institutions producing a disproportionate number of graduates who will need their student loans subsidised should contribute a levy to government.”
They go on to suggest that should universities charge less/contribute financially to the write-off subsidy this would enable the Government to better fund lower (FE) qualifications or more modular methods of study.
Delve into the detailed background and some other options in Jane’s blog on the Lighthouse Policy Group: Fees, loans and debt – an Autumn update.
In retrospect, after our dark musings on the Budget, Jo Johnson’s repeated reminder that the sector should not clamour for May’s announced review of HE (as it risks a less advantageous settlement than present) seem like wise words.
IFS – student loans and maintenance grants
As mentioned above, The IFS have published a paper on “options for reducing the interest rate on student loans and introducing maintenance grants” . Key findings are (our emphasis added):
Positive real interest rates on student loans increase the debt levels of all graduates but only increase the lifetime repayments of higher-earning graduates. Removing them does not affect up-front government spending on HE, but it does slightly increase the deficit (due to the slightly confusing treatment of interest accrued on student debt in the government finances). More significantly, it also increases the long-run costs of HE due to the associated reduction in graduate repayments.
Reducing the interest rates to RPI + 0% for everyone would reduce the debt levels of all graduates. Debt on graduation would be around £3,000 lower on average, while average debt at age 40 would be £13,000 lower. However, because of the link between income and interest in the current system, this cut would reduce the debts of the highest-earning graduates the most: the richest 20% of graduates would hold around £20,000 less debt at age 40 as a result of this policy, while the lowest-earning 20% of graduates would be just £5,500 better off in terms of debt held at the same age. This policy of switching to RPI + 0% would have no impact on up-front government spending on HE, but would cost the taxpayer £1.3 billion per year in the long run. It would be a significant giveaway to high-earning graduates, saving the richest 20% more than £23,000 over their lifetimes.
A less costly policy would be to reduce interest rates to RPI + 0% while studying and leave rates unchanged after graduation. This would reduce the debt levels of all graduates at age 40 by around £5,000. It would be a significantly cheaper reform, costing around £250 million per year in the long run. Again, there is little impact on the repayments of low- and middle-earning graduates, while the highest-earning graduates would be around £5,000 better off over their lifetimes.
Maintenance grants
Reintroducing maintenance grants in place of loans also has no impact on up-front government spending on HE, but it results in a large increase in the government cost of HE as measured by the current deficit, due to the differential treatment of loans and grants in government accounting. The long-run cost of this type of policy is typically much lower as a large proportion of the loans that grants would replace are not expected to be repaid anyway.
Reintroducing grants of £3,500 under a similar system to that before 2016 would increase deficit spending by around £1.7 billion, but the long-run cost is only around £350 million. This reform would reduce the debt on graduation of students from low-income backgrounds taking a three-year degree by around £11,000.
The beneficiaries from this change in terms of actual lifetime loan repayments are students from low-income backgrounds who go on to have high earnings. We estimate that students eligible for the full maintenance grant who are in the lowest-earning 60%of graduates would experience little or no change in lifetime repayments, while those who have earnings in the top 10% of graduates would save around £22,000.
Sutton trust – fairer fees
In contrast to the IFS paper above, The Sutton Trust, a social mobility foundation, has released Fairer Fees which proposes using a sliding scale of means-tested fees and the reintroduction of maintenance grants. This focuses not on the economic effect of changing the structure (which the IFS says is regressive) but on the psychological impact of reducing debt.
They state that implementing these measures would cost the Treasury the same amount as October’s reduction to the student loan repayment threshold. The benefits of the approach are that they would cut average student debt by 50% (psychological benefit encouraging the debt adverse to reconsider HE) but with the greatest beneficial effects on students from low household income backgrounds “it would slash debt among the 40% poorest students by 75%, from £51,600 down to £12,700, and mean those from the poorest backgrounds emerged with two thirds less debt than their better-off counterparts”. The report claims changing to the proposed fee policy would also benefit the Treasury as it would reduce the proportion of graduates never repaying their full loans from 81% to 56% with the overall proportion of debt not paid back to 35%. However, the Treasury may consider these figures in a different light as there would be fewer graduates required to repay their loans because of the reintroduction of maintenance grants. The report makes the following five recommendations:
The government should implement its promised review of higher education funding. While the October reforms were welcome, there needs to be a thorough review of deeper reforms to the system. In particular, the crisis in part-time numbers should be addressed and bespoke solutions explored.
Our proposed solution would be to introduce a system of means-tested fees which waives fees entirely for those from low income backgrounds, and increases in steps for those from higher income households. Significant ‘cliff edges’ between income bands should be avoided as much as possible.
Maintenance grants, abolished in 2016, should be restored, providing support for those who need it most and reducing the debt burden of the least well-off, so that they graduate with lower debt than those from better-off backgrounds.
Losses to higher education institutions through lower fee income should be replaced by increased teaching grants. While this involves greater upfront costs to the Exchequer, it also provides a lever by which government could promote the provision of courses in certain areas such as STEM. This teaching grant compensation would be adjusted to ensure that universities admitting intakes with lower average fee levels would not suffer any drop in income.
Reducing access gaps to university, especially top universities, should be at the heart of government higher education policy. There needs to be a joined-up effort to tackle the persistent access gap for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds across all aspects of higher education, from student finance to the UCAS application process to the use of contextual data by universities in admissions.
Returning to the Sutton Trust’s recommendations it is interesting to note that it doesn’t tackle Lord Willetts’ (ex-Universities and Science Minister) calls for a differentiated loan system for mature and part time students. Willett believes an alternative loan scheme coupled with more diverse degree models would tackle the part time and mature falling student number crisis by ruling out both psychological and financial deterrents. We’ll await the Budget with baited breath to find out if the Sutton Trust (and their accompanying press attention: Huff Post, Independent, Metro) will influence Government spending.
The Economics of Higher, Further and Technical Education
The Lords’ Economic Affairs Select Committee has been conducting a series of oral evidence sessions to investigate The Economics of Higher, Further and Technical Education. The aim of the investigation is to consider whether the funding of post-school education is focused sufficiently on the skills the British economy needs. The transcripts of a particularly interesting session held on 10 October were released this week revealing a stimulating debate. The witnesses were Lord Willetts, Lord Adonis and Paul Johnson (Director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies). Some interesting bits are below:
One third of graduates won’t end up in a graduate job.
Willetts: while they may not be in graduate employment when young they have a higher chance of securing graduate employment eventually.. Jobs considered non-graduate in the official standard occupational classifications are becoming more demanding, furthermore graduates seem to change the nature of the work they do just by virtue of their additional skills
Does what the HE system is trying to achieve match labour market outcomes, and how does it relate to other routes people could take?
Adonis: due to high fee levels some careers that previously required graduates are now moving to take non-graduates. [Examples given were big accountancy firms and the Civil Service who are recruiting high-level apprentices into graduate roles]. Graduates who previously would have gone to university are “now seizing prestigious high-level apprenticeship opportunities as a way of going straight into careers without having to take degrees and take on debt. I see no reason in principle why that could not go a lot further.” “I see no reason in principle why accountancy, and even the law, which, if you go back two generations, were not graduate careers for many of those participating in them, could not once again become much more vocational careers, where people can train on the job, get qualifications that are recognised in their profession and not have to take on high levels of debt. That is much more the case in German-style economies where the number of graduates is much lower to start with.”
Is student debt discouraging people from attending university and will our economy suffer?
Adonis: If you talk to sixth formers and those making decisions at 18 or 19, it is undoubtedly true that they are looking at alternatives to university in a way they were not a few years ago. As the number of high level apprenticeships increases they will become increasingly attractive. I suspect that we will see trends in both directions over the next few years. It will not by any means be just a trend towards more graduates.
Paul Johnson: there is no evidence in the data that the fee system has had much effect on the numbers of people going into higher education. There may be an effect later on, and a group of young people may be making different choices, but overall, as far as we can tell, the numbers have not been affected.
Given that many graduates will not repay debt is there any argument to forgive debt in public sector shortages areas (teachers, doctors, nurses)?
Adonis: “I tried hard to persuade the Treasury of the virtues of that argument. I did not get very far because it was convinced that… it would be left with almost no debt to collect.”
Baroness Kingsmill: In the US debt is forgiven relative to the number of years worked in the dearth sector – for 5 years work you’re forgiven half the debt; for 10 years, you are forgiven the whole lot.
Paul Johnson: rather than forgiving debt it’s more effective just to pay them more. Why do it in a roundabout way by forgiving debt?
On technical and vocational training – see the apprenticeships section below for more on this
University – seen as the only option
The discussion turned to suggesting young people choose university because it’s the most obvious and easiest to understand route, that there is limited information or advice to support young people who might choose an alternative route.
Willets responded: I agree with your point that other routes need to be clearly signalled, but I expect that in a modern western economy the managed transition to adulthood via three years of higher education is the mainstream route people will take. The danger of some people going down the alternative route is that I know who they will be. Eton will not be sending 25% of its kids on apprenticeships. You will reopen the social divide in participation by advantaged and disadvantaged groups.
Discussion of university place number controls was peppered through the committee hearing.
Adonis argued against controlling numbers based on the jobs needed by the economy (referencing Robbins): How should we think of universities? Should we try to predict the jobs that people are going to do in 20 or 30 years’ time and allocate places at university in accordance with our predictions? He said, “No, we cannot know”. Instead, he wanted an open, flexible system, heavily influenced by the number of people with the capacity to benefit from higher education.
Decline in part time students – a different loan system needed
Willets stated the decline in part time students was one of his greatest regrets in his time as Minister. He continued: The lesson I learn from it is that, rather than the seductive idea that you can have a single pot per person to pay for their education, you need different models for different groups. We extended loans to part-time students thinking it would have the same beneficial effect on them as the loans for full-time students, and all would be fine. The evidence is that the loans for part-time students have not worked. There has been low take up and people have been put off. We need new mechanisms for helping adults to study part-time, and I accept that the loan model has not delivered for them… If at any point we were looking at how to spend limited public money and what public spending would do, rather than spending it on compensating universities for a general reduction in fees, I have a list of things where I think there is a need. Certainly, a public spending package for adult learners, including helping mature students with the cost of tertiary education, be it university or not, would be a high priority.
International Students Fees/Cross-subsidisation
Discussion on whether it was right to charge international students a greater fee took place -asking whether the international students were getting value for money.
Adonis: if we were overcharging international students they would quite rapidly start to go elsewhere. We seem to be pretty price competitive with other major international education providers, and less expensive than many of the providers in the United States.
Charging differential fees – see the fees section above for this bit
On sandwich courses:
Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted: We often hear from companies that the graduates they recruit are not job-ready…do we have the right approach in what we are looking for from university education? Is it delivering?
Willetts: I have a sneaking regard for…the extra year sandwich course. We should remember that, now, about half of all university students are doing vocational technical training courses that include time with an employer. We could have taken a different route, but Britain has ended up with a large amount of our professional and technical education now happening in a university context, and that is why university students are absolutely entitled to know which of those routes lead to good, well-paid jobs.
Flexible Degree Models
Baroness Harding of Winscombe: How do we get more flexible university education. It feels better with one year or two-year courses and courses you can dip into through a decade, not just three years. That seems to me, from a business perspective, to be a more effective means of building the skills we might need in the modern economy than assuming that all institutions doing three-year courses from the age of 18 to 21 is the right answer.
Lord Adonis: The failure to offer two-year degrees is a serious one on the part of universities. One of the effects of stuffing their mouths with money, which is what we have done over the last five years, has been to reduce significantly the incentives on them to do so. The Minister for higher education, in what I think was a very surprising change in the rules, is now allowing universities to charge the equivalent of three years’ worth of fees, taking out state loans over two years, as a way of encouraging them to offer two-year degrees when, surely, the rationale for two-year degrees ought to be that they should be at lower cost and at lower fees for the students.
Evolution of Apprenticeships
Wonkhe have published the blog: How apprenticeships can help productivity and social mobility which considers the evolution of apprenticeship policy. The article favours current government apprenticeship policy and on social mobility states: we have a unique once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop exciting work-based apprenticeship routes for new and underrepresented cohorts of learners. This will call for new patterns of apprenticeship delivery, new partnerships and new thinking.
There was some debate at the Economic Affairs Select Committee on this (see above for the rest);
Willets: Sometimes the higher education debate is just the lightning rod for a debate about what kind of structure we think the British economy should have. The German educational and industrial models are closely linked. In a highly regulated labour market, with a large amount of licence to practise that you need to secure to do a whole range of jobs, and apprenticeship routes into those jobs, and provincial banks funding the companies that protect those jobs—in other words, a much more corporatist model—you can also have a whole series of regulated training routes into specific types of vocational employment.
Adonis: “…if you are pretty clear what you want to do and which direction you want to go in and it is a commercial occupation, it is better to learn on the job and not accumulate between £60,000 and £100,000 of debt and be less work-ready at the age of 21 than you would be if you started at 18.”
And later on:
Lord Layard: I should declare that I work in a university, and I know that the rate of return for university education is reasonable, but the rate of return for apprenticeship and further education is generally found to be a lot higher. Is it not peculiar that we have not put more resources and effort into developing that side of it?…Failure to develop the non-university vocational education route, both at lower and higher levels, is a major cause of the inequality of wages in our country. What is being done about the alternative?
Adonis: I do not think that, somehow, we have a weak apprenticeship stream because we have a strong graduate stream. We have a weak apprenticeship stream because the state has not devoted resources, energy and commitment to creating a strong apprenticeship stream. Many of the countries that have them also have very strong universities. It is not a question of regulation; it is a question of proper funding streams, proper qualification systems and a commitment by employers to foster skills among their workforce, which historically has not happened here.
Willetts: It is absolutely right that we should promote technical education; we find it in universities, and, by and large, around the world the places that do it well tend to seek university title in the end.
Paul Johnson: We still do a very poor job for too many young people in vocational education. We need to focus more on apprenticeships. A serious issue is that Governments have tried, to some extent in the past, and have continually failed serially to make changes happen in an effective way. The serious question is why. Is it about political focus? Is it about resource? We certainly put a lot less resource into apprenticeships than we do into the university system.
Widening Participation – Schools
School Sponsorship
UUK have published Raising attainment through university-school partnerships, a good practice booklet of case studies detailing successful collaborative partnerships between universities and schools to raise pupil attainment and appetite for HE. The case studies are diverse and the booklet concludes that preserving flexibility of arrangements is a key aspect of the sector’s drive to raise standards in schools and remove the attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils. Two recommendations are made:
focus should be on ends rather than means, with great flexibility over how HE can support schools based on local context and need whilst meeting the Government’s objectives
universities and their school partners need access to information on ‘what works’ – the Evidence & Impact Exchange (proposed by the Social Mobility Advisory Group) would support this by evaluating and promoting the evidence on social mobility, and assisting the direction of future partnerships to support attainment, access and student success
At the UUK Access and Student Success summit on Tuesday a Government representative made clear that broader (and effective) forms of partnership working are welcome but that they expect more universities to be involved in a school sponsorship style model.
Background: In December 2016 the Government made clear that they expected universities to be more interventionist proposing that all universities sponsor or set up a school in exchange for charging higher HE tuition fees. The Schools that work for everyone consultation garnered responses to the Government’s aim to harness universities’ expertise and resources to drive up attainment through direct involvement. (Note: the Government has not yet published a response to the consultation feedback.) When the snap election was announced the school sponsorship agenda featured in the Conservative’s manifesto. However, recently there has been little additional push from Government.
Working quietly in the wings throughout this period, OFFA have been urging institutions to make progress against a more diluted version of the Government’s aim – that universities take measures to support school pupils’ attainment and increase school collaboration through the Fair Access Agreements. In this they are acting on the strategic priorities the Government set out for them (originally in February 2016). While the push from OFFA has been to consider school sponsorship they appear to concur with the sector that this ‘one size fits all’ approach is not appropriate. Furthermore, it may run counter to social mobility objectives as encouraging an institution to focus the majority of its required WP spend on just one local school disadvantages pupils in other schools who will no longer receive the university’s support. This approach has faced much criticism from the education sector and from some MPs.
OFFA’s 2018-19 strategic guidance to institutions: It is now imperative to progress and scale up work with schools and colleges to accelerate the sector’s progress….[we are] asking you to increase the pace and scope of your work with schools to raise attainment, so that the teaching and learning outcomes for schools that work with universities are enhanced. The guidance went on to request detailed information on the specific attainment-focused cohorts, success criteria, and how the work is planned to grow over time.
What will the New Year bring? It seems unlikely that Government intend to drop the school sponsorship agenda. In spring/summer 2018 the Office for Students will come into its full powers, with a new Director, Chris Millward, at the Fair Access helm. We’ll see of this is a priority then.
Office for Students regulatory consultation
Continuing our series of updates on the OfS consultation – three weeks ago we looked at widening participation, this week we look at quality and standards, and protecting students as consumers. This section includes extensive quotes from the consultation document, reordered and edited to make it easier to follow. BU will be preparing an institutional response to this consultation. Policy@bournemouth.ac.uk will work with colleagues across BU and collate our response. (Wonkhe have helpfully grouped them all on one web page)
Objective 2: all students, from all backgrounds, receive a high quality academic experience, and their qualifications hold their value over time in line with sector-recognised standards
Consultation question:: Do you agree or disagree that a new Quality Review system should focus on securing outcomes for students to an expected standard, rather than focusing on how outcomes are achieved?
Consultation question:: Would exploring alternative methods of assessment, including Grade Point Average (GPA), be something that the OfS should consider, alongside the work the sector is undertaking itself to agree sector-recognised standards?
The quality conditions are:
B1: The provider must deliver well-designed courses that provide a high quality academic experience and enable a student’s achievement to be reliably assessed.
B2: The provider must support students, including through the admissions system, to successfully complete and benefit from a high quality academic experience.
B3: The provider must deliver successful outcomes for its students, which are recognised and valued by employers, and/or enable further study.
Quality code: “In parallel to this consultation, the UK wide Standing Committee for Quality Assessment (UKSCQA) has issued a consultation on revised expectations for the Quality Code.. The UKSCQA is working to conclude its consultation, and to finalise a revised set of expectations during Spring 2018. ….The new Quality Review system will provide a sound basis for the assessment of the quality and standards conditions, and be able to evolve with the increasing diversity of providers.”
New providers: “To facilitate greater diversity in provision and student experience, the OfS will make it easier for high quality providers to enter the sector. ….The OfS will also reduce the emphasis on a provider’s track record, which risks shutting out high quality and credible new providers.”
Grade inflation: “The OfS will annually analyse and arrange for the publication of information on grade inflation, directly challenging the sector where there is clear evidence of grade inflation”.
It was recently announced that the TEF will also include a new grade inflation metric on the proportion of students awarded different classifications over time. ….The TEF will therefore provider a counterweight to traditional ranking systems, some of which inadvertently encourage grade inflation by giving providers credit for the number of high-class degrees they award without further scrutiny.
A new condition will address this: C1: The provider must ensure the value of qualifications awarded to students at the point of qualification and over time, in line with sector-recognised standards.
Freedom of speech: Much heralded in the press around the launch of the consultation, there is actually very little about this (and it is not mentioned at all in the student summary). There is a lot more detail about the public interest proposal (see the section on the Public Interest Principles below), but this bit is relevant in this context:
the provider has set up a code of practice to ensure compliance with the statutory duty in section 43 of the Education (No.2) Act 1986 and compliance with any other applicable obligations in relation to freedom of speech
the provider ensures that its governing documents consider its obligations in relation to freedom of speech, and do not contain any provisions which contradict these obligations
the governing body abides by its governing documents in practice with respect to any issues around freedom of speech
Objective 3: that all students, from all backgrounds, have their interests as consumers protected while they study, including in the event of provider, campus, or course closure
“Consumer rights are not limited to protecting students from the very worst situations where their provider or course closes entirely. It is also important that students understand what they can expect of their providers in terms of issues such as teaching hours and support available.”
Condition D: “The provider must be financially viable and financially sustainable and must have appropriate resources to provide and fully deliver the higher education courses as advertised ….and enable the provider to continue to comply with all conditions of its registration.”
Condition E4: “Providers must demonstrate in developing their policies and procedures governing their contractual and other relationships with students that they have given due regard to relevant guidance as to how to comply with consumer law.”
Condition G: “The provider must cooperate with the requirements of the student complaints scheme run by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education including the subscription requirements and make students aware of their ability to use the scheme.”
Consumer law: “The provider is expected to submit a short self-assessment, describing how, in developing its policies and procedures governing their contractual and other relationships with prospective students (and relationships once those students have become current students), it has given due regard to relevant guidance about how to comply with consumer law.”
“In terms of the initial students’ contracts and consumer rights registration condition, the OfS will look at steps taken by providers in relation to prospective students i.e. it will look at policies and procedures governing contractual and other relationships with students who are commencing their studies from the academic year 2019/20, ensuring the policies and procedures are sound to govern the contractual and other relationships with those students once they have become current students.”
“The provider’s self-assessment should be accompanied by supporting evidence, demonstrating how it meets the condition. “
“In order to determine whether or not a provider is complying with the students’ contracts and consumer rights registration condition on an ongoing basis, the OfS’s judgement will be informed by the provider’s behaviour, information submitted by the provider, and any other information available to the OfS, such as whistleblowing / public interest disclosure reports submitted to OfS, or information from other relevant bodies, such as OIA, CMA or Trading Standards.”
Consultation question: Do you agree or disagree that a student contracts condition should apply to providers in the Approved categories, to address the lack of consistency in providers’ adherence to consumer protection law?
Student transfer: “Students should have, and be aware of, the option to transfer. For individual students, like the new parent changing to a part-time course so they can spend more time with family, or the carer who needs to move to another part of the country, but doesn’t want to give up their studies, transfer has the potential to improve their lives dramatically. For students collectively, the availability of student transfer empowers choice and helps drive competition. The OfS will work to ensure students are able to transfer fluidly within and between providers wherever it best meets their needs and aspirations.”
Condition H: “The provider must publish information about its arrangements for a student to transfer. If the provider lacks such arrangements, it must explain how it facilitates the transfer of a student.”
“The OfS will monitor whether providers have procedures in place to facilitate student transfer, along with information about students transferring into courses delivered by their institution …The OfS will use this reporting to raise the profile of student transfer for students, and highlighting successes, best practice, and areas where further work is needed for providers. If necessary, the OfS will go further to promote student transfer and raise awareness among students to help individuals make the choices that are right for them, or even commission research into the means by which transfer could be most effectively encouraged.”
Consultation question: Do you agree or disagree with the proposed general ongoing registration condition requiring the publication of information on student transfer arrangements? How might the OfS best facilitate, encourage or promote the provision of student transfer arrangements?
Student protection plans
“The OfS will be a market regulator, and as such it should not have to be in the business of having to prop up failing institutions, and neither should Government. The possibility of exit is a crucial part of a healthy, competitive and well-functioning market, and such exits happen already – although not frequently – in the higher education sector.”
“However, the OfS’ regulatory framework, and in particular the financial viability and sustainability condition and the OfS’s early warning approach to monitoring, are designed to prevent sudden and unexpected closures. This does not mean departmental, campus or even institutional closures will never occur. Higher education providers are autonomous institutions, and as such are entitled to make their own decisions about any future business model or viability of any particular course or subject.”
“The OfS’ interest is in ensuring that such changes and closures do not adversely affect students and their ability to conclude their studies and obtain a degree. This is why it will be a registration condition for all providers in the Approved categories to have an agreed student protection plan in place (see condition F) – the core purpose of which will be ensuring continuity of study.”
Condition F: “The provider must have in force a student protection plan which has been approved by the OfS (which sets out what actions they will take to minimise any impact on the students’ continuation of study should the provider discontinue the course, subject, discipline or exit the market completely) and the provider commits to taking all reasonable steps to comply with the provisions of that plan.”
“Student protection plans will set out what students can expect to happen in the event of course, campus or department closure, or if an institution exits the market. The plans must be approved by the OfS, and be easily available to current and prospective students. Providers with a low risk of unplanned closure would be required to have light-touch plan “
“Any measures must be feasible and practicable, and be backed up by clear implementation plans. When agreeing SPPs with the OfS the provider may be expected to provide some sort of reassurance on the financial position, which may include additional measures such as financial guarantees, or escrow type arrangements where a higher risk of market exit specifically is identified.”
Electoral registration – The HERA included a provision that the OfS could require providers to take steps to facilitate electoral registration. This is a provider level requirement that does not fit easily under the headings. The consultation says that:
“A healthy democratic society is one which has social justice at its heart. It is also dependent on the active participation of its citizens. The Government is, therefore, committed to helping ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote is able to do so, including students. However, people cannot vote until they have registered to vote and higher education providers have a major part to play in achieving this.“
“The condition will require higher education providers to cooperate with EROs, in accordance with such steps as the OfS considers appropriate. The Secretary of State will issue guidance under section 2(3) of HERA…subject to the outcome of this consultation, we expect this Ministerial Guidance is likely to:
reinforce the requirement for higher education providers to co-operate with EROs’ requests under Regulation 23 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 for information on students for the purposes for electoral registration. We want providers to understand that they have a legal obligation to co-operate with these requests
include a direction for higher education providers to work in partnership with their local electoral services team to actively promote electoral registration amongst their student populations”
“The Government proposes to review and evaluate the overall effectiveness of this condition, once it has been implemented over a sufficient period to facilitate the gathering of appropriate data in terms of numbers of students who have registered. The evaluation will examine how effective the condition has been at helping increase successful applications from students to join the electoral register. “
More to follow on other aspects of the consultation
Brexit – Parliamentary Question
Q – Dr Matthew Offord: What assessment he has made of the capacity within UK universities and research institutes to continue to investigate the European geo-political area after the UK leaves the EU.
A – George Eustice: The Department has made no such assessment but the Prime Minister explained in her Florence Speech that the UK will continue to take part in those specific policies and programmes which are greatly to the UK and the EU’s joint advantage, such as those that promote science, education and culture.
Advertising Standards: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld disputes with six universities claiming to be top or within a top percentage for student satisfaction, graduate prospects, academic discipline, and global or national ranking. Leicester, East Anglia, Strathclyde, Falmouth, Teesside and the University of West London have all been instructed to remove their misleading content. The ASA has stated universities should substantiate such comparative statements by ensuring that the data behind the claim is sufficiently robust and can stand up to impartial interrogation. New guidance for universities on the required standards has been published here.
Press coverage of the ASA’s decisions: BBC, Guardian, and the Times.
Wonkhe have a guest blogger, Charles Heymann, who argues for universities to radically rethink their marketing straplines focusing on the institution’s values.
It remains to be seen if the ASA decisions, which threaten all top claims, will affect the sector’s preoccupation with rankings or influence student and parental opinion of the validity of such rankings.
Undergraduate employment: The Office for National Statistics has been researching undergraduate students’ employment whilst studying. In 2014/15 72.7% of students were in paid employment. Interestingly the South West had the highest employment percentage (77.6%) and London the lowest. Particularly notable for BU is that in East Dorset 9 out of 10 students were counted within the employment figures.
Konfer: This week saw the official launch of phase 2 of Konfer – a collaborative initiative from the National Centre for Universities and Business, the Research Councils, and HEFCE. It aims to open up research, researchers, and services within UK universities to businesses and other organisations looking for collaboration or new ideas, and to translate the research into jobs, innovation and economic growth. Described as ‘Google meets LinkedIn for university collaboration’ it utilises a search facility (search for an expert, a paper, a piece of equipment, a business or charity partner) to connect with the supplier.
David Sweeney, Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange at HEFCE and Executive Chair Designate of Research England, said: “konfer promotes stronger commercialisation, business and policy links and wider societal engagement with publicly funded research. It opens out what universities and research institutes do to a wider audience and I’m delighted to see it reaching full launch stage following development work with universities and businesses of all sizes.”
BU’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Office engaged with Konfer during its early development and continue to develop our involvement.
Immigration: The Home Office has doubled the number of Tier 1 visas, available to those with exceptional talent or promise in the technology, arts, creative and sciences industries. Two thousand visas will now be made available for those endorsed by Tech City UK, the Arts Council of England, the British Academy, the Royal Society or the Royal Academy of Engineering. (WONKHE)
Policy Research Principles: The National Audit Office (NAO) has published their review Cross-government funding of research and development concluding that a more joined up approach is needed for some science based cross-departmental research areas within leadership, research principles and coordinated, prioritised funding arrangements. It concludes that BEIS and UKRI will play leading roles.
“Government needs a coherent view of the UK’s research strengths relative to other nations and analysis of funding in key areas of research, so that it can prioritise areas where activity is lagging behind and ensure the UK is investing in the right areas…there is a risk that funders do not have coherent data across research areas on capability, funding gaps, or outcomes of research and development to inform decisions on national priorities and strategic direction..” (Amyas Morse Head of NAO)
Tags: apprenticeships Brexit budget Fair Access immigration maintenance grants Office for Students OFS schools consultation student finance students as consumers tuition fees widening participation
BU He Policy update for the w/e 29th September 2017
innovation, international, policy, Research news jforster
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Non-Executive Board
On Thursday Jo Johnson announced the non-executive members of the UKRI Board.
Sir John Kingman (Chair of UKRI) is the Legal and General Group Chairman and Former Second Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury
Fiona Driscoll (UKRI Audit Committee Chair) is Chair of the Audit Committee of Nuffield Health
Mustafa Suleyman is co-founder and Head of Applied AI at DeepMind
Professor Sir Peter Bazalgette is the founder of a successful independent TV production company and now Executive Chairman of ITV
Professor Julia Black is Pro Director for Research at the London School of Economics
Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (stepping down at the end of the month), and Chair of Cancer Research UK
Lord (John) Browne of Madingley is the Executive Chairman of L1 Energy, and former Chief Executive of BP plc
Sir Harpal Kumar is the Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK
Professor Max Lu is the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey
Professor Sir Ian Diamond is the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen
Professor Alice Gast is President of Imperial College London
Vivienne Parry is Head of Engagement for Genomics England
Lord (David) Willetts is Executive Chair of the Resolution Foundation and former Minister for Universities and Science
Professor Dame Sally Davies – as Chief Medical Officer and serving civil servant, Dame Sally will not be a formal member of the board but will join board meetings in a personal capacity.
Sir John Kingman, interim UKRI Chair stated: “UKRI’s Board brings together an extraordinary array of brilliant scientific and business leaders. Together with the emerging executive team led by Mark Walport, we will be superbly equipped to ensure the new organisation delivers on the great opportunities it has.”
Jo Johnson said: “UKRI has a pivotal role in our future as a knowledge economy. This is an exceptionally strong board that will ensure the UK’s world leading research system stays at the frontier of science and innovation for decades to come.”
The government has committed to investing over £6 billion per annum in research and innovation.
Labour Party Conference
Industry Research & Innovation
The chair of the Data Analytics All Party Parliamentary Group, Daniel Zeichner, writes in Politics Home on How to convert UK excellence in science and research into wider economic success. Zeichner is a fan of the 2010 Labour government’s Catapult Network. Catapults are technology and innovation centres that are business-led by industry experts providing companies with access to expertise and equipment to speed up the commercialisation of research and drive economic growth.
Zeichner believes adopting new technology is essential to improve UK productivity but that Britain needs to be better at this, stating we’re behind other nations. Catapult centres will shortly fall with UKRI’s remit (UKRI is the merger of the UK’s seven research councils) and Zeichner sees this as advantageous for a more seamless diffusion of research expertise into the private sector, matching industry with update technology. The sticking point is that Catapults are currently partly financed by EU funding so Brexit may well lead to their downscaling or demise. In addition to supporting the expansion of the Catapult network Labour calls for new Retails and Materials and Metals Centres, and for R&D % of GDP spending to be raised, plus additional new investment. Zeichner pledges this will all happen if Labour is elected at the next general election.
In the meantime we need to see what is included in the forthcoming Industrial Strategy White Paper and the autumn budget, and of course any announcements at the Conservative conference.
Immigration – Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbot claimed the Conservatives have ‘weaponised’ immigration. She stated the immigration targets are ‘bogus’ and will never be met. Meanwhile at the Labour party conference backbenchers are battling for Labour to amend policy and campaign for continued access of the EU single market and customs union post-Brexit. This would mean committing to retaining free movement.
Sadiq Khan @SadiqKhan – To the one million EU citizens in London: you are Londoners, you are welcome & you make a huge contribution. @TSSAunion @LabourList #Lab17
Fees – Wonkhe report that Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said that as “a result of Labour pressure, the government is now being forced into discussing reducing interest rates or raising repayment thresholds. If they bring forward effective proposals we will support them.” Wonkhe state the Shadow Chancellor did not indicate what he hoped the government would propose precisely, nor would he be drawn on the level of Government compromise that he would support.
Gordon Marsden, speaking at a UCU fringe event, stated the party would “wait and see” what the government offers before committing to a particular course of action. However, he called on the government to present a holistic package including action on loan repayment terms and maintenance support. Marsden wouldn’t state a figure for the level of fee cap which he would support as part of a deal on the student funding system.
BME teachers in schools – Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner hit the headlines this week after indicating that current school recruitment policies are not promoting equality stating: “If the only people we see in schools that are black or ethnic minority are the cleaners… then we are perpetuating the problems we have in our communities…. I am sick of soft targets. I am all for hard targets, and if it means we have to force quotas, then I am an advocate for that.”
An article in Politics Home notes that an additional 68,000 teachers from BME backgrounds would be required to reflect the proportion of ethnic minority pupils in English state schools and quotes a DfE source who notes a steady increase in the minority ethnic trainee teachers recently and describes the Leadership, Equality and Diversity Fund. This supports schools to provide coaching and mentoring for BME teachers and increase the representation of BME teachers in senior leadership roles.
National Education Service – Angela Rayner launched her 10 principles behind the National Education Service (NES) described here by Schools Week. This is Labour’s ‘cradle to grave’ proposal for the reform of education and includes increasing school funding, free adult education throughout life, valuing all forms of education and pushing technical and apprenticeship streams as alternatives to traditional routes such as HE. David Morris (ex-Wonkhe, now VC’s policy adviser at Greenwich) blogs for Wonkhe to question what it would mean for the HE sector if Labour were elected and implemented the NES in 2022.
Jeremy Corbyn’s Keynote Conference Speech
Corbyn’s keynote speech which closed the Labour Party Conference emphasised skills and training focusing on free tuition throughout life at any stage and improving on technical and vocational training, establishing these as equal-status alternative routes. Corbyn envisions the National Education Service as ‘universal, free and empowering’, a service that “will give millions a fair chance”.’ A flurry of debate followed on twitter on whether abolishing HE tuition fees would mean reinstating student number controls.
A student numbers cap is not inevitable in a fee-free system, says @GordonMarsden in response to @mgmcquillan , and he doesn’t want one.
During the (very long) speech Corbyn reiterated Labour’s message to the Government “pull yourself together or make way” and detailed the Conservative manifesto commitments that have been dropped from policy, such as grammar school expansion. One aspect Labour agree with the Conservatives on is the importance of the Industrial Strategy.
In his speech, Jeremey Corbyn supported the automation thread prevalent in the Government’s Industrial Strategy for its potential to contribute to the nation’s work/life balance “We need urgently to face the challenge of automation… [it] is a threat in the hands of the greedy but what an opportunity if it’s managed in the interests of society as a whole.”
A Labour spokesperson stated to Politics Home that: increased use of new technology in the workplace will inevitably boost productivity, and a Labour government would force them to pass on the benefits of that to employees through higher wages and shorter hours….
“…the potential for this big technological leap and the increase in productivity to be shared in different ways. If it’s under the control only of large corporations, as it is currently, the sharing out is in one direction in long hours, the fall in real wages and increased profits. Who is in control of that process? If that process of big employment transformation is going to be managed for the benefit of the workforce, that needs to be planned at a national level, it can’t just be left to the companies employing those people or introducing advanced robotics.”
Fringe event – Tackling disadvantage experienced by the armed forces community – This fringe event focussed on issues of housing, education and barriers to future employment. There were calls for skills and qualifications to be transferable and compatible with those in civilian institutions and a particular need for work experience and placements alongside qualifications.
Fringe Event – Brexit Generation: The Debate – This fringe event presented evidence on the issues that prompted young people to vote. Asha, a Young Labour member stated the Brexit message to young people had been wrong and it needed to go beyond thinking about issues like Erasmus and University. Asha went on to say that young people wanted to engage on important issues like mental health in schools, changing the education system so it was not an “exam factory” and building a generation of young people with the digital skills they need.
Labour MP Wes Streeting said education was ‘his number one priority’ and ‘the closest thing to a silver bullet for tackling social issues’. Children should be given the opportunity to explore, fail and find what they are great at rather than being pushing into huge numbers of stressful exams, he stated.
Finally…Wonkhe responded to the Labour Party Conference proclamations discussing where some Labour HE policies would benefit from further details in Key questions for Labour and its higher education policy.
Student Retention
William Hammond, Universities UK, blogged about student dropout rates this week. The blog is in response to a sensationalist Sky News story which targets individual programmes at three universities with dropout rates of 50-60% without considering the validity of the statistics.
Hammond reports that the true picture for the national dropout rate for 2014/15 is near a record low at 6.2%, yet pockets of poor retention are seen within mature students at 11.8%; LPN (students coming from geographical populations where few access HE provision) at 8.2%; and acknowledges ethnicity can also be a factor. (Note: Hammond is only looking at non-completion in first year undergraduate students.)
The blog considers how universities retain students (see paragraphs 3 and 4 here) such as ensuring study choices are right for the student through providing clear information and outreach programmes, inclusive measures and the sticky campus concept.
A commenter to the blog (Andy Penaluna) questions why we don’t track student dropout for positive career opportunities.
Science and Innovation Audits
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) invited consortia to form around geographic and technological themes and apply to be involved in the science and innovation audit (SIA) process. These consortia are made up of businesses, universities, research and innovation organisations, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and their equivalents in the devolved administrations.
The summary report presents the findings of the second wave of audits:
Bioeconomy of the North of England
Enabling Technologies in Scotland’s Central Belt
Innovation South, Digital Enabling Technologies
Medical Technologies in the Leeds City Region
OffShore Renewable Energy
Oxfordshire Transformative Technologies Alliance
Alternative Providers
HEFCE have commenced a planned series of blogs on Alternative Providers. On Wednesday they explored the diversity of alternative providers in Alternative providers: debunking the myths. The blog covers the variability of alternative providers with regard to sizes, focus, geographical location and student loan eligibility. The blog is a useful simple introduction for colleagues unfamiliar with alternative providers.
Q: Bambos Charalambous – Whether she plans to (a) cap or (b) reduce the interest rate applied to student loans.
A: Jo Johnson – We have a world class student finance system, which has enabled record numbers of people to benefit from a university education. Latest UCAS data for 2017 shows more disadvantaged young people have been accepted to university than for the whole of the 2016 application cycle.
The student funding system removes financial barriers for anyone hoping to study, and is backed by the taxpayer. The interest rate on student loans remains significantly below the relevant Bank of England reference rate for unsecured personal lending. In addition, the repayment terms of student loans are significantly more favourable for the borrowers than commercial loans. Monthly repayments are linked to income and not to the amount borrowed or the interest rate. Borrowers earning less than the repayment threshold of £21,000 repay nothing at all. Loans are written off after 30 years with no detriment to the borrower, and student loans are available to all eligible students regardless of their previous financial history.
As with all Government policy, we continue to keep the detailed features of the system under review to ensure it remains fair and effective.
The Scottish Funding Council published a report on Widening Access 2015-16 showing dropout rates for disadvantaged students at 13% (drop out is 7% for affluent students). The Herald covers the story here.
The Guardian report on Clearing 2017: what worked for universities, and what didn’t shares a perspective from four universities on this year’s Clearing marketing practices.
Fees – Simon Marginson blogs for Wonkhe highlighting that the contribution a university education makes as public goods hasn’t been picked up during the current tuition fee wrangling. It touches upon accessibility to HE, a graduate’s more discriminating understanding of culture, and goods at the collective level – new knowledge created by research, positive effects of higher education on social tolerance. On the TEF Simon writes: If higher education institutions follow the logic of the consumer market and the Teaching Excellence Framework as the government wants them to do, over time unfinanced public goods will be whittled away. The TEF requires institutions to focus on maximising individual student satisfaction scores and individual employability. This requires England’s universities to target more precisely their spending and activities to maximise performance as measured by the TEF indicators. In other words, the more the university neglects extraneous unfunded public goods such its contributions to the local region, the more ‘effective’ it will become. Simon ends by debating whether the private/public split that funds HE should be differently balanced.
The Guardian ran an article on overseas academics who have been refused visas to speak at UK conferences.
Tags: alternative providers immigration politics science and innovation student fees student retention tuition fees UKRI widening participation
HE policy update for the w/e 8th September
EU, international, policy, REF Subjects, Research news jforster
Well, Parliament is back and we have had a lively start to the autumn.
On 1st September 2017 HEFCE published the initial decisions on REF 2021. This does not include decisions regarding submitting staff, output portability or the eligibility of institutions to participate in the REF. There is another consultation on those issues and BU’s response is being prepared by RKEO – please contact Julie Northam if you would like to be involved. Thanks to Julie for these highlights of the announcement:
Assessment weightings:
Outputs 60% (down from 65%)
Impact 25% (up from 20%)
Environment 15% (same but now includes impact strategy)
HESA cost centres will not be used to allocate staff to UOAs. Responsibility for mapping staff into UOAs will therefore remain with institutions.
UOA structure:
Total UOAs reduced from 36 to 34
Engineering will be a single UOA – UOA 12
REF 2014 UOA 17 will be restructured to form UOA 14: Geography and Environmental Studies and UOA 15: Archaeology
‘Film and Screen Studies’ will be located and included in the name of UOA 33: Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies
HEFCE will continue consulting with the subject communities for forensic science and criminology to consider concerns raised about visibility. A decision is expected this autumn.
Impact: Underpinning research must have been produced between 1 Jan 2000 – 31 Dec 2020 andimpacts must have occurred between 1 Aug 2013 – 31 Jul 2020.
Environment: Environment data (such as income and doctoral completions) will be considered for the period 1 Aug 2013 – 31 Jul 2020.
Outputs: The assessment period for the publication of outputs will be 1 Jan 2014 – 31 Dec 2020.
The draft REF 2021 guidance will be published in summer/autumn 2018 and the final guidance will be published in winter 2018-19. The submission will be in autumn 2020.
Outputs:
Interdisciplinary research:Each sub-panel will have at least one appointed member to oversee and participate in the assessment of interdisciplinary research submitted in that UOA. There will be an interdisciplinary research identifier for outputs in the REF submission system (not mandatory).There will be a discrete section in the environment template for the unit’s structures in support of interdisciplinary research.
Outputs due for publication after the submission date: A reserve output may be submitted.
Assessment metrics: Quantitative metrics may be used to inform output assessment. This will be determined by the sub-panels. Data will be provided by HEFCE.
Impact will have a greater weighting in REF 2021 (25% overall plus impact included in the environment template and therefore weighting).
The guidance on submitting impacts on teaching will be widened to include impacts within, and beyond, the submitting institution.
Impacts remain eligible for submission by the institution in which the associated research was conducted. They must be underpinned by excellent research (at least REF 2*).
The number of case studies required – still not confirmed – HEFCE are exploring this in relation to the rules on staff submission and the number of outputs.
Case studies submitted to REF 2014 can be resubmitted to REF 2021, providing they meet the REF 2021 eligibility requirements.
The relationship between the underpinning research and impact will be broadened from individual outputs to include a wider body of work or research activity.
Institutional-level assessment (impact case studies): HEFCE will pilot this in 2018 but it will not be included in REF 2021.
Environment: The UOA-level environment template will be more structured, including the use of more quantitative data to evidence narrative content. It will include sections on the unit’s approach to:
supporting collaboration with organisations beyond HE
enabling impact – akin to the impact template in REF 2014
supporting equality and diversity
structures to support interdisciplinary research
open research, including the unit’s open access strategy and where this goes beyond the REF open access policy requirements
Institutional-level assessment (environment):
Institution-level information will be included in the UOA-level environment template, assessed by the relevant sub-panel.
HEFCE will pilot the standalone assessment of institution-level environment information as part of REF 2021, but this will not form part of the REF 2021 assessment. The outcomes will inform post-REF 2021 assessment exercises.
Jo Johnson’s UUK speech – the next steps for regulation
Jo Johnson gave a speech at the Universities UK annual conference on Thursday –prefaced by a deluge of press coverage. See the BBC, the Guardian, the Telegraph, for a sample. He started with a summary of the current state of the national debate on universities:
“Recent criticisms of higher education in the UK fall into two distinct camps: we might call them the Statists and the Pessimists. The Statists direct their criticism at student finance. They argue that the most important thing we can do is to abolish tuition fees.” and “The second group of critics, the Pessimists, have an altogether bleaker view of Higher Education. They argue that university is inappropriate for many students, that student numbers should be significantly reduced and that students should pursue other types of post-18 education”.
The Minister rejected the calls for a change to the fee structure, consistent with other speeches over the summer (see the Policy Update for the w/e 21st July 2017). He said that the “Statist” approach is “bad for social mobility, bad for university funding, bad for taxpayers”. [ See the UUK announcements on this below. In the FT on 8th September, it is reported that Theresa May is soliciting views on tuition fees policy in an attempt to close the generational gap, with Lord Willetts attending a meeting at No 10. So despite the regular assurances of no change, this is still one to watch.] To the Pessimists, his message was that “Post-18 education is not a zero-sum game, where to improve further education we must restrict and ration higher education to a privileged few”. But he said that there must be a strong economic return from a “mass system of higher education”. He highlighted graduate salaries, an increase in GDP and national productivity. [see below for the UUK position on fees and funding]
The Minister referred to concerns about value for money and used the same words as when launching the Green Paper, talking about “patchy teaching”. He also attacked the sector for grade inflation: “There has been a significant increase in the proportion of people receiving firsts and 2:1 degrees over the past five years that cannot be explained by rising levels of attainment. Grade inflation is tearing through English Higher Education. On the face of it, the facts are shocking….Grade inflation can fuel disengagement on both sides – if students know that 80-90 per cent will get a 2:1 or first from a high-reputation provider, there is less incentive to work hard – and less incentive by the provider to focus on teaching.” The Minister attacked league tables for encouraging grade inflation by using first degrees as a metric.
And he listed 5 measures that would deliver value for money:
The TEF – including subject level TEF (see more below in the TEF update)
A focus on grade inflation – as part of the TEF (see below), and be requiring the OfS to report on degree classifications and challenge providers to explain any data that suggested grade inflation, and calling on the sector to take action themselves, for example by developing a sector-recognised minimum standard. This is something that will no doubt be the subject of debate in the months to come. This could have parallels in some PSRB accreditation systems – an analogy that may be worth exploring.
Student contracts -this was also discussed in the July speech (see the Policy Update for the w/e 21st July 2017). This time, the Minister said that the Competition and Markets Authority guidance was only “patchily observed”. The OfS will be asked to “embed in the system student contracts that are clear, quantifiable and fair”. There is a consultation to follow on making this a registration condition.
Accelerated degrees – we are waiting for the formal response to the call for evidence last year but a consultation will be taking place on the new fee cap that would be required to support this – allowing providers to charge more than £9250 per year (but with a lower overall cost for the whole programme).
VC Pay – the OfS to introduce a new condition of registration that they publish salary data for the top earners and provide a justification, supported by guidance. The OfS will analyse and publish this data. The Minister called for the Committee of University Chairs to develop a new Remuneration Code.
UUK position
In a blog on 5th September 2017, Chris Hale, the Director of Policy of UUK responded to the debate over the summer, referring to a report from UK2020 that was published this week and repeated allegations of the sector operating a cartel to fix prices for degrees. In a speech presumably written without advance knowledge of what the Minister was going to say, and trailed in the press on Tuesday, the new President of UUK, Professor Janet Beer, VC of Liverpool University did call for changes to undergraduate funding. She referred to “vexed issues and opportunities” and gave a staunch defence of the sector and its contribution to health, happiness and the economy.
On student finance, Professor Beer said that the system was not broken but that it needed to feel fairer, and highlighted three areas for action:
Targeted maintenance grants
Lower interest rate for low and middle-income earners. [On this point it is interesting to note that this is how it already works – see the blog from Martin Lewis on MoneySavingExpert.com which he tweeted again to respond to this story and the clip below]
Ensuring that the benefits of the current system are better understood – e.g. 35% of the cost of educating students is contributed by the government and 75% of students have some of their debt written off.
UUK have now published a Parliamentary briefing on the funding issues.
On senior pay:
“It’s understandable that high pay is questioned and it is right to expect that the process for determining pay for senior staff is rigorous and the decision-making process is transparent. It is also reasonable to expect that decisions are explained and justified.”, and continuing:
“However, the current debate has lost sight of the facts and shows little understanding of the role that present-day vice-chancellors play not only in their own university, but in their communities, regions and on the national and international stage. The role of the vice-chancellor has evolved from leading a community of scholars, to leading large, complex, global organisations; organisations with multi-million pound turnovers, with thousands of staff working in a variety of roles, and which play an increasingly prominent role in the economic prosperity of our regions and nations. First-rate leadership is necessary for a university to be successful, and competitive remuneration is needed to attract the best leaders with the skills to lead these complex global organisations.
There have also been questions raised about the pay of our leading researchers and senior professional staff. We should remember that senior staff are choosing to work at our universities to deliver public good when they might otherwise choose to work in the private sector, attracting far higher remuneration. We must not let them be put off by comments that they are not worth it or their contribution is not valued.”
Nick Hillman of HEPI also writes in response that autonomy is more important than regulation in this area: “Just a few months ago, when the Higher Education and Research Act was still in short trousers, there was widespread concern that the Office for Students would not have due regard to university autonomy. Insisting they tackle vice-chancellors’ pay as one of the most urgent priorities (and before they have taken charge) will not assuage such concerns.”
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) update
In his speech at the Universities UK annual conference on Thursday, Jo Johnson referred to a lessons learned exercise that the government has carried out on year 2 of TEF. This used the UK survey we referred to in the Policy Update w/e 1st September 2017 as well as feedback from a range of stakeholders and desk based research of the metrics. The full report plus the specification are due to be published later in September 2017. These changes will also be included in the subject level TEF pilot. The UUK review is also discussed on Wonkhe here.
A new metric on grade inflation (see context in Jo Johnson’s speech above). This will be a supplementary metric which will not form part of the core metrics and the process of assessing the initial hypothesis, but will be considered by the assessors while considering Rigour and Stretch (TQ3). This will be based on a provider declaration and will “record the proportion of firsts, 2:1s and other grades as a percentage of all classified degrees at that provider 1, 2, 3 and 10 years before the year of assessment”. If the data shows that there has been grade inflation the provider will presumably have to use their written submission to demonstrate how it is being addressed. Also, the number of firsts and 2:1s cannot be considered as evidence for the quality of teaching.
Changes to the NSS weighting – these are interesting – particularly as there was no formal weighting for any metrics in the TEF guidance before, and no specific weighting for metrics v the written submission either. That was why there was so much interest when the Chair of the TEF Panel, Chris Husbands, suggested that the role of the NSS in the decisions on TEF should be downplayed. The paper describes this in more details in Annex B – this is a change to the way that the “initial hypothesis” (based on metrics) will be formed.
Changes to address the NSS boycott, by averaging the scores across the three years or simply omitting 2017.
Part-time providers (those with over 35% part-time students) will also be able to provide additional information relating to their part-time students and a separate assessment will be formed for part-time students.
Absolute values: in a change which has been flagged as a nod to the Russell Group providers who received Bronze awards in the TEF (and who, in some cases, complained about the benchmarking process), alongside the benchmarking, the top and bottom 10% values for each metric will also be highlighted (with stars and exclamation marks). This will reinforce a positive or negative flag but can also be taken into account by the assessors – although a star will be ignored if there is a negative flag or a negative flag for a split metric (so that high performing institutions with negative flags for disadvantaged groups cannot benefit). Exclamation marks will be ignored if there is a positive flag.
Longitudinal Education Outcomes data (LEO) will be included as “supplementary” data – this will not affect the initial hypothesis but will be considered alongside the submission. The metrics to be included are the proportion of graduates in sustained employment or further study three years after graduation and the proportion of graduates in sustained employment earning over the median salary for 25 – 29 year olds (currently £21,000) or in further study
“Gaming” – the Director for Fair Access will be given an opportunity to comment on “gaming” has taken place (defined as “a significant alteration in a provider’s student profile since the last TEF assessment, that involves a reduction in the proportion of students from disadvantaged groups”. In extreme cases, this might lead to disqualification.
Separate from all this a research paper by Camille Kandiko Howson of Kings College and Alex Buckley of the University of Strathclyde has been published which looks at the UK Engagement Survey – something that was tipped to be a potential metric for TEF if it was more widely adopted.
Justine Greening announced that the new Director of Fair Access and Participation when the Office for Students if formed will be Chris Millward, who has been Director of Policy at HEFCE. The new role will have a focus on progression and outcomes as well as access for disadvantaged and under-represented groups in Higher Education.
In the meantime, the Brexit negotiations continue and a flurry of papers have been published by the UK government and the EU. The most interesting one is the one on Collaboration on Science and Innovation. The paper has lots of warm words on collaboration but little detail on what a future arrangement with the EU might look like. On Horizon 202, the paper suggests that the UK will be seeking “associated” status (it says “associated countries have the same level of access to Horizon 2020 as EU Member States. Associated countries do not have a formal vote over the work programme, but can attend programme committees, which provides them with a degree of influence. Terms of association (including financial contributions) vary, and are determined by international agreements with the EU.“)
The overall conclusions are:
“The UK wants to continue playing a major role in creating a brighter future for all European citizens by strengthening collaboration with European partners in science and innovation.
To this end, the UK will seek to agree a far-reaching science and innovation agreement with the EU that establishes a framework for future collaboration. There are a range of existing precedents for collaboration that the UK and the EU can build on, but our uniquely close relationship means there may be merit in designing a more ambitious agreement. The UK hopes to have a full and open discussion with the EU about all of these options as part of the negotiations on our future partnership.
The UK would welcome dialogue with the EU on the shape of a future science and innovation agreement, reflecting our joint interest in promoting continued close cooperation, for the benefit of UK and European prosperity”
Of course, the other interesting Brexit story was the paper we weren’t meant to see – the leaked draft on migration (read more in the Guardian report). The draft proposed work permits for EU citizens with a two year limit, language tests for EU students and ensuring that they have sufficient funds before they come to the UK (which implies that they will not qualify for student loans). None of these things is particularly surprising even if unwelcome – essentially the same type of restrictions would apply as apply currently to international students. What is most interesting about this is the reaction and the timing – Amber Rudd has only just announced a review of the impact of international students and a review into the social impact of Brexit – both of which will not report until September 2018. Damien Green on the Today programme said that the real paper would be launched “in a few weeks” – at the Conservative Party Conference?
Other interesting reading
The Higher Education Policy Institute published:
a blog on graduate entrepreneurs and what universities could do to support them
a report on the crisis in the creative arts in the UK – looking at what has happened in schools and suggesting that the increased and simplistic focus on graduate employment outcomes will impoverish education and damage outcomes (see the TEF report above).
Tags: accelerated degrees Brexit creative arts entrepreneurship grade inflation immigration maintenance grants ref 2021 student contracts student finance TEF
HE Policy update w/e 25th August 2017
EU, Funding opportunities, Fusion, Impact, innovation, international, policy, Research news jforster
Immigration, International Students and Brexit
The government have commissioned a series of assessments and reviews of the impact of immigration policy and Brexit via the Migration Advisory Committee:
Call for evidence and briefing note: EEA-workers in the UK labour market – we will be responding on the HE questions via UCEA and UUK and we are considering a regional response, please let Sarah or I know if you have evidence that would be relevant to this – it is looking at EEA migration trends, recruitment practices and economic and social impacts.
a detailed assessment of the social and economic impact of international students in the UK. We would expect a call for evidence for this to follow. Looking at both EU and non-EU students, the MAC will be asked to consider:
the impact of tuition fees and other spending by international students on the national, regional, and local economy and on the education sector
the role students play in contributing to local economic growth
the impact their recruitment has on the provision and quality of education provided to domestic students.
The Commissioning Letter from Amber Rudd says: “The Digital Economy Act provides a unique opportunity to improve understanding of the migration data and as part of this work the Home Office will be working with the ONS and other Government departments to improve the use of administrative data. This will lead to a greater understanding of how many migrants are in the UK, how long they stay for, and what they are currently doing. The ONS will be publishing an article in September setting out this fuller work plan and the timetable for moving towards this landscape for administrative data usage”
As well as the post-Brexit future of students, the letter also makes reference to the Tier 4 visa pilot which was launched last year and included a handful of universities. Amber Rudd says “the pilot is being carefully evaluated and, if successful, could be rolled out more widely”.
The pilot covered masters courses at 4 universities:
Masters course for 13 months or less at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Bath or Imperial College London.
Participating in the pilot allowed students to:
stay for six months after the end of the course;
submit fewer evidential documents with their applications – e.g. previous qualifications and documents relating to maintenance requirements
A deluge of other data and reports gave also been published:
The Home Office has published its second report on statistics being collected under the exit checks programme – Exit checks data.
For the 1.34m visas granted to non-EEA nationals and which expired in 2016/17, where individuals did not obtain a further extension to stay longer in the UK, 96.3% departed in time (that is before their visa expired)
A National Statistics update has been published which gives a breakdown of all the data
Additional analysis by Office for National Statistics (ONS) on international students, has been published
The Centre for Population Change has published the findings of a survey it carried out in March 2017 in partnership with the ONS and UUK. The survey looked at the intentions of graduating overseas students and found:
The majority of students do not intend to stay in the UK for more than a year after finishing their studies (and those that stated they intended to stay were not certain of their post-study plans, particularly non-EU students).
Fewer than one in ten international students plan to stay in the UK indefinitely and find a job.
According to UUK:
Exit checks data shows that student overstaying is at worst 3% and much of the 3% of undetermined outcomes may be due to individuals leaving via routes where there are no exit checks currently (such as via the Common Travel Area). This means student visa compliance is at least 97%, far higher than previous (incorrect) claims.
The Home Office exit checks data provides a more accurate picture (than the International Passenger Survey – IPS) of what non-EU students do after their initial period of leave to study
The ONS report suggest that the IPS is likely to underestimate student emigration – therefore any implied student net migration figure is likely to be an overestimate
The ONS also commits to working with colleagues across the government statistics service to utilise all available administrative systems to further improve migration statistics. They have also asked for UUK’s input to this work.
A survey of access agreements has been published this week by the Office for Fair Access. In their press release OFFA note that every university has committed to working with schools to help increase access to HE. The report also notes that universities will focus on improved evaluation of the impact of financial support and an evidence based approach more generally, a specific focus on White working class males and BME attainment, and more support for mental health issues. The amount universities spend on widening access will rise.
Responding to the survey, UUK Chief Executive, Alistair Jarvis, said: “The enhancements in support provided by universities has helped to increase the entry rate for disadvantaged young people to record levels. All UK universities work hard to widen participation and support disadvantaged students throughout their time at university. It is right to expect a continued focus on support for disadvantaged students to make further progress in closing the gap between different student groups.”
The formal outcome of the Industrial Strategy consultation is still pending. However, there has been a reasonable amount of activity in the meantime and we thought it might be helpful to do a round up.
The HoC Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee published its first review in February 2017
The HoC Science and Technology committee published a report into science and STEM skills linked to the Industrial Strategy in March 2017
Clusters – The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) have set up a Creative Industries Clusters Programme, starting in 2018, to facilitate collaboration between the industry and universities. The pre-call announcement sets out the plan for at least 8 research and development partnerships, each led by an HEI, and a Policy and Evidence Centre. Calls will apparently open in October 2018.
Sector deals – As part of the Industrial strategy green paper, the government announced that there were 5 sector reviews taking place and suggested that they would welcome more.
Sir John Bell: on life sciences – according to the Telegraph, this review will report later this summer – there is also an inquiry by the Lords Science and Technology Committee that closes on 15th September
Richard Parry-Jones: on the transition to ultra low emission vehicles – read more here (see the funding for battery research below)
Juergen Maier: on industrial digitalisation – interim report published in July 2017
Lord Hutton: on improving UK competitiveness and skills in the nuclear industry
Sir Peter Bazalgette: on the creative industries
Other organisations are setting up consultations and other reviews to respond to the Industrial Strategy, such as:
Tourism Sector Deal consultation being run by VisitBritain – the survey closed on 7th
Robotics Sector Deal consultation run by Innovate UK and on 6th September a Robotics Sector Deal Consultation Workshop will be held in London
The Ceramics Industry – by the British Ceramics Confederation
Construction Industry – by the Construction Leadership council
The interim findings of the industrial digitalisation review are interesting – they are working on a final report for the autumn of 2017:
It highlights a need for more leadership – with “much stronger marketing and messaging” and proposed the establishment of a Digital Technology Institute and Digital Technology Networks
It discusses issues with adoption rates for technology, particularly among SMEs and suggests better support for businesses via LEPs and other organisations, work on skills through interventions such as an Institute of Digital Engineering
Innovation – the interim review suggests looking at additive manufacturing and AI – and creating new industries in autonomous operations, but also providing kite marked content for businesses.
Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund – Innovate UK are running the Industrial strategy Challenge Fund – in April 2017 they identified 6 “core industrial challenges”:
Driverless vehicles – 2 competitions run by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles were announced in July 2017 for New connected and autonomous vehicle technologies
Manufacturing and materials of the future – £15million awarded in June 2017 for a range of projects
Satellites and space technology – no large projects announced yet
Robotics and artificial intelligence – a competition was launched in June 2017 for robotics in extreme and hazardous environments
Clean and flexible energy –
The Faraday Challenge competitions were announced in July 2017 offering funding for projects on:
Battery innovation for the electrification of vehicles
National battery manufacturing development facility
EPSRC research call for research into batteries
You can read more on the Innovate UK blog.
Healthcare and medicines
A digital health competition was announced in July 2017 for feasibility or development projects that advance digital health or digitally-enabled medical technologies. You can read more on the Innovate UK blog
It is also worth looking at the smaller projects funded by Innovate UK under this theme
Interesting reading
House of Lords Library briefing on Digital Skills in the UK – published ahead of a debate on 7th September 2017
On-line information and Fake News – POST report July 2017
Tags: Brexit immigration industrial strategy international students widening participation
Congratulations to Dr. Keen on new Nepal publication
BU research, international, open access, PG research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen
Congratulations to Dr. Steve Keen in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences and BU PhD graduate Dr. Pratik Adhikary on the acceptance today of their paper ‘Risky work: Accidents among Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia, Qatar and Saudi ‘ by the journal Health Prospect [1]. This is a peer-reviewed public health journal, part of Nepal Journals Online, and the journal is Open Access. Nepal Journals OnLine (NepJOL) provides access to Nepalese published research, and increase worldwide knowledge of indigenous scholarship.
The Faculty of Health & Social Sciences has a growing number of publications on health and migration research, especially on the health and well-being of migrants from Nepal [2-5].
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Adhikary, P., Sheppard, Z., Keen, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Risky work: Accidents among Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia, Qatar and Saudi, Health Prospect (forthcoming)
Adhikary, P., Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen E., Raja, AE. (2008) Health & Lifestyle of Nepalese Migrants in the UK BMC International Health & Human Rights 8(6). Web address: www.biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/8/6.
van Teijlingen E, Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P. (2009) Alcohol use among the Nepalese in the UK BMJ Rapid Response: www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/339/oct20_1/b4028#223451
Adhikary P., Keen S., van Teijlingen, E. (2011) Health Issues among Nepalese migrant workers in Middle East. Health Science Journal 5: 169-175. www.hsj.gr/volume5/issue3/532.pdf
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P., Bhatta, Y.K.D., Mann, S. (2016) Injury and Mortality in Young Nepalese Migrant Workers: A Call for Public Health Action. Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health 28(8): 703-705.
Tags: BU research CMMPH Health immigration migrants Nepal open access Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen publication social sciences work
HE Policy update w/e 28th July 2017
EU, international, policy, Research news jforster
Migration & Brexit – the big news this week was the announcement on Thursday that there would be a major study of EU workers and the role that they play in the UK economy and society. This has been welcomed although there has been criticism of the timing (it should have been started before and will only report in September 2018 – 6 months before the UK leaves the EU). The committee will look at:
current patterns of EU and EEA migration, looking at sectors, regional distribution, skill levels, duration of assignments, self employment, entrepreneurs, part time, agency, temporary and seasonal workers, the evolution of EU and EEA migration since 2000 and possible future trends (absent new immigration controls)
the methods of recruitment used by UK employers to employ EU and EEA migrants and how does this impact on UK workers
the economic and social costs and benefits, including fiscal impacts to the UK economy and impacts on public services and infrastructure of EU and EEA migration
is it possible to estimate the potential impact of any future reductions in EU and EEA migration and how may these be felt differently across the economy and society? How could business adjust if EU and EEA net migration was substantially reduced? What mitigating actions could be taken by employers and government and over what timescale?
Aligning the UK immigration system with a modern industrial strategy
What is the current impact of immigration, both EU, EEA and non-EEA, on the competitiveness of UK industry, including on productivity, innovation and labour market flexibility?
What impact does immigration have on skills and training?
Is there any evidence that the free availability of unskilled labour has contributed to the UK’s relatively low rate of investment in some sectors?
Are there advantages to focussing migrant labour on highly skilled jobs or across the entire skills spectrum?
Does the shortage occupation list need to be amended to include skills shortages at lower skills levels than NQF6?
What lessons can be drawn from the approach taken by other countries.
The government remains steadfast in its plans to include students within net migration figures. There has been limited understanding on how far students contribute to migration until recently when Migration Watch UK published a report showing that in the last seven years nearly 200,000 grants of settlement (approx. 27,000 per year) were made to non-EU citizens who entered the UK to study.
Lord Green of Deddington, Chairman of Migration Watch UK said: “It would be absurd to remove students from the net migration target when close to 200,000 grants of settlement in recent years were to former students. Graduates are no doubt valuable to our economy but, with immigration driving our population at the fastest annual rate for nearly 70 years, we must have an honest assessment of the contribution of students who stay on.”
Despite this recent report the quality of migration information, particularly relating to the economic activity of immigrants, is not robust and the Economic Affairs Committee has called for this to be addressed to facilitate the intended new immigration system. The Lords have also stated the Government must devise a better way of accounting for the departure of international students.
Meanwhile rumours of a transition deal whereby free movement of EU citizens into the UK will continue for two to four years after Britain leaves the EU. Politics Home reports this would allow British business to avoid the ‘cliff edge’, with a new immigration system introduced after that period.
Local MP Tobias Ellwood broke ranks recently declaring he believes the drop in EU students to be as a result of uncertainty around Brexit.
Q: Gordon Marsden: What plans her Department has to ensure that changes to immigration rules will not reduce the number of EU students able to study in UK universities.
A: Brandon Lewis: We are working across Government to identify and develop options to shape our future immigration system. Parliament will have an important role to play in this and we will ensure universities and the higher education sector have the opportunity to contribute their views.
Q: Gordon Marsden: What discussions she has had with university representative bodies on the effect of changes to immigration rules on students from the EU studying in UK universities.
A: Brandon Lewis: [The same response as above was given] We are working across Government to identify and develop options to shape our future immigration system. Parliament will have an important role to play in this and we will ensure universities and the higher education sector have the opportunity to contribute their views.
Research post Brexit – Parliamentary Questions
Q: Edward Vaizey: What plans the Government has for the relationship between the UK and the European Research Council after the UK leaves the EU.
A: Joseph Johnson: This Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for researchers, innovators and investors across the world, and we intend to secure the right outcome for the UK research base as we exit the European Union. As my Rt Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said, we would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives. However it is too early to speculate on the UK’s future relationship with the EU Research and Innovation Framework Programme, which includes the European Research Council. The Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains a world leader in international research and innovation.
T-levels delayed – Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton confirmed the first T-levels (new technical qualifications for the 16-19 age group) have been delayed until 2020, with the remaining T-level routes planned to come on board from September 2022. This was welcome news to the sector – awarding bodies had been calling for an extension to the ‘impossible’ timescale, no appointments had been made to the T-level advisory development panels, and the DfE had challenged the plan to only have one awarding body per qualification. Pippa Morgan, Head of Education & Skills at the Confederation of British Industry, said the delay was “welcome news” because the technical education reforms were “important and complicated”. David Hughes, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, welcomed the timetable change because T-levels will require a “massive effort because of the complexity of the change, but also because we also collectively need to challenge the snobbery and unfairness which goes well beyond the education system”.
HE Patterns and Trends – UUK published Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education 2017 covering the period 2006/7-2015/16.
Disadvantaged backgrounds – Students from a wider range of backgrounds are now entering higher education, with the number of 18-year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds on full-time undergraduate courses increasing by 52% since 2006 and reaching record levels in 2016.
Demand for courses – Entrants to full-time first-degree, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research courses have increased considerably since 2006–07 (by 31.2%, 30.5% and 25.7% respectively), and the proportion of 18 year olds applying and entering HE were at record levels in 2016. However, demand for part-time courses has continued to decline, with entrants to part-time first degree courses falling by 28.6% and entrants to other part-time undergraduate courses by 63.1% since 2006-07.
International staff – Non-UK nationals accounted for nearly two thirds of growth in all academic staff since 2006-07. For some subjects, such as engineering, and the humanities and language-based studies, non-UK nationals have accounted for most of the growth in academic staff numbers (63.5% and 54.6% of growth between 2006–07 and 2015–16 respectively).
Staff equality and diversity – Between 2009–10 and 2015–16, consistent increases are reported in the number and proportion of both black and minority ethnic (BME) and female professors. BME professors increased by 50.7% over the period (compared to 10.5% for white staff) and female professors increased by 41.8% (compared to 6.5% for males), however both groups are still under-represented among professors in 2015-16.
Employment – Young and older graduates have had consistently lower unemployment rates and higher earnings compared with non-graduates, even during recessions. In 2016, graduates aged 21-30 were 40% less likely to be unemployed compared to non-graduates in the same age group.
Commenting on the report, Dame Julia Goodfellow, President of Universities UK and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, said: “The report covers a ten-year period that has seen significant changes for universities, both in terms of the way they are funded and their increasingly important roles locally and internationally. During this time, there has been continued growth in the overall demand for university courses and the number of younger students from disadvantaged backgrounds has increased. However, UK universities continue to face a number of challenges, including the possible impact of Brexit. We have to continue to work hard to attract the staff, students, funding and partnerships that are central to the sector’s, and the country’s, success.”
There is a forward-looking chapter on some of the emerging demographic, technological, economic and political changes and the opportunities and challenges for the sector within the full document.
Q: Gordon Marsden: What assessment she has made of the reasons for the decline in part-time undergraduate study among (a) higher-income households and (b) lower-income households
A: Joseph Johnson: “Studying part-time brings enormous benefits for individuals, the economy and employers. Government regularly assesses the reasons for the decline in part-time undergraduate numbers since their peak in 2008 but does not hold data on their household income background. We are committed to helping people from all backgrounds enter higher education in a way that suits them and we have taken action to support those who to choose to study part-time. These actions include: From 2012, the offer of up-front fee loans for eligible part-time students, to level the playing field with undergraduate study; From academic year 2018/19, the introduction of undergraduate part-time maintenance loans, to bring greater parity of support between part-time and full-time; From 2015, the relaxation of Equivalent or Lower Qualification rules, so students who already hold an honours degree qualification and wish to study part-time on a second honours degree course in engineering, technology or computer science, have qualified for fee loans for their course. This is being extended for academic year 2017/18 to graduates starting a second part-time honours degree course in any STEM subject”.
Q: Angela Rayner: What assessment she has made of the effect of (a) rising tuition fees and (b) the abolition of maintenance grants on the increasing proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are dropping out of higher education; and if she will make a statement.
A: Joseph Johnson: “The Department for Education published an equality analysis in May 2016, to cover the reforms set out in the Success as a Knowledge Economy White Paper , that were subsequently taken forward through the Higher Education and Research Act (2017). This included an assessment of the impact of allowing institutions who were successful in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment process to increase their fees up to inflation. The Department also published in December 2016 an Equality Analysis for the 2017/18 student finance package, which covered both the increase in fees and accompanying loan support. These assessments concluded that this change was unlikely to significantly alter participation decisions. Tuition fees will not increase in real terms and Higher Education and publicly funded institutions will remain free at the point of access for those who are eligible, as tuition fee loans will increase to cover increased tuition fees”. Equality Analysis – Higher Education and Research Bill (published May 2016).
“The Government is committed to maintaining the UK’s world class higher education system while living within its means and ensuring all those with the talent to benefit from a higher education can afford to do so. To put higher education funding onto a more sustainable footing, the Government asked future graduates to meet more of the costs of their studies through replacing maintenance grants with loans. The equality analysis for the 2016/17 student support regulations assessed the impact of this policy change, including the impact on students from low income backgrounds.”
“Non-continuation rates for UK students at English Higher Education Institutions are lower than in 2009/10, including for the most disadvantaged students. Analysis by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has found that students’ age, subject studied and entry qualifications account for a substantial portion of the gap between the most and least disadvantaged students.
“Young people from the poorest areas are now 43% more likely to go to university than they were in 2009/10. Not only are application rates among 18-year-olds in England at record highs, but drop-out rates for young, mature, disadvantaged and BME students are all lower now than they were when the coalition government came to power in 2010.
“By measuring retention rates as one of its core metrics and requiring all participating providers to submit a statement for fair access, the TEF aims to recognise those institutions that do the most to welcome students from a range of backgrounds and support their retention and progression to further study or a graduate job.
“We want to continue to see reduced non-continuation rates for all students. The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 requires institutions to publish admissions and retention data by gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background, and this greater transparency will help the Higher Education sector make further progress to build on what has already been achieved. We are working closely with HEFCE and the Director of Fair Access to target resources effectively and to ensure that universities take more responsibility for widening access and retention for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, prioritising activities that demonstrate the greatest value for money.”
Local MP Christopher Chope intends to present a large number of Private Members’ Bills when parliament reconvenes in September. Private Members’ Bills rarely complete the process to become legislation – there is a ballot as to which are discussed but the limitations on parliamentary time means they do not get often get much further. Some of the Bills proposed by Mr Chope include:
Voter Registration – a Bill seeking to prohibit persons from being registered to vote in Parliamentary elections in more than one constituency; and for connected purposes. [This is in direct contrast to the Lords’ amendments during the Higher Education and Research Bill which aimed to increase overall numbers of students registered to vote by facilitating cooperation between universities and local Councils but picks up on press stories that students may have voted twice, increasing the Labour vote.]
Student Loans (Debt Interest) – a Bill to limit the rate of interest chargeable on outstanding student loan debt; and for connected purposes.
Student Loans (Debt Discharge) – a Bill to make provision about the forgiveness or discharge of student loan debt in certain circumstances; to make provision about the treatment of student loan debt in bankruptcy proceedings; and for connected purposes.
Principal Local Authorities (Grounds for Abolition) – a Bill to prohibit principal local authorities being abolished in the absence of the authority of its elected councillors and a local referendum; and for connected purposes. [this one is directly linked to the proposals for the merger of Dorset local authorities, which Christchurch have opposed]
Benefits and Public Services (Restriction) – a Bill to make provision to restrict the entitlement of non-UK citizens to publicly-funded benefits and services; and for connected purposes.
Student Loans and Tuition Fees
The “national debate” continues with a lot of political squabbling and big focus from the government in criticising the Labour party’s alleged u-turn on writing off existing loans. Andrew McGettigan has written a blog on some inaccuracies in the reporting – our conclusion, it’s all very complicated and simple headlines are probably inaccurate. There were two parliamentary questions this week:
Q: Lord Hunt Of Kings Heath: What assessment they have made of the report of the Institute for Fiscal Studies on the public cost of student loans.
A: Viscount Younger Of Leckie: The Government has noted the recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The student funding system is fair and sustainable. The cost of the system is not an unintended loss, nor a waste of public money. It is the policy subsidy required to make higher education widely available, achieving the Government’s objectives of increasing the skills in the economy and ensuring access to university for all with the potential to benefit.
Q: Lord Hunt Of Kings Heath: What estimate they have made of the long-term cost of providing student loans.
A: Viscount Younger Of Leckie: The Government’s reforms to the undergraduate student finance system have ensured that it is financially sustainable for the taxpayer in the long-term, while enabling those with the talent to benefit from a higher education to be able to afford to do so. The Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge estimates the value of loans that will not be repaid during their 30-year term, expressed as a percentage of the loan outlay made in the relevant year. For full time tuition fee and maintenance loans and part time fee loans issued in 2016/17, we estimate the RAB charge to be around 30%.
Although so far this summer things haven’t gone particularly quiet, we are expecting less policy news over the next few weeks, so we will only send an update if there is enough interesting news – we’ll be back at full tilt in September.
Tags: Brexit EU H2020 EU staff immigration Student loans tuition fees
EU, policy, Student Engagement jforster
Learning gain pilot projects – HEFCE published the first annual report looking at the 13 pilot projects that are looking at how to measure learning gain and the value of the data that such measurements will produce. The final reports won’t be for a while – and then it will be interesting to see what happens.
Learning gain has been suggested by many as a better measure of student outcome and teaching quality than the current metrics used in the TEF. However, to become a core TEF metric there would need to be a national standard measure that was implemented across the sector. The current position is that institutions are free to include learning gain in their TEF submissions.
Of course the QAA or the OfS might start to be interested in any one particular model that they want to become standard. To make it work nationally there would either have to be mass testing (like SATs for university students) or another national survey alongside NSS and the new Graduate Outcomes survey (the new name for NewDLHE) – with surveys on enrolment and at other points across the lifecycle.
The report suggests embedding measurement “in the standard administrative procedures or formal curriculum” – which means a survey or test through enrolment and as part of our assessment programme.
The report notes that some institutions are already using the data that they are getting – for personalised support, in reviewing pedagogy and curriculum, to support promotional work for careers services or with alumni.
Industrial strategy – Greg Clark gave a speech on 10th July about the industrial strategy – notes have not been published, but there has been some tweeting – the main news is that there will be a formal green paper in the autumn. There was a mention of “self-reinforcing clusters that embed productivity via competition and collaboration”, and a repeat of the focus on place. It will be interesting to see what these self-reinforcing clusters look like and how they will be created and supported.
Social Mobility and Widening Participation
Sutton Trust Reports – The Sutton Trust have published reports on the State of Social Mobility in the UK, Social Mobility and Economic Success, and What the Polling Says.
Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl said Britain had very low social mobility compared with other countries. “Our research shows that if social mobility were brought up to the western European average, GDP would increase by 2.1%, equivalent to a monetary value of £39bn. The government should make improving social mobility a top priority. Alongside other initiatives there needs to be a concerted effort to… provide fairer access to schools and universities and address the numerous social barriers which exist.” Source
Key points include:
Public sentiment that people in the UK have’ equal opportunities to get on’ has dropped and only 29% believe today’s youth will have a better quality of life than their parents
When asked which measures would most likely improve social mobility and help disadvantaged young people get on in life, almost half of respondents (47%) chose ‘high quality teaching in comprehensive schools’, ahead of two social mobility policies adopted by the main parties in the recent election: ‘lower university tuition fees’ (cited by 23%) and more grammar schools (8%).
Without concerted effort, social mobility could deteriorate further due to trends shaping the future of work, including the rise of disruptive technologies, new ways of working, demographic changes and globalisation. Additionally we may see less stable full-time employment, greater demand for technical skills, and an increased value of essential life skills (such as confidence, motivation and communication). This will advantage those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, who typically have greater opportunities to develop these skills.
There has been a large increase in demand for STEM jobs. Studies show that there is a greater proportion of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in STEM subjects than in other subjects such as law and medicine. This could be positive for social mobility as the demand for STEM skills grows. In addition, technology could also create more opportunities for individuals to re-skill themselves through the use of free/low cost online learning platforms (such as MOOCs).
A modest increase in the UK’s social mobility (to the average level across Western Europe) could be associated with an increase in annual GDP of approximately 2%, equivalent to £590 per person or £39bn to the UK economy as a whole (in 2016 prices). One factor driving this relationship is the fact that improved social mobility should lead to an improvement in the match between people and jobs in society. Greater mobility means both that the talents of all young people are recognised and nurtured, and that the barriers to some jobs are reduced—these entry barriers exist because of biases in recruitment processes or inequality of educational opportunity.
State schools must do more to develop “soft” or “essential life skills” in less advantaged pupils, through a richer programme of extra-curricular activities.
Promotion of the apprenticeship model and vocational tracks, including the new ‘T-levels’ will be needed to ensure the supply of skills meets the demand in the labour market. Apprenticeships should combine workplace training with off-site study, and lead to a professional accreditation. There should be a focus on higher and advanced apprenticeships, along with automatic progression.
More should be done to increase the study of STEM subjects (particularly among women) to ensure young people are equipped for the changing world of work.
Mary Stuart blogs for Wonkhe: Social mobility can be much more than just widening HE access. Excerpt: what does this all mean for the work of universities to support upward social mobility? The focus on social mobility already grows our remit beyond widening access towards considering added value and employment. Our role as anchor institutions takes this further, to incorporate the wider economic and societal environment into which our students will graduate. Drawing together the breath of university activities in this way is particularly important for institutions operating in those areas that are seeking to catch up: it can include our work with schools, the design of new courses to meet employer demand, and expanding our provision into further education and more diverse delivery of higher education.
Schools – Justine Greening’s speech at the Sutton Trust Social Mobility Summit 2017 as (reported on the BBC): “Education Secretary Justine Greening has announced the creation of an “evidence champion” who will make sure that decisions on improving schools in England are based on real evidence. “We have a lot of evidence about what works in schools, but it’s not spread within the school system,” she said. Sir Kevan Collins, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, will be the first to take the role. Ms Greening said her top priority would be to improve social mobility
Widening Participation – In a compelling article, “I went from care to Cambridge University. Let me show you where the barriers are”, a care-leaver student writes about the cultural and psychological barriers she faced at university and urges institutions to do more than just facilitate access and bursaries to HE for WP students. She touches on the persistence of unhelpful messages about “not for the likes of us”, discouragement, peer attitudes and lack of awareness, alongside the general challenges a child in care has to overcome.
“Many solutions have been proposed, such as lowering entry grades for students from marginalised backgrounds, which I support. But such remedies will only ever help the tiniest fraction of those targeted, as so few care leavers even get to the point where a lower grade requirement may allow them to apply. Instead, what is needed is a radical overhaul of the way we conceive of social mobility in this country: from the merely economic, to the cultural. And the government needs to ensure that everyone – no matter their postcode or budget – has access to culture, literature, art, politics and science: not just at school, but in their neighbourhood and community. Studying these subjects needs to feel possible for children and young people from all backgrounds. There’s a reason why I’ve succeeded where others like me have stumbled: a reason that’s not related to my hard work, tenacity, or intellect … for most of my childhood I was surrounded by books, art and culture. It was not a lofty dream for me to apply to university. In my experience, nobody gets anywhere worth going without some degree of privilege. Our most important job is not to celebrate those who might have “pulled themselves up by their bootstraps”, but to ensure that those born with little social privilege have access to the information and cultural advantages that most people reading this can probably take for granted.”
Applications – the national picture
UCAS statistics have confirmed a 4% drop in full time applications nationally within the 2017 cycle. Particularly notable is the 19% reduction in nursing applications (attributed to the removal of bursaries and new fee paying status), alongside a 96% fall in EU nurses seeking to work in the UK.
They also report a 5% decrease in EU applications to HE institutions, offset slightly by the predicted slight rise in overseas applications. Applications from mature students continues to fall, which has also shows up in the nursing applications.
BBC: UK university applications fall by 4%
Times: Drop in students aiming to become nurses
Daily Mail: Number of applications for university falls by 25,000 in just one year as debate on £9,250-a-year tuition fees rages on
Independent Providers – The Independent HE Survey 2017 highlights few changes to the make-up of independent providers. They remain relatively small organisations that are industry-focussed and often deliver specialist programmes through varying models and durations. The survey found that 55% of independent providers believe the Higher Education and Research Act changes will benefit their institution and only 3% do not plan to register with the Office for Students. The independent sector with their specialist business focussed delivery are well placed to capitalise on the parliamentary drive for industrial strategy, productivity and competitiveness, alongside the reviews of tertiary education and the ripple effects from the shake up of apprenticeships. 22% of independent providers plan to apply for Taught Degree Awarding Powers. The majority of independent providers support a different funding model across tertiary education, with 60% pressing for funding based on academic credit, not the academic year. Of the independent providers surveyed 50% offer part-time and flexible learning (a current government and OFFA priority), 40% offer online, distance and blended learning, 16% run accelerated degree programmes and 10% offer apprenticeships – all of which the Government are pressing traditional HE institutions to do more of.
Graduate outcomes – On Thursday HESA published their Experimental Statistical First Release on Destinations of UG leavers from alternative providers (in 2015/16).
EU (Repeal) Bill – The EU (Repeal) Bill was presented at Parliament on Thursday. See BU’s policy pages for the background and controversial aspects of this element of Brexit legislation. It is described by the government as “technical in nature rather than a vehicle for major policy changes”. It repeals the European Communities Act 1972, but as so much UK legislation and rules are dependent on (and cross refer to) EU rules, there are two more controversial aspects. Firstly, it converts EU law into UK law – preserving existing law as it is, un-amended (but ready to be amended later in the usual way – and then, most controversially, it gives ministers “temporary powers” to “correct” the transposed law if it does not function effectively. These changes will be made in statutory instruments subject to parliamentary oversight (but these generally get less debate than primary legislation, and the likely volume of them will make long debate very difficult – estimated at 800-1000 statutory instruments). There is a great deal of concern about the correcting powers in particular, but a few practical examples will be needed to see what this means in practice – these will not doubt emerge in the debates on the bill. The notes say:
“The correcting power can only be used to deal with deficiencies that come as a consequence of the UK leaving the EU. Deficiencies might include:
Inaccurate references. These could include references to EU law or to the UK as a member state.
Law that gives the Commission or EU institution a function to provide services or regulate, if the UK and EU agree these arrangements won’t continue.
Law that gave effect to a reciprocal or other kind of arrangement between the UK and the European Commission or EU member states. If these arrangements do not continue to exist in practice, the law that gave effect to them will be deficient”
There are specific fact sheets on a number of areas including:
the Charter of Fundamental Rights (not being transposed)
Environmental Protections
There’s a helpful BBC article here
Tuition fees, student loans etc. – The debate on tuition fees has continued, read Jane’s updated blog for the Lighthouse Policy Group. The BBC had a story summing up the status of the debate.
Select Committee News – On Wednesday MPs voted for select committee chairmanship using the alternative vote method. The number of committees a political party can chair is proportional to the number of seats they hold within the House of Commons. The news surrounding the chairs appointment speculates that Theresa May will face renewed challenge as many of the MPs elected to chair these powerful committees voted to Remain in the Brexit referendum.
Robert Halfron (Conservative, Harlow) has been appointed Chair of the Education Select Committee.
Rachel Reeves (Labour, Leeds West) has been appointed Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee.
Nicky Morgan (Conservative, Loughborough) has been appointed Chair of the Treasury Committee.
Normal Lamb (Lib Dem, North Norfolk) has been appointed Chair of the Science and Technology Committee.
Damian Collins (Conservative, Folkestone and Hythe) has been appointed Chair of the Culture Media and Sport Committee.
Hilary Benn (Labour, Leeds Central) has been appointed Chair of the Exiting the EU Committee.
Dr Sarah Wollastone (Conservative, Totnes) has been appointed Chair of the Health Committee.
Yvette Cooper (Labour, Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) has been appointed Chair of the Home Affairs Committee.
Neil Parish (Conservative, Tiverton and Honiton) has been appointed Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee).
Stephen Twigg (Labour and Co-operative, Liverpool and West Derby) has been appointed Chair of the International Development Committee.
Maria Miller (Conservative, Basingstoke) has been appointed Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee.
Parliament enters recess next week (Commons on Thurs 20, Lords on Fri 21). This is the period when MPs return to their constituencies and focus primarily on local matters. Although the select committee chairs are now in place due to recess its likely little business will occur until parliament reconvenes mid-way through the first week of September.
Thangam Debbonaire (Labour, Bristol West) has tabled a parliamentary question due for answer next week: What recent assessment has been made of the effect of changes in immigration policy on levels of university recruitment?
Lord Jopling has asked: How any higher education provider that does not obtain a Bronze status or higher in future Teaching Excellence Frameworks will be categorised and which HE providers declined to participate in the TEF? (due for response Wed 26 July).
Jane Forster Sarah Carter
VC’s Policy Adviser Policy & Public Affairs Officer
Tags: alternative providers Brexit immigration industrial strategy learning analytics schools social mobility student numbers TEF tuition fees widening participation
HE policy update w/e 23rd June 2017
EU, international, policy, Student Engagement jforster
Two items have dominated this week – the Queen’s Speech at the state opening of Parliament, and the TEF results.
Queen’s Speech
The Queen’s Speech sets out the government’s legislative agenda for the session of parliament. In a rare departure this year the parliamentary legislative session is planned to last for two years, instead of one, to accommodate Brexit and the Repeal Bill. Both the Commons and Lords will debate the planned legislative programme for six working days. Education will be debated on Tuesday 27 June by the Commons and Thursday 29 June by the Lords. Usually during the final days of debate two Opposition amendments are considered and one is voted upon – it will be interesting to see what they pick. The Commons vote on the final motion takes place on Thursday 29 June. The government must win this vote -although the DUP are likely to support the government, Labour are hovering in the wings ready to capitalise on any opportunity.
The significance of the Queen’s Speech for HE was more about what it did not contain. Across the board many manifesto commitments were absent or lacked detail, but that is not unusual.
Schools were addressed with a commitment to increase the schools budget further and to make schools funding fairer. Furthermore, of importance to HE, in line with the ‘Schools that work for everyone’ consultation, the Queen’s Speech makes reference to encouraging more people, schools and institutions to come forward to help to create more good school places. This falls short of promising legislation to force universities or independent schools to sponsor or open free schools, as mentioned in the manifesto. However, legislation isn’t required to force universities into sponsorship. We await the next steps in the response to the Schools consultation. Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Angela Rayner, has tabled the parliamentary question: What her policy is on the involvement of universities in academy sponsorship and the founding of free schools and charging maximum tuition fees. We’ll bring you the response in next week’s policy update. Grammar schools were not mentioned. While the policy has not been officially dropped the BBC cite a DfE source who stated ”the Queen’s Speech was an unambiguous decision not to go ahead with creating more grammar schools”.
The commitment remains to refreshing technical education, funding and delivering the new Institutes of Technology as part of the Industrial Strategy. Angela Rayner has also tabled a parliamentary question on reviewing funding across tertiary education. HEPI published a report on technical and professional education this week.
Immigration – the government pledged “A Bill to establish new national policies on immigration, completed by legislation to ensure that the UK makes a success of Brexit”. The new factor in this debate is the role of the DUP which has indicated it wants a policy that meets the skills needs of Britain. This may not completely dovetail with May’s commitment to the net migration target. In the election aftermath there have been rumours that the government will soften their immigration stance. However, the migration cap was confirmed again by Damien Green on Wednesday.
The Queen’s Speech also addressed Social Care, Mental Health and the tech sector. Please contact Sarah for a summary if these areas interest you.
The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)
Relish or rubbish it TEF is one of the most significant policy initiatives in recent years. Despite sector opposition and Lords legislative amendments, Jo Johnson’s drive to bring teaching excellence into focus survived largely intact with a review promised in 2019. The categorisation of universities into a single label of Gold, Silver or Bronze gives a highly visible message to the public. A debate rages on how much influence TEF will have on prospective students’ choices and their parents’ opinion. However, including the awards on unistats, and UCAS course pages means that TEF is a force to be respected. Jane’s blog for Wonkhe gives a personal perspective – the good outweighs the bad.
What is TEF?
TEF is a government endorsed evaluation of teaching excellence. Wonkhe have a useful beginner’s guide to the TEF which sets out the component parts within the three categories of Teaching Quality, Learning Environment and Student Outcomes and Learning (also see diagram, and explanation of TEF flags). Controversy within the sector (and Lords debate during the HE and Research Bill) centred on the metrics- which use measures of student experience, retention, and outcomes as a proxy for teaching excellence. In May Jo Johnson stated that TEF was ‘an iterative process’ and would ‘evolve and develop’ over the years. New metrics including LEO will be considered for inclusion as TEF matures.
The government’s aims for TEF are to:
Inform prospective student choice
Recognise, reward and drive excellent teaching (balancing a research focus at the expense of teaching experience)
Inform and meet employer, business and industry needs
Read Wonkhe’s interesting political history of the methods successive policy makers have attempted to drive progress. And HEPI’s (short!) idiots guide to the arguments for and against the TEF.
Participation in TEF was voluntary but most (nearly all in England, fewer in the devolved administrations) chose to participate. TEF is linked to the raising of the higher fee cap. However, to allow the HE and Research Act to pass swiftly the government agreed to postpone the further link which differentiated the fee cap based on TEF ratings. This has been postponed until 2020 and can only be reinstated after an independent review of TEF has been conducted. Read John Vinney’s research blog which highlights the Lords unease over the TEF fees link as the HE and Research Bill made its way through parliament.
TEF also aligns with the government’s social mobility agenda. The metrics deliberately split out widening participation indicators such as BME and part time students to ensure consideration of these groups at institutional level.
TEF – the outcome
As the data that underlines the metrics are widely published, he sector already had a ball park idea of where institutional ratings would fall, although the subtlety of the individual benchmarking process did make it hard to predict with confidence. For some the TEF heralds a refreshing shake up of the sector, a move away from research influenced league tables. For pre-results release comment see TEF will check the most complacent and privileged and Performance management is here to stay, but TEF needs a rethink.
The TEF results for all participating providers were released by HEFCE on Thursday 22 June. At the time of writing the HEFCE TEF webpages were very slow, as an alternative see this Times Higher page which lists all institutions results but not the provider results statements. The Times Higher page also compares each provider’s TEF result with their THE World University Ranking and REF GPA.
As the policy wonks digest the national results picture, questions emerge about the relative influence of the provider statement against metrics, and a good article by Wonkhe provides volumes and information on institutions that were up or downgraded against their initial metric based ranking. There are interesting results analysis tweets and diagrams by the University of Huddersfield. Chris Husbands, the chair of the TEF, has responded to the reaction with a strong defence of the system on Wonkhe.
Jo Johnson, in the TEF results release, harks back to the original TEF objectives: “These results, highlighting the extraordinary strengths of our higher education system, will help students choose which university or college to study at. The Teaching Excellence Framework is refocusing the sector’s attention on teaching – putting in place incentives that will raise standards across the sector and giving teaching the same status as research. Students, parents, employers and taxpayers all have a shared interest in ensuring that higher education equips the next generation of graduates for success.” He also tweeted “Kudos to all 295 institutions that volunteered for the first Teaching Excellence Framework assessment”.
BU’s approach
BU’s continuing approach to TEF reflects our fundamental commitment to Fusion. Read John Vinney’s HEPI blog which addresses the importance of both research and teaching in inspiring learning excellence, and the comments from Professor Holley on this research blog: “BU is unusual in the sector in drawing together preparation for both REF and TEF, mirroring their Fusion agenda of excellence in research, education and professional practice. It is exciting to be at the centre of these policy opportunities, to build synergy in a way that will further enhance the student experience. At BU we pride ourselves on delivering innovative teaching and learning that works for all of our students, regardless of background.” If you missed it, you can read about BU’s silver award here.
Amid the excitement of ‘results day’ it is easy to forget that TEF is still evolving. There will be an extended two-year subject level pilot in 2017/18 and 2018/19, with a final version rolled out in 2019/20 (TEF year 5). Despite extensive sector consultation and comment over the past year few decisions have been made about the complexity and level of detail that will dictate the subject level structural framework. The approach based on many categories of disciplines will most genuinely reflect the learning experience of students but could be burdensome and costly – some say broader groups will be easier and less time consuming to manage but will have a masking effect by grouping together subjects that don’t really belong together. For example, subjects as diverse as geography and nursing could banded together under a social sciences heading. Subject level TEF will also make labelling harder. How will a silver institution with a range of gold and bronze subject judgements market themselves effectively but unambiguously? Will parents and prospective students (who need clear, simple branding to make decisions) pay more attention to the Gold rating for their intended subject or an overall Bronze for the intended institution? If that doesn’t have you reaching for the headache medication read Wonkhe’s article which delves further into the complexities of subject level TEF.
Also don’t forget postgraduates. Postgraduate TEF was scheduled for TEF year 4 (assessed in 2018-19 based on 2017-18 data); however, many speculate that given the extension of the subject level TEF pilot and the independent review of TEF, as well as everything else, postgraduate TEF may be shelved until further notice. See Wonkhe’s TEF article about postgraduate TEF.
But with the Bill passed, what will the Universities Minister do during this parliament? Perhaps focus more on the Science and Research part of his portfolio, with the Industrial Strategy and Brexit issues to deal with.
Lastly, at a June Wonkhe TEF conference Mark Jones (HEA) called on the sector to ‘take back control’ of teaching excellence and play a part in developing teaching metrics rather than simply critiquing them. He advocated engaging with Gibbs (2010) Dimensions of quality research and looking at international initiatives as part of potential metric development. Chris Husbands repeated this call in his blog this week.
Times Higher has a hub page where they gather together key articles and comment on the TEF, and Wonkhe gather together many articles and blogs whilst also providing key results analysis. You may like eight first lessons from the TEF results.
Media coverage has focussed mostly on the mixed ratings achieved by Russell Group members:
TES: “Going for gold: How did colleges fare in the TEF?”
The Guardian: “Many top UK universities miss out on top award in controversial new test”
The BBC: “Leading universities rated ‘bronze’ under new ranking system”
The Telegraph: “Top universities slip down rankings under new student-focused system”
The Times: “Elite universities including LSE, Southampton and Liverpool exposed as second-rate”
FT: “Russell Group universities fall short of teaching quality benchmark”
ITV Meridian: “Four universities celebrate government’s “Gold” rating – while two others don’t make the grade“
The Independent: “Elite UK universities found to be second-rate in new Government rankings”
Sector response
Nick Hillman, Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said: ‘The Teaching Excellence Framework would have comprehensively failed if it had simply replicated existing hierarchies. It was always designed to do something different to other league tables and rankings – namely, to show where there are pockets of excellence that have been ignored and to encourage improvements elsewhere.
‘So the fact that some of the results seem surprising suggests it is working. I visit around 50 universities a year so know the Gold ratings have been hard won by committed staff and students and are very well deserved.
‘Nonetheless, in this early guise, the TEF is far from a perfect assessment of teaching and learning. While it tells us a lot of useful things, none of them accurately reflects precisely what goes on in lecture halls. I hope university applicants will use the results in their decision making but they should do so with caution, not least because the ratings are for whole universities rather than individual courses.’
Tags: Brexit Higher Education and Research Act 2017 immigration international students teaching excellence TEF
HE policy update w/e 19th May 2017
Global engagement, innovation, international, policy, Research news, Student Engagement jforster
This week we have a focus on the manifestos but some other interesting things first:
Data protection within data analytics – The Information Commissioner has opened a formal investigation to assess the potential risk to data protection when using data analytics for political purposes. It will consider the practices deployed during the UK’s EU Referendum campaign and potentially also in other campaigns. As the data is transnational the investigation will explore how companies operating internationally deploy such practices with impact or handling of data in the UK. The priority is to uphold the rights of individuals and ensure that political campaigners and companies providing services to political parties operate within UK law. The timing of the investigation alongside the election campaigning is coincidental.
Have you submitted evidence to a select committee? – Parliament is currently reaching out to researchers who have submitted evidence to any select committee in the past. They aim to understand more about researchers needs to redesign the parliamentary website making it easier to use. They are investigating:
Individual’s interest in UK Parliament select committees
Individual’s experience of submitting evidence to UK Parliament select committees
What’s difficult or confusing in relation to UK Parliament select committees
If you have submitted select committee evidence and wish to provide feedback you can schedule a discussion regarding your experience by emailing outreach@parliament.uk or calling 020 7219 1650.
General Election 2017 – You can read our summary of each manifesto’s commitments to HE, Apprenticeships/Technical Education, Schools Policy, Industrial Strategy and Migration here.
On migration in particular, Politics Home reports on the Frontbench rebellion – every senior minister in Theresa May’s Cabinet is said to be opposed to her aim of reducing net migration. George Osborne calls the policy “economically illiterate”. Also covered by The Telegraph.
On the conservative manifesto and HE, HEPI have a blog by Nick Hillman “Forward, together or more of the same”, with a link to this Education Policy Institute paper by Professor Alison Wolf (2016) “Remaking Tertiary Education”.
Labour:
Will reintroduce maintenance grants for university students.
Will abolish university tuition fees.
Health training:
Will re-introduce bursaries and funding for health-related degrees.
Will continue to support all training routes for social workers, including initial social work training provided within or accredited by a higher education institution.
Will invest in the training, education and development of doctors, throughout their careers.
Will seek to remain part of Horizon 2020
Will immediately guarantee existing rights for all EU nationals living in Britain and secure reciprocal rights for UK citizens living in EU countrie Guaranteeing the rights of EU staff working in health and care services gets a specific mention.
Will end freedom of movement when the UK leaves the European Union
Will introduce a new migration system based on economic needs, balancing controls and existing entitlements. This may include employer sponsorship, work permits, visa regulations or a tailored mix. International students will not be included in immigration statistics.
Will create an innovation nation – ODEC target of 3% of GDP spent on research and development by 2030. Also a separate commitment to grow business by “commuting extra research investment”
Will identify strategic industries and establish councils to oversee the security and growth of each sector
Will appoint a Digital Ambassador to work with industry to encourage investment in technology firms, and provide support for start-ups to scale up
Will improve diversity in the film industry
Will introduce a £1 billion Cultural Capital Fund to upgrade existing cultural and creative infrastructure to be ready for the digital age.
Commits to supporting tourism and will reinstate the cross-Whitehall ministerial group on tourism.
Ban unpaid internships.
Conservative:
The manifesto tackles the ‘five giant challenges’ which are:
a strong economy (the industrial strategy working for everyone),
social mobility/enduring inequality of opportunity,
an ageing society, and
fast changing technology.
Universities to sponsor local schools and open opportunities to local people – it will be a condition for universities hoping to charge maximum tuition fees to become involved in academy sponsorship or the founding of free schools
Launch a major review of funding across the whole of tertiary education (college, university and vocational courses)
Encourage clusters of public services, private businesses and, where appropriate, universities supported by moving civil/public servants (including the senior posts) out of the south-east to other UK cities.
University investment funds – universities will lead the expansion of Research & Development capacity. The Conservatives plan to help universities make a success of their discoveries through larger, aggregated investment funds – replicating the success of similar university funds in the US. “We want universities to enjoy the commercial fruits of their research, through funds that are large enough to list, thereby giving British investors a chance to share in their success.”
Encourage the world to visit, study and do business in the UK through the GREAT Britain campaign and Visit Britain.
Deliver autumn statement promises for investment in research and development, and further growth to meet the current OECD average for investment in R&D (2.4% of GDP) within ten years, with a longer-term goal of 3%.
Increase the number of scientists working in the UK and enable leading scientists from around the world to work here.
Bursaries for prospective teachers to attract top graduates into teaching
For new teachers ‘offer forgiveness’ on student loan repayments while actively teaching
Toughen the visa requirements for students – and include overseas students in the immigration statistics
Take recommendation from Migration Advisory Committee on aligning the visa system with the industrial strategy. Potentially reserving significant numbers of visas for significant sectors, e.g. digital technology, without increasing net migration overall
Immediately redress economic skills shortage needs, ensuring the immigration system works for these sections, positioned within a longer term skills development policy for the future
Double the Immigration Skills Charge levied on companies employing migrant workers to £2,000 a year by end of next parliament – reinvesting the revenue generated for higher level skills training for UK workers
Reduce annual net migration to the tens of thousands
Introduce the right to lifelong learning in digital skills (akin to the literacy & numeracy programme).
Make further use of the creative industries tax credits scheme, in order to promote and grow the online media industry
Plus many things already proposed by the last government in various recent green/white papers and consultations on education and schools, technical education and the industrial strategy– e.g. T-levels, institutes of technology, apprenticeships, grammar schools, maths schools, R&D focus through industrial strategy funding,.
Liberal Democrats:
The Lib Dems have already confirmed they will not form part of a coalition if June’s election results in a hung parliament.
Commitment to a second Europe referendum, with an option to stay in the EU.
Reinstate university maintenance grants for the poorest students, including student nurse bursaries
Establish a review of higher education finance in the next parliament, with an eye to reform based on consideration of access, participation and quality impact evidence.
No more retrospective raising of repayment rates, or selling-off of student loans to private companies.
Ensure that all universities work to widen participation across the sector, prioritising work with students in schools and colleges. Requirement for transparency of admissions selection criteria.
Establish a system for credit transfer and recognition of prior learning and qualifications
Reinstate quality assurance for universities applying for degree awarding powers. (p31)
Create individual learning accounts for funding mature adult and part-time learning and training (likely to be primarily within FE sector).
Fast-track exceptional graduates into children’s social work and mental health social work
Press for the UK to unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU nationals in the UK. Simplify registration process for EU nationals to obtain permanent residence and UK citizenship. Obtain the same rights for UK citizens living in European Union countries
A manifesto commitment to retain access to Horizon 2020 and Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions fund. Guarantee to underwrite funding for EU-funded projects (e.g. Horizon 2020) where income is cancelled through Brexit. Campaign against reduction in investment in UK universities and for their right to apply for EU funds on equal terms (Brexit).
Protect the science budget, including the recent £2bn increase, by raising it at least in line with inflation. Double innovation and research spending across the economy in the long term.
Scrap the planned expansion of grammar schools, opposing any new selective schools and passing democratic control and funding for admissions and new schools back to local authorities.
Establish a new online Family University (collaboration with BBC and Open University).
Devolve power to ensure local autonomy “with real financial muscle” to tackle the regional divide, including devolving decision-making for the key economic development levers of transport, housing and skills.
Develop a new retail and business strategy and national skills strategy for key sectors
Create more ‘catapult’ innovation and technology centres..
Tags: Brexit General Election immigration industrial strategy maintenance grants student finance technical education tuition fees
EU, Global engagement, Knowledge Exchange, policy, Research assessment, Research news, Research Training, Student Engagement jforster
Higher Education and Research Act 2017 – the final text has now been published online and in a pdf version. The next step will be implementation of the many changes in the Act, which cannot move on substantially until after the election – and of course in the unlikely event of a Labour victory, implementation might look rather different, as well as their much publicised promises on fees and loans (see below) – although.
The TEF is in place (being run by HEFCE until the OfS takes over). It will be reviewed later this summer after the year 2 results are announced on 14th June. We are also looking forward to announcements on subject level TEF. There have been hints that there will be a structure for this that works alongside REF UoAs.
Research structures – It was announced that David Sweeney (currently Director of Research, Education and Knowledge Exchange at HEFCE) will be the Executive Chair of Research England in April 2018 when UKRI is established.
As a reminder, the new research structure (from the White Paper) is set out below. Research England will: “oversee the England-only functions in relation to research and knowledge exchange, including:
providing grant funding to English universities for research and knowledge exchange activities,
developing and implementing the Research Excellence Framework in partnership with the UK Higher Education (HE) funding bodies,
oversight of sustainability of the HE research base in England and
overseeing the £900 million UK Research Partnership Investment Fund”.
This appointment follows two more:
Sir Mark Walport, UKRI Chief Executive Designate
Sir John Kingman as Chair of UKRI
Implementation of the OfS – one appointment was made earlier this year, Sir Michael Barber – Chair of the Office for Students (Education committee scrutiny here). The Chief Executive of the OfS has not been announced yet. There is a vacancy open until 14th June 2017 for the Director of Fair Access and Participation, OfS. There will be a consultation on the OfS regulatory framework later in 2017 and the new bodies will be established in Spring 2018 (source: HEFCE, Feb 2017).
Regulatory structure and alternative providers – HEFCE have already published the first iteration of the new register of providers – part of the White Paper changes. It includes alternative providers.
General Election – GE2017
Have you registered to vote – and do you know where you will be on 8th June? There is a renewed push for voter registration –especially as many students may not be at their usual address for this election. It is easy to register (with your National Insurance number), check or register for a postal vote if you will not be at home or wherever you usually vote.
Labour’s leaked manifesto includes a pledge to abolish tuition fees, as well as reintroduce maintenance grants (as noted last week). This has been covered widely as part of a wider story about affordability of the manifesto commitments. Apart from cost, concerns have been raised that this policy, although it might increase participation amongst lower income families, would in the end mainly help high and middle-income families and those students who go on to earn higher wages (and repay their loans).
Wonkhe have an article on the costs of this by Dr Gavan Conlon of London Economics
HEPI blog here that highlights the risks of the Labour policy
Here is a BBC story and a link to their Reality Check
Guardian coverage here
With this week’s focus on fees, a blog on Wonkhe by the President of the SU of the University of Central Lancashire emphasises the non-financial benefits of a university education
ITV News have the whole draft manifesto as leaked – there is a lot about schools and further and adult education but the fees and grants pledge is the only reference to HE.
There is a paragraph about Industrial strategy too – but it doesn’t say much that is specific apart from a change to business rates for plant and machinery, superfast broadband, Wi-Fi and mobile coverage and appointing a Digital Ambassador.
In the Brexit section it talks about rights for EU nationals in the UK, seeking to stay in Horizon 2020, Euratom, Erasmus etc.
For more general coverage on the election, the BBC have a “pledge tracker”.
HEPI published a speech by Nick Hillman at an event this week which mentions outward mobility (see next item) and makes a number of calls for change:
better information for students on where their fees go;
renewed support for university-based teacher training to tackle the recruitment crisis in our schools;
a tougher regime for recouping student loans from those abroad;
better support for students’ mental health, which is less good than among the population as a whole and young people in general; and
a focus on the underachievement of young men, who are less likely to enter higher education, more likely to drop out and less likely to get a First or 2:i.
Sarah was at the event and noted that Jo Johnson repeated that there is no cap on international student numbers, referred to an ongoing focus on social mobility if the Conservatives win the election. The speech has not been published yet. Meanwhile it seems that the conservative Manifesto will include a repeat of the target for immigration in the 10s of 1000s (see the FT for some of the coverage). There is an interesting article from the Institute for Government on how this might have to work in practice – it does seem likely that there will need to be a work permit or visa arrangement for all, including (new) EU citizens if this is to be achieved. And there will be lots of lobbying from all the sectors who want their needs to be prioritised. Bloomberg have a story about a “brickie visa” reporting comments from Migration Watch UK.
The Herald Scotland report Tim Farron pledging the return of post study work visas if the Lib Dems are elected.
Student Mobility – UUK published their UK Strategy for Outward Student Mobility for 2017-2020. This calls for more students to have an international experience and sets out a number of strategic objectives:
Promote the benefits of study and work abroad
Monitor trends in student mobility
Build capacity in UK higher education to facilitate outward mobility
Share best practice in UK higher education
Provide a collective voice for UK higher education
Influence government for UK higher education
Most of these are about communication, information and lobbying. The third, on building capacity, is the most hard-edged, and the strategy proposes that UUK will work with the sector and others to do a range of things, including:
Secure major investment to support outward mobility, including mobility grants.
Secure new mobility opportunities for the UK sector, either directly or through strategic partnerships.
Work with the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and university representative bodies including the Association for UK Higher Education European Officers (HEURO) and British Universities Transatlantic Exchange Association (BUTEX) to provide guidance on interpreting and applying quality assurance frameworks related to student placements overseas.
Brexit – Peter Mason, policy manager for UUKi, has written a blog for Wonkhe on the Swiss experiences with EU research and mobility programmes following their own referendum. The Swiss example – they were suspended from H2020 and Erasmus following their own vote on freedom of movement – was widely cited in the referendum campaigns as a warning that leaving the EU would mean the UK would not be able to stay in those programmes. The Swiss are still not in Erasmus, and they are back into H2020 following a compromise on freedom of movement. The most interesting lesson is that the Swiss tried to replace H202 with their own scheme “it lacked prestige and was not seen as a sustainable long-term substitute. Moreover, the damaging impact of the uncertainty created through the process was clear, with a significant drop-off in the number of Swiss participations in Horizon 2020 compared to the previous framework programme, particularly in collaborative projects.”
Tags: Brexit erasmus GE2017 General Election Higher Education and Research Act 2017 horizon 2020 immigration student finance Student mobility student visas tuition fees
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2363
|
__label__cc
| 0.643662
| 0.356338
|
You are here: Home › About › News Articles › 2018 News Articles › Emily Snell
Undergraduate Researcher Emily Snell presents at The Eberly College of Science Poster Exhibition
November 16, 2018 - Tis the season for infection and sickness! In most cases people don’t give the “why” they are sick a second thought and simply focus on the fact that they are sick. For undergraduate student Emily Snell this has never been the case. She has always had a curiosity about human infection and the pathways pathogens take inside of the body and has always wanted to pursue a degree and career that would satisfy those interests. It’s because of this, its relevance to healthcare and emphasis on the understanding of disease that she chose to study microbiology. It was the dedication to the life sciences and the research being conducted in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department though that made her make the trip from her home town of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and chose Penn State. “Being among the top 50 research universities, I knew that I could pursue my interests in biochemistry while being among world-class faculty,” said Snell.
As a student at Penn State, Snell has made many decisions and has taken advantage of many opportunities that have helped her get to where she is today. In the fall semester of 2016 she made the decision to become an Undergraduate Researcher and joined the Keiler Laboratory. There she works under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Keiler, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and profiles the In vitro and Ex vivo activity of Tetrazole-based trans-Translation inhibitors in Bacillus anthracis. In a poster she presented at the Eberly College of Science Undergraduate Poster Exhibition she detailed her work and research.
Snell’s research revolves around the antibiotic resistant bacteria that top the list of causes of death around the globe. Over time, drug-resistant bacteria have evolved to carry genes that make current antibiotics useless, therefore causing fatal infections. One such bacteria, Bacillus anthracis, is the causative agent of anthrax and has been classified as a bioterror agent because of its pathogenicity and ability to thrive for decades as spores. The Keiler laboratory works with a ribosome rescue pathway known as trans-translation which is essential in bacterial cells. The lab has been able to identify compounds that inhibit this pathway, using a high-throughput screen, and has determined them to have antibiotic activity.
Snell works with a specific class of trans-translation inhibitors named Tetrazoles and her research thus far has proven them to be extremely active in a broad-spectrum of bacteria. These Tetrazoles are able to inhibit the germination of spores, protect macrophages from death following infection, and their low cytotoxicity levels make them good candidates for antibiotics of spore-related infections.
Snell is currently a senior graduating in May of 2019 and hopes to attend medical school in the future to pursue a career as a physician. As an undergraduate student, her summers have been spent working for many physicians who have conducted their own research and ideally, she hopes to one day conduct her own research while also practicing medicine.
The Keiler Lab:
The Keiler Lab’s mission is to understand how protein quality control is maintained during stress responses and homeostasis by trans-translation and alternative pathways. The lab’s goal is to characterize the fundamental biochemistry, genetics, and cell biology of these systems, and to use this knowledge to develop antibiotics and tools for basic research.
Recently, the lab’s identification of small-molecule inhibitors of trans-translation has opened new opportunities for translational research and basic science. They have identified and characterized inhibitors of trans-translation, and showed they have broad-spectrum antibiotic activity. There are currently several projects to advance drug development with these compounds.
The inhibitors they have identified have also provided new tools to understand the role of trans-translation in bacterial physiology and genetics. Individuals within the lab are using these inhibitors to examine the physiological response of bacteria to losing trans-translation activity, and for chemical genetic experiments to understand why trans-translation is universally conserved in bacteria.
The Keiler Lab’s experience with inhibitors of trans-translation led them to explore other pathways that are candidate targets for antibiotic development and chemical biology studies. In collaboration with Sarah Ades (Penn State), they have engineered and validated assays for inhibition of two mechanisms that are important for maintenance of the cell envelope in Gram-negative bacteria: σE-directed transcription, and Hfq-sRNA repression of gene expression.
Emily Snell
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2364
|
__label__wiki
| 0.847615
| 0.847615
|
EchoMail, Inc.
EchoMail, Inc. offers Email and Social Media Marketing, Monitoring and Management solutions for Global 2000 Companies and the SMB markets. Our proven tools and industry solutions increase your organization’s revenue, customer retention, and productivity while allowing you to monitor your company’s image over Email and on Social Media. In short, we provide a single easy, fast and affordable solution for Email Marketing, Email and Social Media Monitoring, and Email Management.
EchoMail, Inc.’s partners are IBM, Lotus, Oracle, Dell and Microsoft.
The EchoMail Team
The EchoMail Team is a holistic combination of MIT technologists, artists, and communication professionals. This synergistic team strives toward combining the fields of art and information technology to create innovative solutions on interactive media.
EchoMail is located at 701 Concord Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
EchoMail has developed a patented platform for Electronic Relationship Management (ERM). The patented EchoMail Relationship Operating System (ROS) provides for flexible captured electronic interactions, automatic filtering, data warehousing, analytics, workflow, business intelligence and delivery through the EchoMail Relationship Management Operating System (RMOS).
Customers can license the RMOS Technology or its individual components known as The Digital Refinery. The Digital Refinery is the nucleus for multiple industry specific domain-centric software applications. The figure below illustrates the EchoMail RMOS system and The Digital Refinery.
EchoMail, Inc., Millennium Cybernetics, EchoMail, The Email Company, Dr. Email, Email=E-Commerce, Are you Ready to Listen?, When You’re Ready to Listen, EchoMain, EchoLeads, EchoSentinel, EchoShopper, are trademarks of EchoMail, Inc. EchoMail also has several patents for EchoMail’s XIVA™, the core technology used in the products.
EchoMail has been granted the following U.S. Patents:
US Patent Number 6,668,281 for its Email Automation technology.
US Patent Number 6,718,368 for its Content-Sensitive Automatic Reply Generation System technology.
US Patent Number 6,718,367 for its Handling and Routing of Asynchronous Text Based Communications technology.
Dr. V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, the inventor of email and polymath, holds four degrees from MIT, is a world-renowned systems scientist, inventor and entrepreneur. He is a Fulbright Scholar, Lemelson-MIT Awards Finalist, India’s First Outstanding Scientist and Technologist of Indian Origin, Westinghouse Science Talent Honors Award recipient, and a nominee for the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation. His love of medicine and complex systems began in India when he became intrigued with medicine at the age of five as he observed his grandmother, a farmer and healer in the small village of Muhavur in South India, apply Siddha, India’s oldest system of traditional medicine, to heal and support local villagers. These early experiences inspired him to pursue the study of modern systems science, information technology and eastern and traditional systems of medicine to develop an integrative framework linking eastern and western systems of medicine.
In 1978, as a precocious 14-year-old, after completing a special program in computer science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Science at NYU, Ayyadurai was recruited by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) as a Research Fellow, where he developed the first electronic emulation of the entire interoffice mail system (Inbox, Outbox, Folders, Address Book, Memo, etc.), which he named “EMAIL,” to invent the world’s first email system, resulting in him being awarded the first United States Copyright for Email, Computer Program for Electronic Mail System, at a time when Copyright was the only protection for software inventions.
Ayyadurai went on to receive four degrees from MIT, including a bachelors in electrical engineering and computer science, and a dual master’s degree in mechanical engineering and visual studies from the MIT Media Laboratory. In 2003, he returned to MIT to complete his doctoral work in systems biology within the Department of Biological Engineering, where he developed CytoSolve®, a scalable computational platform for modeling the cell by dynamic integration of molecular pathways models. Following his doctoral work, he returned to India on a Fulbright, where he discovered the systems theoretic basis of eastern systems of medicine, resulting in Systems Health®, a new educational program that provides a scientific foundation of integrative medicine. While at MIT, he also developed a pioneering new course called Systems Visualization which integrates systems theory, narrative story telling, metaphor and data visualization to provide visualization of complex systems.
Today, he is the Chairman & CEO of CytoSolve, Inc. CytoSolve provides a revolutionary platform for modeling complex diseases as well as for discovering multi-combination therapeutics. His recent efforts at CytoSolve have led to an FDA allowance and exemption for a multi-combination drug for pancreatic cancer, development of innovative nutraceutical products, as well as numerous industry and academic partnerships. Ayyadurai’s earlier research on pattern recognition and large-scale systems development also resulted in multiple patents, numerous industry awards, commercial products such as EchoMail, and scientific and industry publications. He serves as Executive Director of the International Center for Integrative Systems (ICIS), a non-profit research and education foundation, located in Cambridge.
He has started and successfully several start-up companies. Following his winning of a White House competition to automatically analyze and sort mail President Clinton’s email, Ayyadurai started EchoMail, Inc. which grew to nearly $200 million in market valuation. He has appeared in The MIT Technology Review, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, NBC News, USA Today and other major media. Shiva was named Top 40 in the Improper Bostonian. He has also authored four books on the Internet and EMAIL: Arts and the Internet, The Internet Publicity Guide, The Email Revolution, and Systems Health which will be coming out in 2015. Ayyadurai continues his passion for entrepreneurialism as Managing Director of General Interactive, a venture fund that incubates, mentors and funds new startups in various areas including rural healthcare, media, biotechnology, information technology, to name a few. He has also started Innovation Corps to fuel innovation among teenagers worldwide. He serves as a consultant to CEOs and Executive Management at Fortune 1000 companies, as well as government organizations such as the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.
Ayyadurai is a member of Sigma-Xi, Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi. He supports the Shanthi Foundation, which raises money to provide scholarships for education of orphaned girls. He is also a supporter of various arts and non-profit organizations including the Guggenheim Museum, Very Special Arts, National Public Radio and the National Geographic Society. Ayyadurai lives in Belmont, Massachusetts and enjoys yoga, tennis, animals, art and architecture.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2366
|
__label__cc
| 0.745756
| 0.254244
|
Stella Maeve
Julia Wicker, "The Magicians"
Stella Maeve stars as Julia Wicker, Quentin’s god-touched best friend who is on the quest to save magic and help people along the way, on SYFY’s critically acclaimed drama "The Magicians." Based on the bestselling novels by Lev Grossman, the action-packed third season will premiere on Wednesday, January 10 at 9/8c.
Maeve’s other television credits include her work on NBC’s “Chicago PD” as Nadia Decotis, lead roles in the CW pilot “Norfolk” and on the CBS series “Golden Boy,” also starring Theo James, and guest starring roles on “Law & Order: SVU,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” “Grey’s A...
EPKs
There are no results to display for the selected criteria.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2367
|
__label__wiki
| 0.56404
| 0.56404
|
Connected Nation - Pitch: Neo-demographics - James Goulding, University of Nottingham
How can you analyse data that doesn't currently exist? The Neo-demographics project uses big data analytics to investigate how UK business can better interact with new markets in the developing world via novel forms of geo-demographic intelligence, from transport planning to disaster management in countries such as Tanzania.
Transcript for Connected Nation - Pitch: Neo-demographics
James Goulding, University of Nottingham
Hi there, I’m James Goulding from the University of Nottingham and I'm representing the Neo-Demographics project. So we're a big data project and I know you’ve already been jaded by big data but hear me out on this one. So we are looking at new ways characterizing human behaviour from mass data sets, and it kind of stems from the way we’ve coloured the world in the past; age, gender, demographics, social; they may have applied once but in the modern day world they are probably not the best ways to inform business decisions and social policy.
So we are working with big companies, people like Boost, Tesco's, 711, Marks and Spencer’s, looking at new ways of characterizing behaviour by analysing the data sets and machine learning and seeing how they apply in the real world. So that’s how the project started but we also work a lot in the developing economies of the world, so we're also looking at China and Malaysia and East Africa, and this is where the project has taken an interesting turn.
So we find in places like East Africa, even though they’re infrastructurally poor, they're actually very data-rich. Everyone has a mobile phone, so there’s lots of information in there in private sector silos that has not been used for social policy or business decisions out in the real world. So in places like Dar es Salaam, there are between five and seven million people, they're not entirely sure, but the mobile phone companies they do know. So we’re working with those sort of companies to find new insight into those regions. For example, we've contributed to flood resilience by finding behavioural indicators which are there in the dataset that can help inform early warning systems.
Some of the maps which helped to produce have been used in treating cholera outbreaks quite recently, and I think what we've come to you about, and what I’d like to talk to you about in the demo area, is that this private sector data can be used for social good and it's about building the relationships with companies. So come and talk to us about that sort of thing, we have a cool visualization called the palm system demonstrating the stories you can tell with these sort of data streams, and we’re happy to talk about the project there. OK, thank you very much.
PROJECTS: NeodemographicsOpens external site
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2369
|
__label__wiki
| 0.536482
| 0.536482
|
Eric's Performances
Eric Tyus
Welcome and thank you for visiting! This site is set up to inform you of my latest projects, upcoming events, and to provide a glimpse into the smooth jazz sound that we call the Eric Tyus Sound!
While you're visiting, please take the time to view my music clips available for download should you like. My latest single is a remake of the great choir group Sounds of Blackness, called "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"! It features the voice of my late wife Barbara of whom I dedicate this track to. Available also is my first solo track "Stop On By" which I had the pleasure of recording with Soundoctrine, and is a powerful remake of the late great R&B crooner Mr. Bobby Womack.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2370
|
__label__wiki
| 0.869848
| 0.869848
|
"Mechanistic Science and Metaphysical Romance" (1915), by Jacques Loeb
Jacques Loeb published "Mechanistic Science and Metaphysical Romance" in 1915. His goal for the article was to outline his conception of mechanistic science and its relation to other methods of inquiry. Loeb argued that mechanistic science was the foundation of knowledge and humanity's progress depended on it. Loeb's argument altered the account of science he offered in The Mechanistic Conception of Life insofar as scientists no longer aimed merely to control nature, but also to understand nature s underlying elements and their mechanical relations.
The Organism as a Whole: From a Physicochemical Viewpoint (1916), by Jacques Loeb
Jacques Loeb published The Organism as a Whole: From a Physicochemical Viewpoint in 1916. Loeb's goal for the book was to refute the claim that physics and chemistry were powerless to completely explain whole organisms and their seemingly goal-oriented component processes. Loeb used his new account of science and scientific explanation, marshaling evidence from his embryological researches, to show that physicochemical biology completely and correctly explained whole organisms and their component processes.
Mechanistic Realization of the Turtle Shell
Turtle morphology is unlike that of any other vertebrate. The uniqueness of the turtle's bodyplan is attributed to the manner in which the turtle's ribs are ensnared within its hard upper shell. The exact embryological and genetic mechanisms underpinning this peculiar anatomical structure are still a matter of debate, but biologists agree that the evolution of the turtle shell lies in the embryonic development of the turtle.
The Interpretation of Development and Heredity (1930), by Edward Stuart Russell
First published in 1930 and reprinted in 1972, Edward Stuart Russell's The Interpretation of Development and Heredity is a work of philosophical and theoretical biology. In this book Russell outlines a methodological and philosophical program aimed at reorienting the biological understanding of development and heredity.
Jacques Loeb (1859-1924)
Jacques Loeb experimented on embryos in Europe and the United States at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. Among the first to study embryos through experimentation, Loeb helped found the new field of experimental embryology. Notably, Loeb showed scientists how to create artificial parthenogenesis, thus refuting the idea that spermatozoa alone were necessary to develop eggs into embryos and confirming the idea that the chemical constitution of embryos environment affected their development.
"Gene Regulation for Higher Cells: A Theory" (1969), by Roy J. Britten and Eric H. Davidson
In 1969, Roy J. Britten and Eric H. Davidson published Gene Regulation for Higher Cells: A Theory, in Science. A Theory proposes a minimal model of gene regulation, in which various types of genes interact to control the differentiation of cells through differential gene expression. Britten worked at the Carnegie Institute of Washington in Washington, D.C., while Davidson worked at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. Their paper was an early theoretical and mechanistic description of gene regulation in higher organisms.
Preformationism in the Enlightenment
Preformationism was a theory of embryological development used in the late seventeenth through the late eighteenth centuries. This theory held that the generation of offspring occurs as a result of an unfolding and growth of preformed parts. There were two competing models of preformationism: the ovism model, in which the location of these preformed parts prior to gestation was the maternal egg, and the spermism model, in which a preformed individual or homunculus was thought to exist in the head of each sperm.
Edward Stuart Russell (1887-1954)
Edward Stuart Russell was born 23 March 1887 to Helen Cockburn Young and the Reverend John N. Russell in Port Glasgow, Scotland. Friends and co-workers alike knew Russell as a quiet and focused, though always kind and helpful person. Trained in classics and biology, Russell's interests drew him to the study of historical and philosophical issues in the biological sciences, particularly morphology and animal behavior. According to Nils Roll-Hansen, Russell was one of the most influential philosophers of biology in the second third of the twentieth century.
Julius von Sachs (1832-1897)
Julius von Sachs helped establish plant physiology through his experiments in latter nineteenth-century Germany. Sachs infused the inchoate discipline of plant physiology with experimental techniques and a mechanistic stance, both of which cemented his place as one of the discipline s founders. Sachs trained a generation of plant physiologists, and his stress on experimentation and mechanism influenced biologists in other disciplines, especially embryologist Jacques Loeb.
Heart of a Dog (1925), by Mikhail Bulgakov
Собачье сердце (Heart of a Dog) is a novella written in 1925 by author and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov in Moscow, USSR, later Russia. An early English translation was published in 1968. Heart of a Dog tells the story of a stray dog named Sharik, who is found by a surgeon, and undergoes extensive surgery for experimental purposes to create a New Soviet man, someone committed to the ideals of communism in the Soviet Union.
ABO Blood Type Identification and Forensic Science (1900-1960)
The use of blood in forensic analysis is a method for identifying individuals suspected of committing some kinds of crimes. Paul Uhlenhuth and Karl Landsteiner, two scientists working separately in Germany in the early twentieth century, showed that there are differences in blood between individuals. Uhlenhuth developed a technique to identify the existence of antibodies, and Landsteiner and his students showed that humans had distinctly different blood types called A, B, AB, and O.
Subject: Theories, Legal, Technologies
Form and Function (1916), by Edward Stuart Russell
In 1916, at the age of twenty-nine, Edward Stuart Russell published his first major work, Form and Function: a Contribution to the History of Animal Morphology. This book has maintained wide readership among scientists and historians since its initial publication, and today is generally recognized as the first modern, sustained study of the history of morphology. In particular, Form and Function incorporates an extensive theoretical analysis of the relationship between embryological studies and comparative morphology in the nineteenth century.
Petr Alekseevich Kropotkin (1842-1921)
Petr Kropotkin proposed the theory of Pleistocene ice age, alternative theories of evolution based on embryology, and he advocated anarchist and communist social doctrines in Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He traveled in eastern Siberia and Manchuria from 1863 until 1867, and his subsequent publications about that area's geography became authoritative until the middle of the twentieth century.
"Experiments on Artificial Parthenogenesis in Annelids (Chaetopterus) and the Nature of the Process of Fertilization" (1901), by Jacques Loeb
Jacques Loeb showed that scientists could achieve artificial parthenogenesis with some types of annelid worm eggs through a series of experiments in 1900. Loeb published the results of his experiments in 1901 as "Experiments on Artificial Parthenogenesis in Annelids (Chaetopterus) and the Nature of the Process of Fertilization," in The American Journal of Physiology. Loeb 's results broadened the range of animals to which artificial parthenogenesis applied beyond sea urchins.
"Further Experiments on Artificial Parthenogenesis and the Nature of the Process of Fertilization" (1900), by Jacques Loeb
Jacques Loeb broadened and corrected his earlier claims concerning artificial parthenogenesis in sea urchins in a series of experiments in 1900. He published these findings, "Further Experiments on Artificial Parthenogenesis and the Nature of The Process of Fertilization," in a 1900 issue of The American Journal of Physiology.
"On the Nature of the Process of Fertilization and the Artificial Production of Normal Larvae (Plutei) From the Unfertilized Eggs of the Sea Urchin" (1899), by Jacques Loeb
Jacques Loeb developed procedures to make embryos from unfertilized sea urchin eggs in 1899. Loeb called the procedures "artificial parthenogenesis," and he introduced them and his results in "On the Nature of the Process of Fertilization and the Artificial Production of Norma Larvae (Plutei) from the Unfertilized Eggs of the Sea Urchin" in an 1899 issue of The American Journal of Physiology. In 1900 Loeb elaborated on his experiments.
Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
Aristotle studied developing organisms, among other things, in ancient Greece, and his writings shaped Western philosophy and natural science for greater than two thousand years. He spent much of his life in Greece and studied with Plato at Plato's Academy in Athens, where he later established his own school called the Lyceum. Aristotle wrote greater than 150 treatises on subjects ranging from aesthetics, politics, ethics, and natural philosophy, which include physics and biology. Less than fifty of Aristotle's treatises persisted into the twenty-first century.
Spermism
Spermism was one of two models of preformationism, a theory of embryo generation prevalent in the late seventeenth through the end of the eighteenth century. Spermist preformationism was the belief that offspring develop from a tiny fully-formed fetus contained within the head of a sperm cell. This model developed slightly later than the opposing ovist model because sperm cells were not seen under the microscope until about 1677.
The Gradient Theory
The gradient theory is recognized as Charles Manning Child's most significant scientific contribution. Gradients brought together Child's interest in development and his fascination with the origins of individuality and organization. The gradient theory grew from his studies of regeneration, which were largely based on work he conducted with marine invertebrates, such as the ascidian flat worm, planaria and the hydroid, tubularia.
Hensen's Node
A node, or primitive knot, is an enlarged group of cells located in the anterior portion of the primitive streak in a developing gastrula. The node is the site where gastrulation, the formation of the three germ layers, first begins. The node determines and patterns the anterior-posterior axis of the embryo by directing the development of the chordamesoderm. The chordamesoderm is a specific type of mesoderm that will differentiate into the notochord, somites, and neural tube. Those structures will later form the vertebral column.
Artificial Parthenogenesis and Fertilization (1913), by Jacques Loeb
Jacques Loeb is best known for his embryological work investigating parthenogenesis in invertebrates. Artificial Parthenogenesis and Fertilization is a revised and English-translated work from his earlier book, Die chemische Entwicklungserregung des tierischen Eies (1900). Artificial Parthenogenesis describes Loeb's many and varied methodical experiments to initiate egg development without fertilization by sperm. As is true with much of science, some of Loeb's experiments were successful and many were not.
"The Cell-Theory" (1853), by Thomas Henry Huxley
The Cell-Theory was written by Thomas Henry Huxley in Britain and published in 1853 by The British and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review. The twenty-two page article reviews twelve works on cell theory, including those in Germany by Caspar Friedrich Wolff in the eighteenth century and by Karl Ernst von Baer in the nineteenth century. Huxley spends much of The Cell-Theory on a cell theory proposed in the late 1830s by Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann in Germany.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2376
|
__label__cc
| 0.535052
| 0.464948
|
DC’s ‘Shazam’ is a New Take on Superhero Movies
Goofy, family-fun is a great way to describe DC Comic’s Shazam so long as your family is over 13, or fine with constant bad language.
That’s the biggest thing wrong with this Zachary Levi, who plays Shazam, movie. Bad language abounds from the beginning to the end, definitely earing it’s PG-13 rating (though I must admit there were no f-bombs).
This movie touches home because we’ve all had a moment in our lives when we wished we could live out the life of a superhero that we have seen in the movies or on television. In Shazam, Billy Babon (Asher Angel, Andi Mack) gets to do just that with just a bit of magic. All he needs to do is shout out his new superhero name and magically he’s transformed into the adult superhero, Shazam. Still a kid at heart, Shazam revels in the new version of himself by doing what any other teen would do – have fun while testing out his newfound powers with his friend/foster brother, Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer, CBS’s Me, Myself and I). But Billy’ll need to master them quickly before the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong, Kingsman: The Secret Service) can get his hands on Shazam’s magical abilities.
If I had gone to the theater with my husband instead of my three kids, 11 and under, I might have given this movie a 9 out of 10 stars rating, just for surprising me by how well it turned out to be. However, not paying attention to the PG-13 rating, I did bring my children and after watching them cringe every time bad language was used (quite often in certain circumstances), I have to give this movie a 7.5 out of 10. Mostly because this movie seemed cute enough to take them, and it would have been had the writers refrained from so much expressive language that in all honesty did not have to be there as much as it was.
My eldest wasn’t as affected as much by the language and gave the movie a 4.5 out of 5 because he believes there should be move superhero movies that allow kids to dream big instead of always having “older” adults play the roles. My middle child, while enjoying the movie, gave it a 3 out of 5. He was disturbed greatly by the language and even days later expressed a wish that it wasn’t there as much as it was so he could have actually enjoyed it fully. My youngest dismissed the language. He told me, with the most common sense that only a young child can have, that he knows better than to repeat any of that. He told me he would give the movie a 3.5 to 4 out of 5. He thought the villain was a little weird and that maybe he was too old compared with everyone else in the movie, especially as he almost came off the most childish. My son also did not like the family interaction between the villain and his family. He thought it was a little too harsh for a “teen” movie.
Overall, the movie was funny and a lot better than we expected heading into it. If only we could just get over all the negativity of the language used. However, I can’t wait to see what else Zachary Levi (Chuck) will be putting out next.
Did you get a chance to see Shazam? Are you planning to? How about adding it to your movie collection when it comes out in a few months? Tell me what you think about it and all the language used in comparison to your children in the comments below.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2380
|
__label__wiki
| 0.810794
| 0.810794
|
Eared seal
Template:Automatic Taxobox
Ear flaps of Otaria flavescens
An eared seal or otariid or otary is any member of the marine mammal family Otariidae, one of three groupings of pinnipeds. They comprise 15 extant species in seven genera (another species became extinct in the 1950s) and are commonly known either as sea lions or fur seals, distinct from true seals (phocids) and the walrus (odobenids). Otariids are adapted to a semiaquatic lifestyle, feeding and migrating in the water, but breeding and resting on land or ice. They reside in subpolar, temperate, and equatorial waters throughout the Pacific and Southern Oceans and the southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans. They are conspicuously absent in the north Atlantic.
The words 'otariid' and 'otary' come from the Greek otarion meaning "little ear",[1] referring to the small but visible external ear flaps (pinnae), which distinguishes them from the phocids.
1 Evolution and taxonomy
2 Anatomy and appearance
3 Behavior
Evolution and taxonomy[edit]
Phocidae (true seals)
Guadalupe fur seal
Juan Fernández fur seal
Galápagos fur seal
southern fur seal
Australian sea lion
New Zealand sea lion
subantarctic fur seal
brown fur seal
South American sea lion
California sea lion
Galápagos sea lion
Japanese sea lion
northern fur seal
Cladogram showing the eared seals, Otariidae, and their relationships with other pinnipeds, combining several phylogenetic analyses.[2]
Along with the Phocidae and Odobenidae, the two other members of Pinnipedia, Otаriidae are descended from a common ancestor most closely related to modern bears.[3] Debate remains as to whether the phocids diverged from the otariids before or after the walrus.
Otariids arose in the Miocene (15-17 million years ago) in the North Pacific, diversifying rapidly into the Southern Hemisphere, where most species now live. The earliest known fossil osariid is Eotaria crypta from southern California,[4] while the genus Callorhinus (northern fur seal) has the oldest fossil record of any living otariid, extending to the middle Pliocene. It probably arose from the extinct fur seal genus Thalassoleon.
Traditionally, otariids had been subdivided into the fur seal (Arctocephalinae) and sea lion (Otariinae) subfamilies, with the major distinction between them being the presence of a thick underfur layer in the former. Under this categorization, the fur seals comprised two genera: Callorhinus in the North Pacific with a single representative, the northern fur seal (C. ursinus), and eight species in the Southern Hemisphere under the genus Arctocephalus; while the sea lions comprise five species under five genera.[5] Recent analyses of the genetic evidence suggests that Callorhinus ursinus is in fact more closely related to several sea lion species.[6] Furthermore, many of the Otariinae appear to be more phylogenetically distinct than previously assumed; for example, the Japanese sea lion (Zalophus japonicus) is now considered a separate species, rather than a subspecies of the California sea lion (Zalophus californius). In light of this evidence, the subfamily separation has been removed entirely and the Otariidae family has been organized into seven genera with 16 species and two subspecies.[7][8] Nonetheless, because of morphological and behavioral similarities among the "fur seals" and "sea lions", these remain useful categories when discussing differences between groups of species. Compared to sea lions, fur seals are generally smaller, exhibit greater sexual dimorphism, eat smaller prey and go on longer foraging trips; and, of course, there is the contrast between the coarse short sea lion hair and the fur seal's fur.
Anatomy and appearance[edit]
California sea lions
Eared seal off the Namibian coast.
Otariids have proportionately much larger foreflippers and pectoral muscles than phocids, and have the ability to turn their hind limbs forward and walk on all fours, making them far more maneuverable on land. They are generally considered to be less adapted to an aquatic lifestyle, since they breed primarily on land and haul out more frequently than true seals. However, they can attain higher bursts of speed and have greater maneuverability in the water. Their swimming power derives from the use of flippers more so than the sinuous whole-body movements typical of phocids and walruses.
Otariids are further distinguished by a more dog-like head, sharp, well-developed canines, and the aforementioned visible external pinnae. Their postcanine teeth are generally simple and conical in shape. The dental formula for eared seals is: Template:DentalFormula. Sea lions are covered with coarse guard hairs, while fur seals have a thick underfur, which has historically made them the objects of commercial exploitation.
Male otariids range in size from the 70-kg (150-lb) Galápagos fur seal, smallest of all pinnipeds, to the over 1,000-kg (2,200-lb) Steller sea lion. Mature male otariids weigh two to six times as much as females, with proportionately larger heads, necks, and chests, making them the most sexually dimorphic of all mammals.[9]
Behavior[edit]
All otariids breed on land during well-defined breeding seasons. Except for the Australian sea lion, which has an atypical 17.5 month breeding cycle, they form strictly annual aggregations on beaches or rocky substrates, often on islands. All species are polygynous; i.e. successful males breed with several females. In most species, males arrive at breeding sites first and establish and maintain territories through vocal and visual displays and occasional fighting. Females typically arrive on shore a day or so before giving birth. While considered social animals, no permanent hierarchies or statuses are established on the colonies. The extent to which males control females or territories varies between species. Thus, the northern fur seal and the South American sea lion tend to herd specific harem-associated females, occasionally injuring them, while the Steller sea lion and the New Zealand sea lion control spatial territories, but do not generally interfere with the movement of the females.
Otariids are carnivorous, feeding on fish, squid and krill. Sea lions tend to feed closer to shore in upwelling zones, feeding on larger fish, while the smaller fur seals tend to take longer, offshore foraging trips and can subsist on large numbers of smaller prey items. They are visual feeders. Some females are capable of dives of up to 400 m (1,300 ft).
Family Otariidae
Subfamily Arctocephalinae (fur seals)
Genus Arctocephalus
Antarctic fur seal, A. gazella
Guadalupe fur seal, A. townsendi
Juan Fernández fur seal, A. philippii
Galápagos fur seal, A. galapagoensis
Brown fur seal, A. pusillus
South African fur seal, A. pusillus pusillus
Australian fur seal, A. pusillus doriferus
New Zealand fur seal (or southern fur seal), A. forsteri
Subantarctic fur seal, A. tropicalis
South American fur seal, A. australis
Genus Callorhinus
Northern fur seal, C. ursinus
Subfamily Otariinae (sea lions)
Genus Eumetopias
Steller sea lion, E. jubatus
Genus Neophoca
Australian sea lion, N. cinerea
Genus Otaria
South American sea lion, O. flavescens
Genus Phocarctos
New Zealand sea lion (or Hooker's sea lion), P. hookeri
Genus Zalophus
California sea lion, Z. californianus
†Japanese sea lion, Z. japonicus - extinct (1950s)
Galápagos sea lion, Z. wollebaeki
Although the two subfamilies of otariids, the Otariinae (sea lions) and Arctocephalinae (fur seals), are still widely used, recent molecular studies have demonstrated that they may be invalid.[10][11] Instead, they suggest three clades within the family; one consisting of the northern sea lions (Eumetopias and Zalophus), one of the northern fur seal (Callorhinus) and its extinct relatives, and the third of all the remaining Southern Hemisphere species.[12]
^ "Otary, n., etymology of" The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press. http://dictionary.oed.com/ Accessed November 2007
^ Berta, A.; Churchill, M. (2012). "Pinniped taxonomy: Review of currently recognized species and subspecies, and evidence used for their description". Mammal Review. 42 (3): 207–34. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00193.x. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Lento, G.M., Hickson, R.E., Chambers, G.K., Penny, D. (1 January 1995). "Use of spectral analysis to test hypotheses on the origin of pinnipeds". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 12 (1): 28–52. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040189. PMID 7877495. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Error: Bad DOI specified: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.0835
^ J.E. King (1983). Seals of the World (2nd ed.). New York: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-7022-1694-7.
^ Wynen, L; Goldsworthy, SD; Insley, SJ; Adams, M; Bickham, JW; Francis, J; Gallo, JP; Hoelzel, AR; et al. (2001). "Phylogenetic relationships within the eared seals (Otariidae: Carnivora): implications for the historical biogeography of the family". Mol. Phylog. Evol. 21 (2): 270–284. doi:10.1006/mpev.2001.1012. PMID 11697921.
^ Brunner, S. (2003). "Fur seals and sea lions (Otariidae): identification of species and taxonomic review". Systematics and Biodiversity. 1 (3): 339–439. doi:10.1017/S147720000300121X.
^ Template:ITIS
^ Weckerly, FW (1998). "Sexual-size dimorphism: influence of mass and mating systems in the most dimorphic mammals". Journal of Mammalogy. 79 (1): 33–42. doi:10.2307/1382840. JSTOR 1382840.
^ Yonezawa, T.; et al. (2009). "The monophyletic origin of sea lions and fur seals (Carnivora; Otariidae) in the Southern Hemisphere". Gene. 441 (1-2): 89–99. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2009.01.022. PMID 19254754. CS1 maint: Explicit use of et al. (link)
^ Arnason, U.; et al. (2006). "Pinniped phylogeny and a new hypothesis for their origin and dispersal". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 41 (2): 345–354. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.022. PMID 16815048. CS1 maint: Explicit use of et al. (link)
^ Berta, A. & Churchill, M. (2012). "Pinniped Taxonomy: evidence for species and subspecies". Mammal Review. 42 (3): 207–234. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00193.x. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
Berta, A., and L. Sumich (1999) Marine Mammals: Evolutionary Biology. San Diego: Academic Press.
Gentry, R. L (1998) Behavior and Ecology of the Northern Fur Seal. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Perrin, W. F., B. Würsig, and J. G. M. Thewissen (2002) Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. San Diego: Academic Press.
Riedman, M. (1990) The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions and Walruses. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Eared Seals on Answers.com
Otariids on MarineBio.org
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/w/index.php?title=Eared_seal&oldid=206654"
Eared seals
Pinnipeds
This page was last edited 19:08, 11 February 2015 by Wikipedia anonymous user Imported>Dinoguy2. Based on work by Wikipedia anonymous user imported>Dinoguy2.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2382
|
__label__wiki
| 0.837696
| 0.837696
|
Byron, Michigan
Not to be confused with Byron Township, Michigan.
Village in Michigan, United States
Location of Byron within Shiawassee County, Michigan
Coordinates: 42°49′26″N 83°56′49″W / 42.82389°N 83.94694°W / 42.82389; -83.94694Coordinates: 42°49′26″N 83°56′49″W / 42.82389°N 83.94694°W / 42.82389; -83.94694
788.95/sq mi (304.50/km2)
UTC-4 (EDT)
http://www.byron.org
Byron is a village in Burns Township, Shiawassee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 581 at the 2010 census.
3.1 2010 census
4 Notable person
Founded in 1824, Byron received its first postmaster in 1837. One of the only towns in the county, Byron was the last stop on a stagecoach run from Detroit that ran west along what is now Rose Center road and Silver Lake road. The Village of Byron was incorporated in 1873.[6] The Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan Railway was built through Byron following the pledge of a $15,001. bonus and the right of way, in 1885.[7]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.76 square miles (1.97 km2), of which 0.70 square miles (1.81 km2) is land and 0.06 square miles (0.16 km2) is water.[8]
1890 413 16.3%
1900 432 4.6%
1910 427 −1.2%
1920 376 −11.9%
Est. 2017 557 [3] −4.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
Soldiers and veterans of the Detroit Light Guard march in a funeral in Byron, 1900
2010 census[edit]
As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 581 people, 208 households, and 161 families residing in the village. The population density was 830.0 inhabitants per square mile (320.5/km2). There were 238 housing units at an average density of 340.0 per square mile (131.3/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 95.7% White, 1.0% African American, 1.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.1% of the population.
There were 208 households of which 48.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 22.6% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.19.
The median age in the village was 33 years. 33.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.1% were from 25 to 44; 24.6% were from 45 to 64; and 8.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 595 people, 218 households, and 170 families residing in the village. The population density was 806.2 per square mile (310.4/km²). There were 231 housing units at an average density of 313.0 per square mile (120.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.64% White, 1.34% Native American, and 2.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.18% of the population.
There were 218 households out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the village, the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $39,167, and the median income for a family was $41,563. Males had a median income of $34,286 versus $25,962 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,137. About 5.8% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Notable person[edit]
Erik Jones, race car driver, competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion; born in Byron[10]
^ "2017 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jan 3, 2019.
^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
^ a b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved March 24, 2018.
^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Byron, Michigan
^ "Ghost towns and post offices of Shiawassee County". The Argus-Press. September 15, 2000. p. 3. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
^ 150th Anniversary of Founding of Byron. The Historical Committee of the Byron Area Centennial Corporation. 1973.
^ "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
^ King, Randy (April 5, 2013). "Success snowballs for teen driver". The Roanoke Times. Roanoke, VA. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
Municipalities and communities of Shiawassee County, Michigan, United States
County seat: Corunna
Lennon‡
New Lothrop
Ovid‡
Antrim Center
Carland
Five Points North
Forest Green Estates
Hoovers Corners
Juddville
Kerby
Nicholson‡
Olney Corners‡
Shaftsburg
Shiawasseetown
Smith Crossing
Union Plains
Wolf Crossing
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Byron,_Michigan&oldid=905446751"
Villages in Shiawassee County, Michigan
Villages in Michigan
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2383
|
__label__wiki
| 0.764046
| 0.764046
|
Hess Corp
Ecopetrol
World's oil bosses eyeing more pain try to look past 2016
The Chief executive of Hess Corp, one of the independent US shale producers, said the industry appeared to be only halfway through its downturn.Reuters | February 24, 2016, 14:46 IST
HOUSTON: The world's top oil executives gathered in Houston this week seem to agree on one thing: this year is set to be so horrible that many skip right to 2017 and beyond to talk about hopes for market rebalancing that so far has eluded the battered industry.
In April 2015, the energy sector's biggest annual conference was abuzz with speculation when oil prices might bottom and the idea that prices could hover below $60 for years after tumbling from over $100 seven months earlier was considered a sobering one.
This time, with prices near $30 and last year's "lower for longer" catch phrase replaced by "even lower for even longer," oil executives attending the IHS CERAWeek conference are more solemn and guarded in their predictions.
"This year we are in a survival mode," Juan Carlos Echeverry, chief executive of Colombia's national oil company Ecopetrol told the conference on Tuesday.
John Hess, chief executive of Hess Corp, one of the independent US shale producers, said the industry appeared to be only halfway through its downturn.
"It's probably a three-year process and we're in the middle of that rebalancing now," he said.
Stephen Chazen, CEO of Occidental Petroleum, agreed, but warned that hopes to see the market rebound can make people too optimistic.
"Usually you get a false bottom, or two or three or four," Oxy's CEO said.
The industry experienced one such false dawn last year when oil prices rallied in the second quarter only to give up gains in the second half of the year before tumbling further to fresh lows at the beginning of this year.
Now, executives are pinning their hopes on forecasts that global oil demand will continue to rise and eventually eliminate global oversupply, in part created by the US shale drilling boom of the past decade.
However, with the International Energy Agency now predicting such rebalancing to start next year and continue in 2018, the chilling message is that many oil companies, primarily among the US shale producers, may not live to see that recovery.
Mark Papa, former chief executive officer of EOG Resources who pioneered drilling in shale for crude oil, said this was the worst downturn he has seen since 1986 and one that would "leave bodies and companies all over the place."
"I think you will see a much more stable and more balance-sheet focused industry emerge from the ashes, but it's going to be really, really ugly to get through this valley," said Papa, who is now a partner at private equity firm Riverstone Holdings.
On Tuesday, Silver Run Acquisition Corp an investment vehicle sponsored by Riverstone, raised $450 million in an initial public offering to fund acquisitions of energy companies seen as available at discounted prices.
More than 40 U.S. energy companies have declared bankruptcy since the start of 2015, with more expected to come.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi, industry veteran of seven decades, who came to Houston with assurances that it was not the Kingdom's intention to drive U.S. shale rivals to extinction, struck a philosophical note.
"I've seen oil at under $2 a barrel and at $147, and much volatility in between. I've witnessed gluts and scarcity. I've seen multiple booms and busts," he told the annual gathering of some 2,800 energy executives and professionals.
"These experiences have taught me that this business, and this commodity, like all commodities, is inevitably cyclical. Demand rises and falls. Supply rises and falls. Prices rise and fall."
That could not ring more true at a conference where just two years ago Chevron CEO John Watson declared that $100 a barrel oil was there to stay. "$100 a barrel is becoming the new $20," he said back then.
But whereas executives of big players such a Britain's BP or Canada's Suncor Energy voiced confidence that they'll make it through this slump like many others, that sense of historical perspective is a luxury many US shale drillers can ill afford.
"There seems to be a preocupation with 'When is it going to turn? How long is it going to last?,'" said Mark Berg, executive vice president for corporate operations at Pioneer Natural Resources, a large Permian Basin operator. "That is understandable because there are a lot of companies facing stress and trying to plan for a very uncertain future."
Tags : Oil & Gas, international, Hess Corp, Ecopetrol, Crude oil, Ali Al-Naimi
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2388
|
__label__wiki
| 0.942482
| 0.942482
|
Home > > Eli Gelman appointed TAU Executive Council Chairman
Eli Gelman appointed TAU Executive Council Chairman
The former Amdocs CEO replaces Dr. Giora Yaron, who completed two terms in office
Photo: Yehonatan Zur
The Executive Council of Tel Aviv University approved the appointment of Mr. Eli Gelman as its Chairman, replacing Dr. Giora Yaron, who completed a two-term stint in the position. The selection of Gelman was made by a search committee.
Gelman served as CEO of Amdocs, one of Israel’s leading technology companies employing over 25,000 people, from 2010 to 2018. He is considered as one of the most valued executives in the global telecom industry. During the past 30 years, Gelman has held leading development and management positions at Amdocs as well as several other international high-tech companies.
"Tel Aviv University is a distinguished academic institution and I am proud to join it,” said Gelman. “I regard strengthening the connection between industry and the universities – with the knowledge and human capital they produce – as an essential goal, with Tel Aviv University taking a leadership role in this endeavor.” Gelman stressed that this challenge was part of a broader strategic goal: “to maintain the scientific and technological edge of Israel in the global arena.”
Gelman is a graduate of the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology’s academic reserve program in electronics and computer engineering. During his service in the IDF in the 1980s, he was responsible for developing the IDF's tactical communications system, which is still in use today.
TAU's race car is headed to Italy
Antibacterial fillings from TAU may combat re...
Are American Jews and Israel growing apart?
Antibacterial fillings from TAU may combat recurring tooth decay
TAU one of top 20 universities worldwide in scientific impact
From VR to the migrant crisis at TAU's international film festival
Tel Aviv University Ranks Among World’s Top 20 for Research Impact
8,000 Cyber Security Experts to Attend 9th Annual Cyber Week Conference at Tel Aviv University
News Archive >
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2389
|
__label__wiki
| 0.798729
| 0.798729
|
Download free " La Madre" by Maksim Gorky EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT, Kindle
Publisher: Edaf S.A..
General, Ancient, Classical & Medieval, Literary Collections, Fiction - General, Spanish: Adult Nonfiction,
Maksim Gorky was born in 1868
Gorky, Maxim or Maksim [Rus.,=Maxim the Bitter], pseud. of Aleksey Maximovich Pyeshkov, 1868-1936, Russian writer. Gorky is considered the father of Soviet literature and the founder of the doctrine of socialist realism.Instilled by his grandmother with a love of romantic tales and great sympathy for mankind, Gorky began a nomadic life at 12, wandering the Volga area. Since the czar's schools were closed to peasants, he educated himself, an experience he describes in My Universities (1923). He held dozens of menial jobs, publishing his first story in 1892. Gorky then became a journalist and married a colleague on the Samarskaya Gazeta. His articles exposed local corruption and he soon lost his job. In 1898 Gorky's collection Sketches and Stories was published by a radical press and the author was an immediate sensation. These romantic tales concern the vigor and nobility of the Russian peasants and workers. About 1900 he turned to writing novels of social realism. Of these, Mother (1906) had the greatest impact on Soviet literature. Describing the awakening of revolutionary feeling in an ill-treated peasant woman, it became the prototype of the revolutionary novel. At this time Gorky became close friends with Leo Tolstoy and Chekhov, about both of whom he later wrote superb Reminiscences (tr. 1946). Gorky donated most of his income to the revolutionary movement. He was arrested frequently but treated carefully because of his tremendous popularity. The czar rescinded his election to the Academy of Sciences in 1902, whereupon Chekhov and Korolenko resigned in protest. Gorky wrote 15 plays, two of which, heavily censored, were enormously successful at the Moscow Art Theatre. One of them, The Lower Depths (1902), a study of the wretched lives of derelicts, remains a classic. His plays, at first modeled on Chekhov's, emphasized characterization over plot. After the failure of the 1905 revolution, in which he took part, Gorky sought to raise funds for the movement abroad. Following an initial triumphant reception in the United States (1906), he was insulted and mistreated there because his traveling companion was a woman who was not his wife. Settling in Capri (1906-13), he set up a Bolshevik propaganda school before he returned to Russia in 1914. Although philosophically at odds with Lenin, Gorky was able to extract from him aid for many intellectuals and artists in an era of intellectual restriction. Exhausted from his work as head of the State Publishing House and by bouts with tuberculosis, he sought rest abroad (1921) and returned in 1928. His final, unfinished work, often considered his masterpiece, is The Life of Klim Samgin (1927-36), a panoramic four-volume novel of Russian social conditions from 1880 to 1917. Gorky's death at 68 has been ascribed to assassination by poison, perpetrated according to one view by an anti-Soviet group. Gorky's work was remarkable for its vitality and optimism. It revealed, within its devotion to realism, a strong poetic strain and an eternal passion for justice. By the example of his work and life and by his literary criticism Gorky exerted a profound influence on Soviet thought. Most of his works have been translated.[Columbia Encyclopedia][1] [1]: http://www.answers.com/topic/maxim-gorky
Would you like to download another books and editions written by Maksim Gorky:
Foma Gordyeeff
The collected short stories of Maxim Gorky
My universities
The life of a useless man
Literary portraits.
Download more by: Maksim Gorky
Find and Load Ebook La Madre
The FB Reader service executes searching for the e-book "La Madre" to provide you with the opportunity to download it for free. Click the appropriate button to start searching the book to get it in the format you are interested in.
More links about related themes: Adult, Ancient, Classical, Collections, Eva, Fiction , Ions, Literary, Medieval, Nonfict, Nonfiction, Spanish
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2390
|
__label__cc
| 0.710444
| 0.289556
|
Cardiopulmonary bypass induced inflammation: pathophysiology and treatment. An update Academic Article
Cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) induces an acute phase reaction that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several postoperative complications. Recent data indicate that a complex sequence of events leads to the final activation of leukocytes and endothelial cells (EC), which is responsible for cell dysfunction in different organs. Activation of the contact system, endotoxemia, ischemia and reperfusion injury and surgical trauma are all potential triggers of inflammation following CPB. Different pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators (cytokines, adhesion molecules) are involved and their release is mediated by intracellular transcription factors (nuclear factor-kappa B, NF-kappa B). In this review, we examine recent advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of the CPB-induced acute phase reaction and evaluate the different pharmacological, technical and surgical strategies used to reduce its effects. Emphasis is given to the central role of transcription factor NF-kappa B in the complex mechanism of the inflammatory reaction and to the effects of compounds such as heparin and glycosaminoglycans, phosphodiesterase inhibitors and protease inhibitors whose role as anti-inflammatory agent has only recently been recognized.
Young, Edward
Paparella, D
Acute-Phase Reaction (MeSH)
Cardiopulmonary Bypass (MeSH)
Cytokines (MeSH)
Drug Therapy, Combination (MeSH)
Inflammation Mediators (MeSH)
Postoperative Complications (MeSH)
Respiratory System (Science Metrix)
Risk Factors (MeSH)
European Journal of Cardio-thoracic Surgery Journal
Drug Therapy, Combination
Inflammation Mediators
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2396
|
__label__wiki
| 0.864807
| 0.864807
|
HomePosts tagged 'Bantam'
Significant Number Factoid Friday – Today The Number Is Fifty-Five 55
May 17, 2013 May 17, 2013 fasab Cars, Factoids, Numbers, Religion, Unusual, War 1101112, 55, 55 Cadillac, 55 Days at Peking, 55 Degrees North, 55th Aero Squadron, 55th Fighter Squadron, 8 Series, 850i, Abellio, administrative headquarters, Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft, Advanced Development Programs, Air Force Research Laboratory, Alan Alda, Albanian newspaper, American band, Andrew W K, angel, Annunciation, Anu, apartments, Assumption of the Virgin, Assyrian-Babylonian mythology, atomic number, Australian rock band, automaker, Bantam, Battle of the Bulge, Battle of the Denmark Strait, Battle-class destroyer, Bel, Bible, binary, Bismarck, blowing the whistle, BMW K55, BMW tuner Racing Dynamics, Bodø, Boise, books, Bouriates, Brazil, British Indie Rock Band, British TV series, Brixton Academy, Cabala, California, Cape Finisterre, Captain Eugene Tatom, Celtic, Cesium, cesium atomic clock, cesium clock, Charlton Heston, child sex ring, China, Christ, Christie's Auction, Christie's Catalog cover, Class of '55, Club Foot, Cold War, Comment of Rachi, Communist Albania, constellation Sagittarius, constellation Sculptor, Constitutional Convention, County class, crematory, crime drama, Cristian Vogel, cruise missile, Daimler AG, David Niven, David Seltzer, death, delegates, Denmark Straits, Disneyland, Divine Person, E, Ea, earthly numbers, education, EL, Elohim, Emerald wedding anniversary, entertainment complex, epsilon, euro, Europe, events, factoid, Faroe Islands, Fibonacci number, fifty-five, film, FJ40, Gazeta 55, Genesis, german, German battleship, German tanker, globular cluster, God, Gospel, Greek alphabet, Group X, Halley’s Comet, Halloween, Happy Birthday Mr President, heavenly numbers, heavy cruiser, Hebrews, heptagonal number, HMS Finisterre, HMS Hereward, HMS Janus, HMS Juno, HMS Kipling, HMS Suffolk, HMS Truculent, hospital, humanity, I Can't Drive 55, I Ching, Idaho, Indian Ocean, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, international direct dial, investigators, Italy, Jah, Japan, Japanese, Jeeps, Jehovah, John Archer, José Saramago, K55, K55 Sport Coupe, Kaprekar number, Kasabian, Kawasaki ZX-14R, Kelly Field, Kh-55, King James Version, Korea, Kuwait, L, Lambda, Lockheed Martin, Lockheed Martin X-55, London detective, luxury sedans, LV, Malaysia, Marilyn, Marilyn Monroe, Mary, mathematics, Mather Field, Mediterranean, Mercedes Benz, Mercedes-Benz S-55, Messier object M55, middle-east, Militaria, military, military action, Misc, Miscellaneous, Mitsubishi Jeep, Mitsubishi Jeep J55, MKB Raduga, Morals Drive, mother, movies, music, nation, National Defense Reserve Fleet, National Maximum Speed Law, National Police Reserve Forces, NATO, New General Catalogue, New Testament, Newcastle, newspapers, nonagonal number, North America, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, northern Iraq, Norway, Norwegian Campaign, Novator RK-55 Granat, novel, NT, nuclear warheads, number, numbers, object NGC 55, Ol' 55, Old 55, Old Testament, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Northern Watch, Operation Southern Watch, Pacific Ocean, Palmdale, perihelion, Philadelphia, Phoenicians, phone calls, Platonic Lambda, politics, Prayer, prime numbers, Primer 55, prophetess, prophets, Pythagorean arithmetic, rabbinical study, Random, religion, Resurrection, Rhineland, Roman numeral, Royal Navy, S-Class, Saint John, saint Martin, Sammy Hagar, Scapa Flow, Schfifty Five, science, semiprime, Semitic, Seth Randal, sex with teenage boys, Sharon Cintron, shopping mall, Skagerrak, Skunk Works, Slip-On Exhaust, Sola, song, Southwest Asia, Soviet, Soviet Union, Soviet/Russian, space, speed Limit, spiral galaxy, square numbers, square pyramidal number, SS Matchless, Station 55, sun, Swedish merchant ship, T-54, T-55, tanks, Tórshavn, Texas, Thames Estuary, the Bible, The Cave, The Eagles, The Fall Of '55, throne, Time Magazine, tip of the iceberg, Tom Waits, Toyota, Toyota Jeep, transportation, triangular number, trinity, tv, TV comedy, United States, United States Air Force, United States Constitution, US Navy, USS Aludra, USS Valcour, Vietnam, Vietnamese, Virgin Mary, virtual reality, Warsaw Pact, Willys Jeep, witch hunt, woman, world war ii, WWI, WWII, Yaw, Yoshimura R-55
Another numbers factoid today. This time the number is fifty-five, along with its various associations.
The Number Fifty-Five 55
The number 55 is used 2 times in the Bible.
The 55th word of the King James Version of the Bible’s Old Testament Genesis is “light”;
At the end of his Gospel, Saint John devotes 55 verses (chapter 20 and 21) to describe the resurrection and his appearances of the Christ which took place after his death.
The words throne and number are used 55 in the NT.
55 is the representative number of the Virgin Mary. In the New Testament the name Mary is referred to 55 times (26 times by the word mother; 10 times by the word woman; and 19 times by the name of Mary).
Fifty-five years separate the Annunciation from the Assumption of the Virgin.
A rabbinical study enumerates 55 prophets, divided into 48 prophets and 7 prophetess. This list appears in the Comment of Rachi on Meguilla 14a.
Epsilon, E, is the 5th letter of the Greek alphabet, and Lambda, L, is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet and the product of the 3rd & 5th prime numbers: 5 x 11 = 55 = EL
EL is an ancient Semitic title for God. In Assyrian-Babylonian mythology, the great trinity Anu (sky), Bel (light), and Ea (sea) emanated from EL. EL was used by the Phoenicians for the high-one. Elohim is the plural form of EL. The Hebrews associated EL or Elohim with a sun-deity absorbed by Yaw (Jah or Jehovah). In Hebrew poetry EL appears as First Cause, God, Mighty One, principle or beginning of all things.
In Cabala, EL is a name of Chesed, the 4th Sephira.
EL is Celtic for angel.
55 represent the Divine Person, according to Abellio.
55 represent the limit of the humanity, according to E. Bindel.
55 represent the total and complete man, symbolized by the two hands which join at the moment of the prayer to remake the unit in the form of ten, but being able also to express that under the form of 55, “addition in the senses of the divine wisdom” according to saint Martin.
The Bouriates knew 99 gods, divided into 55 goods and 44 bad. These two groups of gods would fight for a very long time between them.
55 is the sum of the first 10 numbers: 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 = 55
55 is the sum of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th triangular numbers: 3 + 6 + 10 + 15 + 21 = 55
55 is the sum of the first 5 square numbers (also known as a square pyramidal number): 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + 25 = 55
The sum of 5 odd heavenly numbers: 1+3+5+7+9 = 25; the sum of 5 even earthly numbers: 2+4+6+8+10 = 30; the sum of the heavenly & earthly series (I Ching): 25 + 30 = 55
Fifty-five is the 10th Fibonacci number and a triangular number (the sum of the numbers 1 to 10), it is the largest Fibonacci number to also be a triangular number.
55 is heptagonal number, and a centered nonagonal number.
In base 10, 55 is a Kaprekar number.
55 is a semiprime, being the product of 5 and 11 and it is the 2nd member of the (5.q) semiprime family.
In Roman numeral 55 is written as LV
55 in Binary is 00110111
In Pythagorean arithmetic, 2 is the first even number, 3 the first odd number. The even & odd tetractyes both radiate from the One, which is the source of all numbers. The sum of these two series is 55
55 is the Atomic Number of Cesium (Cs).
The cesium clock is used as a standard in measuring time. Its accuracy is one second in 30,000 years. The cesium atomic clock is based on the frequency corresponding to hyperfine structure transition in the atoms of cesium nuclides Cs-133.
Messier object M55, is a magnitude 7.0 globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius
Messier Object M55
The New General Catalogue object NGC 55, is a magnitude 7.9 barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor
On February 9, 1986, Halley’s Comet made its closest approach to the sun (perihelion) at a distance of only about 55 million miles.
The velocity of Halley’s comet at perihelion is 55 kilometers per second.
55 delegates attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia (1787) and 39 signed the United States Constitution.
Agitation and Propaganda against the State, also known as Constitution law 55, was a law in Communist Albania.
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia 1787
A song produced by Group X was called “Schfifty Five”.
55 is the name of a song by British Indie Rock Band Kasabian. The song was released as a B side to Club Foot and was recorded live when the band performed at London’s Brixton Academy.
“I Can’t Drive 55”, is a song by Sammy Hagar
“Old 55” is the title of a song by Tom Waits and The Eagles
Cristian Vogel released an album in 2005 with the title “Station 55”
“Ol’ 55”, is an Australian rock band.
“Primer 55” is the name of an American band
“55 Cadillac”, is an album by Andrew W.K.
“55 Days at Peking” is a film starring Charlton Heston and David Niven
“55 Degrees North” (2004–2005) is a British TV series about a London detective who moves to Newcastle after blowing the whistle on a corrupt colleague.
“Class of ’55”, is a TV comedy created by writer David Seltzer, and starring Alan Alda, John Archer, Sharon Cintron
“The Fall Of ’55”, a crime drama, written by Seth Randal, about an incident in late 1955 and early 1956, when the citizens of Boise, Idaho believed there was a menace in their midst. On Halloween, investigators arrested three men on charges of having sex with teenage boys. The investigators claimed the arrests were just the tip of the iceberg-they said hundreds of boys were being abused as part of a child sex ring. There was no such ring, but the result was a widespread investigation which some people consider a witch hunt. By the time the investigation ended, 16 men were charged. Countless other lives were also touched.In some cases, men implicated fled the area. At least one actually left the country. The investigation attracted attention in newspapers across the nation, including Time Magazine. The “Morals Drive” left scars which remain to this day.
José Saramago’s novel “The Cave” features the Center, a vast multistoried shopping mall whose catalog runs to 55 volumes of 1,500 pages each, an entertainment complex offering Disneyland versions of virtual reality, and apartments, a hospital, a crematory and administrative headquarters.
55 was the highest speed limit allowed in the United States between 1974 and 1986 per the National Maximum Speed Law.
Yoshimura R-55 GP Style Slip-On Exhaust
The Yoshimura R-55 is a legendary exhaust building experience that gives the sportbike rider power in a lightweight, stylish package, using a tapered trapezoidal shape, finished off in either carbon fiber or stainless steel.
The R-55 on the Kawasaki ZX-14R looks seamless and will weigh less than the ones that come stock.
In 1991 BMW tuner Racing Dynamics of Italy produced a special version of the 8 Series dubbed the K55 Sport Coupe. The K55 5.5 Coupe was based on the 850i, powered by the 5.0-liter M70 that was stroked to 5.5 liters, new valves, camshafts lifters and intakes along with extrude honed heads. The one US version engine producing 475 bhp (354 kW; 482 PS) and the Euro version producing 401 bhp (299 kW).
40 K55s were produced for the Euro market and one in the US.
In addition to engine modifications, The K55 offered a variety of body, suspensions, rear end options.
Mercedes-Benz S-55
The S-Class is a series of luxury sedans produced by German automaker Mercedes-Benz, a division of German company Daimler AG.
The classification was officially introduced in 1972 with the W116 S-Class, which succeeded previous Mercedes-Benz models dating to the mid-1950s.
The S-Class has served as the flagship model for Mercedes for over fifty years in its various incarnations and has debuted many of the company’s latest innovations, including drivetrain technologies, interior features, and safety systems (such as the first seatbelt pre-tensioners).
The S-Class has ranked as the world’s best-selling luxury sedan
Mercedes Benz G55 AMG
The G-Wagen, or Gelandewagen as it is officially named, started out as a complete off roading machine. Mercedes-Benz built it for the German armed forces and as with any military vehicle, it was designed to take on the harshest of terrain and remain rather trouble free.
A civilian version was introduced a couple years after the G-Class first made its debut, and it too displayed the same level of ruggedness and ‘go anywhere’ ability.
The G Wagen has been around since the 70s and though it has received upgrades over the years, it still remains the ultimate off roading machine that is sought after by anyone and everyone who wishes to tour the world, go lion spotting in the Savannah or drive up Mount Everest!
The G-Wagen’s reliability has grown to legendary heights and it commands an imposing presence as it drives by.
There is no doubting the fan following garnered by the G Wagen over the years and in order to cater to the growing demand, Mercedes-Benz has toyed with the vehicle to make it more exciting and usher in a level of performance and sheer ludicrousness through their AMG subsidiary.
The latest incarnation of the G Wagen is the G55 AMG. Considered to be the most powerful G Class vehicle yet, it boasts of having performance figures that one would normally find associated with sportscars and it can still handle the rough.
Photo showing the Hamann Typhoon enhanced version of the Mercedes Benz G55 AMG
Mitsubishi Jeep J55
In 1950 the Japanese wanted a prototype 4X4 trucks and other vehicles and in response by January 1951 Toyota had produced a prototype. Toyota based their design on the Bantam vehicle that had seen military action in Malaysia. At the time there were many Jeeps being driven in Japan and the Jeep came to be the symbol of the 4X4. For this reason Toyota called it’s prototype the Toyota Jeep. These became the FJ40 that Americans found to be a rugged and reliable off road vehicle.
However, largely unknown to those in North America, there was another strong contender to the legend, the Mitsubishi Jeep. Their design was based on the Willys Jeep, the vehicle ultimately selected for procurement by the National Police Reserve Forces, and in 1953 Mitsubishi secured the rights to build the Willys under their own name. Thus the Mitsubishi Jeep was born.
In the USA the Willys was built till 1965 but in Japan Mitsubishi had a good thing going so they kept the line in production till 1998.
HMS Suffolk (55)
HMS Suffolk (55) was a Royal Navy County class heavy cruiser and part of the Kent subclass. She was launched on 16 March 1926, and commissioned on 25 June 1928.
Like her sister ships, Suffolk served on the China Station until the outbreak of WWII when she returned to Europe and patrolled the Denmark Straits.
In April 1940 Suffolk participated in the Norwegian Campaign and arrived at Tórshavn to commence the British pre-emptive occupation of the Faroe Islands. On 14 April 1940 Suffolk sank the German tanker Skagerrak northwest of Bodø, Norway.
On 17 April 1940, Suffolk and four destroyers, HMS Kipling, HMS Juno, HMS Janus and HMS Hereward, were sent to bombard the airfield at Sola, Norway. The operation had little effect and the retaliation from German bombers severely damaged the aft of the ship, forcing her to return to Scapa Flow.
Suffolk was out of action from April 1940 until February 1941 while she was repaired at the Clyde.
During May 1941, as part of the 4th Cruiser Squadron, Suffolk was involved in the Battle of the Denmark Strait and the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. Suffolk had engaged the battleship twice during the battle, making several salvoes on her. Using her radar, Suffolk was able to track the Bismarck through the Denmark Strait and maintained contact long enough for other units to vector into Bismarck’s path.
After repairs Suffolk served with the Home Fleet in Arctic waters until the end of 1942, then underwent a refit between December 1942 and April 1943. On completion of this the ship was ordered to the Eastern Fleet, operating in the Indian Ocean until the end of the war.
Suffolk was scrapped on 24 June 1948.
HMS Finisterre (D55)
HMS Finisterre (D55) was a Battle-class destroyer of the Royal Navy (RN). She was named after one of the battles of Cape Finisterre. Launched on the 22 June 1944 and commissioned on 11 September 1945.
She first joined the Home Fleet upon her commissioning. After duties in the Far East, Finisterre returned to the UK via the Mediterranean. In January 1950, she took part in the rescue attempt of the submarine HMS Truculent, which had sunk after colliding with a Swedish merchant ship Divina in the Thames Estuary. The collision had resulted in the loss of 64 of those on board. The following year Finisterre became the Gunnery Training Ship, based at Whale Island, Portsmouth as part of HMS Excellent.
In 1953, Finisterre took part in the 1953 Coronation Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II.
The following year Finisterre was placed in Reserve. After her sister-ship HMS Hogue collided with an Indian cruiser in 1959, Finisterre replaced her in the 1st Destroyer Squadron, based in the Far East. She was one of a number of Royal Navy ships stationed off Kuwait to keep the peace as the country gained its independence in 1961.
In 1965 she was sold for scrap.
USS Aludra (AF-55)
The USS Aludra (AF-55) was an Alstede-class stores ship acquired by the U.S. Navy and tasked to carry stores, refrigerated items, and equipment to ships in the fleet, and to remote stations and staging areas.
Originally ordered as refrigerated cargo ship “SS Matchless” she was launched on 14 October 1944 and delivered to the United States Lines under a bare boat charter on 23 March 1945.
She operated in the Pacific Ocean during the final months of the war and during the first four years following Japan’s capitulation and then laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet berthing area at Bay Minette, Alabama.
She was reactivated in November 1950, as the result of an expansion of the Fleet to meet its greatly increased responsibilities because of the United Nations decision to oppose communist aggression in Korea. Renamed Aludra on 16 January 1951, she was assigned to Service Squadron 3, Service Force, Pacific Fleet and took up the tasks of supporting Task Force (TF) 77 in strikes along the east coast of Korea and TF 72 in patrols in the East China Sea and off Formosa.
Ending her first deployment to the western Pacific, she returned to San Francisco, California, on 4 May 1953. Thereafter, for more than 16 years, she alternated operations on the west coast of the United States with tours in the Far East resupplying ships serving in the Orient. Among the highlights of her service was her participation in Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of thousands of Vietnamese refugees from communist-controlled areas of Vietnam after that country had been partitioned in 1954.
The ship again visited Vietnamese waters in March 1965 and, for a bit over three and one-half years thereafter, devoted most of her efforts to supporting American warships fighting aggression there. She left that war-torn country for the last time on 19 April 1969 and headed—via Sasebo, Japan—for home.
Aludra was decommissioned on 12 September 1969 and withdrawn from the reserve fleet on 19 January 1977 for stripping by the Navy prior to sale. She was purchased from MARAD by Sea World Processors Inc., for non-transportation use, 16 November 1977 and delivered, 16 February 1978. In 1981 she was burned and scuttled.
USS Valcour (AVP-55)
USS Valcour (AVP-55), later AGF-1, was commissioned on 5 July 1946 as a seaplane tender from 1946 to 1965 and as a flagship from 1965 to 1973. She was the last of the 35 Barnegat-class ships to commission.
Valcour was designated as flagship for the Commander, Middle Eastern Force (ComMidEastFor) and served in the Middle East from 5 September 1950 to 15 March 1951.
On the morning of 14 May 1951, two months after she returned to Norfolk from her second Middle East tour, Valcour suffered a steering casualty and power failure and collided with another vessel. An intense fire broke out aboard Valcour causing the commanding officer, Captain Eugene Tatom, to order abandon ship. Eleven men died, 16 more were injured and another 25 were listed as “missing”, later to be confirmed as dead.
After an extensive overhaul and improvements, and from 1952–1965 she rotated yearly between the United States and the Middle East.
In January 1972 Valcour was for inactivationand was decommissioned on 15 January 1973. On 1 May 1977, the U.S. Navy sold Valcour for scrapping.
Kh-55 (missile family)
The Kh-55 is a Soviet/Russian air-launched cruise missile, designed by MKB Raduga. It has a range of up to 3,000 km (1,620 nmi) and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads. Kh-55 is launched exclusively from bomber aircraft and has spawned a number of conventionally armed variants mainly for tactical use, such as the Kh-65SE and Kh-SD, but only the Kh-101 and Kh-555 appear to have made it into service. Contrary to popular belief, the Kh-55 was not the basis of the submarine- and ground-launched RK-55 Granat (SS-N-21 ‘Sampson’ and SSC-X-4 ‘Slingshot’).
A Kh-55 production unit was delivered to Shanghai in 1995 and appears to have been used to produce a similar weapon for China.
RK-55 Granat
The Novator RK-55 Granat was a Soviet land-based cruise missile with a nuclear warhead.
It was about to enter service in 1987 when such weapons were banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
A version launched from submarine torpedo tubes, the S-10 Granat (SS-N-21 ‘Sampson’;GRAU:3M10), has apparently been converted to carry conventional warheads and continues in service to this day.
The RK-55 is very similar to the air-launched Kh-55 (AS-15 ‘Kent’) but the Kh-55 has a drop-down turbofan engine[3] and was designed by MKB Raduga. Both have formed the basis of post-Cold-War missiles, in particular the 3M-54 Klub (SS-N-27 ‘Sizzler’) which has a supersonic approach phase.
55th Fighter Squadron
The 55th Fighter Squadron was originally organized as the 55th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas. By November 1917 the squadron was deployed to Issoudun, France. It was demobilized on 6 March 1919, following the end of WWI, but was reactivated in November 1930, at Mather Field, California.
At the beginning of World War II, the 55th continued to train aviators for squadrons in Europe and the Pacific. In May 1942, it was redesignated a fighter squadron and operated from several locations in the United States.
The 55th was deployed in Europe in August 1943, operating from RAF Wittering, England, and flew 175 combat missions. With the rest of the 20th Fighter Group, the 55th flew daily strafing, long-range-patrol and bomber-escort missions. In June, they provided air cover during the massive allied invasion of Normandy.
The 55th also performed escort and fighter-bomber missions supporting the Allied advance through Central Europe and the Rhineland. In December 1945, they took part in the Battle of the Bulge, escorting bombers to the battle area.
The 55th was demobilized on 18 October 1945, after the end of WWII, but was reactivated on 29 July 1946, at Biggs Field, Texas.
The 55th entered the jet age in February 1948, with the F-84G Thunderjet. In January 1950, and was redesignated the 55th Fighter-Bomber Squadron. The squadron returned to England at RAF Wethersfield in June 1952, where it was redesignated the 55th Tactical Fighter Squadron and then moved to RAF Upper Heyford in June 1970. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the 55th participated in countless North Atlantic Treaty Organization and U.S. exercises and operations, which directly contributed to containment of Soviet threats to Europe.
In January 1991, elements of the 55th deployed to Turkey during Operation Desert Storm. They flew more than 144 sorties, amassing 415 combat hours without a loss. These missions neutralized key facilities throughout northern Iraq and helped to liberate Kuwait and stabilize the region. The squadron was inactivated in December 1993.
It was transferred and reactivated on 1 January 1994, to its present home, Shaw Air Force Base, flying the A-10 Thunderbolt II. In July 1996, the squadron transferred its aircraft to Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, and stood down.
In July 1997, the 55th made history when it stood up as a combat-ready F-16CJ squadron in only 60 days. It has since made numerous deployments to Southwest Asia, continuing to contain the Iraqi threat. In the meantime, the squadron has earned awards and recognition, including the David C. Schilling Award in 1999 and 2000, as well as the Air Force Association Citation of Honor.
In the summer of 2000, the 55th deployed to Southwest Asia for Operation Northern Watch. It followed that deployment with Operation Southern Watch in the fall of 2001, and in the winter of 2002, deployed again in support of Operation Northern Watch. Most recently the 55th deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in late 2008.
The Lockheed Martin X-55 Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA) is an experimental twin jet engined transport aircraft intended to demonstrate new cargo-carrier capabilities using advanced composites. It is a project of the United States Air Force’s Air Force Research Laboratory, and was built by the international aerospace company Lockheed Martin, at its Advanced Development Programs (Skunk Works) facility in Palmdale, California.
The T-55 tank
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of medium tanks that were designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just as the Second World War ended. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, and others. T-54s and T-55s were involved in many of the world’s armed conflicts during the late 20th and early 21st century.
The T-54/55 series eventually became the most-produced tank in history. Estimated production numbers for the series range from 86,000 to 100,000. They were replaced by the T-62, T-64, T-72, T-80, and T-90 in the Soviet and Russian Armies, but remain in use by up to 50 other armies worldwide, some having received sophisticated retrofitting.
Soviet tanks never directly faced their NATO Cold War adversaries in Europe. However, the T-54/55’s first appearance in the West in 1960 spurred the United States to develop the M60 Patton.
K55 SPG Self-Propelled Gun
Since 1985 when it entered service, and until recently, when it has been replaced by the more miodern K9 Thunder platform, the South Korean Army relied on the K55.
It was a localized development of the US military’s M109A2 Paladin SPG family, license-produced by Samsung Techwin / Samsung Aerospace Industries (SSA).
Over 1,100 (1,180) of the type were procured by the South Korean government, supplying the Army with a long range, heavy hitter capable of lobbing conventional, chemical and nuclear shells at any potential enemies – namely North Korea.
The 25-ton K55 borrowed much from the American M109 including its conventional design consisting of an armored tracked chassis and boxy turret superstructure. The vehicle is crewed by six personnel and primary armament is a 155mm main gun of 30 caliber length. Defense is through 1 x 12.7mm K6 heavy machine gun. Power is served through a Detroit Diesel 8V-71T turbocharged, diesel-fueled engine of 450 horsepower. Maximum road speed across ideal surfaces is 56 kmh. The main gun can supply a rate-of-fire of 4 shots per minute while targeting is through manual means. A full ammunition load aboard the K55 is 36 projectiles.
The K55 entered a modernization program in 1994, producing the K55A1 designation.
The newer 47-ton K9 Thunder formally entered service in 1999 and is crewed by five personnel, carried 48 projectiles and features a rate-of-fire of 6 shots per minute with manual or automatic targeting. Additionally, the powerplant provides road speeds of up to 66 kph.
55 is the code for international direct dial phone calls to Brazil
55 gallon is a standard size for a drum container
Gazeta 55, an Albanian newspaper
An Emerald wedding anniversary celebrates 55 years.
Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress was assigned Lot #55 at the Christie’s Auction on October 27, 1999. It sold for a record price for a dress— $1,267,500.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2399
|
__label__wiki
| 0.651947
| 0.651947
|
HomePosts tagged 'French expression'
French expression
Welcome To The First Fasab Quiz For June
June 2, 2014 May 26, 2014 fasab Questions, Tests 24, A, actors, America's biggest box office stars, animals, bill gates, birds, borders, brain-buster, business, Canadian Province, characters, city, clockwise, contiguous US states, death pledge, domesticated, education, Endless Love, english, Entertainment, eyes, famous location, filed a report, fly backwards, French expression, from behind, full moon, general knowledge, Geography, goat, Greek version, history, inflation, invaded, Japanese, Johannesburg, John D Rockerfeller, John Wayne, last movie, latest series, Latin alphabet, letters, location, long running, los angeles, Luther Van-Dross, medieval castles, month, motion pictures, movies, music, nature, new york, northernmost point, octopus, Old Testament, politics, questions, quiz, quizzes, recorded history, richest man in history, South Africa, Soweto, spiral staircases, standing, state, test, tests, The Beverly Hillbillies, the Great Lakes, title, TV comedy series, TV show, UFO sighting, United States, upside down, US president, US state, Washington DC, word, WWII, yawning and stretching
Welcome to Quiz Day.
Another month has appeared on the calendar. Unbelievably we’re almost half way through 2014 already!
But what better way to start the first week of another month than with another twenty brain-buster questions.
Business, politics, geography, history, nature, movies and music are all in here this week.
Let’s see how you do.
Q. 1: What do octopus’ and goat’s eyes have in common?
Q. 2: What common English word comes from the French expression meaning “death pledge”?
Q. 3: Adjusting for inflation, which of these two men is the richest man in history, John D Rockerfeller or Bill Gates?
Q. 4: What is the term for yawning and stretching at the same time?
Q. 5: What US President is famous for having filed a report for a UFO sighting in 1973, calling it “the darndest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Q. 6: In the last 4000 years, how many new animals have been domesticated?
Q. 7: What is the Greek version of the Old Testament called?
Q. 8: Soweto is a very famous location on the outskirts of Johannesburg in South Africa, but how did it get its name?
Q. 9: Between 1926 and 1976, John Wayne appeared in over 170 motion pictures, and became one of America’s biggest box office stars, but what was the title of his last movie?
Q. 10: What is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon? (Two bonus points if you can name the year too.)
Q. 11: what was the only part of the United States that was invaded by the Japanese during WWII?
Q. 12: Why do spiral staircases in medieval castles run clockwise?
Q. 13: What are the only birds able to fly backwards.
Q. 14: If you were standing in the northernmost point in the contiguous (48) US states, what state would you be standing in?
Q. 15: Name the six main characters in the long running TV comedy series ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’? (A point for each and bonus points if you can name the actors who played them.)
Q. 16: What is the only Canadian Province that borders the Great Lakes?
Q. 17: Only four letters in the latin alphabet look the same if you turn them upside down or see them from behind, a point for each one you can name correctly?
Q. 18: Previously set in Los Angeles, Washington DC and New York, what City is the location for the latest series of the hit TV show ‘24’?
Q. 19: What is the only US State that begins with an “A” but does not end with an “A”?
Q. 20: Who shared ‘Endless Love’ with Luther Van-Dross in 1994?
A. 1: Both have rectangular pupils.
A. 2: The common English word ‘mortgage’ comes from the French expression meaning “death pledge”.
A. 3: When adjusted for inflation, John D Rockerfeller is the richest man in the history of the world, with a net worth 10 times more than Bill Gates.
A. 4: When you yawn and stretch at the time, you are “pandiculating.”
A. 5: Jimmy Carter filed a report for a UFO sighting in 1973.
A. 6: Bit of a trick question, in the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated. Take a point if you answered ‘none’ or ‘zero’.
A. 7: The Greek version of the Old Testament is called the ‘Septuagint’.
A. 8: Soweto in South Africa was derived from SOuth WEst TOwnship.
A. 9: John Wayne’s final movie was ‘The Shootist’, made in 1976 and in which he played the part of aging former gunslinger John Bernard Books.
A. 10: February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
A. 11: Alaska was the only part of the United States that was invaded by the Japanese during WWII. The territory was the island of Adak in the Aleutian Chain. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked, but not invaded.
A. 12: Spiral staircases in medieval castles run clockwise because all knights used to be right-handed and would therefore carry their swords in their right hand.
A. 13: Hummingbirds are the only birds able to fly backwards.
A. 14: If you were standing in the northernmost point in the contiguous (48) US states, you’d be standing in Minnesota.
A. 15: The characters in the Beverly Hillbillies were Jed Clampett, Granny, Ellie May, Jethro, unscrupulous banker Mr Drysdale and his long-suffering assistant Miss Hathaway, played respectively by Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, Max Baer, Jr., Raymond Bailey and Nancy Kulp.
A. 16: Ontario is the only Canadian Province that borders the Great Lakes.
A. 17: The only letters in the latin alphabet that look the same if you turn them upside down or see them from behind are ‘H’ ‘I’ ‘O’ and ‘X’.
A. 18: The latest series of ‘24’ is set in London, England.
A. 19: Arkansas is the only US State that begins with “A” but does not end with “A”, all the other States that begin with “A”, Arizona, Alabama and Alaska, also end with “A”.
A. 20: Mariah Carey.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2400
|
__label__wiki
| 0.674572
| 0.674572
|
April 2015 - New England Patriots Wiretap
Jets Fined $100,000 For Darrelle Revis Tampering
The New York Jets have been fined $100,000 for tampering with Darrelle Revis, but will not lose any draft picks.
The fine comes as a result from Woody Johnson's comments that he'd "love to have Darrelle back" at a December press conference.
The Jets signed Revis to a five-year, $70 million deal this offseason.
Manish Mehta/New York Daily News
Tags: New England Patriots, New York Jets, Legal, Suspension
NFL Nearly Scheduled Eagles As Patriots' Kickoff Opponent
The NFL nearly scheduled the Philadelphia Eagles as the New England Patriots' Week 1 opponent.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were instead scheduled as the only team that will visit the Patriots in 2015 coming off a playoff appearance.
The Eagles have been one of the NFL's most fascinating teams in the offseason.
Judy Battista/NFL.com
Tags: New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers
Jerod Mayo Agrees To Pay Cut With Patriots
Jerod Mayo has agreed to a pay cut to remain with the New England Patriots.
Mayo was scheduled to make a base salary of $6.25 million and now he's set to earn $4.5 million with a chance to make up to $6 million if he meets certain incentives.
Mayo suffered season-ending injuries in the sixth game of the season in each of the last two years.
Ian Rapoport/NFL.com
Tags: New England Patriots, Misc Rumor, Signing
Patriots To Host Steelers For NFL's First Game Of 2015
The New England Patriots will kick off the 2015 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a Thursday night opener.
The NFL kicks off the start of their season with the previous season's Super Bowl champ.
Tags: New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers
Nate Solder Diagnosed With Testicular Cancer In April 2014
Nate Solder was diagnosed with testicular cancer before the 2014 season in April.
Doctors determined the cancer hadn't spread and were able to remove the testicle.
Solder went on to start every game of the 2014 season protecting Tom Brady's blindside.
"I knew nothing about it. It was a complete surprise," said Solder, who turned 27 on April 12 and enters his fifth NFL season in 2015. "You Google something like that and it kind of scares you, so I was like, 'I'm not going to freak out about this.' Had I not had a routine physical, I probably wouldn't have checked it, saying, 'Oh, it's just in my head, I'm going to be fine.'"
According to the American Cancer Society, testicular cancer can develop in males of any age, including infants and elderly men. Almost half of all cases are in men between the ages of 20 and 34.
Mike Reiss/ESPN
Tags: New England Patriots
Patriots To Host Todd Gurley For Visit
The New England Patriots will host Todd Gurley for a visit.
The Patriots own the 32nd overall pick and Gurley is expected to go in the No. 16 to No. 26 range.
Gurley is coming back from a torn ACL.
Chase Goodbread/NFL.com
Tags: New England Patriots, Draft, Draft Misc
Aaron Hernandez Found Guilty On All Charges
Aaron Hernandez has been found guilty of first-degree murder, possession of ammunition and possession of a glock.
While Massachusetts does not have the death penalty, Hernandez will receive life in prison without the possibility of parole.
RealGM Staff Report
Tags: New England Patriots, Legal
Stevan Ridley Signs With Jets
Apr 9, 2015 1:29 AM
Stevan Ridley has signed with the New York Jets.
Ridley's one-year contract with the Jets was finalized Wednesday.
"He's excited for the opportunity and his rehab is going strong at this point," Ridley's agent, Andy Simms, told The Associated Press.
Ridley, 26, only five months removed from major knee surgery, visited last week with the Jets. Ridley also met with Washington and the Miami Dolphins.
Rich Cimini/ESPN
Tags: New England Patriots, New York Jets, Free Agent Rumor, Misc Rumor, Signing
Defense Attorney: Aaron Hernandez Witnessed Killing Of Odin Lloyd
Apr 7, 2015 11:58 PM
Aaron Hernandez's attorney acknowledged on Tuesday that his client was at the scene of a killing and saw it happen.
Jurors spent a little more than an hour deliberating after hearing closing arguments in Hernandez's trial later Tuesday afternoon.
"Did he make all the right decisions? No," James Sultan said during his closing arguments. "He was a 23-year-old kid who witnessed something, a shocking killing, committed by someone he knew. He didn't know what to do, so he just put one foot in front of the other."
Attorneys are not under oath and comments made during opening and closing arguments are not to be considered evidence by jurors.
Sultan pinned the killing on Hernandez's co-defendants, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz. Both men have pleaded not guilty and will be tried later.
Assistant District Attorney William McCauley said Hernandez's behavior after the crime showed that he was involved.
Sultan pointed out that prosecutors never presented a clear motive for why Hernandez would kill Lloyd, saying they were friends and future brothers-in-law and that there was no evidence he would have wanted Lloyd dead.
"You didn't hear because it doesn't exist," Sultan said. "Does the prosecution expect you to fill in that gaping hole in its case with guesswork, speculation?"
LeGarrette Blount Suspended One Game By NFL
LeGarrette Blount has been suspended one game by the NFL for violating the NFL's policy for substances of abuse.
Blount and Le'Veon Bell were arrested last summer for marijuana possession.
Bell was driving the car and charged with DUI in the case, which was resolved with a sentence of probation, and faces a likely two-game suspension from the league.
Josh Alper/Pro Football Talk
Tags: New England Patriots, Fantasy, Suspension
Rolando McClain Re-Signs With Cowboys
Rolando McClain chose the Cowboys after receiving another from the New England Patriots.
Ed Werder/ESPN
2019 July June May April March February January 2018 2017 2016 2015 December November October September August July June May April March February January 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2401
|
__label__wiki
| 0.968868
| 0.968868
|
Van Rompuy wants clearer 'hierarchy' to deal with future crises
BRUSSELS, 25. May 2010, 17:41
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has said he is looking to establish a clearer "hierarchy" among the EU institutions and member states to make it easier to deal with any future crises in the eurozone.
Mr Van Rompuy, in charge of a task-force looking into the future of economic governance in the EU, said he proposed to its opening meeting last week that "informal procedures and informal co-ordination mechanisms" be set up to help give some coherence within the EU structure.
Mr Van Rompuy spoke out against opening a new treaty discussion (Photo: premier.fgov.be)
"We are working in order to have some crisis cabinet because we are a lot of players in the field - certainly when you are in crisis - and there is not much hierarchy or organic links between the main players and the main institutions."
"Really, this is a problem," he told a gathering organised by European Movement International on Tuesday (25 May).
An informal structure could include the European Comission President Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet and Mr Van Rompuy, a source later said.
The tentative proposal comes after the EU's often torturous approach to the Greek debt crisis - a protracted response that widened the problem to the eurozone and almost made it a global crisis.
As market-induced panic looked set to gain a foothold, and following the intervention of US President Barack Obama, the 16-member eurozone agreed a €750 million EU/IMF package earlier this month.
But it is widely agreed that this is only a stop-gap measure and that the EU's budget discipline rules need to be tightened.
Germany, angry at paying the lion's share of the Greek bail-out - a move that is extremely unpopular among ordinary Germans - is leading the calls for a rules change, including a modification of the treaty.
But Mr Van Rompuy spoke out against opening a new treaty discussion, pointing to the achievement of arriving at the Treaty of Maastricht, which paved the way for the single currency, that governments should be wary of re-opening such discussions.
"Now that we have [the treaty], we should be cautious with it," he said, although he admitted that the Lisbon Treaty only gave "limited" room for manoeuvre.
He is the second EU figure to speak out against treaty change after Mr Barroso forcefully rejected the idea in a newspaper interview.
Defending the general response to the crisis, Mr Van Rompuy said it had shown that lessons had been learnt from 1930s.
He pointed out that the recession lasted only 12 months in most EU states and that there was "no real movement towards protectionism."
But the Belgian politician noted that "serious errors" had been made in the last decade, including letting countries go unpunished for breaching the eurozone rules, ignoring the huge economic divergences between euro states and not acting even though weaker economies had been already showing balance-of-payment problems for several years.
The article previously stated that Mr Van Rompuy had spoken about a "cavalry" when referring to agreement on the Treaty of Maastricht. Mr Van Rompuy actually said "calvary."
Poland's ex-PM loses EU parliament chair again
Poland's former prime minister, Beata Szydlo, has cried foul after failing to get an EP committee chair a second time, in a fiasco which could spell trouble for the European Commission presidency vote on Tuesday.
Anti-separatist Spanish MEPs dominate liberty committee
The European Parliament's powerful civil liberties committee (Libe) has elected anti-separatist Spanish MEPs for its chair and vice-chair positions. The issue risks complicating efforts by pro-Catalan factions to have the debate on independence raised to the EU level.
Orban ally's bid to chair EP committee in trouble
Former communication chief of the Hungary's Fidesz party, Balazs Hidvegi, wants a senior spot on the European Parliament committee working on migration and law. His nomination was delayed following a surprise decision by the centre-right EPP group.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2402
|
__label__wiki
| 0.817946
| 0.817946
|
GM design chief Welburn to retire July 1
Australian Simcoe to become first non-American head of design
Richard Truett
Ed Welburn with the Buick Avenir concept on the eve of media previews for the 2015 Detroit auto show.
DETROIT -- Ed Welburn, General Motors’ head of global design who radically transformed the look of the automaker’s car and truck lineups, is retiring effective July 1.
He will be succeeded by Australian Michael Simcoe, vice president of design at GM’s International Operations, the company said today. Simcoe, 58, is the first non-American appointed to the top design post at GM. He will begin taking over for Welburn on May 1.
“Given his deep global experience and passion for breakthrough design, Michael is the right person to lead GM Global Design,” Mark Reuss, GM’s global product development chief, said in a statement. “He is known for his ability to take diverse ideas from around the world and mold then into great products that surprise and delight our customers.”
Simcoe began his career as a designer at GM Holden in 1983. More recently, as head of exterior design for GM in North America starting in 2004, he led the design development of many cars and light trucks, including the GMC Terrain, Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Camaro and Equinox, and the Cadillac CTS sedan, wagon and coupe.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra, who formerly headed the automaker’s product development efforts, praised Welburn’s work and career. “He nurtured a creative, inclusive and customer-focused culture among our designers that has strengthened our global brands,” Barra said in a statement.
Jay Leno, left, and Welburn with the Buick Avenir concept at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August 2015 in Pebble Beach, Calif.
Fascinated by GM design
Working for GM is the only career that Welburn, who turned 65 in December, ever pursued. As an 11-year old boy growing up in Philadelphia, he wrote to GM seeking advice on how he could become a car designer. The letter was answered, and Welburn -- just the sixth man to ever steer GM design -- was on his way. Welburn’s GM career spanned 44 years.
He graduated from Howard University’s College of Fine Arts and started at GM in 1972 as an associate designer, becoming the company’s first African-American designer.
Two of the first cars he worked on were the Buick Park Avenue and Riviera. Three years later, Welburn moved to Oldsmobile’s exterior studio, which launched his rise up GM's design ranks and corporate ladder.
In 1989, Welburn became chief designer for Oldsmobile, where cars such as the Aurora -- which showed influences of the classic ’66 Toronado -- Cutlass Supreme convertible, Bravada SUV and others took shape.
He took on an assignment in 1996 with GM’s import-oriented Saturn brand, which led to an overseas post in Germany, where Welburn helped guide the creation of global design programs.
Simcoe began his career as a designer at GM Holden in 1983.
Welburn became director of GM’s advanced design organization in 1998, where he managed the teams working on innovative vehicles for all of GM’s brands. He later oversaw the design for GM’s body-on-frame vehicles, trucks and SUVs.
In the fall of 2003, Wayne Cherry announced plans to retire as head of GM design, and the company promoted Welburn to replace him, naming him vice president of North America design. In 2005, his title became vice president of global design.
In 2003, GM had 11 major brands globally. One of Welburn’s first and most important tasks was to introduce common working procedures and programs throughout GM’s vast global design studios.
Welburn’s stamp on GM design really took off after the company’s 2009 bankruptcy pared the company’s North American brands from eight to four -- Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC.
Mike Simcoe, then head of design for Chevrolet, with the 2011 Cruze at the 2009 Los Angeles auto show in Dec. 2009.
The design language of the surviving brands, especially those of Chevrolet and Cadillac, has been continually refined and, in the case of the Chevrolet Corvette, advanced.
The latest Corvette takes on a meaner look than previous models and ditches one of the car’s most iconic styling cues: round taillights. Welburn took some initial heat for the move, but the rancor quickly died down, and sales of the seventh-generation car have been strong.
Interior styling is another area that was prioritized under Welburn, with some of the biggest changes appearing in GM’s pickups, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, and in Cadillacs.
Welburn introduced the 2013 Cadillac XTS at the Los Angeles auto show on Nov. 16, 2011.
Mostly fresh lineup
Simcoe takes over for Welburn at a time when GM’s U.S. lineup is fairly fresh, though some aging crossovers are scheduled for redesigns over the next few years.
The past two auto show seasons, GM has introduced Buick concept cars with refined grilles and softer lines and angles.
Some of the concept cars produced under Welburn -- the Cadillac Elmiraj and Buick Avista, for example -- have garnered praise from some of GM’s toughest critics in the media.
“Ed’s team turns out one award-winning product after another,” Reuss said. “And his strong bench will keep GM Design on top for years to come.”
After Welburn turns the reins over to Simcoe, and before he leaves in July, he’ll work with the architects designing GM’s new design center, part of a $1 billion-dollar investment in the company’s sprawling Warren, Mich., tech center.
Ed Welburn pulled global studios together to set GM designs apart
Ed Welburn - career highlights
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2403
|
__label__cc
| 0.659981
| 0.340019
|
Up to $300k in penalties with stricter guidelines under Substance Requirements Act
Business, Compliance, Finance, Industry, Market, Taxes February 27, 2019February 27, 2019 Inderia Saunders
Deputy Prime Minister, Peter Turnquest.
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The government is ready to crack the whip on non-compliant companies with the release of more stringent guidelines to the Financial Services sector yesterday, detailing penalties up to $300k and the outright removal of entities breaching these new rules.
The new parameters are structured to ensure The Bahamas is removed and stays off any deficient listing by the European Union (EU) or the Organization of Economic Cooperation Development (OECD). Entities incorporated before December 31st, 2018 have up until July 2019 to comply with the Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act to be in line with the global, widely adopted standard on fair taxation.
“We know the industry was anxiously awaiting these guidelines,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said in a statement released yesterday evening. “Now that they have been released, all of our core stakeholders will have a clear sense of the framework to fully comply with the legislation. These guidelines were drafted with wide input of industry stakeholders, who we would like to thank for engaging with the Government over the past months “This collaborative effort is critical to our ongoing work to safeguard the industry and to ensure our global competitiveness.”
The rules include these entities having an adequate level of qualified full-time employees in The Bahamas or outsourcing to service providers in The Bahamas, a level of expenditure in The Bahamas commensurate with its business activities, adequate physical premises locally as well as adequate levels of board direction and control.
The guidelines also require these companies to have Core Income Generating Activities (CIGA) that incorporate local banking business, insurance business, fund management business, financing and leasing business, headquarters business, distribution and service centres, shipping regime and the commercial use of Intellectual Property.
“It is the primary responsibility of the included entity to demonstrate that it conducts CIGA in The Bahamas proportionate to its business activities,” read the guidelines. “An entity may undertake or outsource all or part of an activity in The Bahamas provided that the included entity is able to monitor and control the carrying out of CIGA by that outsourcing service provider.
“If that activity is not part of the CIGA this will not affect the included entity’s ability to meet the substance requirement.”
The new standards will not hinder any entity from seeking expert professional advice or engaging the services of specialists in other jurisdictions.
Failure to adhere to the requirement in the Act will lead to sanctions that could ultimately see the entity struck off of the Companies Register. Where the Authority – Ministry of Finance – deems an included entity to have failed to meet the substance requirements, it will have the power to request onsite inspections and an audit at the expense of the company.
“In the event the audit reveals deficiencies, the entity shall be issued a notice of noncompliance from the Authority stating the areas where remedial measures are required and a deadline for compliance,” it read. “Where the entity fails to comply, the Authority has the power to impose an administrative penalty of $150,000, pursuant to Section 16(4), with a possible further administrative penalty of $300,000, or striking-off the Register pursuant to Section 16(6)(a) of the Act.”
Published on February 25, 2019, the guidelines said where an included entity fails to satisfy the substance requirements rules, the Authority has the power to forward to the relevant reportable jurisdiction the findings of any inspection or audit commissioned in accordance with the schedules set out in the Act.
The rules also outlined methods of reporting for compliance purposes, retention of information required, the spontaneous exchange of relevant information as well as the direction and control of included entities.
About Inderia Saunders
View all posts by Inderia Saunders →
Beckles: Govt. has to make tough fiscal decisions
‘BAMSI gives back’ programme strikes again
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2406
|
__label__wiki
| 0.596057
| 0.596057
|
The Encounter: Baalu Girma and Zora Neale Hurston
January 11, 2016 - February 18, 2016
Location: UCF Art Gallery
The Encounter: Baalu Girma and Zora Neale Hurston is a cross-departmental collaborative exhibition featuring the work of Eric Gottesman and will be on display at the UCF Art Gallery January 11 – February 18, 2016.
Opening Reception: January 14, 2016 | 6:00pm – 8:00pm
While conducting photo workshops in Ethiopia, Gottesman learned about and researched, the tragic life and death, of Baalu Girma, the celebrated novelist and journalist whose death in 1984 is attributed to agents of the Ethiopian government. The Encounter proposes a fictional encounter between Hurston and Girma. The two writers overlapped in time, but never in place, at least not until 2014, when Gottesman came to the Cornell Museum at Rollins as part of a group exhibition “Fractured Narratives”. It is there that he encountered the legendary history of Zora Neale Hurston, and where he conceived this project, a collaboration between Gottesman and the students and faculty of the UCF School of Visual Arts and Design (SVAD) and their colleagues at Rollins College in nearby Winter Park. Additional artists on exhibit are Christopher Harris, Lynn Linnemeier, Dinorah de Jesús Rodríguez and Reggie Wilson.
UCF Art Gallery will be an open forum for conversations about what these writers had in common. These curated conversations will be presented by scholars of Rollins College, UCF, Seminole College and invited speakers.
The Encounter will query the artifice of borders between academic disciplines, and the shared heritage of African diasporic cultures. It will also present a wonderful opportunity – another encounter – to meet our colleagues and academics at Rollins and other local institutions. The exhibition will include contributions from students and faculty curated by Eric Gottesman. Eric is a Boston-based conceptual artist known for his use of photography to investigate history.
UCF Art Gallery is proud to have been invited (for the first time) to be part of ZORA 2016.
Press: Orlando Weekly // Zora Festival
Exhibition Images:
chevron-right chevron-left
Encounter-web
Encounter-web_1 Dinorah de Jesus Reogriques & Sista Whirlwind
Encounter-web_2
Encounter-web_10
Encounter-web_13 Eric Gottesman
Encounter-web_16 Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier
Encounter-web_31 Rachel simmons
Encounter-web_58 Dinorah de Jesus Rodriquez
Read more info about the Big Read and related events go to: http://neabigread.org/communities/?community_id=2241
UCF Art Gallery will host a special series of lectures and performances centered around the exhibition The Encounter: Baalu Girma and Zora Neale Hurston. All events are free and open to the public.
WEDNESDAY, January 13 at 3:00pm
Re-encounters: Literary Adaptations Through Experimental Art
ARTIST TALK: Chris Harris and Eric Gottesman
THURSDAY, January 14 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Kick off of the the Big Read and Opening Reception of “The Encounters: Baalu Girma and Zora Neale Hurston”.
FRIDAY, January 15 6:00pm – 8:00pm
LECTURE: “Zora Neale Hurston and Afro-Futurism” by Julian Chambliss
Join us for a guest lecture on Afro-Futurism by Dr. Julian C. Chambliss, Associate Professor of History and Director of the African and African-American Studies Program at Rollins College.
Dr. Chambliss is an award winning teacher and scholar who has lectured and presented his work to domestic and international audiences. His writing is widely published in scholarly venues and his commentary on cultural history can be found in such media outlets as the Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio, The Christian Science Monitor, Orlando Sentinel and CBS News Radio. His new book on superheroes in U.S. culture, Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men was published in 2013.
THURSDAY, January 21 at 3:00pm
ARTIST TALK: “Gods Always Behave Like the People Who Made Them” by Dinorah de Jesús Rodríguez
Zora Neale Hurston and her migration to the North and return to the Deep South inspired a collaboration between three Florida artists: Filmmaker & Multimedia Artist Dinorah de Jesús Rodriguez, Choreographer & Movement Artist Shaneeka Harrell, and HipHop/Spoken Word Artist Sista Whirlwind.
Their discussion will explore Zora’s relationship to Florida, the swamp, her community, and the significance of Zora’s brand of Southern Comfort. They will also address the topic of art-making and community, working with archival content, and addressing historical information thru a contemporary lens.
They will project the video from the installation based off Zora’s words… “Gods Always Behave Like the People Who Made Them”. The artists will be present to informally discuss their collaborative process, what the work means to each of them as artists as well as individuals, and to answer audience questions.
MONDAY, January 25 at 12:00 pm
LECTURE: “Zora Neale Hurston and Her Narrative Magic” by Jill Jones
Jill Jones is an English Professor at Rollins College whose teaching interests include 19th and 20th century American literature, African American literature, women writers, and autobiography. She is the former editor of The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Journal of Florida Literature.
TUESDAY, January 26 at 10:30am
ARTIST TALK: Reggie Wilson
Reggie Wilson will present his research-to-performance methodology, inspired by the practices of Zora Neale Hurston. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Brooklyn-based Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group.
TUESDAY, January 26 at 5:30pm
PERFORMANCE: Theatre UCF presents SPUNK
SPUNK is an adaptation by Theatre UCF Associate Professor Be Boyd, based on the play Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston. Directed by Be Boyd, SPUNK is a collaboration with the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community and an official part of the ZORA! Festival 2016 program. Treasured local author Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God) weaves together song and story in a dramatic retelling of her award-winning short story of the same name.
ARTIST TALK: “The Other Side of Far, Zora Neale Hurston’s Eatonville” by Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier
Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier is an Atlanta based photographer, painter and writer. She has been documenting people and places of the South since 1989. She has numerous awards including a 2004 Lila Wallace-Readers’ Digest/Arts International Travel Fellowship that allowed her to travel to Australia to document the aboriginal people of that region and a Kellogg Foundation/Fulton County Arts Council residency in 1999 in South Africa to produce prints and document the dialogue between women from around the world on issues confronting the new millennium.
ZORA FESTIVAL RECEPTION! more info here—> http://zorafestival.org/
The UCF Art Gallery in cooperation with the UCF Africana program, will host ZORA! 2016 event, which will include an exhibit in the UCF John C. Hitt library as well as a symposium featuring humanity scholars. After the symposium, the attendees will be invited to the UCF Art Gallery to continue their conversations and appreciate The Encounters efforts to enliven Hurston’s legacy through contemporary arts.
THURSDAY, January 28 at 10:30 am
ARTIST TALK: Chakaia Booker
Sculptor Chakaia Booker fuses ecological concerns with explorations of racial and economic difference, globalization, and gender by recycling discarded tires into complex assemblages.
Booker began to integrate discarded construction materials into large, outdoor sculptures in the early 1990s. Tires resonate with her for their versatility and rich range of historical and cultural associations. Booker slices, twists, weaves, and rivets this medium into radically new forms and textures, which easily withstand outdoor environments. Chakaia is a 2016 Artist in Resident at the Flying Horse Editions.
FRIDAY, January 29 at 12:00 pm
PERFORMANCE: Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz
In association with Women History Month, SVAD Assistant Professor Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz will perform with the Center for Success of Women Faculty.
What She Said: Language and Cultural Barriers in the Ivory Tower
Academia has an independent class system in which its vernacular often
becomes an alienating factor to those who come within its scope. What,
then, happens to the nature of inclusivity and diversity in academia? Due to the surge of college students from a variety backgrounds, there is an interest recruiting faculty members that reflect the needs of those communities. However, there is a disconnect between the Ivory Tower and everyone else.. isn¹t there? Can you truly reach students and faculty recruits and while simultaneously ostracizing them? I will perform a key note lecture using academic jargon outside of its intended context while wearing academic robes constructed from appropriated materials (including repurposed regalia). Through this strategy I target the assumption that all academics are thoroughly groomed for academic culture. In my projected performance art piece “What She Said” I will use the lecture as a vehicle to examine the isolation that many first generation students and faculty members face upon entering academic life.
TUESDAY, February 2nd at 5:30PM
PERFORMANCE “Division: The Trayvon/Jordan Project”
Excerpts from the play “Division: The Trayvon/Jordan Project” directed by John DiDonna in collaboration with Valencia students. “Divisions” is a very successful docudrama performed this past year in collaboration with the Trayvon Martin Foundation and the Jordan Davis Foundation at Valencia College. The play, which was developed by Valencia’s theater department, pivots around the deaths of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., and Jordan Davis in Jacksonville, Fla.
The evening will include one act play “Every Tub Must Sit On Its Own Bottom. (Trayvon Martin Meets Zora Neale Hurston)” written by Obi Nwakanma, UCF English Department, commissioned for “The Encounter: Baalu Girma and Zora Neale Hurston”. Obi and John will be working together to choreograph this piece. Introduction by Francis C. Oliver is the Chairperson of the Goldsboro Historical Museum Board and curator of the Goldsboro Westside Community Museum.
After conducting more than 100 hours of interviews, theater students working in a special class created the docudrama, which explores the reaction to the events, the impact, fallout and legacy, as well as what “Division” means to American society today. Using the reactions and words of many individuals – lawyers, media personalities, political activists, professors, students and people intimately involved in the two tragedies — the play explores a wide variety of topics, including stereotypes, raising a child in today’s society, guns, media, as well as the gulf between division and change.
The play was written by John DiDonna, chair of Valencia’s theater department, in collaboration with students William Adkins, Aidan Bohan-Moulton, Carolyn Ducker, Phillip Edwards, Nathan Jones, Anneliese Moon, Elina Moon, Stelson Telfort and Michael Sabbagh.
FRIDAY, February 12 at 3:00PM
ARTIST TALK: Rachel Simmons
Rachel Simmons lives and works in Winter Park, Florida. She holds an MFA from Louisiana State University. Since 2000 she has been actively involved in socially engaged art projects as an artist-educator at Rollins College. In 2009, she was given the Florida Campus Compact Service-Learning Faculty Award for the State of Florida. That same year, Rachel journeyed to Antarctica for the second time to make work about climate change and ecotourism.
Most recently, Simmons traveled across the desert landscapes of Namibia to research ecotourism in southwestern Africa. She often collaborates with scholars from other academic disciplines to create her mixed media work. Current collaborative projects include Future Bear with Julian Chambliss and The Aesthetics of Scale with Lee Lines.
TUESDAY, February 16 6:00pm – 8:00pm
PERFORMANCE: “Their Eyes, Our Voices” Showcase
The UCF School of Visual Arts & Design and UCF Art Gallery will host “Their Eyes, Our Voices” Personal Showcase with a special performance by Dietrich Squinkifer, a writer, programmer, musician, and visual artist who creates games and playable experiences about gender identity and social situations. This showcase will feature a curated collection of personal narrative games created by UCF digital media students enrolled in Anastasia Salter’s digital storytelling class. The students created games inspired by Their Eyes Were Watching God using Twine, an open source platform for game-making and storytelling that allows designers to combine creative text and expression with STEM knowledge and procedural skills.
The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
Plan Your Visit | © 2019 University of Central Florida | Operated by the UCF School of Visual Arts & Design
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2417
|
__label__wiki
| 0.739121
| 0.739121
|
Home»Forums»Games»Sentinel Comics RPG»An extremely fast and loose definition of comic book ages
An extremely fast and loose definition of comic book ages
So for those who have heard of 'comic book ages,' but don't know what they are, I thought I'd post a little primer here that I was working on after being inspired by a conversation with Platinum Warlock. Now, there's a whole heck of a lot of wiggle room and different ideas about what is what, and many people have different opinions, so please don't take this as gosssipel.
But, essentially, people have been trying to classify the phases that comic books have gone through from their inception until now, and since clear deliniation points are rare, there is a lot of guesswork. I have chosen to break comics into 5 different phases (called ages) that represent different major trends in comics. Some only use four, some use different dates or different breaking points. Some say there should be a 'void period' between 1945-1954 . . . it's a mess and no one agrees. However, this is my best attempt at a somewhat quick and loose explanation of the comic book ages, for any who want to know about it.
Let me explain what I've done here: for each age I have:
Named it
Given a rough timeframe of when it started
Given an event or two that many see as the start of that period
Given a one-sentence super generalized description of the time.
Described what kinds of stories were most common
Described what was happening "Behind the scenes" in the industry to steer comics in the way that happened.
Listed some iconic comic characters that were created at the time.
Listed some Sentinels of the Multiverse characters that 'feel' at home in this time (or, their creation/morals/way of doing things align closely with this age.)
Start: c. Mid to late 1930s
Precipitating event: Creation of Superman
One Sentence Summery: Simple stories where good triumphs over evil, sometimes patriotic to the point of Jingoism.
Story Elements: During the golden age, most of the stuff was pure power fantasy. Most of the time superheroes fought normal goons that were gangsters, or occasionally an evil scientist. Good guys were always right in whatever they did, and bad guys were almost never redeemable. Also, there was very little 'conflict.' Once the hero had figured out the mystery or overcame the particular hurdle of that issue, they usually walked though the thugs and villains like tissue paper. Superheros may have fought the occasional space monster but it that was about the limit of the super-powered beings they went up against.
This was the time when many heroes (including Batman) used guns to kill people, and it was portrayed as 100% okay to do this as long as they were faceless goons. Might made right. In fact, there is a superman story where the man of steel breaks into the governor’s office, into his (basically) panic room, and intimidates him into pardoning an innocent man on death row. Lots of misogyny and racism, which was more a sign of the times than an indication of what was going on in the comic book industry as a whole.
The Industry: The reason it was called the golden age was that people were reading these comics in untold numbers that have never been seen since. It wasn't uncommon for books to sell in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of copies. There were very few crossovers and even multi-issue stories were rare. There was also almost no restrictions on the industry. Lastly, comics were seen as something both adults and kids could enjoy.
Before the US entered WWII, comics were a huge deal, though during and after WWII, they saw a massive slump in popularity. Only a few books made it through WWII (like Superman and Captain America), but they were never near the sales numbers they had before the war. For the majority of the late 40s to the 50s, superhero comics were not very popular, instead horror and detective-based comics were the most popular comics at the time.
Heroes Created at this time:Captain America, Justice Society of America (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Allen Scott (1st Green Lantern), Jay Garrick (1st Flash)
Example SotM characters with a 'feel' of this era: America's Greatest Legacy, G.I. Bunker, Ra
The Silver Age
Start: c. Mid to late 50's
One Sentence Summery: Restricted storytelling with often silly stories, but we start to see hints of more depth.
Precipitating event: Creation of Barry Allen (2nd Flash)/Introduction of the Comics Code Authority
Story Elements: The CCA heavily restricted what comics could publish, making their stories more juvenile and less enticing to adults, a stigma the industry still haven't gotten over. Lots of very silly stories, (Superman even shoots Lois with a Fat ray at one point, and then mocks her for it!) However, the creation of the CCA did solidify morals in many superheroes, as they were now no longer permitted to kill. This is when Batman got his famous 'no guns' policy.
During this time we start to see the emergence of super-powered threats to superheroes (supervillains), and times when the heroes don't always win or can make mistakes. Spider-Man was particularly groundbreaking in this event, though he was still very good and moral. We start to see more challenges to superheroes during this time, and problems that heroes can't simply 'punch' their way out of.
It is important to note that this time frame encompasses all of the 60s, so there's also a great deal of psychedelic stuff here too. Drugs were never mentioned, of course, but we often see alien, bizarre worlds or dimensions that are so far removed from our own that they are unrecognizable. Doctor Strange was particularly known for this, but many other heroes also got in on the action.
The Industry: In 1954 Charles Murphy, an outraged psychologist petitioned for the creation of the Comics Code Authority which was essentially a self-policing entity for comic books. Comics would promise to adhere to certain rules and if they did so, they'd get a stamp of approval. Newstands and most major outlets would not sell comics that did not have this stamp of approval. The CCA was very restrictive, necessitating that most of the types of stories from the golden age be changed to things that were more juvenile 'silly,' and 'fanciful.
These restrictions were quite difficult for writers to get around, and limited many story ideas. Some of the restrictions were: heroes were not allowed to kill people, heroes had to dress in 'reasonable' clothing (WTF?) and alcohol and illegal drugs couldn't be portrayed in comics at all (even in a negative light.) Many themes or story elements were off-limits too, such as sympathetic villains, (“Crimes shall never be presented in such a way as to create sympathy for the criminal"), corrupt cops and politicians (“Policemen, judges, government officials, and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority.”), or the heroes being defeated (“In every instance good shall triumph over evil and the criminal punished for his misdeeds.”). In fact, the code went so far as to restrict the naming of books (“No comic magazine shall use the words "horror" or "terror" in its title.”)
Marvel/DC Heroes at this time: Too many to list! Spider-Man, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Barry Allen (2nd flash), Hal Jordan (2nd Green Lantern) Aquaman
Example SotM characters with a 'feel' of this era: The Freedom Five, Ardent Adept, Haka
The Bronze Age
Start: c. Early 1970s
Precipitating event: Jack Kirby Leaves Marvel, Gwen Stacy is killed in Spiderman #121
One Sentence Summery: Comics start to get into politics and start to address social issues, but are mostly ham-fisted.
Story Elements: The CCA had been relaxed and changed somewhat at this point, and many new stories were now possible. Comics began to loose their 'silver age sillyness' and start to tackle real-world consequences. Many consider the death of Gwen Stacy (where Spider-Man accidentally kills Gwen Stacy by catching her with his webs too fast so that her neck snaps) the turning point. Not only does evil triumph over good in this story, but it also dealt with more mature themes like Spider-Man mourning the death of a loved one and dealing with the guilt that he killed her because of his carelessness.
This was also the time of creation for Heroes like Luke Cage, who was a superhero that primarily dealt with racial inequality. There also were a rise of female heroes that had tried to deal with gender inequality, such as a reboot to Black Widow. Additionally, both Marvel and DC decided to publish stories dealing with substance abuse (this was a risky move on their part, as those issues were not approved by the CCA). Many issues dealt with perversion of justice in the government, such that Captain America even gave up being an 'American' superhero and became 'Nomad.'
Industry: Much like the comics, the industry was striving to distance itself from the sillyness of the silver age and become socially relevant. However, most of the writers and artists at this time are still old white dudes, so their ability to write for a jive-talking black man who has faced racial inequality all his life was . . . questionable. There's clearly an attempt here to have comics take on social issues, but . . . let's just say it's not quite there yet.
Marvel/DC Heroes at this time:Luke Cage, Punisher, Wolverine, Cyborg, Vixen, Starfire
Example SotM characters with a 'feel' of this era: Unity, Mr. Fixer, Tempest, Visionary
The Iron Age (or Dark Age, sometimes).
Start: c. Mid 1980s
Precipitating event: Creation of 'event comics,' primarily 'Crisis of infinite earths.'
One Sentence Summery: Comics get darker, grittier, and more morally ambiguous, and some stray into terri-bad juvenile-ism while pretending to be 'mature.'
Story Elements: As the Bronze age became darker and more gritty, many writers lost sight of the social commentary they had started with, and bodycounts, blood, and guns started to add up. Now, there were many perfectly good comics made at this time, such as Chris Clairmont's X-men,( which started in the bronze age and went through the Iron age) which is held up as particularly good, as is DC's 'The Dark Knight Returns' and 'Watchmen.' However, many comics devolved into over-muscled guys using a ludicrous amount of guns. Super dark storylines and unnecessarily sad back-stories permeated the market.
We try not to talk about it. It should be pointed out though, that some comics did become more nuanced with their social commentary and started treating large-scale systemic social problems like something that could not be solved in a single comic book issue.
Industry: Honestly, there's an entire essay here we could talk about what happened in the industry during the Iron age. Rob Leifeld's unique style of artwork became very popular at this time (giant, overly muscled men and wafer-thin female sex-objects were the norm), and many aped his style. Additionally, there was a massive speculator boom in the 90s where the industry kept on printing new #1 issues of comics, trying to trick readers into believing they would be valuable one day. When the bubble burst, the comics industry crashed and Marvel had to actually declare bankruptcy (they got better.)
It should be obvious that the CCA changed again during this time, and also that some comic companies (namely Image Comics) didn't bother trying to make content that conformed to the CCA at all. They got away with this because of the rise in popularity of the 'direct market' (comic book stores.)
Marvel/DC Heroes at this time:Deadpool, Cable, Azrael, John Constantine
Example SotM characters with a 'feel' of this era: All the X-Treme! Prime Wardens, Normal Fanatic, Expatriette, K.N.Y.F.E.
Modern Age:
The Modern Age (Sometimes, the Electrum Age)
Start: c. 2000
Precipitating event: 'Popping' of the speculator bubble, rise of popularity of superhero movies.
One Sentence Summery: Comics are getting better all the time; inclusion and representation are up, you can get any style of story you want, but there are still some stumbling blocks.
Story Elements: The best definition of the Modern age of comics is that there is no definition. A person can find just about any type of story they want, from post-modern deconstructions of superheroes to silver age sillyness, to a more updated and sophisticated take on bronze-age comics tackling social issues. There are even some iron-age-style comics still being published. There are a few trends however, such as questioning what truly makes a hero or villain and the reformation of some villains (Superior Spider-Man). There are also several hero vs. hero stories (Marvel's Civil War I and II.) There's also an emphasis on diversity and more representation.
Industry: The industry has basically decided to run comics like a giant commercial, constantly using their many different franchises to see what works and what doesn't, and adjusting. If a movie is popular, then they incorporate elements from the movie into the comic. There is also a large emphasis on cross-overs and collected trades (collections of a storyline into a single magazine-like book.) For a while, there were large amounts of 'event comics' (Massive cross-over storylines with ramifications for an entire comic book universe, with an emphasis on buying multiple different titles in order to be caught up), but fortunately, those seem to have died down recently as readers got fatigued by them pretty quickly.
It should be pointed out that no major comic book companies follow the CCA anymore, and no one really cares about it, making it defunct at this point.
Marvel/DC Heroes at this time:Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Spider-Gwen, Superior Spider-Man, Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), Miss Martian,
Example SotM characters with a 'feel' of this era: America's Newest Legacy, Akash'Threya, Harpy
"Comics are getting better all the time"
All I'm gonna say is it depends on who you ask.
I did say it was a fast and loose generalization, right? But in general what I meant was that there was more inclusiveness, more attention being paid to LGBTQA, gender equality, and bigotry issues. Of course there are bad comics out there, but in general, we are slowly, over time, trending in an upward curve I believe.
I did also say there were stumbling blocks too, right?
I always enjoy these sorts of discussions; glad to see that this popped up again!
Hope I was at least generally in the right ballpark.
The thing about the comic book ages (and any historiography), is that it's entirely subjective. Different historians and scholars view events in different ways all the time, and there's often little that's universally agreed upon in terms of historical time markers.
I did much of my undergraduate work studying the Crusades. Many historians would say that the First Crusade started with the Council at Cleremont, where Pope Urban II put forward the call to crusade. Others start counting in the following year, when the actual Crusade started in earnest. Others start with the Crusade of Peter the Hermit. Still others go all the way back to the initial Seljuk Turk raids that prompted Alexius I to ask Urban for aid in the first place. Who's right? Well... all of them. There's no hard and fast limit to when the Crusades began; they're all important demarcations. It's all a matter of what you think is most important. A scholar covering Byzantine history might start with Alexius, while a military historian might look at the initial marches of Bohemond, Raymond and Godfrey as the start. A scholar focusing on the Church might say Urban's decision, while someone focused on popular movements and Marxist theory might start with Peter the Hermit.
Perspective, in all things historical, is the most important thing.
Wow this is quite interesting as a casual comic nerd. (I have mostly short runs the bigest is the 36 issues of Scooby Apocalypse that just ended this month) And really Marvel went bankrupt?! It's kinda hard to believe one of the 3 Big Names in comics had trouble. Though is Dark Horse a publisher? I've seen them publish Dc and Marvel comics but they also seem to have their own unique heroes (I believe Hellboy franchise isn't DC or Marvel and DH owns it entirely)
Marvel bankruptcy information: Screencrush article
Most notably to the fan realm, the Marvel bankruptcy in 1996 is why the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man were inaccessible to Marvel Studios for so long. The film rights to those characters (and several others, like Namor) were sold off as assets to various creative studios to help pay off Marvel's debts.
Comics, by themselves, aren't a particularly lucrative revenue stream, particularly in this digital age, where competition for entertainment dollars has become much stiffer. It's actually kind of an anomaly that boardgaming/roleplaying have become so popular in recent years--in many ways, they're the definition of a backlash against the current market: where most entertainment wants you to be digitally connected, these allow you to 'unplug'. And, even now, while Marvel's comics arm may certainly be marginally profitable, there's no doubt that their big bucks come from the films (I mean, when we can drag out characters like Guardians of the Galaxy and have them make a literal billion dollars, that's saying something) and from licensing fees. The comics themselves aren't meant to make money at this point; they're the creative sandbox where writers/artists create the stories that, if successful, later become films or other media.
Dark Horse has never, ever published Marvel's or DC's titles. As one of the first big 'independent' studios (along with Image), they certainly shared a good degree of talent with Marvel/DC (Frank Miller, John Byrne, Mike Mignola, Walt Simonson, and many others...), but the only real overlap came in licensed properties like Conan or Star Wars, which have drifted between comics studios for years. But, Marvel's Star Wars series is not contiguous with that of Dark Horse; they're totally independent, even as they share the same universe.
I’ve been tinkering with the idea of next week doing a ‘Comic ages’ schtick over the next week or two where I make a hero representative of every comic book age over on my heroic NPC thread.
Anubis wrote:
And in case you thought I was lying about the other stuff: here's a link to a guy recapping the story of when Superman shoots Lois with a Fat Ray and then makes fun of her for it:
https://youtu.be/ALh2RhpItk8?t=367
Stumbled across this on the internet:
If you want some examples of Silver-Age wackyness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83WH09oFMvw
Last seen: 10 hours 51 min ago
there's also the "Pre-supers" era... Action Comics #1 is 1938... the first comic book was Famous Funnies in 1933, and the comic strip format was 1896. Political doodles go back further still, as do other comic-style images, but not generally in story modes. It's also important to note that the strips of the 20's were often what we'd now consider half page or full page episodic.
Likewise exceptional heroes were becoming part of pulp literature in the late 1910's and into the 1820's...
1917 got one of the first "supermen" - John Carter. His superhuman abilities are not superhuman per se, excepting the ability to travel between Earth and Mars, and his unaging nature... his superhuman ability on Mars is from having earth-normal strength. Buck Rogers came out in 1928's Armageddon: 2419 and continued in 1929's Airlords of the Han. It turned into a strip in 1929, which is where "Buck" was applied. Flash Gordon in 1934, and Don Dixon and the Hidden Empire in 1935.
Conan the Barbarian is 1932. Again, exceptional in motivations and skill, but not superhuman physically. Ironically, he was so successful in text that it would be decades before it hit comic form...
Pulp heroes like Conan and street level supers are about equal in overall capability; they clearly pave the way for superheroes... at a time when the world wasn't looking all that hopeful....
The Pulp era (pre-Golden Age) certainly informs a lot of Bronze and Iron age comics; it's why we see such a resurgence of horror and fantasy in the '70s and '80s. Many of the comics writers of that era grew up reading Robert Howard, Lovecraft, Zane Grey, and lots of the other pulp writers, so the inspiration was already forming. Star Wars in 1976 is nothing if not heavily informed by Flash Gordon; He-Man (1982) originally started as an attempt to make a kid-friendly Conan character. And, of course, the influence of characters like The Shadow on the street-level vigilante archetype almost goes without saying...
All true, all true. I stuck to Superhero stuff because, well, we are talking about a superhero game. And the metaverse (fictional sentinel comics publishing universe) follows the superhero comic book ages.
@degausser given that the rise of pulp heroes, especially in the paper, made the public ready to accept übermenschen and to accept visual storytelling .... it's an important chapter. If we didn't have Buck, Flash, and their ilk, Supes wouldn't have been such a hit. Likewise, Famous Funnies is the first real public argument for comics as durable-form art... without it, most of the strips likely would be lost in the papers, not collected and preserved. (newspaper collections are often pretty rough...)
Which in turn goes back to one of my original points: in any form of historiography, there's always going to be a matter of debate when it comes to the start or end of a given era. If the idea was to delineate eras of superhero comics, then starting with Action Comics #1 as the opening of the Golden Age makes sense. If we're talking about comics as a medium, then yes, it makes more sense to go back farther.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2421
|
__label__cc
| 0.554776
| 0.445224
|
El Pescadero
Dare we call it the anti Cabo?
BY: CARRIE DUNCAN
El Pescadero is a rural area 45 minutes north of Cabo San Lucas which is still affordable, quaint, and livable. It’s bordered by Cerritos to the south and Todos Santos to the north. Unless you squint hard, you don’t even know when you’re going from one of these places to the next, and they all fall under the administrative jurisdiction of La Paz.
El Pescadero, which means the fish monger, is sometimes incorrectly called El Pescador, which means the fisherman. People who live there often affectionately call It Pesky.
Although El Pescadero’s boundaries are pretty vague, there are three distinct and very different areas. The boundaries between these areas are vague also, but they are unmistakable in their character.
There is the beach sprawl, which is dozens of mostly Gringo owned individual houses built alongside dusty roads laid out in a somewhat cohesive grid. These houses are of various size, value, style, and era, scattered widely, with many empty lots between the homes. The neighborhood is beachside, and since it is on a hill, most of the homes, even in the fifth and sixth rows, have nice ocean views.
Then there’s the Pescadero east of there, that straddles highway 19. This is the fourlane that rushes between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz. That neighborhood, anchored by the Pemex station, has seen a lot of growth lately, as tacky taco stands spring up, each one wanting to be on the front row of the highway. This makes this part of Pescadero elongated, and hazardous to people who are constantly running across it, to and fro, for one reason or another. Cyndi Williams, owner of one of those businesses, Oasis bar and restaurant, has petitioned officials for speed signs, speed limits, or speed bumps, but she was only able to secure two cardboard cut outs of cop cars, pounded into the roadside at both ends of the busy strip.
The third area of El Pescadero is the original old downtown. Yes, there is a downtown, you just don’t go there because you’re screaming down the fourlane at an insane speed. The downtown area is on the east side of the highway. There are real stores, although small, a pretty nice baseball/soccer stadium, and even a car wash. The town is laid out in a tight grid, not the loose grid of the Gringo centric west side, or beach side.
Although sandwiched between Cerritos and Todos Santos, and although boasting of three distinct neighborhoods, El Pescador nevertheless has it’s own personality. Birds of a feather and all that seems to apply here because nobody kicks up much of a racket in Pesky, it’s very quiet and most of those living there are over 50. Cerritos to the south has a lot of bars and restaurants and now is sprouting hotels, condos, and even timeshares. To the north Gringos in Todos Santos like to think of themselves as artsy fartsy, and it does have that flavor of charm.
But Cerritos has tranquility. Ask anyone living there where they go for fun and they start talking about Cerritos. Ask them where they go for fine dining, and they start talking Todos Santos up. Pretty much nothing happens in Pescadero, it’s just people quietly living the Mexican experience.
Despite being named The Fish Monger, there isn’t much fishing going on. There are only about three descent beaches, none accessible enough or safe enough to develop, so for now at least, they’re safe from attracting noisy crowds.
Agriculture is big here, with wide swatches of cultivated fields adding to the feeling of living in the past, more tranquil time. The area is rich in underground water, although it’s being pumped out at an unsustainable rate. Most but not all of the water is held communally by Ejidos, similar to American Indian reservations, and they can’t be stopped from pumping, nor can they be interested in a more orderly, sustainable use of the water. As a result, the water table is dropping and sea water is creeping in. Every crop rotation is seeing more salt deposited in the fields, left behind by irrigation that’s got too much salinity.
These fields of produce are nearly all under contract; they are contractually bound to sell their crops to large produce importers in the United States. These contracts are signed before the seeds even hit the dirt. Most of the farmers have been organized into Mexican co-ops by Mexicans, who make these deals with the Americans. This is why it’s so hard to find good produce here; the good stuff is trucked north while the runty food is left behind.
Those who don’t farm in El Pascadero, are either retired Gringos, or if they are Mexican, live off the retired Gringos. They build Gringo houses or clean Gringo houses, or feed Gringos.
This town is definitely the home of independent people, as there is only one housing development, aptly named Pueblo Pescadero. The houses start at around $260,000 and are mostly sold out. It’s a smallish development of about 40 two and three bedroom homes. If you don’t want the headaches of building your own home, and want the piece of mind of knowing how your home was built, this is a good option. Well, it’s your only option in this sleepy part of Baja called El Pescadero. There will be no danger of it changing in our lifetime.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2422
|
__label__cc
| 0.515153
| 0.484847
|
The WHAT and WHY of Fideicomisos
Part One – The What
BY: CHERYL MILLER
Ok, you hear it all of the time ... Fideicomiso, Fidoo, Fidu? Say what?Fideicomiso, translated means “trust.” In fact, it comes from the Roman word, “Fides” meaning “trust” and “comissum” meaning “to commit.” It is a part of general Mexican law derived from Roman, German and Anglo Saxon law which predominantly became in favor and use in the early 1900’s in Mexico. It’s first uses date back to 1905, where foreign companies wanted to make investments in Mexico, such as rail lines, banks, or public works projects, but needed assurances for their investments. In 1924, Mexico finally recognized the legal basis for “trusts.” Prior to this time, per the 1917 Constitution, the land, water and mineral rights belonged solely to the Mexican people; i.e., the government and foreigners had no legal method of legally “owning” land in Mexico. In fact, private ownership, in Mexico, even by its citizens, is a relatively new concept that has centuries of arduous history, but that is a subject for another article!The use of Fideicomisos, as far as foreign “ownership” of property under the Mexican Constitution is concerned, was first established by the Constitutional Amendment of 1971. This concept and law enables foreigner’s to “own” residential land in the Restricted Zone under a “trust.” (The Restricted Zone is defined as 50 (30 miles) kms from ANY coastline in the Mexican nation and 100 kms (60 miles) from ANY border.) Please note, that although amended, this vehicle for foreign “ownership” is now 46 years old, with millions of trusts in place. And a Constitutional Amendment is not easy to do. It requires both the majority of the Senate and the Representatives to approve it, and then each of the 31 Mexican states and the Federal District to ratify it. Not at all simple! So it is a tried and true safe way for foreigners to purchase property in Mexico in the restricted zone.Understand that legally, the bank is the owner. But, under the legally recognized, constitutionally approved use of a Trust, YOU are the beneficiary of all rights of use and enjoyment. You can sell, will, improve, profit from the use of the property (as long as you follow the conditions of the trust and follow the law. i.e. – get caught dealing drugs from the property- you lose it. Same as the U.S. Get caught trafficking arms- the same thing. Fail to pay your property taxes or trust fees- same thing. Not much different than the U.S.!)In 1973, an amendment was passed requiring foreign owners to sign and commit to the “Calvo Clause.” The “Calvo Clause,” or “Long Arm Clause,” as it is commonly referred to, states, that the foreigner having interest in Mexican land or property will commit to considering himself Mexican with respect to the property, maintaining his citizenship or his home country, but committing to the laws of the nation, and to not invoke nor to request assistance from his home country with respect to the property located in Mexico. This was done to close a loophole that has been borne out in Mexican History (Part 2 of this article). The penalty for doing so is the loss of the property rights and cancellation of the trust. (It makes sense that you cannot go to a Mexican court for a dispute regarding land you own in Colorado, right?) It also established the foreigner needed to pay for the fideicomiso process with an approved trust bank. It also added the trust could be renewed.1989, established the term of a “trust” for 30 years. And established that foreign-owned Mexican Corporation may own non-residential property. Residential being defined as a dwelling (single family or multi-family), and Non-residential defined as anything else: tourism/hospitality, agriculture, commercial, industrial, etc.1993 brought new amendments meant to bring more investment capital to Mexican shores. It increased the term from 30 years to 50 years, renewable. Renewing MUST be done, however, with secondary beneficiaries living at the time of the secondary beneficiaries being named. This was done to avoid unborn children or heirs from automatically being named and an unregulated renewal process. (Should a beneficiary die during the term of the fideicomiso, a new one may be named, and the primary beneficiary may change the secondary beneficiary at any time as well, but, they must be living.)In 1996 and 1998, amendments were adopted that allowed foreign investors “outside of a Mexican corporation to acquire title to land in the restricted zone for non-residential purposes,” in other words an individual. However, all foreigners holding property regardless of the type of property MUST sign the “Calvo Clause.”It has been strongly argued that the Mexican nation is highly isolationist, xenophobic and nationalistic to the point of deterring foreign investment. It has been further argued that had the 1993-1998 amendments done away with restrictions on direct foreign ownership in the Restricted Zones instead of making it possible through trusts, that the investment capital during the golden years of the 1990s for the United States would have directly affected the growth and economy of Mexico itself. Please note, that property may be held fee simple in areas of Mexico, outside of the Restricted Zone. So if you want a property in Mexico City or Guadalajara, THAT, as a foreigner, you may own in a simple “escritura”, or deed. The Calvo Clause is a requirement, and Registry with Foreign Affairs, but in my opinion, it makes sense anyway.But, Part 2 of this article will help you to understand WHY Mexico is so reticent to open its coastlines and borders to fee simple ownership. Even if you don’t agree. Back to the fideicomiso. Since 2000 there have been many calls to eliminate the Restricted Zone from the Constitution and pave the way for true foreign ownership and much more foreign investment. The latest attempt was in 2013. It passed one of the Houses of Legislature but failed to pass the second house. In short, it went nowhere. Under the current government, it is unlikely that another attempt will be possible. However, the changes in the Constitution were for residential land only, not non-residential property. And the Calvo Clause was still to be required. Perhaps in the future, a call to lift residential land restriction will come to pass, but for now, foreigners must use the “trust” (fideicomiso) system. If that should come to fruition, holders of fideicomsios will have the option to cancel their current fideicomiso and put their title in an escritura (fee simple deed) or to continue with a fideicomiso.On the bright side, however, let me note the benefits of a fideicomiso, which are GREAT. So do not despair. Did you know that many wealthy Mexicans hold title to their property in Fideicomisos? Why? There are many reasons. One, your heirs are directly spelled out in a Fideicomiso. Although there are fees applicable to the heirs to assume the primary rights (bank fees and an inheritance tax), it is far simpler than probate court in Mexico, which can be lengthy, complicated and expensive. Second, the owner on the title is the bank. No one can lien the property for debts you personally owe without permission of the bank. THAT’S A BIG ONE. Third, trusts are governed by Federal, not State or Municipal law, so legal disputes are much faster and easier than disputes in local court systems. So don’t despair…there is always a silver lining to every cloud!Cheryl T. Miller is a Broker of Baja Realty and Investment, 624-122-2690 or info@forsaleinbaja.com.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2423
|
__label__cc
| 0.725425
| 0.274575
|
Saudi Arabia Releases Detainees Held in Corruption Probe
Saudi Arabia’s authorities have released a number of detained royals allegedly involved in corruption in public office. The move came after a settlement was agreed with the suspects, the daily Okaz reported yesterday.
The pro-government newspaper added that the detainees, who had been held in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, included a serving minister and a former head of a major company. It did not disclose any names.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Riyadh has demanded at least $6 billion from Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal as a condition for his release. The amount being demanded is among the highest sought for those who have been detained, the newspaper noted, citing sources close to the case.
The Saudi authorities had been working on striking agreements with some of those in detention, asking them to hand over assets and cash in return for their freedom.
Read full article on the Middle East Monitor, December 25, 2017.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2424
|
__label__wiki
| 0.675986
| 0.675986
|
Sport Clips Haircuts of Vadnais Heights
925 County Road E East Suite #180 Vadnais Heights, Minnesota 55127
Military Support Programs
Ageless Aviation Dreams
Sport Clips is the primary sponsor for The Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation, a non-profit organization established and dedicated to honoring seniors and United States military veterans. Through donations, the foundation provides once-in-a-lifetime “Dream Flights” to veterans, many of whom served during WWII, in a Boeing Stearman biplane, the same aircraft used to train many military aviators in the late thirties and early forties.
Aleethia Foundation
The mission of the Aleethia Foundation is to support injured service members with therapeutic recreation, small financial grants, family emergency aid, assistive technology items, and home improvements to assist with an injured service member's mobility and other unmet needs. Sport Clips is proud to sponsor two “Friday Night Dinners” in 2015. These dinners provide injured veterans and their families with the opportunity to enjoy a great meal while socializing – an integral part of the healing process.
The Honor Flight Network
Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America's veterans for all their sacrifices. Honor Flight transports our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill. Sport Clips is a proud sponsor of the Austin, Texas Honor Flight division.
Veterans Airlift Command
Veterans Airlift Command (VAC) provides free air transportation to post-9/11 combat wounded and their families for medical and other compassionate purposes through a national network of volunteer aircraft owners and pilots. Sport Clips is proud to support VAC by transporting veterans to their destinations throughout the year.
VetFran Qualified veterans who are interested in owning a Sport Clips are eligible for a 20 percent discount off of Sport Clips’ franchise fee of $59,500 through participation in the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative, also known as VetFran, which was created in 1991 during the Gulf War. To learn more about VetFran, visit http://www.vetfran.com/
Sport Clips’ “Help A Hero” campaign has raised more than $3 million to help deployed and hospitalized U.S. service members call home through the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Operation Uplink™ and provide scholarships to active-duty service members and veterans through the VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” program. By providing scholarships for use at post-secondary schools, including trade schools, our goal is to make the transition from a military career to the civilian workforce a little easier.
To learn more,
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2426
|
__label__wiki
| 0.531213
| 0.531213
|
Schedule a call with Christopher Roskowetz an expert in Marketing, Business Development, Entrepreneurship
Christopher Roskowetz
Marketing, Business Development, Entrepreneurship
W. Europe Standard Time
€3.50/min (incl. 20% VAT)
Christopher Roskowetz believes in innovative ideas and technology and want to utilize them to create genuine experiences for everybody.
Christopher Roskowetz is an Entrepreneur and currently works as a Business Innovation Developer at Hamburg-based agency interone, part of BBDO worldwide, working mainly on the international BMW digital account. He is also an Instructor for marketing communications, Lecturer at Good School, Mentor at Hardware.co Accelerator and Speaker on topics such as entrepreneurship and innovation business development. Christopher started his career as Founder and Managing Director of 3stepsFusion, an agency for marketing and web solutions. Afterwards he worked as Vice-President of eCommerce and Marketing for the design brand EDDER and co-founded the startup spoody. Over the past eight years, he has worked for a number of international clients, including BMW, IWC Schaffhausen, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, NIVEA, Vodafone, Ricola and Tom Tailor.
Website: http://www.roskowetz.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/croskowetz Profile: http://foundersexperts.com/christopher-roskowetz
Schedule a call with Christopher Roskowetz right now
Describe your problem
How long would you like to talk?
15 minutes (minimum) 30 minutes 45 minutes 1 hour 1.5 hours 2 hours
Date/Time suggestions
Please keep in mind when suggesting times: The expert's timezone is
(UTC+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
From 00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:30 to 00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30
From 00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 to 00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:00 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30
Your Time Zone
Select your time zone (UTC-12:00) International Date Line West (UTC-11:00) Coordinated Universal Time-11 (UTC-10:00) Aleutian Islands (UTC-10:00) Hawaii (UTC-09:30) Marquesas Islands (UTC-09:00) Alaska (UTC-09:00) Coordinated Universal Time-09 (UTC-08:00) Baja California (UTC-08:00) Coordinated Universal Time-08 (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) (UTC-07:00) Arizona (UTC-07:00) Chihuahua, La Paz, Mazatlan (UTC-07:00) Mountain Time (US & Canada) (UTC-06:00) Central America (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) (UTC-06:00) Easter Island (UTC-06:00) Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey (UTC-06:00) Saskatchewan (UTC-05:00) Bogota, Lima, Quito, Rio Branco (UTC-05:00) Chetumal (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) (UTC-05:00) Haiti (UTC-05:00) Havana (UTC-05:00) Indiana (East) (UTC-05:00) Turks and Caicos (UTC-04:00) Asuncion (UTC-04:00) Atlantic Time (Canada) (UTC-04:00) Caracas (UTC-04:00) Cuiaba (UTC-04:00) Georgetown, La Paz, Manaus, San Juan (UTC-04:00) Santiago (UTC-03:30) Newfoundland (UTC-03:00) Araguaina (UTC-03:00) Brasilia (UTC-03:00) Cayenne, Fortaleza (UTC-03:00) City of Buenos Aires (UTC-03:00) Greenland (UTC-03:00) Montevideo (UTC-03:00) Punta Arenas (UTC-03:00) Saint Pierre and Miquelon (UTC-03:00) Salvador (UTC-02:00) Coordinated Universal Time-02 (UTC-02:00) Mid-Atlantic - Old (UTC-01:00) Azores (UTC-01:00) Cabo Verde Is. (UTC) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+00:00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London (UTC+00:00) Monrovia, Reykjavik (UTC+00:00) Sao Tome (UTC+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna (UTC+01:00) Belgrade, Bratislava, Budapest, Ljubljana, Prague (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris (UTC+01:00) Casablanca (UTC+01:00) Sarajevo, Skopje, Warsaw, Zagreb (UTC+01:00) West Central Africa (UTC+02:00) Amman (UTC+02:00) Athens, Bucharest (UTC+02:00) Beirut (UTC+02:00) Cairo (UTC+02:00) Chisinau (UTC+02:00) Damascus (UTC+02:00) Gaza, Hebron (UTC+02:00) Harare, Pretoria (UTC+02:00) Helsinki, Kyiv, Riga, Sofia, Tallinn, Vilnius (UTC+02:00) Jerusalem (UTC+02:00) Kaliningrad (UTC+02:00) Khartoum (UTC+02:00) Tripoli (UTC+02:00) Windhoek (UTC+03:00) Baghdad (UTC+03:00) Istanbul (UTC+03:00) Kuwait, Riyadh (UTC+03:00) Minsk (UTC+03:00) Moscow, St. Petersburg (UTC+03:00) Nairobi (UTC+03:30) Tehran (UTC+04:00) Abu Dhabi, Muscat (UTC+04:00) Astrakhan, Ulyanovsk (UTC+04:00) Baku (UTC+04:00) Izhevsk, Samara (UTC+04:00) Port Louis (UTC+04:00) Saratov (UTC+04:00) Tbilisi (UTC+04:00) Volgograd (UTC+04:00) Yerevan (UTC+04:30) Kabul (UTC+05:00) Ashgabat, Tashkent (UTC+05:00) Ekaterinburg (UTC+05:00) Islamabad, Karachi (UTC+05:00) Qyzylorda (UTC+05:30) Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi (UTC+05:30) Sri Jayawardenepura (UTC+05:45) Kathmandu (UTC+06:00) Astana (UTC+06:00) Dhaka (UTC+06:00) Omsk (UTC+06:30) Yangon (Rangoon) (UTC+07:00) Bangkok, Hanoi, Jakarta (UTC+07:00) Barnaul, Gorno-Altaysk (UTC+07:00) Hovd (UTC+07:00) Krasnoyarsk (UTC+07:00) Novosibirsk (UTC+07:00) Tomsk (UTC+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi (UTC+08:00) Irkutsk (UTC+08:00) Kuala Lumpur, Singapore (UTC+08:00) Perth (UTC+08:00) Taipei (UTC+08:00) Ulaanbaatar (UTC+08:45) Eucla (UTC+09:00) Chita (UTC+09:00) Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo (UTC+09:00) Pyongyang (UTC+09:00) Seoul (UTC+09:00) Yakutsk (UTC+09:30) Adelaide (UTC+09:30) Darwin (UTC+10:00) Brisbane (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (UTC+10:00) Guam, Port Moresby (UTC+10:00) Hobart (UTC+10:00) Vladivostok (UTC+10:30) Lord Howe Island (UTC+11:00) Bougainville Island (UTC+11:00) Chokurdakh (UTC+11:00) Magadan (UTC+11:00) Norfolk Island (UTC+11:00) Sakhalin (UTC+11:00) Solomon Is., New Caledonia (UTC+12:00) Anadyr, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (UTC+12:00) Auckland, Wellington (UTC+12:00) Coordinated Universal Time+12 (UTC+12:00) Fiji (UTC+12:00) Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - Old (UTC+12:45) Chatham Islands (UTC+13:00) Coordinated Universal Time+13 (UTC+13:00) Nuku'alofa (UTC+13:00) Samoa (UTC+14:00) Kiritimati Island
We contact the expert and schedule a call.
You receive information about joining the call.
After the call you receive an invoice.
Read more about how it works in our help section
FoundersExperts is the European marketplace for startup experts. Just in time expertise. More...
Do you need help getting started?
FoundersExperts is operated by
c/o WhatAVenture GmbH
Donau-City-Strasse 6/2.OG/1
Email: hello@foundersexperts.com
2013-2019 © FoundersExperts.com operated by WhatAVenture GmbH. Terms of Service
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2429
|
__label__cc
| 0.714194
| 0.285806
|
Law Essay
Analysis of Responsibility for Violation of the Criminal Law Essay Example
Analysis of Responsibility for Violation of the Criminal Law
This is a preview of the 12-page document
Analysis of Responsibility for Violation of the Criminal Law. Historically for a charge of murder to succeed the court required proof of the malice aforethought of the accused. In recent times there has been a redefining of intention as demonstrated in R v Moloney [1985] and R v Woollin [1998]. The required element of premeditation has been altered such that an intention to cause someone serious bodily harm can now equate to intention to kill. Juries are instructed to examine the foresight of the accused but should be told to consider what the accused actually foresaw as opposed to what he ought to have foreseen making the test of foreseeability a subjective test. Recklessness has also been used in the courts to prove the intention of the accused. Cases such as R v Cunningham [1957] and have demonstrated how recklessness can be used to prove a charge of murder.
We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of Responsibility for Violation of the Criminal Law
The approach taken by the courts in applying recklessness using the case of Cunningham was that the defendant was aware of the risk involved in his action yet still continued in his venture. Caldwell widened the application by considering recklessness in situations where the accused either considered the risk to be minimal or that there was no risk at all. This notion was confirmed by Lord Keith in R v Reid [1992] where he stated that ‘absence of something from a person’s state of mind is as much part of his state of mind as is its presence. Inadvertence to risk is no less a subjective state of mind that is a disregard of a recognized risk’. Where the courts are unable to prove the intention of the accused a lesser charge of manslaughter is likely to be substituted. The use of manslaughter is usually applied where the intent of the accused is oblique. The oblique intent is where the accused is aware that his actions might cause the death of the victim but this is not what the accused desires to happen. With direct intention, the accused actually wanted to kill the victim and the courts can invariably use the test for the foresight to support this assertion. Analysis of Responsibility for Violation of the Criminal Law.
Charge of the Light Brigade
Expert in: Law, Media, People
Expert in: Law, Sociology, Archaeology
Subject: Law
Law Criminal law
Criminal Law & Immigration Law,
Criminal Justice/ Criminal Law
Criminal Evidence Law - Violation of Rights of the Accused
(Analysis of Responsibility for Violation of the Criminal Law Essay, n.d.)
Analysis of Responsibility for Violation of the Criminal Law Essay. Retrieved from https://freeessayhelp.com/essay/criminal-law-please-see-assignment-criteria-question-898124
(Analysis of Responsibility for Violation of the Criminal Law Essay)
Analysis of Responsibility for Violation of the Criminal Law Essay. https://freeessayhelp.com/essay/criminal-law-please-see-assignment-criteria-question-898124.
“Analysis of Responsibility for Violation of the Criminal Law Essay”, n.d. https://freeessayhelp.com/essay/criminal-law-please-see-assignment-criteria-question-898124.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2431
|
__label__wiki
| 0.879838
| 0.879838
|
Film Review: Rocketman
Dave Griffiths 4 weeks ago
MAIN CAST:
Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard
SCREENWRITER/S:
CERTIFICATE RATING:
PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTOR:
Most music fans do not need an introduction to Elton John. He is the man responsible for some of the most iconic songs in rock history. From the catchy Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, the heart-wrenching Candle In The Wind through to the cinematic masterpiece Can You Feel The Love Tonight Elton John has wowed music lovers with hit after hit since he first album was released to the public back in 1969.
Despite his popularity it is very rare though that many people could tell you much about the life of Reginald Kenneth Dwight – the man behind the Elton John persona. Sure there have been the news headlines, the lavish lifestyle and his very public relationship with his husband David Furnish. What the tabloids and John’s fans haven’t always been aware of though is the pain felt by the man who always seemed to smile when on stage. The drug abuse and the fractured relationships were kept behind closed doors. It is for that reason that new film Rocketman becomes one of the most important films released this year.
From the creative mind of director Dexter Fletcher, who also recently directed a large chunk of the away winning Bohemian Rhapsody, comes a warts and all look at John. Nothing is hidden here at all. Screenwriter Lee Hall (who also wrote films such as Billy Elliott and War Horse) takes the audience on a journey through John’s life, showing them the almost non-existent and sometimes cruel relationship he had with his father (played here by Steven Mackintosh), the moment his life changed forever when he met his lifelong song-writing partner Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) through to the excessive lifestyle and drug abuse that almost ended with John dying in a swimming pool in front of his family and friends.
To Fletcher’s credit Rocketman does all of this with a very unique twist. While the biggest weakness of Bohemian Rhapsody was the fact that the film seemed to just skirt over some of the issues in the life of the late, great Freddie Mercury here Fletcher manages to delve deep into the emotional side of John’s life while managing to keep the film as flamboyant and loud as the man himself. If you are expecting a dour drama as the more painful elements of John’s life are exposed for the audience to see – forget it! Instead Fletcher uses a little bit of creativity and has John pour out his life to a group of people in rehab while moments of true drama and emotion are intercut with loud, colourful dreamscapes as the singer’s biggest hits are performed with very theatrical sequences that wouldn’t be out of place during a big Broadway production. In many ways it is a stroke of genius from Fletcher, yes some people may criticise the film for taking on so many elements of a stage production but given how entertaining and creative Fletcher is with the style aspect of the film it ends up working remarkably well and mirrors the flamboyant actions of the man at the centre of the film.
What else makes Rocketman work so perfectly is no doubt the casting. While some have been sceptical, before they have seen the film, of the choice of young actor Taron Egerton to play the role of Elton John his performance should easily silence those critics and shows Hollywood that Egerton is certainly a star on the rise. While mainly known for his action performances in films like Robin Hood and of course the Kingsman franchise, here Egerton is asked to go out of his comfort zone and instead dance and sing at times while also delivering truly deep, emotional moments of intense acting when it is called for him to do so.
Egerton is also well supported with some stellar performances from his co-stars. Bryce Dallas Howard is almost unrecognisable as John’s mother while Jamie Bell also delivers some moments of true dramatic tension in his role of Bernie Taupin. Game Of Thrones fans will also not be disappointed by the work of Richard Madden who here plays the unlikable John Reid who was once John’s romantic partner. While watching Madden here it becomes very obvious that just like Egerton he is on the verge of becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
Rocketman is a truly sensational film. The mere fact that the film can tell the story of an at times tortured artist like Elton John while still managing to have its audience tap their feet and sing-a-long to some of his most recognisable tunes is a feat upon itself. The film showcases why Dexter Fletcher needs to be considered one of the most interesting directors going around at the moment while paying a true tribute to a man whose life for the most part has had its sadder moments kept well and truly in the shadows. Creative in the way it is presented on the big screen and with an amazing portrayal of Elton John by an actor that is likely to earn an Oscar nomination Rocketman is the type of film you just sit back and savour.
IMDB INFORMATION - www.imdb.com:
[imdb data="detailed"]tt2066051[/imdb]
Dave Griffiths
Dave has worked as a music & film journalist for over 20 years now. Aside from Heavy he does radio and various podcasts as well. He is the proud owner of Metal Cat.
“THE REFUGE” to get digital release
Film Review: Yesterday
Stan to air Aussie series “THE COMMONS”
“THE WHITE CROW” trailer released
New “RIDE LIKE A GIRL” trailer released
The Popcorn Conspiracy Ep #036: “WILD ROSE”
biography Bryce Dallas Howard Dexter Fletcher drama Jamie Bell Lee Hall Music musical Paramount Pictures Richard Madden Rocketman Taron Egerton
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2434
|
__label__cc
| 0.614537
| 0.385463
|
Album Review: “Awake” by Alison Wonderland
May 17, 2018 April 24, 2018 ~ gotmeghan
I found today’s artist back in the summer of 2016, I really wanted to find more female DJs, as I was getting to the bottom of Krewella’s music library on Spotify and I basically made it my mission to find more female based music, and with that I found Jes, Brooklyn, Helena, NERVO, Anna Lunoe, Magda, Gina Turner and finally Alison Wonderland. Apparently Australia has a fairly large selection of female DJs because half of that list above, is made up of Australian women!
Alison Wonderland, whose real name is Alex, released her debut album “Run” back in 2015. I’ve been loving the crap out of it since I discovered it, truth be told, out of all the albums I put into my female DJs playlist on Spotify, it’s the most played and no, I’m not joking! So when I found out that she was releasing a new album, I was so excited! It’s hard to describe her music in general. I’d say it’s trap mixed in with some chill music too. It’s been a nice balance so hopefully this album, titled “Awake” will be somewhat of the same of her last record, but I’m also hoping for something different too.
We start off with “Good Enough” and already we have this like circus-y type of sound in the introduction, and then we have this very orchestral element added on top of it. If you didn’t know, she was trained playing the cello, so this could very well be her in these moments. I actually love it, because for one it’s short and sweet, but it keeps you entertained and wondering else is coming. Second is “No” and something else you’ll notice with her music is that these are sung by her unless told otherwise. This song is very different, besides sounding like a regular EDM song, I kind of get this vibe that it’s ideal for the summer that’s fast approaching here! It’s fairly mellow and surprisingly, I really like it too.
“Okay” is the third track and we have a totally different sound, it has this out of the box quality that I’m always looking for, but it’s also quiet in a way. The beat and lyrics don’t sound too crazy, you still get a nice groove and it’s well-balanced. It’s good. We move onto “Easy” and without playing into the actual word too much, it’s a nice easy going type of song. I like the fact that you can actually hear the lyrics in this song, because the beat itself is very laid back, more like pop oriented. I’d consider that a good thing to all of my hardcore EDM fans out there! If it’s released as a single, it could do well on mainstream radio stations. Next we have “High” and it features Trippie Redd. I vaguely remember listening to this once when it first came out, but I quickly turned it off because I wanted to save it for this review! This is a little cukoo, and I say that in the nicest way possible! It’s very chill, synthpop-ish too. It’s very bass-y though and I really enjoy that, everybody loves a good bass drop and this has it, but the entire track has this ominous vibe that adds an edger element that I also love too.
Next we move on to our first of a matchup with another fellow DJ, this one is “Here 4 U” and it has BLESSUS in it. Honestly, I thought it was “High” because in the beginning of this track, it continues that same chill beat, so I thought we were still going but then I noticed that the male vocals had changed and I realized we had really moved onto another track entirely! I really like this one, it’s more upbeat and has this trance-like sound to it, which is interesting because this isn’t her style at all, so maybe this is BLESSUS added twist to it. It’s really good though. We now have the song that signaled that she was releasing new music, “Church” and at first, I didn’t like it because of the light sound she was going for with this track, but as I’ve been listening to the others, I actually like it a little bit more. Since the beat is so dimmed, you can really hear the lyrics and possibly the meaning behind it, so I’m glad I’ve changed my mind about it.
The eigth track is “Cry” and again, I am loving the lyrics and I have to say there’s nothing wrong with men crying! Anyways, this has summer-y based vibe, at least when we entered the choruses, it was the first thing that popped into my head. I don’t usually like music that is released close to or in the middle of summer that sounds like the season, that was one of the reasons why I didn’t really like Imagine Dragons’s new album! Since this is like the second track that is giving me that type of vibe, I don’t necessarily hate it too much! Now we go into one of my favorite tracks ever! “Happy Place” is next and weirdly enough, I’ve been listening to it so much that I think it’s inspiring me to write about my happy place on here. This track is everything that got me interested in Alison Wonderland in the first place. The bass, air-y vocals, and just fun atmosphere while listening to it. It’s awesome!
Tenth is “Good Girls Bad Boys” and when I saw this title, I was very intrigued on what this would sound like, especially after such a banger like the last one. I actually like the pop-y beginning and the slow build to the actual beat itself. It kind of has this urban feel to it, with the usage of record scratches, to be quite honest, it just brought me back to what dance music used to sound like, which was a little weird at first, because it actually starts off sort of modern, and then ends in this backspin of elements of hip hop and techno. I thought it was cool! Next we have “Dreamy Dragon” – I love how DJs title their songs. You can never really know what you’re getting after reading something like that, but this features rapper Chief Keef in it. Again, we have a very modern, light take to this track. I had a hard time not dancing to it, that’s all I can say about it!
We’re almost done, we’ve entered the last three songs, while one being an interlude called “Hope” and the best way I can explain interludes is that they can be an extra introduction to the next song or a short track in general; they’re usually under a minute long. Next we have another matchup track called, “Sometimes Love” this has SLUMBERJACK on it. This one is kind of milder compared to the other one. The bass drops are nice and it keeps me dancing and in a good mood all throughout, so that’s a plus! I didn’t really mesh with it the first time I heard it, but the second time around was better! Lastly, there’s “Awake” and this starts off very chill and I thought this would be a good idea to end the album like this, but then I started to realize in a way I was eating my words in a way because usually I enjoy bangers in the beginning and ending, but maybe my tastes are changing the longer I do this? I don’t know, but I really liked the gentleness of this song.
So now that we’re finished, I have to say I was fairly surprised with this record. It wasn’t anything that I thought it would, but honestly I liked being proved wrong. I like surprises when it comes to some of my favorite artists and bands. I will admit though, I actually haven’t listened to “Run” all the way through, I’ve always made plans of doing it, but something was there to distract me so thankfully I decided to put it on review list so I can finally say I’ve listened to an Alison Wonderland album! I know I’m a sad individual, but it’s a proud moment for me!
Have you listened to Alison Wonderland’s new album “Awake” yet? What did you initially think about the record as a whole? If you enjoyed it, do you have any favorite songs yet?
Posted in Entertainment, Just For Fun, Music, Reviews, Thoughts 2018albumsAlison WonderlandAprilAustraliaAwakeBlessusChief KeefchillDJsEDMentertainmentfemalemusicnew releasesSlumberjacktrap
‹ PreviousThe Disabled Blogger Tag
Next ›How I Became A Music Blogger
2 thoughts on “Album Review: “Awake” by Alison Wonderland”
Pingback: May Playlist – Got Meghan's Blog
Pingback: What Is My Happy Place? – Got Meghan's Blog
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2439
|
__label__wiki
| 0.984407
| 0.984407
|
Citizenship Saga Continues
In an extraordinary day in Federal Parliament, five parliamentarians have announced they will resign on account of their dual citizenship status, adding to the list of politicians caught by section 44 of the Constitution. The development follows this morning’s unanimous High Court ruling that Labor Senator Katy Gallagher held dual citizenship with the United Kingdom at the time of her nomination and election in 2016, and was thus ineligible to be elected.
In a public statement, Ms Gallagher said it had been a privilege to serve the Canberra community in the ACT and Federal parliaments, apologised to her constituents, and indicated she will seek to continue her career in public life. Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten praised Ms Gallagher for her “valuable contribution to the Australian Parliament” and said she was “too good to lose from public life”. The High Court ordered a special recount to determine Ms Gallagher’s replacement.
Mr Shorten also said he believed the High Court had set a “new precedent” and that this would inform the Opposition’s deliberations about the future of its members. Subsequently, Labor MPs Josh Wilson, Justine Keay and Susan Lamb announced their resignations, along with Rebekha Sharkie of the Centre Alliance (previously Nick Xenophon Team). All four MPs have announced they intend to re-contest their seats at forthcoming by-elections.
Today’s resignations follow last week’s decision by Labor MP Tim Hammond to stand down for family reasons. As such, five by-elections will now be held for the seats of Braddon (TAS), Fremantle (WA), Longman (QLD), Mayo (SA) and Perth (WA).
The Government has today criticised Labor for its handling of the citizenship saga, with Attorney-General Christian Porter describing the High Court’s decision as a “crisp and crystal clear clarification of the law”. Mr Shorten previously insisted there was no need to refer Labor MPs to the High Court due to the Party’s “superior” vetting processes.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2440
|
__label__wiki
| 0.706876
| 0.706876
|
SWV Biopic Is in the Works, Says Coko: ‘There’s So Much That People Don’t Know’
Trent Fitzgerald
Michael Loccisano, Getty Images
We have seen some of our favorite ‘90s R&B artists get the biopic treatment. From Aaliyah to TLC to Toni Braxton and, most recently, New Edition. Now comes word that hitmaking trio SWV is getting a biopic made for television.
The group, which consists of Cheryl "Coko" Gamble, Tamara "Taj" Johnson and Leanne "Lelee" Lyons, broke the news in an interview with HipHopDX (via Okayplayer).
“We’re actually in talks [for] a SWV biopic, so stay tuned,” said Coko. “There’s so much that people don’t know.”
“Everyone’s interested,” LeLee added.
SWV was one of the best-selling girl groups of the '90s, having sold over 25 million albums. The trio garnered several R&B hits including "Weak," "Right Here/Human Nature," "You're the One" and "I'm So into You." The group disbanded in 1998 to pursue solo projects, and reunited in 2005. The group recently reunited for a new reality show on WeTv. They are currently celebrating their 25th anniversary in the music business.
There has been no official announcement of which television network will bring the SWV biopic to fruition. The news comes on the heels of rumors that fellow 90s girl group Xscape will be landing their own reality show.
Are you interested in watching a SWV biopic? Tell us in the comments below.
Next: The 50 Greatest Female R&B Artists of the ’90s
Source: SWV Biopic Is in the Works, Says Coko: ‘There’s So Much That People Don’t Know’
Filed Under: SWV
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2445
|
__label__wiki
| 0.960567
| 0.960567
|
Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., that was established in May 2002, to honor individuals and groups who are either area natives who became prominent in the field of sports or who became prominent in the field of sports in the region.[1][2]
The Hall of Fame's address is 2701 Grant Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19114. Phone number: 215.254.5049
From 2004 to 2010, the organization also presented an annual "Pride of Philadelphia Award" to a team or individual.[3]
Nonprofit Corporation
2701 Grant Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19114
Ken Avallon
www.phillyhall.org
Individuals, Teams, Venues, Events, and Organizations are all eligible. Generally they must have gained national prominence as individuals or venues while attached to the Philadelphia region, or won a championship as a team from the Philadelphia region. Individuals are eligible for induction five years after retirement from a playing career. When an individual dies, he or she becomes immediately eligible.[4]
An individual who was not an athlete may be inducted in the following categories: Legacy of Excellence, Lifetime Commitment, Philadelphia Medal.
Richie Ashburn, inducted in 2004, longtime player and radio broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Wilt Chamberlain, an inaugural class inductee, was born and raised in Philadelphia and played for the Warriors and 76ers.
Jimmie Foxx, inducted in 2004, played for the Philadelphia Athletics.
Connie Mack, longtime Manager and Owner of the Philadelphia Athletics was inducted in 2004.
Tennis champion Bill Tilden, inducted in 2004, was born and raised in the Philadelphia area.
Harry Kalas, longtime Phillies broadcaster, was the 2004 Legacy of Excellence inductee.
Charles Barkley, inducted in 2005, played for the Philadelphia 76ers from 1984–1992.
Reggie Jackson, a 2006 inductee, was born and raised in the Philadelphia area.
Merrill Reese, inducted in 2009, long time radio broadcaster for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Mark Howe, inducted in 2011, played for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Joe McCarthy, inducted in 2011, born and raised in the Philadelphia area.
Moses Malone, played for the 76ers.
Tommy Lasorda, born and raised in Philadelphia area.
Marvin Harrison, born and raised in Philadelphia area.
Inducted The year the person was inducted into the Hall.
Person The person's name.
Sport The sport the person was inducted in.
Organization The organization(s) that connect the person to the Philadelphia area.
Reference [5]
Inducted
2004 Paul Arizin Basketball Local, La Salle College High School, Villanova University, Philadelphia Warriors
Richie Ashburn Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Chuck Bednarik Football University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Eagles
Bert Bell Football Local, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Eagles
Steve Carlton Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Wilt Chamberlain Basketball Local, Overbrook High, Philadelphia Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers
Bobby Clarke Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
Billy Cunningham Basketball Philadelphia 76ers
Julius Erving Basketball Philadelphia 76ers
Jimmie Foxx Baseball Philadelphia Athletics
Joe Frazier Boxing Local
Tom Gola Basketball Local, La Salle College High School, La Salle University, Philadelphia Warriors
Sonny Hill Lifetime Commitment Local, Philadelphia 76ers, Contributor
Harry Kalas Legacy of Excellence Philadelphia Phillies, Broadcaster
John B. Kelly Sr. Rowing Local
Connie Mack Baseball Philadelphia Athletics Owner/Manager
Bernie Parent Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
Robin Roberts Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Mike Schmidt Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Bill Tilden Tennis Local, Germantown Academy, University of Pennsylvania
Steve Van Buren Football Philadelphia Eagles
2005 1954 La Salle University Men's Basketball Basketball NCAA Men's Basketball Champions
Grover Cleveland Alexander Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Charles Barkley Basketball Philadelphia 76ers
Bill Campbell Legacy of Excellence Broadcaster
John Chaney Basketball Local, Cheyney University, Temple University
Jumbo Elliott Track and field Local, Villanova University
Eddie Gottlieb Basketball Local, SPHAS, Philadelphia Warriors, Philadelphia Stars
Lefty Grove Baseball Philadelphia Athletics
Carl Lewis Track and Field Local; Willingboro High
Bob Levy Lifetime Commitment Contributor, Youth Sports, University of Pennsylvania
Tommy McDonald Football Philadelphia Eagles
Pete Pihos Football Philadelphia Eagles
Harvey Pollack Legacy of Excellence Stat-Man Extraodinaire
Guy Rodgers Basketball Local, Temple University, Philadelphia Warriors
Cathy Rush Basketball Local, Immaculata College
Vic Seixas Tennis Local
Jay Sigel Golf Local
Ed Snider Philadelphia Medal Owner, Sports/Entertainment Industry Leader
Joe Verdeur Swimming Local, Northeast Catholic High, La Salle University
2006 1960 Philadelphia Eagles Football NFL Champions
Herb Adderley Football Local
Don Bragg Track and Field Local, Villanova University
Roy Campanella Baseball Local
Ray Didinger Legacy of Excellence Local, Sportswriter, Broadcaster
Bill Ellerbee Lifetime Commitment High School Basketball Coach, Teacher, Mentor
Del Ennis Baseball Local, Philadelphia Phillies
Joe Fulks Basketball Philadelphia Warriors
Hal Greer Basketball Philadelphia 76ers
Gene Hart Legacy of Excellence Philadelphia Flyers Broadcaster
Reggie Jackson Baseball Local
Willie Mosconi Billiards Local
The Palestra Venue Enshrinement Basketball
Jack Ramsay Basketball Local, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia 76ers
Al Simmons Baseball Philadelphia Athletics
Anne Townsend Field Hockey Local
Helen Sigel Wilson Golf Local
2007 1980 Philadelphia Phillies Baseball World Series Champions
Beth Anders Field Hockey Local
Walter Bahr Soccer Local
Bill Barber Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
Mickey Cochrane Baseball Philadelphia Athletics
Chuck Klein Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Bill Lyon Legacy of Excellence Sportswriter, Philadelphia Inquirer, Author
Theresa Grentz Basketball Local, Immaculata College
Frank Kilroy Football Local, Temple University, Philadelphia Eagles
Harry Litwack Basketball Local, Temple University
Earl Monroe Basketball Local
Greasy Neale Football Philadelphia Eagles
Jack Whitaker Legacy of Excellence Local, Saint Joseph's University, Sportscaster
Reggie White Football Philadelphia Eagles
2008 1929 Philadelphia Athletics Baseball World Series Champion
Leroy Burrell Track and Field Local
Harold Carmichael Football Philadelphia Eagles
Maurice Cheeks Basketball Philadelphia 76ers
Ed Delahanty Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Stan Hochman Legacy of Excellence Sportswriter, Philadelphia Daily News
Charles Jenkins Track and Field
Tommy Loughran Boxing Local
Herb Magee Basketball Local, Philadelphia University
Dorothy Germain Porter Golf Local
Fred Shero Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
Lionel Simmons Basketball Local, La Salle University
Mickey Vernon Baseball Local
Al Wistert Football Philadelphia Eagles
2009 1974 & 1975 Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Two-time Stanley Cup Champions
Larry Bowa Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
John Cappelletti Football Local, Monsignor Bonner High
Eddie Collins Baseball Philadelphia Athletics
Bill Conlin Legacy of Excellence Sportswriter, Philadelphia Daily News
Joey Giardello Boxing Local
Julius "Judy" Johnson Baseball Darby Hilldale Club
Neil Johnston Basketball Philadelphia Warriors
Tommy Lasorda Baseball Local
Merrill Reese Legacy of Excellence Philadelphia Eagles broadcaster
Pete Retzlaff Football Philadelphia Eagles
Betty Shellenberger Lacrosse Local, Agnes Irwin High
Mel Sheppard Track and Field Local
Emlen Tunnell Football Local, Radnor High
2010 Dick Allen Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Hobey Baker Hockey Princeton University
Elizabeth Becker Swimming & Diving Olympic Diving Champion
Tom Brookshier Football Philadelphia Eagles
Ron Hextall Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
William Hyndman III Golf Local
Phil Jasner Legacy of Excellence Philadelphia Daily News
Bobby Jones Basketball Philadelphia 76ers
Leroy Kelly Football Local; Simon Gratz High, Cleveland Browns
Lighthouse Boys Club Lifetime Commitment Local
Tug McGraw Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Jim Phelan Basketball Local; La Salle University, Philadelphia Warriors, Mount St. Mary's University
Mike Quick Football Philadelphia Eagles
Bobby Shantz Baseball Philadelphia Athletics
Marianne Stanley Basketball College Basketball
Jersey Joe Walcott Boxing Local
2011 Bill Bergey Football Philadelphia Eagles
Jimmy Dykes Baseball Philadelphia Athletics
Mark Howe Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
Biz Mackey Baseball Hall of Fame Negro League Catcher
Moses Malone Basketball Philadelphia 76ers
Joe McCarthy Baseball Local, Hall of Fame Manager
Al Meltzer Legacy of Excellence Sportscaster
Ted Meredith Track & Field Local, Gold Medal Winning Track Star
Wilbert Montgomery Football Philadelphia Eagles
Speedy Morris Basketball La Salle University, Saint Joseph's Preparatory School
Ed and Steve Sabol Football Local, NFL Films
Curt Simmons Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Dawn Staley Basketball Local
Ora Washington Tennis Local
Penn Relays Special Enshrinement Legendary Track Meet and Carnival
2012 Dan Baker Baseball/Football Philadelphia Phillies/Philadelphia Eagles Public Address Announcer
Debbie Black Basketball Local
Doug Collins Basketball Philadelphia 76ers
Eddie Plank Baseball Philadelphia Athletics
Eric Lindros Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
Gertrude Dunn Baseball, Field Hockey, Lacrosse Local
Harold Johnson Boxing Local
Horace Ashenfelter Track and Field Local
Joe Klecko Football Local
Johnny Callison Baseball Local, Philadelphia Phillies
John McDermott Golf Local
Maxie Baughan Football Philadelphia Eagles
Mike Piazza Baseball Local
Tommy Thompson Football Philadelphia Eagles
Wali Jones Basketball Local, Philadelphia 76ers
Legacy Youth and Tennis Education Special Enshrinement Tennis
2013 Andrew Toney Basketball Philadelphia 76ers
Bob Brown Football Philadelphia Eagles
Bucky Walters Baseball Local, Philadelphia Phillies
Carl Robie Swimming Local
Dave Robinson Football Local
Eddie George Football Local
Ernie Beck Basketball Local, Philadelphia Warriors
Geno Auriemma Basketball Local
Greg Luzinski Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Joe Burk Rowing Local, University of Pennsylvania
Joe Hand, Sr. Legacy of Excellence Boxing
John LeClair Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
Linda Page Basketball Local
Michael Brooks Basketball Local
Pat Williams Legacy of Excellence Local, Philadelphia 76ers General Manager
Shag Crawford Baseball Local
Tina Sloan Green Lacrosse Local, Temple University
Bobby Walston Football Philadelphia Eagles
Brian Propp Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
By Saam Legacy of Excellence Broadcaster
Chief Bender Baseball Philadelphia Athletics and Phillies
Chet Walker Basketball Philadelphia 76ers
Curt Schilling Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Ellie Daniel Swimming Local
Eric Allen Football Philadelphia Eagles
Frank Dolson Legacy of Excellence Philadelphia Inquirer sports writer
Geoff Petrie Basketball Local
Herb Pennock Baseball Local, Philadelphia Athletics
Jean Shiley Track & Field Local
Marvin Harrison Football Local
Meldrick Taylor Boxing Local
Mike Richter Hockey Local
Paul Costello Rowing Local
1972–1974 Immaculata University Basketball Special Enshrinment "The Mighty Macs", National Champions
Sam Thompson Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Garry Maddox Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Walt Hazzard Basketball Local
Dick Vermeil Football Philadelphia Eagles
Timmy Brown Football Philadelphia Eagles
Rich Gannon Football Local
Lou Nolan Hockey Flyers PA Announcer
Rick MacLeish Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
Benny McLaughlin Soccer Local
Karen Shelton Field Hockey Local
R. Norris Williams Tennis Local
Bob Montgomery Boxing Local
Cindy Timchal Lacrosse Local
Dave Zinkoff Legacy of Excellence 76ers and Warriors PA Announcer
Billy Markward Lifetime Commitment Local
Chris Short Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Charlie Manuel Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Goose Goslin Baseball Local
Al Severance Basketball Villanova Wildcats
Marilyn Stephens Basketball Local
Brian Dawkins Football Philadelphia Eagles
Jimmy Watson Hockey Philadelphia Flyers
George Orton Track and Field Local
Vonnie Gros Field Hockey Local, West Chester University
Bruce Harlan Swimming/Diving Local
Jeff Chandler Boxing Local
Sylvia Wene Martin Bowling Local
Steve Fredericks Legacy of Excellence Sports talk radio
Hermann Taylor Legacy of Excellence Boxing promoter
Dock Weiss Legacy of Excellence Sportswriter
1967 Philadelphia 76ers Special Enshrinement 1967 NBA Champions
Granny Hamner Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Bob Johnson Baseball Philadelphia Athletics
Bob Boone Baseball Philadelphia Phillies
Rene Portland Basketball
Ray Scott Basketball
Mike Bantom Basketball
Randall Cunningham Football
Ron Jaworski Football
Tim Kerr Hockey
Irene Guest Swimming/Diving
Philadelphia Jack O'Brien Boxing
John B. Kelly Jr. Rowing
Donald Hunt Legacy of Excellence
Andrea Kremer Legacy of Excellence
The Army-Navy Game Special Enshrinement
Pride of Philadelphia Award
Smarty Jones, a 2004 awardee.
Ryan Howard, a 2006 awardee.
The 2008 Phillies with President Barack Obama at the White House.
The Pride of Philadelphia Award is given to teams or individuals who have "represented the Philadelphia area with dignity, determination, and class through athletic achievement."[3]
Smarty Jones, winner, Kentucky Derby / Preakness Stakes
Bernard Hopkins, Undisputed middleweight champion
St. Joseph's Men's Basketball, Atlantic 10 East Division Champions
Afleet Alex, winner, Preakness Stakes / Belmont Stakes
Philadelphia Phantoms, Calder Cup AHL Champions
Prep Charter Boys' Basketball, PIAA Class AA Basketball Champions
Villanova Men's Basketball, Big East Regular Season Co-Champions
Ryan Howard, NL MVP
Jimmy Rollins, NL MVP, Gold Glove
Cheltenham High School Girls' Basketball, PIAA AAAA State Champions
2008 Philadelphia Phillies, World Series Champions
Philadelphia Soul, Arena Bowl XXII Champions
Mount Saint Joseph Academy Girls Basketball, 2008 PIAA AAA State Champions
Villanova Men's Basketball, 2009 NCAA Final Four
Archbishop Carroll boys' and girls' basketball teams, PIAA AAA State Champions
Miguel Cartagena, 2009 Golden Gloves Champion
Carlos Ruiz, Phillies
Villanova football, FCS National Champions
Mark Herzlich, Boston College linebacker
Roll Call of Champions
The hall of fame's website has a page that honors every Greater Philadelphia team—college and professional—that won the championship in its particular sport.[7]
Hall of Fame Charities
The Foundation formed Hall of Fame Charities in 2004. It supports or has formed partnerships with organizations in the Greater Philadelphia area that promote youth sports, especially at the pre-teen, grade-school level. These organizations include: Richie Ashburn Baseball Foundation, Police Athletic League (PAL) Junior Golf, Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education, Bruce Simon Southampton Summer Basketball Camp, The First Tee of Philadelphia, and Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation.[8]
Hall of Fame Charities also has student[9] and community[10] programs.
Sports in Philadelphia
Philadelphia Eagles § Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
List of Philadelphia Flyers award winners § Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
List of Philadelphia Phillies award winners and league leaders § Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
Philadelphia 76ers § Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
Philadelphia Sports Writers Association
Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame
^ "Mission". The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
^ "Our History". The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
^ a b "PRIDE OF PHILADELPHIA". The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
^ "NOMINATION & ELECTION". Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^ "INDUCTEES". Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^ Zeltman, William (November 13, 2010). "Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame 2010 Induction". Bleacher Report, Inc. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
^ At the following webpage, click on the link to a particular sport. "Roll Call of Champions". The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
^ "Youth Sports". The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
^ "Student Programs". The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
^ "Community Programs". The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
Al Meltzer
Al Meltzer (June 26, 1928 – June 12, 2018), nicknamed "Big Al", was an American sportscaster.
Born in Syracuse, New York, Meltzer worked for Channel 10 and Channel 3 in Philadelphia, and Comcast SportsNet (as sports director). He also worked for WPHL-17 where he called play-by-play of Big 5 and 76ers basketball. He has also covered the Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Phillies, and Temple Owls. Previously, he worked in Buffalo, New York at WEBR. He is a member of the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Big 5 Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame and Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame. During the 1970s, Meltzer, while still living in Philadelphia, commuted to Buffalo to serve as the Buffalo Bills Radio Network play-by-play announcer, serving on a team with Rick Azar and Ed Rutkowski. He died at the age of 89 on June 12, 2018.
Beth Anders
Elizabeth "Beth" Anders (born November 13, 1951 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is a former field hockey sweeper from the United States, who was a member of the national team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She attended Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. After the 1984 Summer Olympics she became the head coach of the USA National Women's Team. She also coached field hockey at Old Dominion University for 30 seasons, retiring in 2012. At Old Dominion she coached more games (704) and achieved more wins (561) and NCAA titles (9) than anyone in Division I history, as well as becoming the first Division I coach to reach 500 victories in field hockey.While at Old Dominion university, Anders led the Lady Monarchs through 27 seasons at the NCAA tournament. She led that team to receive more honors or rewards than any other NCAA team in history. Since 1991, when the Lady Monarchs joined the league, under the tutelage of Anders, they played 17 times in the NCAA Final Four.
She was inducted into the Ursinus College Hall of Fame for Athletics in 1986, the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2000, the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, and Old Dominion's Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
Bucko Kilroy
Francis Joseph "Bucko" Kilroy (May 30, 1921 – July 10, 2007) was an American football player and executive. Kilroy was born in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, where he attended St. Anne's grade school before attending Northeast Catholic High School and then Temple University. As a Junior at North he played on the Falcons Championship team of 1937.
Kilroy was originally recruited by Notre Dame but went on to become one of the finest linemen in Temple football history. He starred for the Owls in the 1940 and 1941 seasons, helping Temple defeat rivals Penn State, Bucknell and Villanova in the same year for the first and only time in school history. He played both offense and defense and started every game in 1941 en route to becoming the first Temple football player to receive Honorable Mention All-America honors. In 1942 & part of 1943 he served in the Merchant marines during World War II.
Drafted by the Eagles he played offensive & defensive line in the National Football League for 13 seasons (All with the Eagles). He also was often called one of the toughest, if not the dirtiest, player of that era. Despite that reputation he won two NFL championships with the 1948 and 1949 Eagles and was a Pro-Bowl selection 3 times during his career. Bucko missed only one of 203 games because of an injury. He also played in 147 consecutive games, which was a league record at the time. A Two-way line starter for championship teams in '48 and '49 and for runners-up in '47, Bucko helped Steve Van Buren win several NFL rushing titles in that time span. He also had 5 career interceptions on Defense.
After retiring from football as a player Kilroy became an assistant coach with the Eagles from 1955 til 1959. He then went on to work as a scout for the Redskins and then the Dallas Cowboys. He was instrumental in drafting Roger Staubach despite his Military service. Kilroy was also credited as a founder of the modern day NFL Draft and as an NFL Executive he helped fashion the Super Bowl as we know it today. He later became the General Manager of the New England Patriots in the 1980s when they went to their first Super Bowl in 1985 (losing to the Bears). As the head of scouting in early 2000s Bucko was Instrumental in drafting many of players that won three Super Bowls for the New England Patriots.
Bucko was inducted into the North Catholic HS Hall of Fame, The Temple University Athletic Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. He was also named to the NFLs All-Decade Team of the 1940s. Bucko Kilroy died in Foxboro Mass., July 10, 2007 at the age of 86.
Cathy Rush
Cathy Rush (born Cathy Cowan; April 7, 1947) was the head women's basketball coach at Immaculata from 1972 to 1977. She led Immaculata to three consecutive AIAW national titles from 1972–1974. She led the Mighty Macs to six consecutive final four appearances in her six seasons with the school, attaining a 149–15 record. Rush was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 7, 2008. She had also been inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
A resident of Ventnor City, New Jersey, Rush grew up in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey and graduated from Oakcrest High School in 1964. She received a Bachelor of Science in 1968 and a master's degree in education in 1972, both from West Chester University. She has two children with her ex-husband, former National Basketball Association referee and Supervisor of Officials Ed T. Rush.The Mighty Macs, a movie about the season leading to the winning of the first women's national basketball championship in 1972, was released in October 2011. Rush is played by Carla Gugino.
Dan Baker (PA announcer)
Dan Baker (born September 22, 1946) is an American public address announcer best known for many years as the voice of Veterans Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Born in Philadelphia, Baker grew up in Mount Ephraim, New Jersey and graduated from Audubon High School. He earned his undergraduate degree at Glassboro State College (since renamed as Rowan University) and went on to earn a master's degree at Temple University.Baker has been the public address announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies since 1972 and was the Philadelphia Eagles PA announcer from 1985 to 2014. He has served as a PA voice for five World Series (1980, 1983, 1993, 2008 and 2009), two Major League Baseball All Star Games (1976 and 1996), and three NFC Championship Games (2002, 2003, and 2004).
Though the Phillies and Eagles left Veterans Stadium for new venues (the Eagles to Lincoln Financial Field in 2003 and the Phillies to Citizens Bank Park in 2004), Baker remained the PA announcer for both teams. He also serves as PA announcer for the Army–Navy Game when it is played in Philadelphia as well as Drexel University Dragons men's basketball.
After the 2009 retirement of the New York Yankees' Bob Sheppard, who was also PA announcer for the Eagles' biggest rival, New York Giants, Baker became the longest-tenured PA announcer in Major League Baseball.Between Baker and former Chicago Cubs' public address announcer Pat Pieper, the 2017 MLB season will mark 101 consecutive seasons that one of them has been announcing games. Pieper from 1916–1974 and Baker from 1972–present. The last game that was played without Pieper or Baker announcing games was the 1915 World Series on October 13, 1915.Baker was the radio announcer for Drexel University Dragons men's basketball on WNTP 990 AM from 1997–2012, after which he retired and became the team's public address announcer. Before that, he broadcast Philadelphia BIG 5 Basketball games for 21 years while additionally serving as its executive director from 1981–96. Baker was named to the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1997 and was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
Baker co-hosts a radio show on WBCB (AM) 1490 called "Bull Session" with former Philadelphia Phillies slugger Greg Luzinski, for whom the show is named. The show airs at 6:00 pm on Monday nights, and each week they bring in a special guest, usually a current or retired player.Baker reprises his role as the Philadelphia Phillies PA announcer for select Phillies away games at multiple venues that comprise a chain of Philadelphia area sports bars. The events are billed as "Summer Nights with Dan Baker". At these appearances, Baker announces the game over the sports bar's PA system in exactly the same fashion as he would if he was announcing an actual Phillies home game.
On May 7, 2014, the Eagles announced that Baker would no longer serve as their public address announcer, citing that they decided to make a change in the role. Baker will continue to be the public address announcer for the Phillies.
On September 16, 2015, XFINITY Live! announced that Baker would be the in-house public address announcer for Philadelphia Eagles games. Baker's duties are similar to those he had as the public address announcer for the Eagles, which include energizing the crowd with his signature calls.
Dorothy Germain Porter
Dorothy Germain Porter (April 3, 1924 – July 20, 2012) was an American amateur golfer.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dorothy Germain began playing golf at 11. She graduated from Beaver College, where she played field hockey. In the early 1940s, Porter won a number of Philadelphia junior and amateur golf championships, and in 1946 she captured the first of her three Pennsylvania Women's Amateurs. She won the Women's Western Amateur in 1943, 1944, and 1967.
In 1949 she won the U.S. Women's Amateur. Porter was a member of the U.S. team that won the 1950 Curtis Cup and captained the 1966 team to victory. In 1977, she became the first Women's Amateur Champion to win the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur. She went on to win the Seniors' title again in 1980, 1981, and 1983. In 1984, she captained the winning U.S. Espirito Santo Trophy team.Porter was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.She was married to Mark A. Porter, an amateur golfer with whom she often played in tournaments, from 1946 until his death in 1996. She was the mother of three children.
Ed Khayat
Edward Michel Khayat (born September 14, 1935) is a thirty-five year National Football League veteran, ten years as a player (117 game total) and twenty-five as a coach. He was a starting defensive tackle for the victorious Philadelphia Eagles in the 1960 NFL Championship Game and later their head coach in 1971 and 1972. He has been inducted into six Halls of Fame. Currently he serves on the Former Players Board of Directors of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).
Guy Rodgers
Guy William Rodgers (September 1, 1935 – February 19, 2001) was an American professional basketball player born in Philadelphia. He spent twelve years (1958–1970) in the NBA, and was one of the league's best playmakers in the early to mid-1960s. Rodgers led the NBA in assists twice, and placed second six times. Rodgers was inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
Howard Keys
Howard Newton "Sonny" Keys was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League from 1960 to 1965 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was born in Orlando, Oklahoma, on January 24, 1935. Sonny was a star athlete for the Pioneers at Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Oklahoma where he played football, basketball, baseball and track. He was named to the Oklahoma All-State football team and played in the All Stars game and the Oil Bowl. His high school named Sonny "Mr. Pioneer." He played all positions on the line, including center. He went to college at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. At OSU, he was part of the Cowboys championship Blue Grass Bowl game which was broadcast by Howard Cosell. Sonny is described as a "mauling defender" in OSU's Heritage Hall Museum in historic Gallagher-Iba Arena. He was drafted in the 12th round of the 1959 NFL Draft. He was a part of Buck Shaw's 1960 NFL Championship season. He played five seasons with the Eagles and was known for knowing and playing every position on the offensive line. His family was featured in many local advertisements including Food Fair and a dairy distributorship. His teammate, Tommy McDonald, cited a tough Sonny Keys in the book "They Pay Me to Catch Footballs." In 1965, he joined Jerry Williams of the Calgary Stampeders as an assistant coach. After the Stampeders went to the Canadian Grey Cup, he chose to return to the NFL as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns under head coach Nick Skorich. After his death from complications of cancer in 1971, the Philadelphia Eagles dedicated their annual Christmas card to his memory. His outstanding scouting and recruiting abilities made his legacy live on in the NFL. For example, he brought fellow OSU alum, Jerry Sherk, to the Cleveland Browns, along with other top talents. As part of the 1960s world championship football team, Sonny was inducted into the city of Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
List of Philadelphia Flyers award winners
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Eastern Conference. The Flyers were founded in 1967 as one of six expansion teams, increasing the size of the NHL at that time to 12 teams.Since the franchise was established, the team has won the Stanley Cup two times as league champions in 1974 and 1975, the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl six times – twice as division champions and four times as conference champions – and the Prince of Wales Trophy as conference champions four times. Prior to the Presidents' Trophy first being award in 1985–86, the Flyers led the league in points three times in 1974–75, 1979–80, and 1984–85, but have not led the league in points at the end of the regular season since.
Only Bobby Clarke and Eric Lindros have won regular season most valuable player honors as Flyers. Clarke won the Hart Memorial Trophy three times in 1972–73, 1974–75 and 1975–76 while Lindros won in 1994–95. Both Clarke and Lindros also won the Lester B. Pearson Award, awarded to the most outstanding player as voted by the players and now known as the Ted Lindsay Award, Clarke in 1973–74 and Lindros in 1994–95. Four Flyers players have won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs, twice when the Flyers won the Stanley Cup – Bernie Parent in 1974 and 1975 – and twice when they lost in the finals – Reggie Leach in 1976 and Ron Hextall in 1987. Parent and Hextall account for two of the three Flyers goaltenders to win the Vezina Trophy, Parent in 1973–74 and 1974–75, Pelle Lindbergh in 1984–85, and Hextall in 1986–87.
Nineteen people – thirteen players and six builders – who spent time with the Flyers have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Flyers have inducted twenty-five people into a team hall of fame since 1988 and six of those inductees have also had their numbers retired.
List of Philadelphia Phillies award winners and league leaders
This is a list of award winners and league leaders for the Philadelphia Phillies professional baseball team.
Miguel Cartagena
Miguel Cartagena (born July 5, 1992) is a Puerto Rican-American bantamweight boxer.
Donald Neil Johnston (February 4, 1929 – September 28, 1978) was an American basketball player at the center position who played eight years in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 1951 to 1959. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1990.
The Oakland Athletics, often referred to as the A's, are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team plays its home games at the RingCentral Coliseum. They have won nine World Series championships, tied for the third-most of all current MLB teams. The 2017 season was the club's 50th while based in Oakland.
One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the team was founded in Philadelphia in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics. They won three World Series championships from 1910 to 1913 and back-to-back titles in 1929 and 1930. The team's owner and manager for its first 50 years was Connie Mack and Hall of Fame players included Chief Bender, Frank "Home Run" Baker, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Grove. The team left Philadelphia for Kansas City in 1955 and became the Kansas City Athletics before moving to Oakland in 1968. They won three consecutive World Championships between 1972 and 1974, led by players including Vida Blue, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, ace reliever Rollie Fingers, and colorful owner Charlie O. Finley. After being sold by Finley to Walter A. Haas Jr., the team won three consecutive pennants and the 1989 World Series behind the "Bash Brothers", Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, as well as Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson and manager Tony La Russa.
From 1901 to 2018, the Athletics' overall win–loss record is 8,931–9,387 (.488).
Sonny Hill
William Randolph "Sonny" Hill (born July 22, 1936) is a former basketball player and announcer. He is a member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, and current sports radio personality in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He also serves as an executive advisor for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is known as Mr. Basketball and "The Mayor of Basketball" in Philadelphia for founding the eponymous Sonny Hill League and for his many contributions to the game.
Stan Hochman
Stan Hochman (October 15, 1928 – April 9, 2015), was a sportswriter who covered the Philadelphia Phillies for the Philadelphia Daily News. He was a voting member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), whose main task is to vote on candidates for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Other newspapers Hochman worked for include the Brownsville Herald, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Waco News-Tribune, and San Bernardino Sun.Hochman was born on October 15, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York. He attended New York University, where he earned his bachelor's degree, in 1948, and his master's degree, in 1949. Hochman's career at the Daily News began on June 9, 1959, and he spent 55 years covering not just the Phillies, but everything sports, in what was to be his adopted hometown — and the town loved him back for it. He is a member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. Hochman died on April 9, 2015, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, following a brief illness.
Steve Van Buren
Stephen Wood Van Buren (December 28, 1920 − August 23, 2012) was an American football halfback who played professionally for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) from 1944 to 1951. Regarded as a powerful and punishing runner with excellent speed, through eight NFL seasons he won four league rushing titles, including three straight from 1947 to 1949. At a time when teams played twelve games a year, he was the first NFL player to rush for over ten touchdowns in a season—a feat he accomplished three times—and the first to have multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons. When he retired, he held the NFL career records for rushing attempts, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns.
Van Buren played college football for Louisiana State University, where he led the NCAA in scoring in his senior season for the LSU Tigers. After leading LSU to victory in the Orange Bowl, he was drafted by the Eagles with the fifth overall pick in the 1944 NFL Draft. Van Buren acquired many nicknames over his career in reference to his running style, including "Wham Bam", "Moving Van", and "Supersonic Steve". He was the driving force for the Eagles in the team's back-to-back NFL championships in 1948 and 1949; he scored the only touchdown of the 1948 NFL Championship Game against the Chicago Cardinals, and in the next year's championship game against the Los Angeles Rams he set postseason records with 31 carries and 196 rushing yards.
After his playing career, Van Buren coached in minor league football, winning an Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) championship with the Newark Bears in 1963. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. Van Buren is a member of the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team and the National Football League 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. Considered one of the greatest players in Eagles franchise history, his number 15 jersey is retired by the team, and he is enshrined in the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. For his college career, he was inducted into the Louisiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1944 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1961.
Tina Sloan Green
Tina Sloan Green (born April 27, 1944) is a former women's lacrosse head coach of the Temple Owls from 1975 to 1992. Apart from coaching, she was the first African American to play for the United States women's national field hockey team from 1969 to 1973. Sloan Green was inducted into the US National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
Vic Seixas
Elias Victor Seixas Jr. (; pronounced SAY-shus; born August 30, 1923) is an American former tennis player.
Thirteen times he was ranked in the Top Ten in the US between 1942 and 1956. In 1951 Seixas was ranked No. 4 in the world, two spots below Dick Savitt, while he was No. 1 in the U.S. ranking, one spot ahead of Savitt. In 1953, Seixas was ranked No. 3 in the world by Lance Tingay, and was also cited as being the World No. 1 in the Reading Eagle newspaper the same year.
In his career he won 15 Major championships. He won both Wimbledon and the US Open in singles. He also won the Australian Open, French Open (twice), and US Open (twice) in doubles, and the French Open, Wimbledon (four times), and US Open (three times) in Mixed Doubles.
Seixas was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, and the Southern Conference Hall of Fame.
Links to related articles
Formerly the Philadelphia Quakers
Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Award winners and league leaders
Baker Bowl
Shibe Park
Veterans Stadium
Citizens Bank Park
Fogel Field
Coffee Pot Park
Wearn Field
Rickwood Field
Cooke Field
City Park/Ninth Street Park
Denison Field
Wilmington Park
Flamingo Field
Clearwater Athletic Field
Jack Russell Memorial Stadium
Carpenter Complex/Spectrum Field
Ashburn Alley
Baseball Wall of Fame
By Saam
Curse of Billy Penn
Dan Baker
Franchise awards
Harry Kalas
"High Hopes"
Hot Pants Patrol
Maje McDonnell
Paul Richardson
Philadelphia Phillies (NFL)
Phillie Phanatic
Phillies Turn Back the Clock
Richie Ashburn
Summer Catch
"The Sound of Philadelphia"
Tony Lucadello
"Whoomp! (There It Is)"
"The World Series Defense" (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode)
1993 World Series Game 6
2018 MLB Little League Classic
Black Saturday
The Cardiac Kids
The Four Aces
Macho Row
Roy Halladay
The Phold
Wheeze Kids
Philadelphia Athletics (City Series)
Grover Cleveland Alexander
Dick Allen
Bob Boone
Pat Burrell
Johnny Callison
Gavvy Cravath
Darren Daulton
Ed Delahanty
Del Ennis
Dallas Green
Pat Gillick
Granny Hamner
Willie Jones
Chuck Klein
John Kruk
Mike Lieberthal
Greg Luzinski
Garry Maddox
Sherry Magee
Tug McGraw
Paul Owens
Juan Samuel
Chris Short
Curt Simmons
Tony Taylor
Sam Thompson
John Vukovich
Cy Williams
record holders
Bill Duggleby
Lenny Dykstra
Kid Gleason
Ryan Howard
George McQuillan
José Mesa
Lefty O'Doul
Kent Tekulve
Owner: Limited partnership (John S. Middleton, Jim & Pete Buck, David Montgomery, & Pat Gillick)
President: Andy MacPhail
General Manager: Matt Klentak
Manager: Gabe Kapler
NL pennants (7)
Divisionchampionships (11)
Reading Fightin Phils
A Adv.
Clearwater Threshers
Williamsport Crosscutters
GCL Phillies East
GCL Phillies West
DSL Phillies Red
DSL Phillies White
Minor league rosters
NBC Sports Philadelphia
94 WIP (English flagship station)
El Pasaporte (Spanish flagship station)
Phillies radio network affiliates
Scott Franzke
Larry Andersen
Category Portal
Based and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Quarterbacks
Philadelphia Municipal Stadium
Connie Mack Stadium
Franklin Field
"Fly, Eagles Fly"
The Lombardi Curse
Matt Guokas Sr.
The Philadelphia Phenomenon
Frankford Yellow Jackets
Pennsylvania Keystoners
"Pennsylvania Polka"
Steagles
"Happy Hundred"
Miracle at the Meadowlands
46 defense
Fog Bowl
Bounty Bowl series
Body Bag Game
4th and 26
Miracle at the New Meadowlands
Philly Special
Conference championships (4)
2017 (LII)
WTEL
WIP-FM
Merrill Reese
Mike Quick
League: National Football League
Conference: National Football Conference
Division: East Division
Comcast Spectacor
Chuck Fletcher
Alain Vigneault
NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus
97.5 The Fanatic
Jim Jackson
Keith Jones
Chris Therien
Tim Saunders
Steve Coates
Culture and lore
Broad Street Bullies
Ed Snider
The Eric Lindros Trade
Flyers–Senators brawl
Gene Hart
"God Bless America"
"For a case of Tastykake!"
"I Like It Loud"
Lauren Hart
Lou Nolan
"Mac's Big Break" (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode)
Mike "Doc" Emrick
The Leon Stickle Game
The Night the Spectrum Shook
"Welcome to the Jungle"
1976 Flyers–Red Army game
2017 NHL Stadium Series
Formerly the Syracuse Nationals (1946–1963)
State Fair Coliseum
Onondaga County War Memorial
Philadelphia Arena
Joshua Harris (managing partner)
David S. Blitzer (co-managing partner)
G League affiliate
Delaware Blue Coats
NBA Championships
"Fo', fo', fo'"
Wilt the Stilt
Dr. J
The Boston Strangler
Dave Zinkoff
"Practice!?"
Sir Charles
The Kangaroo Kid
Harvey Pollack
Boston's dead!
Nine and 73-ers
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2446
|
__label__wiki
| 0.688979
| 0.688979
|
Honesty Games for Kids
By Freddie Silver ; Updated April 18, 2017
Kids of all ages need opportunities to explore the effects of honesty and dishonesty. Start teaching them early, at about 3 or 4 years old. Psychotherapist Joanne Stern, Ph.D., suggests in the Psychology Today article, "Teaching Your Kids to Be Honest," that you let them know you value honesty and truth-telling. It's important to help your children realize victory earned dishonestly is not worth the loss to personal integrity. Enhance the honesty games and activities your children play by open discussions about the games and their feelings.
Preschooler Games
Three-year-olds have difficulty distinguishing between make-believe and reality, so find opportunities to reinforce the distinction. For example, when you are watching television together, point out which characters are not real such as dragons and witches or fairies. Make a memory game out of it by collecting pictures of these characters and pasting them onto cards. Make another set of cards from old family photographs. Shuffle the cards and turn them all face-down. Ask your child to guess whether the next card is a real person or a make-believe character. Then turn over the card and see if she can correctly identify it. Alternatively, make silly statements such as, "We live in a castle," and have her tell you whether the statement is true or not. Reward correct answers with points, stickers or a chocolate chip.
Elementary School Games
Young children can relate to stories with moral dilemmas. Turn the stories into games by presenting two versions of the same story, one that reflects honesty and integrity and one that does not. Ask your child to identify the honest one. For example, in the "Goldilocks" story, instead of walking into a stranger's house uninvited and helping herself to food, Goldilocks sits outside and waits for the bears to come home. The Values Education website suggests a version of Snakes and Ladders for older children. Prepare a set of cards that describes honest situations such as informing a store owner that you received too much change. Prepare another set that describes dishonest actions such as lying to a parent. A player draws a card when they approach a snake or a ladder. If the child pulls a "dishonest" card when he's at the top of a snake, he must go down, but can't descend if he draws an "honesty" card. Similarly, if she gets an "honesty" card at the foot of a ladder, she can go up, but not if she draws a "dishonest" card.
Games for Teens
Use ethical dilemmas that occur in the news as topics for a values-based discussion with your teen. Make a game of it by asking each family member to find a news item that demonstrates the importance of honesty and bring it to the dinner table each week. The rest of the family votes on the item that reflects the most honesty or dishonesty. Examine the short- and long-term consequences of making moral decisions in the "What Happens Next?" game. Ask your teen to describe a situation in which he or a friend faced a moral decision, but he doesn't tell the decision. The next player continues the story by describing an honest choice. The next player then describes the short-term consequences likely to follow that decision; the final player describes the long-term effects. Go around a second time, but start with a dishonest response to the situation. Parents can play along with their teens, describing moral choices that occur in their workplace.
Games for All Ages
"Two truths and a lie" is a game enjoyed by youngsters as well as adults. Have each family member think of three statements to share, two truthful and one not. The rest of the family guesses which statement is the lie. Teens can share anecdotes about events at school such as, "My friend got in trouble with the principal because she walked out before assembly was dismissed." Younger children can make simple statements such as, "I didn't wear my blue sweater today because I couldn't find it." Play the "What if?" game, a variation of "The Consequences Game." Create age-appropriate scenarios or retell the plot of a movie or television show, then pose the question. For example, after describing an incident about a student who is caught cheating on a test, probe the kids to elicit awareness of the effects of honesty vs. dishonesty.
Values Parenting: Honesty and Trust
Psychology Today: Teaching Your Kids to Be Honest
Reference.com: Education Activities for Teaching Kids About Honesty
Values Education: A Game of Honesty and Lies
Teacher Planet: Honesty
Moms Team: Teaching Honesty and Integrity vs. Winning at all Cost
Upside Down Kids: Teaching Children About Honesty
Freddie Silver started writing newsletters for the Toronto District School Board in 1997. Her areas of expertise include staff management and professional development. She holds a master's degree in psychology from the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing her PhD at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, focusing on emotions and professional relationships.
TopPhotoImages/iStock/Getty Images
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2447
|
__label__wiki
| 0.977895
| 0.977895
|
Home / News & Speeches / ICC elects new Chairman and Vice-Chairman
ICC elects new Chairman and Vice-Chairman
A new Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce were elected today at the meeting of ICC’s World Council, which brought together over 130 of its business members from 57 countries.
Leading Hong Kong businessman Victor Fung to become ICC Chairman
Victor Fung , the Chairman of the Li & Fung Group of companies, will become the first ICC Chairman from Hong Kong. Li & Fung Group has major subsidiaries in trading, distribution and retailing, including publicly-listed Li & Fung Limited, Integrated Distribution Services Group Limited, and Convenience Retail Asia.
Mr Fung is also Chairman of the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council, the Hong Kong University Council , and the Hong Kong-Japan Business Co-operation Committee.
Mr Fung will assume the role of ICC Chairman on 1 July 2008, after having served for 18 months as ICC’s Vice Chair. He will replace Marcus Wallenberg, who will become ICC Honorary Chairman.
Mr Fung, who will serve as ICC Chairman for two years, holds a number of civic and professional appointments. He is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Hong Kong Government Commission on Strategic Development, and head of a focus group for the Economic Summit on China’s 11th Five-Year Plan and the Development of Hong Kong, organized by the Hong Kong Government.
Mr Fung has written and spoken widely on international trade matters and is a strong advocate of the multilateral trading system. He has served as Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, as the Hong Kong representative on the APEC Business Advisory Council, and on the Informal Business Advisory Body to the World Trade Organization. He has also served as Chairman of the Hong Kong Airport Authority.
“With the global economy facing numerous interrelated challenges that are creating worldwide economic uncertainty, there has never been a greater need for world business to speak loudly and forcefully in favour of the multilateral trading system,” said Mr Fung. “ICC, which has a worldwide network of experts and works closely with governments and intergovernmental organizations, is well-positioned to help find global solutions to these obstacles to economic growth,” he added.
In his address to the ICC World Council today, Chairman-elect Mr Fung said he also wanted to use his chairmanship to increase ICC’s visibility in the Asia Pacific region.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Mr Fung holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in business economics from Harvard University. He was a professor at the Harvard Business School for four years before returning to Hong Kong in 1976.
Rajat Kumar Gupta elected ICC Vice-Chairman
Rajat Kumar Gupta was today elected Vice-Chairman of ICC and will also begin his two-year term on 1 July 2008.
Mr Gupta is the Senior Partner Emeritus of McKinsey & Company. He joined the firm’s New York office in 1973, assumed leadership of its Scandinavian offices in 1981, and Chicago office in 1989. Mr Gupta served as the Managing Director Worldwide of McKinsey from 1994 to 2003.
In his 34 year career in consulting, Mr Gupta has served many leading companies on a broad set of topics related to strategy, organization and operations. He has played a leadership role in organizational thinking throughout his career, and led the Organization Practice for McKinsey.
Mr Gupta is an independent Director of Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, AMR Corporation, and Qatar Financial Centre. He also holds leadership positions in various not-for-profit institutions, including Chairman of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Chairman of the India AIDS Initiative of The Gates Foundation, and Chairman of the Public Health Foundation of India.
Mr Gupta possesses an in-depth knowledge of the United Nations, having served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on UN Reform.
Mr Gupta said he looked forward to building on ICC’s long history of providing vital services to business.
“Like ICC’s founders, I believe international trade and investment are critical factors for economic growth and job creation, with important implications also for cross-border cooperation,” Mr Gupta said.
Mr Gupta holds a bachelor of technology degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.
Current ICC Chairman Marcus Wallenberg will become ICC Honorary Chairman
The Chairman of SEB, Saab and Electrolux, and current ICC Chairman, Marcus Wallenberg, will become ICC Honorary Chairman on 1 July 2008.
During his term as Chairman, Mr Wallenberg is credited with strengthening ICC’s three main roles, namely as “the voice of international business”, the creator of voluntary rules for the conduct of international business and as a provider of services to international business.
At the World Council meeting today, Mr Wallenberg said he had been privileged to lead the ICC, that he looked forward to continuing his work with the organization and that he was confident the new ICC Chairmanship would ensure ICC continues to grow in influence and stature.
ICC's World Council
Here are 10 things you helped us achieve at the 11th World Chambers Congress
ICC celebrates innovation with 2019 World Chambers Competition
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2449
|
__label__wiki
| 0.873592
| 0.873592
|
Mexico City: New bill on cannabis decriminalisation submitted to local congress
On 13th February, Mexico City submitted bills to both the Local House and the Federal Congress of Mexico that, if passed, will decriminalise the possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use.
The move is being backed by four former Latin American presidents (PDF), all of whom are members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy: Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil; Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico; César Gaviria, former president of Colombia; and Ricardo Lagos, former president of Chile.
The bills are the result of lengthy discussions that began last summer, when the ALDF (Local House) organised a series of public hearings to explore alternative policies aimed at addressing the city's drug problem. Staff from the Latin American Drug Policy Programme run by México Unido Contra la Delincuencia (MUCD) and Transform Drug Policy Foundation (TDPF) co-organised and spoke at the hearings. After six months of work, the technical group in charge of the drafting process – which consisted of lawyers, health practitioners, security advisers and drug policy experts – finalised the two bills that were presented this morning.
México Unido Contra la Delincuencia (MUCD)
México Unido Contra la Delincuencia is a non-profit, non-partisan and secular civil association that works to look for new ways of organising social efforts to reverse citizen insecurity.
Transform exists to promote sustainable health and wellbeing by bringing about a just, effective and humane system to regulate and control drugs at local, national and international levels.
Decriminalisation
How the War on Drugs criminalises the poorest in human society
Philippines: UN takes critical step toward accountability
Political declaration of the high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage - Three critical elements to achieving UHC
New psychoactive substances in Australia: Who uses them, how prevalent are they, and where are they sourced?
Declaration of Dakar on harm reduction among people who inject drugs in West Africa
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2450
|
__label__cc
| 0.65532
| 0.34468
|
Home » Publications » Journals » Strategic Analysis
Political Islam: A Critical Reader by Frederic Volpi
Babjee Pothuraju is Research Assistant at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. Click here for detailed profile.
At the dawn of the 21st century, political Islam has become an influential religious and social force in many post-colonial states, from North Africa to South East Asia. In the context of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the ‘War on Terror’, much has been written. Little has been written, however, to enable a holistic understanding of political Islam. Though some work has been done by Western scholars like Olivier Roy, the post-9/11 world has a different dynamic in which political Islam is used by terrorists to set the global discourse on the West's treatment of Muslims. In these circumstances, Frederic Volpi provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of political Islam. Offering a clear route to the most influential literature in the field, the diverse range of viewpoints presented give the reader a detailed, authoritative, critical and cosmopolitan perspective on the pressing questions of the post-9/11 era.
The End of an Era in Uzbekistan
Domination of Pakistan by Radical Islamists
OIC Astana Session: Emphasising Change and Action
Evaluating the Political and Economic Role of the IRGC
Turkey, Islamic Politics and the ‘Turkish Model’
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2451
|
__label__wiki
| 0.827016
| 0.827016
|
British Soft Power in South Asia: Historicizing Deglobalization
Published on November 21, 2014 by CIGH Exeter
David Thackeray
History Department, University of Exeter
Follow on Twitter @d_thackeray
Cross-posted from History & Policy
Many of the core debates in UK politics today concern the nation’s future trade: the question of Scottish independence, devolution of political power to the regions, and a potential referendum on EU membership. Exploring the history of British trade identities can provide important insights into how we got here and the potential choices for policy makers. As historian Jim Tomlinson has argued, the twentieth century witnessed a gradual process of the ‘partial de-globalisation’ of British regions, with the declining influence of manufacturing and the growth of a more atomised service-sector economy. The discontents this has caused, exacerbated by the recent worldwide economic downturn, have been seized upon by parties such as the SNP and UKIP.
Britain, almost uniquely among major nations, retained a system of free trade until 1932. This owed much to the strong integration of Britain’s regions into global trade relationships. Amongst the heartlands of electoral support for free trade in Edwardian Britain were the cotton manufacturing towns of Lancashire and textile producing districts of West Yorkshire, which relied heavily on exports to a variety of world markets; and Dundee, then a global centre for jute manufacture. Even when tariffs were introduced in the 1930s, Britain sought to lower trade barriers to aid industrial exporters, signing trade treaties with a number of countries including Denmark, Argentina and the USA.
In fact, the 1930s can be seen as a higher watermark in support for the Union. A Conservative-dominated National Government won landslide election victories in 1931 and 1935, achieving a clear majority of seats in England and Scotland on both occasions. Business organisations such as the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire and the Federation of British Industries played an important role in trade affairs at this time, giving regional groups such as Liverpool and Glasgow shipbuilders, Lancashire cotton producers, and Yorkshire textile industrialists an important lobbying role with governments both in Britain and the wider Commonwealth. These bodies helped exporters develop links with overseas buyers, gave advice on commercial arbitration, and enabled industrialists to lobby for access to lower tariff rates in Dominions such as Australia, Canada, and South Africa. In turn, popular campaigns were launched in those countries to support the buying of goods from Britain and the wider Empire.
This system was challenged after 1945, leading to the eventual fracturing of Commonwealth trade relationships in the 1960s, which occurred concurrently with Britain’s first attempts to join the European Economic Community. Moreover, a steady decline in the role of manufacturing within the UK economy undermined regional identities, which were closely tied to industry. Whereas manufacturing made up 41 percent of the British economy in 1948, this fell to around 30 percent in the early 1970s, and stands at 10 percent today. The region with the highest reliance on manufacturing is the East Midlands, where it accounts for 12.5 percent of jobs, whereas manufacturing accounts for only 2.4 percent of jobs in London. The troubled economic times of the 1970s led to a growth in Celtic nationalism which challenged the authority of central government at Westminster, a crisis brilliantly documented in Tom Nairn’s The break-up of Britain (1977). In October 1974, following a year in which oil prices escalated as the result of an Arab embargo, the SNP claimed over thirty per cent of the vote in Scotland (a share they have not bettered at a British general election since).
The recent revival in opposition to the two main parties at Westminster can be seen, in part, as a reaction to the ongoing long-term experiences of regional de-industrialisation and a concurrent de-globalisation of trade, aggravated by the recent recession. Scottish regions such as Dundee, which have experienced de-globalisation acutely as a result of the decline of manufacturing, voted for independence, whereas Edinburgh, a centre for international financial services, voted two-to-one against.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent pledge to tackle the ‘West Lothian question’ and implement a major devolution of powers across the four nations has further stoked debate about the future direction of Britain and the possibilities for English regional government. While the proposed devolution of decision-making may potentially help foster regional development, it is unclear how this will be achieved given that England makes up 85 percent of the UK’s population. What is most important is the need to rebalance the economy, lessening its reliance on financial services honeypots such as London and Edinburgh, and stimulating links with expanding markets in the regions. The UK is far more reliant on financial services exports as a percentage of total service sector exports than other G7 countries, making it particularly vulnerable to further instability in world markets.
The revived importance of the Commonwealth in world trade was recognised by the 2013 Lords’ Select Committee on Soft Power and the UK’s Influence chaired by Lord Howell, which called for government to pay greater attention to developing economic links with this network of nations. With several fast-growing economies, including India, Australia and South Africa, and a doubling of trade between its members in the last 20 years, the Commonwealth provides key markets for the future. The UK is particularly well placed to exploit this link due to strong historical trade ties and the evolution of similar business cultures and legal institutions.
The Commonwealth Business Council, a company with corporate members, which promoted trade and investment in Commonwealth countries, ceased trading in July 2014. It is imperative that a successor organisation is formed which can play an important role in stimulating intra-Commonwealth trade. In addition, government needs to provide universities with greater opportunities to develop research and development links with markets such as India and China, thereby catalysing the UK’s regional economies.
Welcome signs of progress in this regard include the recent expansion of links between the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Indian Council of Historical Research, as well as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. AHRC projects offer a range of opportunities to project the UK’s ‘soft power’ – that is, building trust and prestige between nations through cultural influence. For example, Picturing China 1870-1950, a touring exhibition curated by historian Robert Bickers, offered a sophisticated image of pre-1949 China and its relations with the West. The project, which amassed and digitised photos by British expatriates and Chinese nationals, created a new public forum for discussion of complex pre-1949 Western-Chinese relations in China. In total the Foreign and Commonwealth Office estimates that the project reached 10 million people.
Globalisation may be a catchphrase for these times, but it has important historical antecedents, which throw light on the current challenges facing British policy makers as increasing numbers of disillusioned voters seek alternatives to the traditional two-party system. One of the key challenges that UK politicians face today is appealing to a population which has witnessed the partial de-globalisation of trade in some regions, it is therefore imperative that efforts are made to stimulate connections with growing markets such as India and China building on historic connections.
David Thackeray is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter. He is an AHRC Research Leadership Fellow, 2014-15 and Principal Investigator for the AHRC-funded network, 2014-16, Imagining Markets: Conceptions of Empire/Commonwealth, Europe and China in Britain’s economic future since the 1870s. Dr Thackeray’s first book is Conservatism for the democratic age: Conservative cultures and the challenge of mass politics in early twentieth century England (Manchester University Press, 2013).
Categories Imperial & Global History•Tags British Empire, David Thackeray, Deglobalization, History & Policy, Soft Power, Trade
Previous Lessons From the 1960s for UK Immigration Debate
3 thoughts on “British Soft Power in South Asia: Historicizing Deglobalization”
Diana MacLeod says:
What is specifically meant by, ‘the partial de-globalisation of trade’ in the last paragraph? Than you!
frances says:
Seems like you’re wanting to do the same thing as the Empire Marketing Board was trying to do in the twenties with one difference – then it was about convincing British workers that our jobs depended on our trade with “our colonies”. Now we have to beg these same colonies to share a little of their up and coming wealth with us, for old time’s sake? …because of our shared history? Good luck with that.
sarifzaman says:
A successor organisation to the Commonwealth Business Council, where I was an Advisor from 2005-2014, was established in July 2014 – the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council. This is the apex organisation representing private sector businesses within the Commonwealth and is the only institution with a remit to promote intra-Commonwealth trade and investment. See http://www.cweic.org
Leave a Reply to Diana MacLeod Cancel reply
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2453
|
__label__wiki
| 0.521595
| 0.521595
|
The undying lure of Delhi bookshops
India Today 7 July 2019
In this digital age, it isn't easy for a brick mortar bookshop to survive in a metropolis. We speak to a few indie bookstore owners to know how and what keeps them going.
The reading habit and with it the fate of bookstores, have seen a number of highs and lows over the past decade. Several brick and mortar stores were unable to keep up with online bookstores like Amazon, regarded by many as a great convenience for the doorstep delivery they offer. Though news about several independent book stores closing down keeps pouring in, there are many that have not only avoided this fate, but have actually flourished.
TRADITION SCORES
In the bustling Aurobindo Market lies Midland Book Shop. As you look around their collection, you will notice Urdu titles, latest must-read authors, such as Ikigai and the Just William and Harry Potter series, to classics like Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, works by PG Wodehouse and Raymond Chandler, and more unexpected perennials such as Richard Braithwaithe's To Sir with Love. A steady stream of customers, from schoolchildren to older patrons can be seen glued to the bookshelves. Photographs of many celebrities who visited the shop including Arundhati Roy, Natwar Singh, Salman Khurshid, Patrick French and Alex Rutherford, line the wallS.
Midland founder Mirza Yaseen Baig is still a part of the book shop. He has been in the Delhi book business for several decades now. Baig founded the Aurobindo branch in 1985, much later than the New Book Land stall in Janpath, which was opened in 1978. Ask him for a specific title, and he is bound to find it without a catalogue and within a minute. And he can always recommend some new reads as well. Baig has an optimistic view of the reading habit. There will always be a large number of people who read. That's how they have been raised to read. Even if less people are reading physical books and turning to digital, I myself haven't seen much difference in sales. Even those who read on Kindle, still patronise bookstores, he adds. He goes on to explain certain advantages of digital distractions, Well, Netflix has many series based on books. So, when Sacred Games was airing last year, people rushed to buy Vikram Chandra's book. Midland is something of a tradition. Marketing consultant Garima Chawla, 29, remembers, When my parents did their shopping every weekend, they would drop me off here, and I would sit in the corner and read. Their collection is still great. Ujjwala Rai, 54, a former teacher says, I used to come here after school with my eight-year-old. She would look at the Roald Dahls, while I browsed through the Mary Stewarts and Jean Plaidys. Baig agrees, Many people also come looking for their old favourites such as Ayn Rand, and Louis L'Amour. One aspect you see in the book trade is that authors never die.
COLOURS & WORDS
At Gurugram South Point Mall, is Quill And Canvas, both a bookstore and art gallery. Shabnam Kumar, 21, a BA student in IP University says, It has diverse titles from Indian Newsroom to books by Murakami. There is also a used book section, a place where customers can sit and read. The gallery has works by renowned artists such as Jamini Roy. Shobha Sengupta, founder and proprietor, explains, I found it difficult to buy books or art, so in 2002, I founded a business where I could enjoy both.
It is something of a hub, and has attracted visitors such as William Dalrymple, Amish, the late Vinod Mehta, and Ashwin Sanghi. We also host a lot of events centred on books, including launches and discussions. We even have a monthly book club with 65 participants. The used book section is another small hub. In fact, at times customers tell me that my used books are way cheaper than those on Amazon. Being in great shape (books), they end up buying them. I have diversified to stay afloat, and can connect out to the customers in these ways. She adds, I believe anyone who walks into a book store is a fabulous person. Even if they are just browsing, bookstores still have a purpose.
BINGE CORNER
When you go through one of the alleys of Khan Market, and go up a flight of stairs, you will see Full Circle, with its warm ambience, lines of bookshelves, and throng of customers. Café Turtle is also thriving here. Full Circle and Café Turtle have another branch in GK 1. As Priyanka Malhotra, owner and daughter of founder Poonam Malhotra points out, Food has the comforting ability to bring people together and Café Turtle has built its philosophy around this premise people coming together to interact, share ideas, and have the space to read in solitude. Full Circle is also known for hosting book launches and readings, and a programme for children's workshops. She adds, We felt we should create a community of book-readers who can meet and exchange notes on literature and life.
Speaking on some the major challenges Full Circle has faced in the last 10 years, Malhotra says, Rents are high, therefore running a bookstore can be difficult, especially with online sales platforms that offer competitive prices. Therefore, a brick and mortar store has to constantly innovate and evolve so that the place offers an experience' rather than just a transactional purchase. I think as a community needs to realise what these spaces really mean to us. It is important to patronise them, because they offer much more than a click of a button on our smartphones.
As Shabnam Qazi, 34, who is pursuing her PhD in University of Cologne, Germany, says, Full Circle has great titles, and it's a space where I can read and relax. I prefer going here and Café Turtle over Starbucks.
AN OLD LANDMARK
Other bookstores have a more conventional approach. As you enter Khan Market, one of the very first things you see, is the front window of the Bahrisons Booksellers. Founded in 1953, Bahrisons now has five stores across the city, including Bahri Kids in Khan Market. Its location and long history has made it very well-known in Delhi.
All the must-haves, and what's in style is always in stock here, says Ritwick Bajaj, a software engineer. It is great for window shopping too, he adds. The other branches, in Saket and Gurugram are much larger and have cafés.
Anuj Bahri Malhotra, owner, and son of founder Balraj Bahri, says, Sometimes in bookshops with cafés, people come for the Wifi. Our Khan Market stores are purely bookshops. Bahri has a markedly open and optimistic view of the reading habit in the country. They are generally interested in reading the latest books. And, books are now just one form. Whatever form they are reading in, they are still reading. He stresses, I don't believe book shops will go out of fashion in India. Bookshops are the cultural hubs of each city. I think a city without a book shop is a haunted one.
He trashes the theory that many, including, millennials don't read anymore. Everyone is reading. He goes on to say, In fact, the millennials are the ones who read the most. According to Amazon, 60 per cent of their book customers are the millennials.
LOST TREASURES
There are other shops, however, which have shut shop, affected by the high rentals, changes in customer tastes and shifts in market profiles. These include Galgotias and The Bookworm in Connaught Place, Spell and Bound in SDA Market, The Knowledge Store in Green Park Market and Fact and Fiction in Vasant Vihar. A number of customers were disappointed at the development. Aastha Mehra, a 34 year-old-freelancer says, Those were good days and good shops. It made you wonder, how can we go down this road? Former owner of Fact and Fiction, Ajit Kumar Singh, says, Location has a lot to do with it. Shops like Bahrisons and Full Circle have the advantage of being in a central market like Khan Market. Fact and Fiction, was in the Vasant Vihar colony market. It was also a question of access. He cites the example of South Extension, which used to be a thriving centre for books, but faded away due to massive construction and extension that took place. These are the extraneous reasons. There was also the question of access and how the internet made everything more convenient. Due to parking problems in the Vasant Vihar Market, during the last few years, there had been a major decline in the number of people coming during the day.
Speaking about the quality of books at the different bookshops now, Singh says, There is no real variety amongst the book stores right now. It has led by what the distributors are giving you. My own bookshop was curated. Now it's all about new in and old out. Most bookshops have the same collections. Very few booksellers are really choosing the books.
HOPE STILL FLOATS
There are a large number of other bookstores in Delhi, which are still successful. Oxford Bookstore in CP, attracts patrons, not only with its collection, but with book launches and events, and has a packed calendar for children's workshops. Om Bookstore, Crossword, and Jor Bagh's The Book Shop, as well as a host of others, are keeping the tradition alive.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2454
|
__label__wiki
| 0.851641
| 0.851641
|
December 20, 2018 / 1:56 PM / 7 months ago
Britain removes word 'unlikely' from no-deal Brexit guidance
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May sits with members of her cabinet during the UK-Poland Inter-Governmental Consultations at Lancaster House in central London, Britain, December 20, 2018. Adrian Dennis/Pool via REUTERS
LONDON (Reuters) - The British government has removed the word “unlikely” from its official Brexit guidance telling companies and citizens how to prepare for a disorderly exit where the UK leaves the European Union without a deal.
Theresa May’s government has issued a string of technical notices in recent months with advice on what needs to be done before the country leaves the world’s largest trading bloc on March 29. They cover everything from the movement of organs, blood and sperm to nuclear regulation and organic food.
The notices had originally referred to the “unlikely” chance that Britain leaves the EU without a deal. The documents now refer to simply a “no deal scenario”.
“Delivering the deal negotiated with the EU remains the government’s top priority. This has not changed,” one notice on aviation rules says.
“However, the government must prepare for every eventuality, including a no-deal scenario.”
With just under 100 days until Britain is due to leave the EU, deep divisions in parliament have raised the chances of leaving without a deal.
May has struck an agreement with Brussels on the terms of the divorce but she was forced to pull a parliamentary vote on the proposal last week after admitting it would be defeated.
A spokeswoman for Britain’s Brexit department said the language had been updated after the government started to step up its plans for a no-deal exit.
“We fully expect to get a deal and believe that is the most likely outcome - that is what we are focused on delivering,” she said.
Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Stephen Addison
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2455
|
__label__wiki
| 0.850109
| 0.850109
|
No Proof Required: Conflict of interest, anyone?https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/no-proof-required-conflict-of-interest-anyone/
No Proof Required: Conflict of interest, anyone?
High time the PM asked all BJP politicians to give their LPG cylinder, sorry, BCCI job, back.
Written by Surjit S Bhalla | Updated: July 27, 2015 4:38:13 pm
The writer is Contributing Editor at The Indian Express, and Consulting Editor at Network 18
Maximise revenue, minimise tax
Finance Ministry could have been bolder. But budget is heavy on vision and inclusive growth
Rethink poverty — and policy
In 2011, Ajay Maken decided to introduce a draft National Sports Development Bill to bring the BCCI under the RTI. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar)
Conflict of interest is now a household phrase. Mainstream media (MSM) and the Congress party are the flag-bearers of this newfound morality in public life. The Congress criticises and MSM (particularly English TV) hyperventilates and endorses. The main theme of this Congress monologue is that the BJP is just as corrupt as they were (they certainly don’t deny that they were very corrupt!). As proof, evidence is provided about conflict of interest “relationship” of two BJP leaders — Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje — with a former BCCI official, Lalit Modi.
As readers of this column know, politicians of both major parties, the Congress and the BJP, have had a long-term cosy club (the CC in BCCI) relationship with the BCCI. I have always believed that invoking the BCCI in your morality defence is a stupid, self-defeating strategy. It is bound to backfire. And the Congress is using this conflict of interest as the prime reason to try to hold up Parliament and prevent discussion of crucial in-the-interest-of-the-nation bills.
A pot should not call a kettle black (what is the politically correct phrase in these challenged times?) and people in glass houses should not throw stones. But no point in telling the Congress that. In 2011, the UPA’s sports minister, Ajay Maken, decided to introduce a draft National Sports Development Bill. The bill would have brought the BCCI and all other sports bodies under the Right to Information Act. All of us would support such an effort, no? After all, on what grounds can the BCCI possibly not come under the RTI?
The draft bill was vetoed by the UPA cabinet comprising of four UPA cricket ministers, who (apparently) did not have any conflict of interest: Sharad Pawar (ICC president), Farooq Abdullah (J&K Cricket Association president), C.P. Joshi (chief of Rajasthan Cricket Association), and Vilasrao Deshmukh (head of Mumbai Cricket Association). It gets worse (could it?) — Kapil Sibal deemed it fit to remain in the cabinet discussions and vehemently opposed the bill. And, of course, the UPA allowed him to do so.
No conflict of interest resignations were demanded or offered. Interestingly, the only person who thought it fit to talk about the impropriety was J&K chief minister, Omar Abdullah, son of Farooq Abdullah, who tweeted, “I believe the Union ministers heading sports bodies should have excused themselves from the sports bill discussion”. Given the UPA regime’s spotless record, it is not surprising that Omar was unceremoniously made to eat his words — the tweet has since been deleted.
The UPA non-conflict of interest story continues. In 2013, and within three days of the arrests in the cricket spot-fixing scandal, the UPA courageously announced a strong bill to stop unfair practices in sports, especially in cricket — the Prevention of Sporting Fraud Bill. IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla met the law minister, Kapil Sibal, and asked for the strongest possible law; the BCCI’s full support was also assured. When finalised, the bill kept both the BCCI and IPL outside its jurisdiction. Subsequently, the draft bill was consigned to cold (cosy club) storage. Clearly, one does not need to further detail the cosiness of this club (Congress or BJP).
As seen above, the relationship between the government and the BCCI has been so close that no conflict of interest was ever believed to have existed if a politician was associated with both, even when those politicians became senior ministers. But times began to change when Narendra Modi, head of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA), was elected PM last year. For the first time, an individual did not hold joint positions in cricket organisations and as a cabinet minister. Modi resigned, as did Arun Jaitley. Amit Shah replaced Modi as GCA chief and a cricket administrator, S.P. Bansal, replaced Jaitley as head of the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA). Incidentally, Bansal was charged with misappropriation of funds in January 2014. The case is still being heard.
But what is the cause for all the ministers clinging on to their plush BCCI or cricket association chairs? The history of the BCCI may provide some clues. Recall that it was only in 2007 that the Union government cancelled the BCCI’s NGO status. Before that, this huge profit-making enterprise did not pay any tax on its profits. The reason NGOs (around the world) are allowed this tax benefit is because they are involved in producing a “public good”. And as long as profits are ploughed back into the public good, everybody is happy, or at least should be.
How well did the BCCI perform in terms of serving the public good in its no-tax days? While it is difficult to obtain balance sheet data for the BCCI prior to 2007, the balance sheet data of one of its premier constituents, the DDCA, are available for two years, 1997-98 and 1999-2000. In Schedule I to R, it is reported that coaching expenses of the DDCA (the public good item) in 1997-98 were zilch (yes, zero) and in 1998-99, such expenses were Rs 20,727. Total DDCA income for the two years was Rs 88 lakh and Rs 200 lakh respectively. So, clearly not a lot was spent on coaching and maybe that is why the Delhi teams cannot win anything!
But one line item in the expenses sheet makes for extraordinary reading. The DDCA is a club, and as such, it serves liquor to its members and their guests. The income from “sale of empty bottles” (presumably liquor) was Rs 22,372 and Rs 24,406 in the two years. In other words, the DDCA received more income from the sale of empty liquor bottles than it spent on coaching.
Let us also talk about the stadiums the DDCA is supposed to hold in trust for the players, the sport and the fans. What has the DDCA done for its fans? Anybody who has been to the Feroz Shah Kotla (FSK) grounds knows that it possibly is the worst cricket stadium in the world. As a proud Delhiwallah, I am embarrassed and ashamed every time I have visited the cricket grounds under the DDCA’s control.
In 2010-11, the DDCA spent Rs 3.8 crore on renovation and beautification of toilets at the FSK constructed just three years earlier, in 2007-08. The MSM did not find this newsworthy. Nor has it found it newsworthy to report that Lalit Modi spent Rs 20 crore in the renovation of the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur during 2005-08. The world can see the difference — the DDCA spending Rs 150 crore to “renovate” Kotla and what just Rs 20 crore can buy in Jaipur. Oh yes, not only has the DDCA spent money inefficiently, but it has also been illegally occupying the stadium ground for the last 12 years (the lease expired in 2002) — and has been allowed to do so primarily by the UPA, and now by the BJP.
We come back to where we started this series on the BCCI. Cricket and politicians must divorce, for the considerably better health of both. Narendra Modi can help his, and the BJP’s image (in these trying MSM times), by finishing the journey he embarked on last year when he asked his ministers to resign from the BCCI. Time for him to ask all BJP politicians to give their LPG cylinder, sorry, BCCI job, back.
The writer is a contributing editor for ‘The Indian Express’ and co-author, with Ankur Choudhary, of ‘Criconomics’
1 Great Gaming
2 Reluctant PSBs
3 Chuck the BPL card
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2457
|
__label__wiki
| 0.947515
| 0.947515
|
Hitchhiking robot embarking on coast-to-coast tour across UShttps://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-others/hitchhiking-robot-embarking-on-coast-to-coast-tour-across-us/
Hitchhiking robot embarking on coast-to-coast tour across US
On the outside, hitchBOT looks like it's built for play rather than performance. It has a bucket for a body and bendy foam limbs capped by yellow gardening gloves and matching rubber boots.
By AP |Boston | Published: July 17, 2015 1:29:02 pm
Co-creator David Harris Smith carries hitchBOT, a hitchhiking robot, during its’ introduced to an American audience at the Peabody Essex Museum Thursday, July 16, 2015, in Salem, Mass. (Source: AP)
With its thumb raised skyward and a grin on its digital face, the robotic creation of two researchers in Canada is about to start a hitchhiking journey across the US.
The humanoid robot named hitchBOT has already caught rides across Canada and in Europe, relying on the kindness and curiosity of strangers. But on Friday it starts its first US tour, setting out from Salem, Massachusetts, with dreams of San Francisco ahead.
Along the way, it hopes to see some quintessential American sites, including Times Square, Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon.
The kid-size robot is immobile on its own, so it gets from place to place by being schlepped around by strangers. Travelers can pass it off to others they meet, or leave it at a gas station or shop. They can just leave it seated on its kickstand with its thumb raised.
Ideally, the creators hope, drivers won’t leave the bot along busy roads and will charge the battery when it runs low. Otherwise, there are no rules.
HitchBOT, a hitchhiking robot, is formally introduced to an American audience, during a program at the Peabody Essex Museum Thursday, July 16, 2015, in Salem, Mass. (Source: AP)
“We want to see what people do with this kind of technology when we leave it up to them,” said Frauke Zeller, one of the creators and an assistant professor in professional communication at Toronto’s Ryerson University. “It’s an art project in the wild – it invites people to participate.”
On the outside, hitchBOT looks like it’s built for play rather than performance. It has a bucket for a body and bendy foam limbs capped by yellow gardening gloves and matching rubber boots. The whimsical attire is intentional, its makers said, to make it approachable and to deter potential thieves.
“It has a really low-tech look to it, something we dubbed the ‘yard-sale aesthetic,'” said David Harris Smith, the other creator and an assistant professor in communication studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. “The head is actually an acrylic cake-saver.”
HitchBOT is set to embark on its’ first cross-country hitchhiking trip of the U.S., after completing similar tips in Canada and Europe. (Source: AP)
Designed to be a talking travel companion, the robot can toss out factoids and carry limited conversation. It can be charming and cheeky, its makers said.
So far, there are no signs of anything nefarious done to the robot, but there’s also no proof. Its creators intentionally cast their gaze aside.
“We want to be very careful to avoid surveillance technologies with this; that’s not what we’re trying to do here,” Smith said.
A GPS in the robot can track its location, and a camera randomly snaps photos about every 20 minutes to document its travels. But the team behind the robot seeks permission from people in the photos before posting them to social media, where hitchBOT has built a devoted fan base.
Co-creator Frauke Zeller introduces hitchBOT, a hitchhiking robot, to an American audience during a program at the Peabody Essex Museum Thursday, July 16, 2015, in Salem, Mass. (Source: AP)
More than 30,000 people follow the robot on Twitter, and dozens have posted their own selfies with it. Researchers are culling data from social media to study how people interact with a robot that needs their help, unlike traditional robots designed to help them.
Among the chief questions researchers are asking, Zeller said, is whether robots can trust humans.
During past travels, the robot has attended a comic convention and a wedding, and it had its portrait painted in the Netherlands. It once spent a week with a heavy metal band.
The cross-country tour of Canada took 26 days, spanning more than 6,000 miles. As for the US trip, researchers don’t know how long it will take, or what will happen along the way.
“We want to create something that has a bit of narrative to it, a sense of adventure,” Smith said. “We don’t really know what’s going to happen.”
Hitchhiking robot
DO NOT USE World Others
1 One year after MH17 flight crash, new shocking footage emerges
2 MH17 anniversary: PM Tony Abbott unveils permanent memorial for 38 Australian victims
3 Iran-US nuclear deal: A fine ‘new chapter’ or ‘historic mistake’?
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2458
|
__label__wiki
| 0.926637
| 0.926637
|
Pan American World Airways
"Pan Am" redirects here. For other uses, see Pan Am (disambiguation).
"Pan American Airways" redirects here. For the new start-up airline, see Pan American World Airways (2016).
"Pan American Airways" redirects here. For other uses, see Pan American Airways (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Pan-American (disambiguation).
PA PAA CLIPPER
March 14, 1927 (as Pan American Airways (PAA))
Commenced operations
Ceased operations
(New York City)
(London)
Haneda Airport (before 1978)
(Tokyo)
Narita International Airport (1978-1985)
Focus cities
Berlin Tempelhof Airport (1950–1975)
Berlin Tegel Airport (1975–1990)
Honolulu International Airport (before 1985)
(Houston)
(Boston)
(Chicago)
Frequent-flyer program
WorldPass
Pan Am Express (1987-1991)
Fleet size
86 countries on all six major continents at its peak in 1968
“The System of the Flying Clippers” (1946–1953)
"World's Most Experienced Airline" (1953–early 1970s)
“Experience makes the difference”/"Pan Am makes the going great." (early 1970s)
“America's airline to the world” (late 1970s)
“You can't beat the experience” (1980s)
“Die Flügel Berlins” (German for “Berlin's wings”, 1980s, only in Germany)
"Every country has an airline. The World has Pan Am." (late 1980s)
"Expect More From Pan Am" (Some TV ads)
"Say Hello To Pan Am" (Pan Am-National merger)
Pan Am Corporation
Juan T. Trippe
(CEO 1927–1968)
Harold E. Gray
Najeeb E. Halaby Jr
William T. Seawell
C. Edward Acker
Thomas G. Plaskett
Russell L. Ray, Jr.
(CEO 1991)
Pan American World Airways, known from its founding until 1950 as Pan American Airways[1] and commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991. Founded in 1927 as a scheduled air mail and passenger service operating between Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba, the airline became a major company credited with many innovations that shaped the international airline industry, including the widespread use of jet aircraft, jumbo jets, and computerized reservation systems.[2] It was also a founding member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline industry association.[3] Identified by its blue globe logo ("The Blue Meatball"),[4] the use of the word "Clipper" in aircraft names and call signs, and the white pilot uniform caps, the airline was a cultural icon of the 20th century. In an era dominated by flag carriers that were wholly or majority government-owned, it was also the unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States. During most of the jet era, Pan Am's flagship terminal was the Worldport located at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.[2]
1.1 Formation
1.2 Flight crews
1.3 Clipper era
1.4 Growing competition after World War II
1.5 Overseas expansion and fleet modernization
1.6 Jet age
1.6.1 Widebody era
1.6.2 Supersonic plans
1.7 Computerized reservations, Pan Am Building and Worldport
1.8 Peak
1.9 Internal German Services (IGS) and other operations
1.10 Passenger traffic (1951–1989)
1.11 Downturn
1.11.1 Fallout from 1973 oil crisis
1.11.2 Attempts to build a U.S. domestic network
1.11.2.1 National Airlines takeover
1.11.3 Disposal of non-core assets and operational cutbacks
1.11.4 Fleet restructuring
1.11.5 Sale of Pacific division
1.11.6 Establishment of local feeder networks
1.11.7 U.S. East coast shuttle
1.11.8 Financial, operational and reputational setbacks
1.11.9 Failed bid for Northwest Airlines
1.11.10 Fallout from 1990–91 Persian Gulf War
1.12 Bankruptcy
2 Reuse of name
2.1 Airlines
2.2 Railways
3 Record-setting flights
4 Corporate affairs
6 Acquisitions and divestments
7.1 Pan Am Flight 1736
7.2 Pan Am Flight 73
7.3 Pan Am Flight 103
8 Fleet
8.1 Fleet in 1990
8.2 Fleet history
9 Destinations
11 Notes and citations
Juan Trippe
Pan American Airways, Incorporated (PAA) was founded as a shell company on March 14, 1927 by Air Corps Majors Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, Carl A. Spaatz, and John H. Jouett as a counterbalance to the German-owned Colombian carrier SCADTA,[5] operating in Colombia since 1920. SCADTA lobbied hard for landing rights in the Panama Canal Zone, ostensibly to survey air routes for a connection to the United States, which the Air Corps viewed as a precursor to a possible German aerial threat to the canal. Arnold and Spaatz drew up the prospectus for Pan American when SCADTA hired a company in Delaware to obtain air mail contracts from the U.S. government. Pan American was able to obtain the U.S. mail delivery contract to Cuba, but lacked any aircraft to perform the job and did not have landing rights in Cuba.[6]
On June 2, 1927 Juan Trippe formed the Aviation Corporation of the Americas (ACA) with the backing of powerful and politically connected financiers who included Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and W. Averell Harriman, and raised $250,000 in startup capital from the sale of stock.[7] Their operation had the all-important landing rights for Havana, having acquired American International Airways, a small airline established in 1926 by John K. Montgomery and Richard B. Bevier as a seaplane service from Key West, Florida, to Havana. ACA met its deadline of having an air mail service operating by October 19, 1927 by chartering a Fairchild FC-2 floatplane from a small Dominican Republic carrier, West Indian Aerial Express.[8][9]
The Atlantic, Gulf, and Caribbean Airways company was established on October 11, 1927 by New York City investment banker Richard Hoyt, who served as president.[8] This company merged with PAA and ACA on June 23, 1928.[8] Richard Hoyt was named as president of the new Aviation Corporation of the Americas, but Trippe and his partners held 40% of the equity and Whitney was made president. Trippe became operational head of Pan American Airways, the new company's principal operating subsidiary.[8]
Flown cover autographed by pilot Cy Caldwell and carried from Key West, FL, to Havana, Cuba, on the first contract air mail flight operated by Pan American Airways, Oct 19, 1927
"Birthplace of Pan American World Airways", Key West, Florida
The U.S. government approved the original Pan Am's mail delivery contract with little objection, out of fears that SCADTA would have no competition in bidding for routes between Latin America and the United States. The government further helped Pan Am by insulating it from its U.S. competitors, seeing the airline as the "chosen instrument" for U.S.-based international air routes.[10] The airline expanded internationally, benefiting from a virtual monopoly on foreign routes.[11]
Trippe and his associates planned to extend Pan Am's network through all of Central and South America. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Pan Am purchased a number of ailing or defunct airlines in Central and South America and negotiated with postal officials to win most of the government's airmail contracts to the region. In September 1929 Trippe toured Latin America with Charles Lindbergh to negotiate landing rights in a number of countries, including Barranquilla on SCADTA's home turf of Colombia, Maracaibo and Caracas. By the end of the year, Pan Am offered flights along the west coast of South America to Peru. The following year, Pan Am purchased the New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line, giving it a seaplane route along the east coast of South America to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and westbound to Santiago, Chile. Its Brazilian subsidiary NYRBA do Brasil was later renamed as Panair do Brasil.[12] Pan Am also partnered with Grace Shipping Company in 1929 to form Pan American-Grace Airways, better known as Panagra, to gain a foothold to destinations in South America.[8] In the same year, Pan Am acquired a controlling stake in Mexicana de Aviación and took over Mexicana's Ford Trimotor route between Brownsville, Texas and Mexico City, extending this service to the Yucatan Peninsula to connect with Pan Am's Caribbean route network.[13]
Pan Am's holding company, the Aviation Corporation of the Americas, was one of the most sought after stocks on the New York Curb Exchange in 1929, and flurries of speculation surrounded each of its new route awards. In April 1929 Trippe and his associates reached an agreement with United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) to segregate Pan Am operations to south of the Mexico – United States border, in exchange for UATC taking a large shareholder stake (UATC was the parent company of what are now Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and United Airlines).[14][15] The Aviation Corporation of the Americas changed its name to Pan American Airways Corporation in 1931.
Flight crews
The Sikorsky S-42 was one of Pan Am's earlier flying boats and was used to survey the San Francisco – China route.
Critical to Pan Am's success as an airline was the proficiency of its flight crews, who were rigorously trained in long-distance flight, seaplane anchorage and berthing operations, over-water navigation, radio procedure, aircraft repair, and marine tides.[16] During the day, use of the compass while judging drift from sea currents was normal procedure; at night, all flight crews were trained to use celestial navigation. In bad weather, pilots used dead reckoning and timed turns, making successful landings at fogged-in harbors by landing out to sea, then taxiing the plane into port. Many pilots had merchant marine certifications and radio licenses as well as pilot certificates.[17][18] A Pan Am flight captain would normally begin his career years earlier as a radio operator or even mechanic, steadily gaining his licenses and working his way up the flight crew roster to navigator, second officer, and first officer. Before World War II it was not unusual for a captain to make engine repairs at remote locations.[19]
Pan Am's mechanics and support staff were similarly trained. Newly hired applicants were frequently paired with experienced flight mechanics in several areas of the company until they had achieved proficiency in all aircraft types.[20] Emphasis was placed on learning to maintain and overhaul aircraft in harsh seaborne environments when faced with logistical difficulties, as might be expected in a small foreign port without an aviation infrastructure or even an adequate road network. Many crews supported repair operations by flying in spare parts to planes stranded overseas, in some cases performing repairs themselves.[19]
Clipper era
PAA routes as of 1936
1941 advertising mailer for Pan Am's "Flying Clipper Cruises" to South America
Pan Am started its South American routes with Consolidated Commodore and Sikorsky S-38 flying boats. The S-40, larger than the eight-passenger S-38, began flying for Pan Am in 1931. Carrying the nicknames American Clipper, Southern Clipper, and Caribbean Clipper, they were the first of the series of 28 Clippers that symbolized Pan Am between 1931 and 1946. During this time, Pan Am operated Clipper services to Latin America from the International Pan American Airport at Dinner Key in Miami, Florida.
In 1937 Pan Am turned to Britain and France to begin seaplane service between the United States and Europe. Pan Am reached an agreement with both countries to offer service from Norfolk, Virginia, to Europe via Bermuda and the Azores using the S-42s. A joint service from Port Washington, New York to Bermuda began in June 1937, with Pan Am using Sikorskys and Imperial Airways using the C class flying boat RMA Cavalier.[21]
On July 5, 1937 survey flights across the North Atlantic began.[22] Pan Am Clipper III, a Sikorsky S-42, landed at Botwood in the Bay of Exploits in Newfoundland from Port Washington, via Shediac, New Brunswick. The next day Pan Am Clipper III left Botwood for Foynes in Ireland. The same day, a Short Empire C-Class flying boat, the Caledonia, left Foynes for Botwood, and landed July 6, 1937, reaching Montreal on July 8 and New York on July 9.
PAA's China Clipper[23] service cut the time of a transpacific crossing from as much as six weeks by sea to just six days by air.
Trippe decided to start a service from San Francisco to Honolulu and on to Hong Kong and Auckland following steamship routes. After negotiating traffic rights in 1934 to land at Pearl Harbor, Midway Island, Wake Island, Guam, and Subic Bay (Manila),[24] Pan Am shipped $500,000 worth of aeronautical equipment westward in March 1935 using the North Haven, a 15,000 ton merchant ship it chartered for the purpose of provisioning each island that the clippers would stop at on their 4 to 5-day flight.[25] Pan Am ran its first survey flight to Honolulu in April 1935 with a Sikorsky S-42 flying boat.[26] The airline won the contract for a San Francisco – Canton mail route later that year and operated its first commercial flight carrying mail and express (no passengers) in a Martin M-130 from Alameda to Manila amid media fanfare on November 22, 1935. The five-leg, 8,000-mile (12,875 km) flight arrived in Manila on November 29 and returned to San Francisco on December 6, cutting the time between the two cities via the fastest scheduled steamship by over two weeks.[27] (Both the United States and Philippine Islands issued special stamps for the two flights.) The first passenger flight left Alameda on October 21, 1936.[28] The fare from San Francisco to Manila or Hong Kong in 1937 was $950 one way (about $15640 in 2018) and $1,710 round trip.[29]
Stamps issued by the United States and Philippine Islands for Air Mail carried on the first flights in each direction of PAA's Transpacific "China Clipper" service between San Francisco, CA, and Manila, PI. (November 22 – December 6, 1935)
On August 6, 1937 Juan Trippe accepted United States aviation's highest annual prize, the Collier Trophy, on behalf of PAA from President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the company's "establishment of the transpacific airline and the successful execution of extended overwater navigation and the regular operations thereof."[30]
Flown cover carried around the world on PAA Boeing 314 Clippers and by Imperial Airways, June 24 – July 28, 1939
Six large, long-range Boeing 314 flying boats were delivered to Pan Am in early 1939. On March 30, 1939, the Yankee Clipper, piloted by Harold E. Gray, made the first ever trans-Atlantic passenger flight. The first leg of the flight, Baltimore to Horta, took 17 hours and 32 minutes and covered 2,400 miles. The second leg from Horta to Pan Am's newly-built airport in Lisbon took 7 hours and 7 minutes and covered 1,200 miles.[31] The Boeing 314 also enabled the start of scheduled weekly contract Foreign Air Mail (F.A.M. 18) service and later passenger flights from New York (Port Washington, L.I.) to both France and Britain. The Southern route to France was inaugurated for Air Mail on May 20, 1939 by the Yankee Clipper piloted by Arthur E. LaPorte flying via Horta, Azores and Lisbon, Portugal to Marseilles.[32] Passenger service over the route was added on June 28, 1939 by the Dixie Clipper piloted by R.O.D. Sullivan.[33] The Eastbound trip departed every Wednesday at Noon and arrived at Marseilles on Friday at 3 pm GCT with return service leaving Marseilles on Sunday at 8 am and arriving at Port Washington on Tuesday at 7 am. The Northern transatlantic route to Britain was inaugurated for Air Mail service on June 24, 1939 by the Yankee Clipper piloted by Harold Gray flying via Shediac (New Brunswick), Botwood (Newfoundland), and Foynes (Ireland) to Southampton.[34][35] Passenger service was added on the Northern route on July 8, 1939 by the Yankee Clipper.[36] Eastbound flights left on Saturday at 7:30 am and arrived at Southampton on Sunday at 1 pm GCT. Westbound service departed Southampton on Wednesday at Noon and arrived at Port Washington on Thursday at 3 pm. After the outbreak of World War II in Europe on September 1, 1939 the terminus became Foynes until the service ceased for the winter on October 5 while transatlantic service to Lisbon via the Azores continued into 1941. During the war Pan Am flew over 90 million miles (145 million kilometers) worldwide in support of military operations.[11]
Pan Am's flying boat terminal at Dinner Key in Miami, Florida, was a hub of inter-American travel during the 1930s and 1940s.
Pan Am also used Boeing 314 flying boats for the Pacific route: in China, passengers could connect to domestic flights on the Pan Am-operated China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) network, co-owned with the Chinese government. Pan Am flew to Singapore for the first time in 1941, starting a semi-monthly service which reduced San Francisco–Singapore travel times from 25 days to six days.[37]
In 1940 Pan Am and TWA began using the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the first pressurized airliner in service and the first with a flight engineer in the crew. The Boeing 307's airline service was short-lived, as all were commandeered for military service when the United States entered World War II.[38]
The "Clippers" — the name hearkened back to the 19th century clipper ships – were the only American passenger aircraft of the time capable of intercontinental travel. To compete with ocean liners, the airline offered first-class seats on such flights, and the style of flight crews became more formal. Instead of being leather-jacketed, silk-scarved airmail pilots, the crews of the "Clippers" wore naval-style uniforms and adopted a set procession when boarding the aircraft.[39]
While waiting at Foynes, County Limerick, Ireland for a Pan Am Clipper flight to New York in 1942, passengers were served a drink today known as Irish coffee by Chef Joe Sheridan.[40]
During World War II most Clippers were pressed into military service. Pan Am pioneered a new air route across Western and Central Africa to Iran, and in early 1942 the airline became the first to operate a route circumnavigating the globe. Another first occurred in January 1943, when Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to fly abroad, in the Dixie Clipper.[41] During this period Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was a Clipper pilot; he was aboard the Clipper Eclipse when it crashed in Syria on June 19, 1947.[42][43]
Pan Am Lockheed L-049 Constellation Clipper Great Republic at London Heathrow
Pan Am Boeing 377 Stratocruiser Clipper Seven Seas at London Heathrow in 1954
Growing competition after World War II
Air transport's growing importance in the post-war era meant that Pan Am would no longer enjoy the official patronage it had been afforded in pre-war days to prevent the emergence of any meaningful competition, both at home and abroad.[44]
Although Pan Am continued to use its political influence to lobby for protection of its position as America's primary international airline, it encountered increasing competition — first from American Export Airlines (American Overseas Airlines (AOA) from November 1945[45]) across the Atlantic to Europe, and subsequently from others including TWA to Europe, Braniff to South America, United to Hawaii and Northwest Orient to East Asia, as well as five potential rivals to Mexico. This changed situation resulted from the new post-war approach the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) took towards the promotion of competition between major U.S. carriers on key domestic and international scheduled routes compared with pre-war U.S. aviation policy.[46][44][47]
Overseas expansion and fleet modernization
File:Pan Am DC4 Cipper.jpg
Pan American DC-4 at Piarco Airport, Trinidad in the 1950s
AOA was the first airline to begin regular landplane flights across the Atlantic, on October 24, 1945. In January 1946 Pan Am scheduled seven DC-4s a week east from LaGuardia Airport, five to London (Hurn airport) and two to Lisbon. Time to Hurn was 17 hours 40 minutes including stops, or 20 hours 45 minutes to Lisbon. A Boeing 314 flying boat flew LaGuardia to Lisbon once every two weeks in 29 hours 30 minutes; flying boat flights ended shortly thereafter.[nb 1]
TWA's transatlantic challenge – the impending introduction of its faster, pressurized Lockheed Constellations – resulted in Pan Am ordering its own Constellation fleet at $750,000 apiece. Pan Am began transatlantic Constellation flights on January 14, 1946, beating TWA by three weeks.[44]
In January 1946 Miami to Buenos Aires took 71 hours 15 minutes in a Pan Am DC-3, but the following summer DC-4s flew Idlewild to Buenos Aires in 38 hr 30 min. In January 1958 Pan Am's DC-7Bs flew New York to Buenos Aires in 25 hours 20 minutes, while the National – Pan Am – Panagra DC-7B via Panama and Lima took 22 hours 45 minutes.[48] Convair 240s replaced DC-3s and other pre-war types on Pan Am's shorter flights in the Caribbean and South America. Pan Am also acquired a few Curtiss C-46s for a freight network that eventually extended to Buenos Aires.[47]
In January 1946 Pan Am had no transpacific flights beyond Hawaii, but they soon resumed with DC-4s. In January 1958 the California to Tokyo flight was a daily Stratocruiser that took 31 hours 45 minutes from San Francisco or 32 hours 15 minutes from Los Angeles. (A flight to Seattle and a connection to Northwest's DC-7C totaled 24 hours 13 minutes from San Francisco, but Pan Am was not allowed to fly that route.)[48] The Stratocruisers' double-deck fuselage with sleeping berths and a lower-deck lounge helped it compete with its rival. "Super Stratocruisers" with more fuel appeared on Pan Am's transatlantic routes in November 1954, making nonstop eastward and one-stop westward schedules more reliably.
In June 1947 Pan Am started the first scheduled round-the-world airline flight. In September the weekly DC-4 was scheduled to leave San Francisco at 2200 Thursday as Flight 1, stopping at Honolulu, Midway, Wake, Guam, Manila, Bangkok and arriving in Calcutta on Monday at 1245, where it met Flight 2, a Constellation that had left New York at 2330 Friday. The DC-4 returned to San Francisco as Flight 2; the Constellation left Calcutta 1330 Tuesday, stopped at Karachi, Istanbul, London, Shannon, Gander, and arrived LaGuardia Thursday at 1455. A few months later PA 3 took over the Manila route while PA 1 shifted to Tokyo and Shanghai. All Pan Am round-the-world flights included at least one change of plane until Boeing 707s took over in 1960. PA 1 became daily in 1962–63, making different en route stops on different days of the week; in January 1963 it left San Francisco at 0900 daily and was scheduled into New York 56 hr 10 min later. Los Angeles replaced San Francisco in 1968; when Boeing 747s finished replacing 707s in 1971 all stops except Tehran and Karachi were served daily in each direction. For a year or so in 1975–76 Pan Am finally completed the round-the-world trip, New York to New York.[49]
In January 1950 Pan American Airways Corporation officially became Pan American World Airways, Inc. (The airline had begun calling itself Pan American World Airways in 1943.)[50][51] In September 1950 Pan Am completed the $17.45 million purchase of American Overseas Airlines from American Airlines.[44] That month Pan Am ordered 45 Douglas DC-6Bs. The first, Clipper Liberty Bell (N6518C),[52] inaugurated Pan Am's all-tourist class Rainbow service between New York and London on May 1, 1952 to complement the all-first President Stratocruiser service.[51] From June 1954, DC-6Bs began replacing DC-4s on Pan Am's internal German routes.[53][54][55]
Pan Am introduced the Douglas DC-7C "Seven Seas" on transatlantic routes in summer 1956. In January 1958 the DC-7C nonstop took 10 hours 45 minutes Idlewild to London, enabling Pan Am to hold its own against TWA's Super Constellations and Starliners. In 1957 Pan Am started DC-7C flights direct from the West Coast of the United States to London and Paris with a fuel stop in Canada or Greenland. The introduction of the faster Bristol Britannia turboprop by British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) between New York and London from December 19, 1957 ended Pan Am's competitive leadership there.[56][51]
In January 1958 Pan Am scheduled 47 flights a week east from Idlewild to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and beyond; the following August there were 65.[48]
Jet age
A Boeing 707–120 at the Pan Am Worldport in 1961. The terminal was once the center of the airline's New York operations; it was transferred to Delta Air Lines in 1991, and demolished by Delta and the Port Authority in 2013.[57]
Douglas DC-8-32 of Pan American at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in 1967
Pan Am was the launch customer of the Boeing 707, placing an order for 20 in October 1955. It also ordered 25 of Douglas's DC-8, which could seat six across (the 707 originally was to be 144 inches wide with five-abreast seating; Boeing widened it to match the DC-8). The combined order value was $269 million. Pan Am's first scheduled jet flight was from New York Idlewild to Paris Le Bourget (stopping at Gander to refuel) on October 26, 1958, with Boeing 707–121 Clipper America (N711PA) with 111 passengers.[58][59] The 320 "Intercontinental" series 707 in 1959-60, and the Douglas DC-8 in March 1960, enabled non-stop transatlantic crossings with a viable payload in both directions.
Widebody era
Boeing 747–100 Clipper Neptune's Car (N742PA) at Zürich Airport
Pan Am was the launch customer of the Boeing 747, placing a $525 million order for 25 in April 1966.[60][61] On January 15, 1970 First Lady Pat Nixon christened a Pan Am Boeing 747 Clipper Young America at Washington Dulles in the presence of Pan Am president Najeeb Halaby. During the next few days, Pan Am flew several 747s to major airports in the United States as a public relations effort, allowing the public to tour the airplanes. Pan Am began its final preparations for the first 747 service on the evening of January 21, 1970, when Clipper Young America was scheduled to fly from New York John F. Kennedy to London Heathrow. An engine failure delayed the inaugural flight's departure by several hours, necessitating the substitution of another 747 which eventually flew to London Heathrow.[62] Passengers cheered and drank champagne as the jet finally lifted off from the runway at John F. Kennedy Airport.
Pan Am carried 11 million passengers over 20 billion miles (32,186,880,000 km) in 1970, the year it revolutionized air travel with the first widebodied airliner.[63]
Supersonic plans
Pan Am was one of the first three airlines to sign options for the Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde, but like other airlines that took out options – with the exception of BOAC and Air France — it did not purchase the supersonic jet. Pan Am was the first U.S. airline to sign for the Boeing 2707, the American supersonic transport (SST) project, with 15 delivery positions reserved;[64] these aircraft never saw service after Congress voted against additional funding in 1971.[65]
Computerized reservations, Pan Am Building and Worldport
The Pan Am Building in Midtown Manhattan, now the MetLife Building, was Pan Am headquarters
Pan Am commissioned IBM to build PANAMAC, a large computer that booked airline and hotel reservations, which was installed in 1964. It also held large amounts of information about cities, countries, airports, aircraft, hotels, and restaurants.[66]
The computer occupied the fourth floor of the Pan Am Building, which was the largest commercial office building in the world for some time.[67]
The airline also built Worldport, a terminal building at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. It was distinguished by its elliptical, four-acre (16,000 m²) roof, suspended far from the outside columns of the terminal below by 32 sets of steel posts and cables. The terminal was designed to allow passengers to board and disembark via stairs without getting wet by parking the nose of the aircraft under the overhang. The introduction of the jetbridge made this feature obsolete. Pan Am built a gilded training building in the style of Edward Durell Stone designed by Steward-Skinner Architects in Miami.
At its peak in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Pan Am advertised under the slogan, the "World's Most Experienced Airline".[68] It carried 6.7 million passengers in 1966, and by 1968, its 150 jets flew to 86 countries on every continent except for Antarctica over a scheduled route network of 81,410 unduplicated miles (131,000 km). During that period the airline was profitable and its cash reserves totaled $1 billion.[59] Most routes were between New York, Europe, and South America, and between Miami and the Caribbean. In 1964 Pan Am began a helicopter shuttle between New York's John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports and Lower Manhattan, operated by New York Airways.[58] Aside from the DC-8, the Boeing 707 and 747, the Pan Am jet fleet included Boeing 720Bs and 727s (the first aircraft to sport Pan Am — rather than Pan American — titles[59]). (The airline later had Boeing 737s and 747SPs (which could fly nonstop New York to Tokyo), Lockheed L-1011 Tristars, McDonnell-Douglas DC-10s, and Airbus A300s and A310s.) Pan Am owned the InterContinental Hotel chain and had a financial interest in the Falcon Jet Corporation, which held marketing rights to the Dassault Falcon 20 business jet in North America. The airline was involved in creating a missile-tracking range in the South Atlantic and operating a nuclear-engine testing laboratory in Nevada.[69] In addition, Pan Am participated in several notable humanitarian flights.[58]
At its height Pan Am was well regarded for its modern fleet[70] and experienced crews: cabin staff were multilingual and usually college graduates, hired from around the world, frequently with nursing training.[71] Pan Am's onboard service and cuisine, inspired by Maxim's de Paris, were delivered "with a personal flair that has rarely been equaled."[72][73]
Internal German Services (IGS) and other operations
Pan American Douglas DC-6B operating an Internal German Service at Hanover Airport in May 1964.
From 1950 until 1990 Pan Am operated a comprehensive network of high-frequency, short-haul scheduled services between West Germany and West Berlin, first with Douglas DC-4s, then with DC-6Bs (from 1954) and Boeing 727s (from 1966).[53][54][55][74][75][76][77][78][79] This had come about as a result of an agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union at the end of World War II, which prohibited Germany from having its own airlines and restricted the provision of commercial air services from and to Berlin to air transport providers headquartered in these four countries. Rising Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the three Western powers resulted in unilateral Soviet withdrawal from the quadripartite Allied Control Commission in 1948, culminating in the division of Germany the following year. These events, together with Soviet insistence on a very narrow interpretation of the post-war agreement on the Western powers' access rights to Berlin, meant that until the end of the Cold War air transport in West Berlin continued to be confined to the carriers of the remaining Allied Control Commission powers, with aircraft required to fly across hostile East German territory through three 20 mi (32 km) wide air corridors at a maximum altitude of 10,000 ft (3,000 m).[nb 2][59][80] The airline's West Berlin operation consistently accounted for more than half of the city's entire commercial air traffic during that period.[81][82][83]
For years, more passengers boarded Pan Am flights at Berlin Templehof than at any other airport.[84] Pan Am operated a Berlin crew base of mainly German flight attendants and American pilots to staff its IGS flights. The German National flight attendants were later taken over by Lufthansa when it acquired Pan Am's Berlin route authorities. Over the years other local flight attendant bases outside the US included London for intra-Europe and transatlantic flying, Warsaw, Istanbul and Belgrade for intra-Europe flights, a Tel Aviv base solely staffing the daily Tel Aviv-Paris-Tel Aviv service, a Nairobi base solely staffing the Nairobi-Frankfurt-Nairobi service as well as Delhi and Bombay bases for India-Frankfurt flights.
Pan Am also operated Rest and Recreation (R&R) flights during the Vietnam War. These flights carried American service personnel for R&R leaves in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and other Asian cities.[85]
Passenger traffic (1951–1989)
Revenue Passenger-Miles (millions)
(scheduled flights only)[86]
National Airlines (NA)
1951 1,551 432
1960 4,833 1,041
1970 16,389 2,643
1981 28,924 (merged 1980)
1985 27,144
In August 1953 PAA scheduled passenger flights to 106 airports; in May 1968 to 122 airports; in November 1978 to 65 airports (plus a few freight-only airports); in November 1985 to 98 airports; in November 1991 to 46 airports (plus 14 more that just got "Pan Am Express" prop flights).
Pan Am Boeing 747–100 at John F. Kennedy Airport in May 1973
Fallout from 1973 oil crisis
Pan Am had invested in a large fleet of Boeing 747s expecting that air travel would continue to increase. It didn't, as the introduction of many wide-bodies by Pan Am and its competitors coincided with an economic slowdown. Reduced air travel after the 1973 oil crisis made the overcapacity problem worse. Pan Am was vulnerable, with its high overheads and fixed costs as a result of a large decentralized infrastructure. High fuel prices and its many older, less fuel-efficient narrowbodied airplanes increased the airline's operating costs. Federal route awards to other airlines, such as the Transpacific Route Case, further reduced the number of passengers Pan Am carried and its profit margins.[11][61]
A Pan Am flight attendant in 1970s uniform
On September 23, 1974, a group of Pan Am employees published an advertisement in The New York Times to register their disagreement over federal policies which they felt were harming the financial viability of their employer.[87] The ad cited discrepancies in airport landing fees, such as Pan Am paying $4,200 to land a plane in Sydney, while the Australian carrier, Qantas, paid only $178 to land a jet in Los Angeles. The ad also contended that the United States Postal Service was paying foreign airlines five times as much to carry U.S. mail in comparison to Pan Am. Finally, the ad questioned why the Export-Import Bank of the United States loaned money to Japan, France, and Saudi Arabia at 6% interest while Pan Am paid 12%.[88]
By the mid-1970s Pan Am had racked up $364 million of accumulated losses over a 10-year period, and its debts approached $1 billion. This threatened the airline with bankruptcy. Former American Airlines vice president of operations, William T. Seawell, who had replaced Najeeb Halaby as Pan Am president in 1972, began implementing a turnaround strategy: trimming the network by 25%, slashing the 40,000-strong workforce by 30% and cutting wages, introducing stringent economies and rescheduling debt, and reducing the size of the fleet. These measures aided by the use of tax-loss credits enabled Pan Am to avert financial collapse and return to profitability in 1977.[61]
Attempts to build a U.S. domestic network
Since the 1930s Juan Trippe had coveted domestic routes for Pan Am. Through the late 1950s and early 1960s, and in the mid-1970s, there were talks of merging the airline with a domestic operator such as American Airlines, Eastern Air Lines, Trans World Airlines or United Airlines.[44] As rival airlines convinced Congress that Pan Am would use its political clout to monopolize U.S. air routes, the CAB repeatedly denied the airline permission to operate in the U.S., by growth or by a merger with another airline. Pan Am remained an American carrier operating international routes only (aside from Hawaii and Alaska). The last time Pan Am was permitted to merge with another airline prior to the deregulation of the U.S. airline industry was in 1950, when it took over American Overseas Airlines from American Airlines.[44] After deregulation in 1978, more U.S. domestic airlines began competing with Pan Am internationally.[89][90]
National Airlines takeover
To acquire domestic routes, Pan Am, under president Seawell, set its eyes on National Airlines. Pan Am wound up in a bidding war with Frank Lorenzo's Texas International that boosted National's stock price, but Pan Am was granted permission to buy National in 1980 in what was described as the "Coup of the Decade." The acquisition of National Airlines for $437 million further burdened Pan Am's balance sheet, already under strain after financing the Boeing 747s ordered in the mid-1960s. This acquisition did little to improve Pan Am's competitive position in relation to nimbler, lower-cost competitors in a deregulated industry as National's North-South route structure provided insufficient feed at Pan Am's transatlantic and transpacific gateways in New York and Los Angeles. The airlines had incompatible fleets (apart from the Boeing 727) and corporate cultures (partly as a result of the former being perceived by some Pan Am employees as mainly a regional "backwoods" carrier with few trunk routes), and the integration was poorly handled by Pan Am management who presided over an increase in labor costs as a result of harmonizing National's pay scales with Pan Am's.[91] Although revenues increased by 62% from 1979 to 1980, fuel costs from the merger increased by 157% during a weak economic climate. Further "miscellaneous expenses" increased by 74%.[92][93]
Clipper Spreeathen at Zürich in 1985
Disposal of non-core assets and operational cutbacks
As 1980 progressed and the airline's financial situation worsened, Seawell began selling Pan Am's non-core assets. The first asset to be sold off was the airline's 50% interest in Falcon Jet Corporation in August. Later in November, Pan Am sold the Pan Am Building to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company for $400 million. In September 1981 Pan Am sold off its InterContinental hotels chain. Before this transaction closed, Seawell was replaced by C. Edward Acker, Air Florida's founder and ex-president as well as a former Braniff International executive. The combined sale value of the InterContinental chain and the Falcon Jet Corp stake was $500 million.[94][95]
Acker followed up the asset disposal program he had inherited from his predecessor with operational cutbacks. Most prominent among these was the discontinuation of the round-the world service from October 31, 1982, when Pan Am ceased flying between Delhi, Bangkok and Hong Kong due to the sector's unprofitability.[96] To provide additional seating capacity for its 1983 spring/summer season, the airline also acquired three passenger Boeing 747-200Bs from Flying Tigers, who took four Pan Am's 747–100 freighters in return.[97]
Fleet restructuring
Despite Pan Am's precarious financial situation, in summer 1984 Acker went ahead with an order for new Airbus A300/A310/A320 wide- and narrowbodied aircraft, becoming the second American company to order Airbus aircraft, after Eastern Air Lines.[98] These advanced aircraft, economically and operationally superior to the 747s and 727s Pan Am operated at the time, were intended to make the airline more competitive. New A300s began replacing 727s on the Internal German Services (IGS) and Caribbean networks later the same year while new A310s later replaced some of the 747s on the slimmed-down transatlantic network following ETOPS certification (approval by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of transoceanic flying with twin-engined aircraft). Pan Am's decision not to take delivery of the A320s and to sell its delivery positions to Braniff meant that the majority of its short-haul U.S. domestic and European feeder routes, and most of its IGS services, continued to be flown with obsolete 727s until the airline's demise. This put it at a disadvantage against rivals operating state-of-the-art aircraft with greater passenger appeal.[95] In September 1984 Pan American World Airways created a holding company called Pan Am Corporation to assume ownership and control of the airline and the services division.
Sale of Pacific division
Given the airline's dire state, in April 1985, Acker sold Pan Am's entire Pacific Division, which consisted of 25% of its entire route system, to United Airlines for $750 million. This sale also enabled Pan Am to address fleet incompatibility issues related to the earlier acquisition of National Airlines as it included Pan Am's Pratt & Whitney JT9D-powered 747SPs, its Rolls-Royce RB211-powered L-1011s and the General Electric CF6-powered DC-10s inherited from National, which were transferred to United along with the Pacific routes.[61][99]
Establishment of local feeder networks
In the early 1980s, Pan Am contracted several regional airlines (Air Atlanta, Emerald Air, Empire Airlines, Presidential Airways and Republic Airlines) to operate feeder flights under the Pan Am Express branding.[100][101]
The acquisition of Pennsylvania-based commuter airline Ransome Airlines for $65 million (which was finalized in 1987) was meant to address the issue of providing additional feed for Pan Am's mainline services at its hubs in New York, Los Angeles and Miami in the United States, and Berlin in Germany.[95][99][102][103] The renamed Pan Am Express operated routes mostly from New York, as well as Berlin, Germany. Miami services were added in 1990.[104] However, the regional Pan Am Express operation provided only an incremental feed to Pan Am's international route system, which was now focused on the Atlantic Division.
U.S. East coast shuttle
In an attempt to gain a presence on the busy Washington–New York–Boston commuter air corridor, the Ransome acquisition was accompanied by the $100 million purchase of New York Air's shuttle service between Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. This parallel move was intended to enable Pan Am to provide a high-frequency service for high-yield business travelers in direct competition with the long-established, successful Eastern Air Lines Shuttle operation. The renamed Pan Am Shuttle began operating out of LaGuardia Airport's refurbished historic Marine Air Terminal in October 1986. However, it did not address the pressing issue of Pan Am's continuing lack of a strong domestic feeder network.[95]
Financial, operational and reputational setbacks
Thomas G. Plaskett, a former American Airlines and Continental executive, replaced Acker as president in January 1988 (joining Pan Am from the latter).[95] While a program to refurbish Pan Am aircraft and improve the company's on-time performance began showing positive results (in fact, Pan Am's most profitable quarter ever was the third quarter of 1988), on December 21, 1988, the terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103 by Abdelbaset al-Megrahi above Lockerbie, Scotland, resulted in 270 fatalities.[105] Pan Am's iconic image had made it a repeated target for terrorists, resulting in many travelers avoiding the airline as they had begun to associate it with danger.[citation needed] Faced with a $300 million lawsuit filed by more than 100 families of the Pan Am flight 103 victims, the airline subpoenaed records of six U.S. government agencies, including the CIA, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the State Department. Though the records suggested that the U.S. government was aware of warnings of a bombing and failed to pass the information to the airline, the families claimed Pan Am was attempting to shift the blame.[106]
Also, in December 1988 the FAA fined Pan Am for 19 security failures, out of the 236 that were detected amongst 29 airlines.[107]
Failed bid for Northwest Airlines
In June 1989 Plaskett presented Northwest Airlines with a $2.7 billion takeover bid that was backed by Bankers Trust, Morgan Guaranty Trust, Citicorp and Prudential-Bache. The proposed merger was Pan Am's final attempt to create a strong domestic network to provide sufficient feed for the two remaining mainline hubs at New York JFK and Miami. It was also intended to help the airline regain its status as a global airline by re-establishing a sizable transpacific presence. The merger was expected to result in annual savings of $240 million.[108][109] In the event, billionaire financier Al Checchi outbid Pan Am by presenting Northwest's directors with a superior proposal.
Fallout from 1990–91 Persian Gulf War
The first Gulf War triggered by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, sent fuel prices skyrocketing, which severely depressed global economic activity. This in turn caused a sharp contraction of worldwide air travel demand, plunging once profitable operations, including Pan Am's prime transatlantic routes, into steep losses. These unforeseen events constituted a further major blow to Pan Am, which was still reeling from the 1988 Lockerbie disaster. To shore up its finances, Pan Am sold most of its routes serving London Heathrow – arguably Pan Am's most important international destination – to United Airlines. This left Pan Am with only two daily London flights, serving Detroit and Miami, which used Gatwick as their London terminal from the start of the 1990/91 winter timetable. Further asset disposals included Pan Am's sale of its IGS routes to Berlin to Lufthansa for $150 million, which became effective at the same time and brought the total value of asset disposals to $1.2 billion.[95][110] These measures were accompanied by the elimination of 2,500 jobs (8.6% of its work force). These cutbacks had already been announced by the airline in September 1990.[111]
Clipper Miles Standish (N805PA), an Airbus A310
Pan Am was forced to declare bankruptcy on January 8, 1991. Delta Air Lines purchased the remaining profitable assets of Pan Am, including its remaining European routes (except one to Paris from Miami), and Frankfurt mini hub, the Shuttle operation, 45 jets, and the Pan Am Worldport at John F. Kennedy Airport, for $416 million. Delta also injected $100 million becoming a 45 percent owner of a reorganized but smaller Pan Am serving the Caribbean, Central and South America from a main hub in Miami. The airline's creditors would hold the other 55 percent.[112][113][114][115][116]
The Boston–New York LaGuardia–Washington National Pan Am Shuttle service was taken over by Delta in September 1991.[117] Two months later Delta assumed all of Pan Am's remaining transatlantic traffic rights, except Miami to Paris and London.[113]
In October 1991 former Douglas Aircraft executive Russell Ray, Jr. was hired as Pan Am's new president and CEO.[118] As part of this restructuring, Pan Am relocated its headquarters from the Pan Am Building in New York City to new offices in the Miami area in preparation for the airline's relaunch from both Miami and New York on November 1, 1991.[119] The new airline would have operated approximately 60 aircraft and generate about $1.2 billion in annual revenues with 7,500 employees.[112] Following the relaunch, Pan Am continued to sustain heavy losses. Revenue throughout October and November 1991 fell short of what had been anticipated in the reorganization plan, with Delta claiming that Pan Am was losing $3 million a day. This undermined Delta's, Wall Street's and the traveling public's confidence in the viability of the reorganized Pan Am.[113][116]
Clipper Sparking Wave (N741PA), a Boeing 747–100 in Pan Am's final "billboard" style livery
Pan Am's senior executives outlined a projected shortfall of between $100 million and possibly $200 million, with the airline requiring a $25 million installment just to fly through the following week. On the evening of December 3, Pan Am's Creditors Committee advised U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Cornelius Blackshear that it was close to convincing an airline (TWA) to invest $15 million to keep Pan Am operating. A deal with TWA owner Carl Icahn could not be struck. Pan Am opened for business at 9:00 am and within the hour, Ray was forced to withdraw Pan Am's plan of reorganization and execute an immediate shutdown plan for Pan Am. Over 9,000 employees lost their jobs. As a result of this action, Delta was sued for more than $2.5 billion on December 9, 1991 by the Pan Am Creditors Committee.[120] Shortly thereafter, a large group of former Pan Am employees sued Delta.[116] In December 1994, a federal judge ruled in favor of Delta, concluding that it was not liable for Pan Am's demise.[121]
Pan Am ceased operations on December 4, 1991 following a decision by Delta's CEO, Ron Allen, and other senior executives not to go ahead with the final $25 million payment Pan Am was scheduled to receive the weekend after Thanksgiving.[113][122] As a result, some 7,500 Pan Am employees lost their jobs, thousands of whom had worked in the New York City area and were preparing to move to the Miami area to work at Pan Am's new headquarters near Miami International Airport. Economists predicted that 9,000 jobs in the Miami area, including jobs at companies not connected to Pan Am that were dependent on the airline's presence, would be lost after it folded.[122] The carrier's last flown scheduled operation was Pan Am flight 436 which departed that day from Bridgetown, Barbados at 2 pm (EST) for Miami under the command of Captain Mark Pyle flying Clipper Goodwill, a Boeing 727–200 (N368PA).[113][116][123]
Pan Am was the third American major airline to shut down in 1991, after Eastern Air Lines and Midway Airlines.[122]
ATR 42 (N4209G) of Pan Am Express at Sylt Airport, 1991
After serving only two months as Pan Am's CEO, Ray was replaced by Peter McHugh to supervise the sale of Pan Am's remaining assets by Pan Am's Creditor's Committee.[124] Pan Am's last remaining hub (at Miami International Airport) was split during the following years between United Airlines and American Airlines. TWA's Carl Icahn purchased Pan Am Express at a court ordered bankruptcy auction for $13 million, renaming it Trans World Express.[125] The Pan Am brand was sold to Charles Cobb, CEO of Cobb Partners and former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland under President George H.W. Bush and Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Reagan. Cobb, along with Hanna-Frost partners invested in a new Pan American World Airways headed by veteran airline executive Martin R. Shugrue, Jr, a former Pan Am executive with 20 years of experience at the original carrier.[126]
In his book, Pan Am: An Aviation Legend, Barnaby Conrad III contends that the collapse of the original Pan Am was a combination of corporate mismanagement, government indifference to protecting its prime international carrier, and flawed regulatory policy.[127] He cites an observation made by former Pan Am Vice President for External Affairs, Stanley Gewirtz:
“ What could go wrong did. No one who followed Juan Trippe had the foresight to do something strongly positive … it was the most astonishing example of Murphy's law in extremis. The sale of Pan Am's profitable parts was inevitable to the company's destruction. There were not enough pieces to build on.[128] ”
Under the terms of bankruptcy, the airline's International Flight Academy in Miami was permitted to remain open. It was established as an independent training organization beginning in 1992 under its current name, Pan Am International Flight Academy. The company began operating by using the flight simulation and type rating training center of the defunct Pan Am. In 2006, American Capital Strategies invested $58 million into the academy.[129] Owned by the parent of Japanese airline All Nippon Airways as of October 2014, Pan Am International Flight Academy is the only surviving division of Pan American World Airways.
Reuse of name
Aside from the aforementioned flight academy, the Pan Am brand has been resurrected six times after 1991, but the reincarnations were related to the original Pan Am in name only.
Pan American World Airways trademarks and some assets were purchased by Eclipse Holdings, Inc. at an auction by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on December 2–3, 1993. The scheduled airline rights were sold to Pan American Airways on December 20–29, 1993 by Eclipse Holdings, which was to retain the Pan Am charter rights and operate through its subsidiary Pan Am Charters, Inc., now Airways Corporation.[130]
The first reincarnation of the original Pan Am operated from 1996 to 1998, with a focus on low-cost, long-distance flights between the United States and the Caribbean with the IATA airline designator PN.[130] Eclipse Holdings (Pan Am II) later rescinded the Asset Purchase Agreement for cause and issued a cease and desist in January, 1996, affecting all downstream transactions thereafter (as noted in U.S. DOT proceeding OST-99-5945, and SEC 10-Q dated August 24, 1997, Plan(s) of Reorganization (S.D. FL), and others).[131]
Pan Am Clipper Guilford (N342PA), Boeing 727–200
The second was unrelated to the first and was a small regional carrier based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that operated between 1998 and 2004. It found its niche in operating usually at smaller airports near major ones, such as Pease International (Portsmouth), and Gary Municipal Airport in Indiana. It used the IATA code PA, and the ICAO code PAA.[130]
Boston-Maine Airways, a sister company of the second reincarnation, operated the "Pan Am Clipper Connection" brand from 2004 to February 2008. A domestic airline in the Dominican Republic, descended from the company's first reincarnation, traded until March 23, 2012, as Pan Am Dominicana.[130]
In November 2010 Pan American Airways, Incorporated, was resurrected for the fifth time by a company named World-Wide Consolidated Logistics, Inc. The reincarnated operator is based at Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport in Brownsville, Texas. The airline's inaugural flight was to Monterrey, Mexico, on November 12, 2010.[132] The airline had said it would carry cargo only at first but intended to announce passenger service by 2011.[133] However, due to serious legal charges that were laid against the company's CEO Robert L. Hedrick in 2012, including child pornography charges for which he was eventually convicted, the company lost its bid with the FAA to pursue passenger or cargo flights of any kind.[134]
In 2012, Pan American Airways Global Holdings was incorporated in anticipation of a sixth attempt at restarting the airline. However, on May 9, 2014, this new entity announced on its Facebook page it too had already ceased operations, citing carrier certification matters as the cause.[135] The new airline planned to offer domestic and international service, branded as Pan American Global Airways, and planned a main hub facility situated in Atlanta, Georgia.[citation needed]
A former Maine Central boxcar painted in the new Pan Am Railways livery in 2005
In 1998 Guilford Transportation Industries purchased Pan American World Airways and all related naming rights and intellectual properties.[130][136] The railway is now operated as Pan Am Railways.[130]
Record-setting flights
When Pearl Harbor was bombed, a Boeing 314 was in New Zealand. With its Pacific bases attacked or abandoned, the seaplane was ordered to return via Australia, India, Arabia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean. It arrived in New York on January 6 after the first (almost) round-the-world airliner flight.[137]
During the mid-1970s, Pan Am set two round-the-world records. Liberty Bell Express, a Boeing 747SP-21 named Clipper Liberty Bell, broke the commercial round-the-world record set by a Flying Tiger Line Boeing 707 with a new record of 46 hours, 50 seconds. The flight left New York-JFK on May 1, 1976, and returned on May 3. The flight stopped only in New Delhi and Tokyo, where a strike among the airport workers delayed it two hours. The flight beat the Flying Tiger Line's record by 16 hours 24 minutes.[138]
In 1977, to commemorate its 50th birthday, Pan Am organized Flight 50, a round-the-world flight from San Francisco to San Francisco, this time over the North Pole and the South Pole with stops in London Heathrow, Cape Town and Auckland. 747SP-21 Clipper New Horizons was the former Liberty Bell, making the plane the only one to go around the globe over the Equator and the poles. The flight made it in 54 hours, 7 minutes, and 12 seconds, creating seven new world records certified by the FAI. Captain Walter H. Mullikin, who commanded this flight, also commanded the Liberty Bell Express flight.[139]
This section requires expansion. (September 2014)
For much of its history the corporate headquarters were the Pan Am Building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
When Juan Trippe had the company offices relocated to New York City, he rented space in a building on 42nd Street. This facility was across from the Grand Central Terminal. From a period in the 1930s until 1963, the airline headquarters were in the Chrysler Building,[140] on 135 East 42nd Street, also in Midtown Manhattan.[141]
In September 1960 Trippe and developer Erwin Wolfson signed a $115,500,000 lease agreement for the airline to occupy 613,000-square-foot (56,900 m2) worth of space for the headquarters, totaling about 15 floors, and a new main ticket office at the intersection of 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue. At the time, the 30-year lease in the Chrysler Building was nearing the end of its life. The new lease was scheduled for 25 years.[140]
Pan Am held a lofty position in the popular culture of the Cold War era. One of the most famous images in which a Pan Am plane formed a backdrop was The Beatles' February 7, 1964 arrival at John F. Kennedy Airport aboard a Pan Am Boeing 707–321, Clipper Defiance.[142]
From 1964 to 1968 con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr., masqueraded as a Pan Am pilot, dead-heading to many destinations in the cockpit jump seat. He also used Pan Am's preferred hotels, paid the bills with bogus checks, and later cashed fake payroll checks in Pan Am's name. He documented this era in the memoir Catch Me if You Can, which became a movie in 2002. Abagnale called Pan Am the "Ritz-Carlton of airlines" and noted that the days of luxury in airline travel are over.[143]
In August 1964 Pan Am accepted the reservation of Gerhard Pistor, a journalist from Vienna, Austria, as the first passenger for future flights to the moon. He paid a deposit of 500 Austrian shillings (roughly US$20 at the time).[144] About 93,000 people followed on the Pan Am waiting list, called "First Moon Flights Club". Pan Am expected the flight to depart about the year 2000.[145]
A fictional Pan Am "Space Clipper,"[146] a commercial spaceplane called the Orion III, had a prominent role in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey and was featured prominently in one of the movie's posters. Plastic models of the 2001 Pan Am Space Clipper were sold by both the Aurora Company and Airfix at the time of the film's release in 1968. A satire of the movie by Mad magazine in 1968 showed Pan Am female flight attendants in "Actionwear by Monsanto" outfits as they joked about the problems their passengers faced while vomiting in zero gravity. The film's sequel, 2010, also featured Pan Am in a background television commercial in the home of David Bowman's widow with the slogan, "At Pan Am, the sky is no longer the limit."[147]
The airline appeared in other movies, notably in several James Bond films. The company's Boeing 707s were featured in Dr. No and From Russia with Love, while a Pan Am 747 and the Worldport appeared in Live and Let Die.[148]
A term used in popular psychology is "Pan American (or Pan Am) Smile." Named after the greeting stewardesses supposedly gave to passengers. It consists of a perfunctory mouth movement without the activity of facial muscles around the eyes that characterizes a genuine smile.[149]
In 2011, ABC announced a new television series based on the lives of a 1960s Pan Am flight crew. The series, titled Pan Am, began airing in September 2011.[150] It was canceled in May 2012.
In 2016, the film Neerja was released about the story of Neerja Bhanot who gave her life during the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73.
Acquisitions and divestments
1927: Pan American Airways, Atlantic, Gulf, and Caribbean Airways, and Aviation Corporation of the Americas founded.
1928: All three precursor firms merge into Aviation Corporation of the Americas, with Pan American Airways as its brand.
1928: 50% interest of Peruvian Airways acquired by Pan American.
1929: Mexicana of Mexico acquired by Pan Am.
1929: Pan American-Grace Airways (PANAGRA), operating on the west coast of South America, formed as a 50–50 joint venture with W. R. Grace and Company.
1930: New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line (NYRBA) acquired, allowing Pan Am to operate along the east coast of South America. NYRBA's Brazilian subsidiary is renamed Panair do Brasil.
1931: Majority control of SCADTA of Colombia acquired in secret.
1931: Pacific Alaska Airways formed.
1931: Boston-Maine Airways begins contract operations.
1932: Aerovias Centrales, S.A. formed.
1932: Cubana of Cuba acquired.
1932: Uraba, Medellin and Central Airways acquired.
1933: China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) acquired.
1933: Servicios Aviacion de Guatemala acquired.
1933: Panama Airways acquired.
1937: CNAC merged with China Airways.
1940: Minority holders of SCADTA bought-out.
1940: Aerovías de Guatemala formed.
1940: 40% of Aeronaves de Mexico acquired.
1941: SCADTA merged into SACO to form Avianca, owned by the Colombian government.
1943: Aerovías Venezolanas, S.A. (AVENSA) of Venezuela founded as a joint venture.
1943: 45% interest of Bahamas Airways acquired.
1944: Cuban investors acquire 56% of Cubana through a stock float.
1946: InterContinental, a chain of hotels, founded.
1946: Brazilian investors bought 4% of Panair do Brasil, with Pan Am's share decreased to 48%.
1949: Pan Am acquires a stake in Middle East Airlines (MEA), as well as a management contract.
1949: Pan Am's 20% stake in CNAC acquired by Chinese Nationalists, with assets split variously between the Nationalists and the People's Republic of China.
1950: American Overseas Airlines (AOA) acquired from American Airlines.
1954: Cuban government acquires Pan Am's remaining stake in Cubana.
1955: Pan Am's 49% stake in MEA is sold to British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).
1959: Mexican government acquires Pan Am's stake in Mexicana and Aeroméxico.
1961: Brazilian investores acquires all the Pan Am's share in Panair do Brasil.
1967: PANAGRA sold to Braniff International Airways.
1976: AVENSA stake divested to Venezuelan government.
1980: National Airlines acquired.
1980: Pan Am Building sold to MetLife.
1981: InterContinental sold to Grand Metropolitan.
1986: Pacific Division sold to United Airlines.
1988: Pan Am's queue for 50 A320 sold to Braniff
1989: Pan Am World Services (PAWS) sold to Johnson Control.
1990: London–Heathrow-based routes sold to United Airlines.
1990: Internal German Services Division sold to Lufthansa.
1991: Atlantic Division, Pan Am Shuttle, and New York City Worldport sold to Delta Air Lines.
See also: List of accidents and incidents involving airliners by airline (P–Z)
Pan Am aircraft were involved in numerous accidents and incidents, including a number of aircraft hijackings and terrorist attacks.[151]
On April 15, 1948, Pan Am Flight 1-10, a Lockheed Constellation, Clipper Empress of the Skies, crashed during an attempted landing at Shannon Airport, in Ireland. 10 flight crew and 20 passengers died in the crash; 1 passenger survived with minor injuries.
On November 8, 1957, Pan Am Flight 7, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser (N90944), Clipper Romance Of The Skies, disappeared over the Pacific Ocean en route to Honolulu. A week later debris and bodies were recovered. The definitive cause of the accident has never been determined.[152] 44 passengers and crew lost their lives.
An accident involving a Pan Am plane on December 8, 1963 led to the FAA's ordering the installation of safety devices on aircraft. The 707, named Clipper Tradewind (N709PA) and operating as Pan Am Flight 214, was in a holding pattern on a flight from Baltimore to Philadelphia when it was last seen going down in flames. It was determined that lightning had ignited vapors in the plane's fuel tanks. As a result of the disaster, lightning discharge wicks were installed on all commercial airliners.[153] There were 81 fatalities.[154]
Between 1965 and 1974 a further five Pan Am 707s were involved in major accidents that resulted in substantial loss of lives. Three of these occurred on the airline's Pacific network between December 1973 and April 1974 within a time span of five months. More than 300 lives were lost in all five accidents, two-thirds of which were accounted for by the last three (30 fatalities: September 17, 1965 / 707-121B N708PA Montserrat, Caribbean; 51 fatalities: December 12, 1968 / 707-321B N494PA near Caracas, Venezuela; 78 fatalities: July 22, 1973 / 707-321B N417PA near Papeete Faaa; 97 fatalities: January 30, 1974 / 707-321B N454PA near Pago Pago, American Samoa; 107 fatalities: April 22, 1974 / 707-321B N446PA near Denpasar Ngurah Rai, Bali, Indonesia).[151]
A Pan Am 727 was also involved in an enduring Cold War mystery that remains unresolved to this day, which occurred on November 15, 1966. On that day, Clipper München, a Pan Am Boeing 727–21 (N317PA) operating the return leg of the airline's daily cargo flight from Berlin to Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport (Pan Am Flight 708) was due to land that night at Tegel Airport, rather than Tempelhof, due to runway resurfacing work taking place at that time at the latter. Berlin Control had cleared flight 708 for an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach to Tegel Airport's runway 08, soon after the crew had begun its descent from flight level (FL) 090 (9,000 feet) to FL 030 (3,000 feet) before entering the southwest air corridor over East Germany on the last stretch of its journey to Berlin. The aircraft impacted the ground near Dallgow, East Germany, almost immediately after the crew had acknowledged further instructions received from Berlin Control, just 10 mi (16 km) from Tegel Airport. All three crew members lost their lives in this accident. Visibility was poor, and it was snowing at the time of the accident. Following the accident, the Soviet military authorities in East Germany returned only half of the aircraft's wreckage to their U.S. counterparts in West Berlin. This excluded vital parts, such as the flight data recorder (FDR), the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) as well as the plane's flight control systems, its navigation and communication equipment. The subsequent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation report concluded that the aircraft's descent below its altitude clearance limit was the accident's probable cause. However, the NTSB was unable to establish the factors that had caused the crew to descend below its cleared minimum altitude.[155][156][157]
On September 6, 1970, two men hijacked Pan Am Flight 93, a Boeing 747–121 (N752PA) en route from Amsterdam to New York, as part of the Dawson's Field hijackings. The flight diverted to Beirut International Airport to take on board seven other gang members for the next leg to Cairo International Airport, where the hijackers ordered the aircraft evacuated and destroyed it with explosives.[158]
On July 2, 1972, Pan Am Flight 841, a commercial passenger flight of a Boeing 747 from San Francisco, California to Saigon, South Vietnam, was hijacked over the South China Sea. The lone hijacker was overpowered and killed after arrival at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon, and no other passengers were killed or seriously injured.[159]
On December 17, 1973 five Palestinian terrorists, who had taken six hostages at Rome Fiumicino Airport, bombed Pan Am Flight 110 while passengers boarded. The Boeing 707-321B (Clipper Celestial, N407PA) caught fire, killing 30 people.[160]
On July 9, 1982 Clipper Defiance, a Boeing 727–235 (N4737), operating as Pan Am Flight 759, crashed minutes after takeoff from New Orleans Airport involving microburst-induced wind shear. All 145 passengers and crew members perished, as well as eight people on the ground when the plane careened through a residential area adjacent to the airport.[161]
On August 11, 1982 Pan Am Flight 830, a Boeing 747–121 (N754PA), was bombed over the Pacific Ocean killing one passenger before safely landing in Honolulu.[162]
On November 6, 1986 Eastern Air Lines Captain George Baines was flying in his private aircraft, a Piper PA-23 (N2185P), from his home to Tampa International to catch a flight. As he approached Tampa International's runway 36L (now 1L) in heavy fog, he declared a missed approach and went around to try it again. On the second attempt, he touched down on a parallel taxiway and ultimately collided with a Pan Am 727–200 that was taxiing on this taxiway. Baines lost his life in the accident. He was the only fatality. No other injuries were reported.[163][164]
Pan Am Flight 1736
Main article: Tenerife airport disaster
Clipper Victor, which was the first Boeing 747 to carry fare-paying passengers in 1970 (N736PA), was involved in the Tenerife disaster on March 27, 1977, the deadliest aviation accident in history. On that day, Clipper Victor operated a charter flight, PA 1736, from Los Angeles to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, Spain, via New York. The aircraft, along with many other aircraft, diverted to Los Rodeos Airport on Tenerife because of a bomb scare at Las Palmas. After Las Palmas airport reopened, the diverted aircraft began preparations for departure. Clipper Victor was instructed to taxi along the active runway after the preceding KLM. Although visibility was extremely poor due to thick fog, the pilot of the KLM aircraft (also a Boeing 747) commenced takeoff without clearance and collided with the Pan Am airplane still taxiing on the runway. A total of 583 people were killed. 335 passengers on the Pan Am plane died while 61 survived.[165]
Pan Am Flight 73
Main article: Pan Am Flight 73
On September 5, 1986 a Pan Am 747 named the Clipper Empress of the Seas (N656PA), operating as Pan Am Flight 73, was taken over by hijackers while on a scheduled stop in Karachi. The flight never departed Karachi, but 20 people were killed when the aircraft was stormed on the ground. The chief purser of the flight, Neerja Bhanot (an Indian National), was credited for saving many lives on the flight, and was awarded by the Indian Government, the U.S. Government and the Pakistan Government for her selfless act.[166]
Pan Am Flight 103
Main article: Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan Am's third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York John F. Kennedy Airport. On December 21, 1988 the aircraft flying this route, a Boeing 747–121 (N739PA) named Clipper Maid of the Seas, was blown up and crashed on Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, when approximately 1 pound (450 g)[167] of plastic explosive was detonated in its forward cargo hold, triggering a sequence of events that led to the rapid destruction of the aircraft. The aircraft that crashed was the 15th 747 built and was delivered to Pan Am in February 1970.[168] A total of 270 people lost their lives, including 11 in Lockerbie.[169]
Fleet in 1990
The following were aircraft operated Pan Am and Pan Am Express in March 1990, a year and a half before the airline's collapse:
Pan Am Fleet, March 1990[170]
Airbus A300-B4 12 — — 24 230 254
Airbus A310-200 7 — — 18 207 225[171]
Airbus A310-300 12 — 12 30 154 196
Boeing 727–200 91 9 — 14 131 145 Orders for used aircraft
Boeing 737–200 5 — — 21 95 116[172]
Boeing 747–100 18 — 39 52 286 377[173] 1989 seating configuration (for South American flights)
Boeing 747-200B 7 — 21 44 347 412[174] 1987 seating configuration
Total 152 9
Pan Am Express Fleet, March 1990[170]
ATR 42–300 8 3
De Havilland Canada Dash 7 10 —
Fleet history
All the aircraft ever operated by Pan Am:
Pan Am Fleet[175][176][177]
Years operated
Airbus A300-B4 1984–1991 13 Jet aircraft 2 more ordered
Airbus A310-221 1985–1991 7 Jet aircraft
Airbus A310-324 1987–1991 14 Jet aircraft launch customer for CF6-80 engine for A310
Airbus A320-200 N/A 0 Jet aircraft 50 ordered, never delivered to PA. First 16 delivered to Braniff (BN).
Avions de Transport Régional ATR-42 1987–1991 12 Turboprop aircraft Operated by Pan Am Express
BAe Jetstream 31 1987–1991 10 Turboprop aircraft Operated by Pan Am Express
Boeing 307 Stratoliner 1940–1948 3 Propeller aircraft
Boeing 314 1939–1946 9 Flying boat Carried first Transatlantic Air Mail
Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 1949–1961 28 Propeller aircraft 8 Stratocruiser acquired from AOA
Boeing 707–121 1958–1974 8 Jet aircraft Launch customer of the 707 series
Boeing 707–321 1959–1973 26 Jet aircraft
Boeing 707-321B 1962–1981 60 Jet aircraft
Boeing 707-321C 1963–1979 34 Jet aircraft
Boeing 720B 1963–1974 9 Jet aircraft
Boeing 727–100 1965–1991 46 Jet aircraft 19 acquired from National Airlines
Boeing 727–200 1979–1991 105 Jet aircraft 24 acquired from National Airlines
Boeing 747–100 1969–1991 44 Jet aircraft Launch Customer of the Boeing 747–100 series and Boeing 747
33 Boeing 747–121s owned by Pan Am
5 Boeing 747–122s were bought from United Airlines
4 Boeing 747–123s were bought from American Airlines
2 Boeing 747–132s were bought from Delta Air Lines
Boeing 747-212B 1983–1991 7 Jet Aircraft All 7 Boeing 747-212Bs were previously owned and operated by Singapore Airlines.
Boeing 747-273C 1974–1983 1 Cargo Aircraft Operated by Pan Am Cargo,
was previously operated by World Airways.
Boeing 747-221F 1979–1983 2 Cargo Aircraft Operated by Pan Am Cargo
Boeing 747SP 1976–1986 11 Jet Aircraft Launch Customer of the Boeing 747SP Series
10 Boeing 747SP-21s owned by Pan Am
1 Boeing 747SP-27 was bought by Braniff Airways
Consolidated Commodore 1930–1943 14 Flying boat
Convair CV-240 1948–1957 20 Propeller aircraft
Convair CV-340 1953–1955 6 Propeller aircraft
Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando 1948–1956 12 Propeller aircraft
de Havilland Canada Dash 7 ??–1991 8 Turboprop aircraft Operated by Pan Am Express
Douglas Dolphin ??? 2 Flying boat Transferred to CNAC
Douglas DC-2 1934–1941 9 Propeller aircraft
Douglas DC-3 1937–1948 90 Propeller aircraft
Douglas DC-8-32 and Douglas DC-8-33 1960–1970 19 Jet aircraft
McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62 1970–1971 1 Jet aircraft DC-8-62 just operated one year
McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-10 1980–1984 11 Jet aircraft acquired from National in 1980
McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-30 1980–1985 5 Jet aircraft acquired from National in 1980
Fairchild FC-2 1928–1933 5 Propeller aircraft First aircraft of Pan Am's subsidiary Panagra
Fairchild 71 1930–1940 3 Propeller aircraft
Fairchild 91 1936–1937 2 Propeller aircraft 4 more ordered, but all cancelled
Fokker F-10A 1929–1935 12 Propeller aircraft
Fokker F.VIIa/3m 1927–1930 3 Propeller aircraft First Pan Am owned airplane to carry air mail
Ford Trimotor 1929–1940 11 Propeller aircraft
Lockheed Model 9 Orion 1935–1936 2 Propeller aircraft
Lockheed Model 10 Electra 1934–1938 4 Propeller aircraft
Lockheed L-049 Constellation 1946–1957 29 Propeller aircraft
Lockheed L-749 Constellation 1947–1950 4 Propeller aircraft
Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation 1955 1 Propeller aircraft
Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar 1980–1986 12 Jet aircraft
Martin M-130 1935–1945 3 Flying boat Carried first Transpacific Air Mail
Sikorsky S-36 1927–1928 5 Flying boat
Sikorsky S-38 1928–1943 24 Flying boat
Sikorsky S-40 1931–1944 3 Flying boat First aircraft to carry the Clipper name
Sikorsky S-43 Baby Clipper 1936–1945 10 Flying boat
Main article: Pan Am destinations
New York City portal
Miami portal
Florida portal
Companies portal
Avensa
Pan Am Air Bridge (Chalk's International Airlines sold its seaplane operations to a group of investors who operated Chalk's under the Bridge name with Pan Am logos)
Pan American Airways (1996–1998)
Boston-Maine Airways (operated Pan Am Clipper Connection from 2004 to February 2008)
Pan Am Railways
Pan Am Systems
Pan Am destinations
Pan Am (TV series)
Pan Am International Flight Academy Only surviving division of Pan American World Airways
Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division
Notes and citations
↑ The 1/46 Air Traffic Guide shows the B314 to Lisbon, but a B314 book says PA's last transatlantic B314 was in December 1945.
↑ the cruising altitude of propliners employed on the Berlin Airlift
↑ britannica.com Pan American World Airways, Inc.: American Airline Company
↑ 2.0 2.1 Guy Norris & Mark Wagner (September 1, 1997). "Birth of a Giant". Boeing 747: Design and Development Since 1969. Zenith Imprint. pp. 12–13. ISBN 0-7603-0280-4. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Airliner World (IATA: A new mandate in a changed world), p. 32, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ "Pan Am: Aviation History Through the Words of its People". Airways News. Retrieved July 28, 2015. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Daley 1980, pp. 27–28.
↑ Newton, Dr. Wesley P. (1967). "The Role of the Army Air Arm in Latin America, 1922–1931". Air Power Journal (September–October). Retrieved January 22, 2011. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Anthony J. Mayo, Nitin Nohria and Mark Rennella, Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders: What the Airline Industry Can Teach Us about Leadership (Macmillan, 2009) p49
↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Siddiqi, As if (2003). "Air Transportation: Pan American: The History of America's "Chosen Instrument" for Overseas Air Transport". U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. Retrieved May 31, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ John R. Steele, "The Very Beginning" History of Pan American World Airways: The Early Years
↑ Bilstein 2001, p. 79.
↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Chasing the Sun – Pan Am". PBS. 2001. Retrieved May 31, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Homan & Reilly 2000, p. 38.
↑ "The Brownsville Base". Pan Am Historical Foundation. Retrieved February 8, 2016. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "U.S. Aviation Development". Flight International. April 25, 1929. Retrieved May 31, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "50 years ago: 9 May 1956". Flight International. May 9, 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Pan Am's Seaplanes : The Scuttlefish
↑ Meet Your Clipper Captain
↑ May 2009 – Clipper Pioneers Newsletter; Would You Believe? by Robert L. Bragg, Capt., Pan Am and United, Ret.
↑ 19.0 19.1 Masland, William M.,Through the Back Doors of the World in a Ship That Had Wings, Vantage Press (1984)
↑ Recollections of Dinner Key
↑ Kauffman, Sanford; Hopkins, George (1995). Pan Am pioneer: a manager's memoir from seaplane clippers to jumbo jets. Texas Tech University Press. p. 195. ISBN 0-89672-357-7. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Kauffman & Hopkins 1995, pp. 59, 195.
↑ "China Clipper". <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Trans Pacific Airlines To Touch At Islands". Popular Mechanics, April 1935
↑ "Wing Over The Pacific". Popular Mechanics, June 1935, page 863
↑ "Clipper Conquers Pacific on Hawaiian Hops". Popular Mechanics, July 1935
↑ Wings Over The Pacific
↑ Trautmann, James (2008). Pan American Clippers: The Golden Age of Flying Boats. The Boston Mills Press. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Pan American Airways System U.S. Cy. Passenger Tariff – Pacific, Orient, & Alaska Services Eff. May 1, 1937
↑ LIFE, August 23, 1937
↑ "Clipper Completes Atlantic Crossing". The New York Times. March 31, 1939. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "EUROPE MAIL HOPS WILL START TODAY: Atlantic Service Will Begin 12 Years After Lindbergh's Flight to Paris" The New York Times, May 20, 1939, p.1
↑ "CLIPPER OFF TODAY ON HISTORIC FLIGHT: Regular Passenger Service to be Started by Pan American Line" The New York Times, June 28, 1939, p. 10
↑ CLIPPER OFF TODAY ON NORTHERN ROUTE: Early and Emmons Among 20 Observers to Start Air Mail Hops to Europe" The New York Times June 24, 1939, p. 34
↑ Foreign Air Mail First Flights F.A.M.18 aerodacious.com
↑ "First Passenger Flight Today On Northern Route to England: Regular 24-Hour Service to Be Opened", The New York Times, July 8, 1939, p. 11
↑ "Pan Am to Singapore". TIME. June 2, 1941. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Kauffman & Hopkins 1995, p. 212.
↑ Gandt 1995, p. 19.
↑ [1] 18, 2010/https://web.archive.org/web/20100418063740/http://flyingboatmuseum.com/coffee.php Archived April 18, 2010 at the Wayback Machine
↑ Bilstein 2001, p. 173.
↑ Lester, Valerie (1995). Fasten your seat belts!. Paladwr Press. pp. 86–89. ISBN 0-9626483-8-8. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "The Clipper Eclipse". Check-Six.com. Retrieved May 20, 2013. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 44.4 44.5 Aviation News (Pan American Airways: Part 2), p. 48, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ airline timetable images, American Overseas Airlines
↑ 47.0 47.1 Aviation News (Pan American Airways: Part 2 — South American problems), p. 50, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ 48.0 48.1 48.2 Pan American Airways System Timetable (pdf) January 1, 1958
↑ Pan Am global 747, Air Transport ..., Flight International, October 28, 1971, p. 677
↑ "Pan American World Airways, Inc. Records – History". University of Miami Libraries, Special Collections. 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 Aviation News (Pan American Airways: Part 2 — New name, new aircraft), p. 50, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ Aviation News (The Douglas DC-4, DC-6 and DC-7), p. 64/5, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ 53.0 53.1 BEA in Berlin, Flight International, August 10, 1972, p. 180
↑ 54.0 54.1 Cold War Times, Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 7, February 2009
↑ 55.0 55.1 Aeroplane – Pan Am and the IGS, Vol. 116, No. 2972, pp. 4, 8, Temple Press, London, October 2, 1968
↑ "British Airways – History and heritage (Home > History & heritage > Explore our past >> 1950–1959 (1957: 19 December)". British Airways plc, London. 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2011. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Grynbaum, Michael M. (August 4, 2010). "Delta to Move at Kennedy as End Nears for Old Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-07-20. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ 58.0 58.1 58.2 Burns 2000.
↑ 59.0 59.1 59.2 59.3 Aviation News (Pan American Airways: Part 2 — Leading the way), p. 50, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ "Boeing 747–400 Program Milestones". Boeing.com. Retrieved August 27, 2005. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 61.3 Aviation News (Pan American Airways: Part 2 — A falling star), p. 51, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ "Jumbo and the Gremlins". TIME. February 1, 1970. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Jets Monthly (Next Month: Come fly with me ...), p. 74, Kelsey Publishing, Cudham, January 2012
↑ Clausen, Meredith (2004). The Pan Am building and the shattering of the modernist dream. MIT Press. p. 357. ISBN 0-262-03324-0. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Aerospace Industry. Refusal of Congress to approve Federal Funds for Development of Boeing Supersonic Airliner". Keesing's World News Archives. July 21, 1971. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Terminal Interchange from PANAMAC Airlines Reservation System". National Museum of American History. Retrieved September 12, 2010. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Horsley, Carter C. (2007). "The MetLife Building". The Midtown Book. Retrieved April 7, 2008. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> When it was completed, the 2,400,000 sq ft (220,000 m2) building became "the world's largest office building in bulk, a title it would lose a few years later to 55 Water Street downtown."
↑ Conrad 1999, p. 164.
↑ Ray 1999, p. 184.
↑ Conrad 1999, pp. 28, 177.
↑ Kilgannon, Corey (October 19, 2003). "When Flying Was Caviar". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Aeroplane – Tempelhof trials prelude to Pan Am 727 order, Vol. 108, No. 2773, p. 11, Temple Press, London, December 10, 1964
↑ A Jet into Berlin Tempelhof, Flight International, December 17, 1964, p. 1034
↑ Aeroplane – The Battle of Berlin, Vol. 111, No. 2842, p. 15, Temple Press, London, April 7, 1966
↑ Aeroplane – Commercial continued, Pan Am 727s take over in Berlin, Vol. 111, No. 2853, p. 11, Temple Press, London, June 23, 1966
↑ Aeroplane – Pan Am and the IGS, Vol. 116, No. 2972, pp. 4, 5, 6, 8, Temple Press, London, October 2, 1968
↑ Aircraft Illustrated (Airport Profile – Berlin-Tempelhof), Vol 42, No 1, p. 34, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, January 2009
↑ "BEA in Berlin". Flight International: 181. August 10, 1972. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Hot route in the Cold War". July 3, 1964. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Pan Am and the IGS". Aeroplane. London: Temple Press. 116 (2972): 6. October 2, 1968. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Airport Activity Statistics
↑ Long, Tania (May 1971). "For $1 a Month, Pan Am Flies Vietnam G.I.'s on Furloughs". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Handbook of Airline Statistics (biannual CAB publication) and Air Carrier Traffic Statistics through 1979; IATA World Air Transport Statistics 1981-89
↑ Conrad 1999, p. 1846.
↑ "Pan Am AWARE". Pan Am Air. September 23, 1974. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Robinson 1994, pp. 154–180.
↑ Aviation News (Pan American Airways: Part 2 — National acquisition), pp. 51/2, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ Interview with Russell Ray. "Death of An American Dream" (film)
↑ "Mid-Air Transfer". TIME Magazine. September 7, 1981. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ 95.0 95.1 95.2 95.3 95.4 95.5 Aviation News (Pan American Airways: Part 2 — National acquisition), p. 52, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ More cutbacks at Pan Am, Air Transport, Flight International, October 2, 1982, p. 970
↑ Pan Am and Tigers swap aircraft, Air Transport, Flight International, December 25, 1982, p. 1795
↑ "Pan Am to spend $1 billion for new planes". Lakeland Ledger. The New York Times Company. September 15, 1984. Retrieved October 12, 2012. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ 99.0 99.1 The new world of Pan American, Flight International, August 23, 1986, p. 23
↑ Pan American World Airways 1984 domestic route map, at departedflights.com
↑ Ransome abandons Delta, Flight International, April 19, 1986, p. 5
↑ The new world of Pan American, Flight International, August 23, 1986, p. 21
↑ Cuff, Daniel F. (November 13, 1989). "BUSINESS PEOPLE; Planner for Pan Am Heads Commuter Unit". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2008. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Timeline: Lockerbie Bombing", BBC News, September 2, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2009
↑ Ludtke, Melissa; Curry, Tom; Schoenthal, Rhea (November 20, 1989). "Keeping Lockerbie Alive". Time Europe. Retrieved June 29, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Gandt 1995.
↑ Unprofitable Pan Am makes Northwest bid, Flight International, May 20, 1989, p. 2
↑ Berlin Return boosts Lufthansa’s bid for Interflug, Flight International, November 7–13, 1990, p. 10]
↑ Weiner, Eric (September 20, 1990). "Pan Am to Eliminate 2,500 Jobs". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ 112.0 112.1 Robinson 1994.
↑ 113.0 113.1 113.2 113.3 113.4 Aviation News (Pan American Airways: Part 2 — Down ... but not quite out), p. 52, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ Delta makes a difference, Flight International, August 21–27, 1991, p. 20
↑ Farewell Pan American, Flight International, October 16–22, 1991, p. 45
↑ 116.0 116.1 116.2 116.3 Comment, Flight International, December 18–24, 1991, p. 3
↑ "Delta Shuttle's First Week". New York Times. September 3, 1991. Retrieved September 29, 2007. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Sanchez, Jesus (January 26, 1992). "The Man Who Tried to Rescue Pan Am". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Dunlap, David W. "Final Pan Am Departure." The New York Times. Friday September 4, 1992. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
↑ "Pan Am, Creditors Sue Delta". The Washington Post. December 9, 1991. Retrieved February 9, 2008. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Bryant, Adam (January 16, 1995). "Market Place; In the volatile airline industry, it's Delta's time to shine". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ 122.0 122.1 122.2 Salpukas, Agis. "Its Cash Depleted, Pan Am Shuts." The New York Times. Thursday December 5, 1991. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
↑ AIR LINE PILOT June 1992, p.18 Air Line Pilots Association (publisher)
↑ "It's Free to Look: The West Village Carriage House Turned Pan Am Exec's Hangar", The New York Observer, January 14, 2011
↑ TWA concludes deal for Pan Am Express, PR Newswire, Trans World Airlines, Mt Kisco, NY, December 4, 1991
↑ Bryant, Adam (January 31, 1996). "Shugrue's Plan for Pan Am: Low Costs and Lower Fares". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Conrad 1999, p. 28.
↑ American Capital invests in PAIFA
↑ 130.0 130.1 130.2 130.3 130.4 130.5 Aviation News (Pan American Airways: Part 2 — Down ... but not quite out), p. 53, Key Publishing, Stamford, November 2011
↑ "Order 99-8-15" (PDF). United States Department of Transportation. August 19, 1999. Retrieved July 27, 2015. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Pan-Am Airline Set To Return To The Air Next Month
↑ Pan American Airways
↑ "Ex-airline exec found guilty in child-porn trial". The Monitor. May 21, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Pan American Airways Global Update". Pan American Airways Global USA (Facebook). Retrieved May 12, 2014. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Railroad to Acquire Assets of Pan Am". The New York Times. June 30, 1998. Retrieved May 31, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Daley 1980, pp. 323.
↑ Baum 1997, p. 43.
↑ Baum 1997, pp. 43–45.
↑ 140.0 140.1 Clausen, p. 137.
↑ National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Latin American Anthropology, Alexander Lesser. Survey of Research on Latin America by United States Scientists and Institutions. National Academies, 1946. p. 70. "Pan American World Airways System, 135 East 42nd Street, New York 17, N.Y."
↑ Marks, Peter (February 1994). "Recalling Screams Heard Round the World". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Abagnale, Frank Jr. (2002). Catch Me If You Can. Broadway Books. p. 289. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "The News-Journal, July 22, 1989". <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Washington Post 1989/07/21
↑ Beveridge, Dirk (July 5, 1991). "Pan Am lunar list tethered to earth". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Marich, Bob (December 3, 1984). "Futuristic Film Product Placement". Advertising Age. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Ridderbusch, Katja (August 2006). "Revival of an American Icon – 'Clippers' are again flying under the name Pan Am". The Atlantic Times. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Harlow, John (February 20, 2005). "The smile that says where you're from". The Times. London. Retrieved June 1, 2009. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Pan Am" at ABC.com
↑ 151.0 151.1 "ASN Aviation Safety Database (Pan American)". Aviation Safety Network. October 26, 2007. Retrieved October 26, 2007. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
↑ "Accident Details (Pan American World Airways Flight 214)". PlaneCrashInfo.com. 200. Retrieved October 26, 2007. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Pan Am Flight 214 CAB report (PDF) (Historical Aircraft Accident, 1963, Pan Am)" (PDF). <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ ASN Aircraft accident description Boeing 727–21 N317PA – near Dallgow, Germany
↑ Aeroplane, Safety – Berlin crash mystery, Vol. 116, No. 2968, p. 11, Temple Press, London, September 4, 1968
↑ "727 crash cause uncertain", Flight International, July 18, 1968, p. 92
↑ ASN Aircraft terrorist incident description – Cairo International Airport
↑ Koerner, Brendan (18 June 2013). "Nguyen Thai Binh picked the wrong plane to hijack". Slate Magazine. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ ASN Aircraft terrorist incident description – Rome Fiumicino Airport
↑ ASN Aircraft accident description Boeing 727–235 N4737 – New Orleans International Airport
↑ ASN Aircraft terrorist incident description Boeing 747–121 N754PA – Hawaii
↑ National Transportation Safety Board
↑ Collision kills pilot, Flight International, November 15, 1986, p. 3
↑ "ASN Aircraft accident description Boeing 747–121 N736PA" Tenerife Los Rodeos Airport
↑ ASN Aircraft terrorist incident description Boeing 747–121 N656PA – Karachi Quaid-E-Azam International Airport
↑ Ludwig de Braeckeleer. "Lockerbie suitcase bomb: Scientific implausibility". Retrieved February 25, 2011. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "The Washington Post". September 8, 1998. Retrieved May 21, 2010. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "ASN Aircraft terrorist incident description Boeing 747–121 N739PA – Lockerbie". Aviationsafety.net
↑ 170.0 170.1 "World Airline Directory". Flight International. March 1990. Retrieved November 5, 2011. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Booth, Darren. "Vintage airline seat map: Pan Am Airbus A310". Frequently Flying. Retrieved September 15, 2012. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Booth, Darren. "Vintage airline seat map: Pan Am Boeing 737–200". Frequently Flying. Retrieved September 15, 2012. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Booth, Darren. "Vintage airline seat map: Pan Am Boeing 747". Frequently Flying. Retrieved September 15, 2012. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ Booth, Darren. "Vintage airline seat map: Boeing 747 v. 2". Frequently Flying. Retrieved September 15, 2012. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Pan Am's Aircraft". PanAmAir.org. 2005. Retrieved April 7, 2008. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Concorde History Airline orders and options". Alexandre Avrane. 2000–2001. Retrieved October 5, 2008. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
↑ "Pan Am's Clipper Fleet". hacoma.de. 2006–2008. Retrieved October 5, 2008. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Baum, Brian (1997). Boeing 747SP. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Bilstein, Roger E. (July 1, 2001). Flight in America. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6685-5. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Burns, George E. (2000). "The Jet Age Arrives". Pan American Historical Foundation. Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Clausen, Meredith. The Pan Am Building and the Shattering of the Modernist Dream. MIT Press, 2005. ISBN 0262033240, 9780262033244.
Conrad, Barnaby (1999). Pan Am: An Aviation Legend. Emeryville, CA: Woodford Press. ISBN 0-942627-55-5. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Daley, Robert (1980). An American Saga; Juan Trippe and His Pan Am Empire. Random House. ISBN 0-394-50223-X. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Davies, Ronald Edward George (1987). Pan Am: an airline and its aircraft. Twickenham, England: Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0517566398. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Gandt, Robert L. (1995). Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am. New York: Morrow. ISBN 0-688-04615-0. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Homan, Thomas; Reilly (2000). Pan Am. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-0552-8. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Lawrence, Harry (2004). Aviation and the Role of Government. Kendall Hunt. ISBN 0-7575-0944-4. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Ray, Sally J. (1999). "Pan American World Airways Flight 103". Strategic Communication in Crisis Management. Quorum/Greenwood. pp. 183–204. ISBN 1-56720-153-9. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Robinson, Jack E. (1994). American Icarus, The Majestic Rise and Tragic Fall of Pan Am. Noble House. pp. 154–191. ISBN 1-56167-154-1. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
"The Clipper Heritage – Pan American World Airways 1927–1991". Pan American Historical Foundation. 2005. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
"Pan American World Airways, Inc., Records". Otto G. Richter Library, University of Miami Archives. June 26, 1996. Retrieved August 2005. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
"Pan American World Airways, Queen of The Skies (2004)". PanAmAir.org. Retrieved August 2005. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Death of an American Dream, The Pan Am Story. Stepping Stone Productions. 1992. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 47: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). (Aviation News online)
"Jets Monthly (Airline History – Pan Am: Come fly with me!)". Cudham, UK: Kelsey Publishing Group. February 2012: 48–53. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> (Kelsey Publishing Group online)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pan American World Airways.
Pan Am Brands
Pan Am Historical Foundation
Pan American World Airways, Inc. Records - University of Miami, Special Collections
everythingPanAm.com - a virtual Pan Am museum
PanAmAir.org - a site working to preserve the memories of Pan Am
Pan Am Timetables and Route Maps
"Pan Am's rise and fall after launching 747". flightglobal. April 15, 2016. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Airlines of the United States
Sun Country Airlines
Cape Air
Envoy Air
GoJet Airlines
Great Lakes Airlines
Island Air
Nantucket Airlines
PenAir
Ravn Alaska
Republic Airlines
Shuttle America
SkyWest Airlines
Air Choice One
Air Flamenco
Air Sunshine
Bering Air
Corporate Flight Management
Everts Air
Frontier Flying Service
Gem Air
Grant Aviation
Griffing Flying Service
Hageland Aviation Services
Kenmore Air
Mokulele Airlines
Pacific Wings
San Juan Airlines
Seaborne Airlines
SeaPort Airlines
Servant Air
Southern Airways Express
Sun Air Express
Surf Air
Taquan Air
Tradewind Aviation
Ultimate Air Shuttle
Vieques Air Link
Warbelow's Air Ventures
Wings of Alaska
Wright Air Service
ABX Air
Air Transport International
AirNet Express
Aloha Air Cargo
Ameriflight
Amerijet International
Ameristar Jet Charter
Asia Pacific Airlines
Atlas Air
Centurion Air Cargo
Empire Airlines
Flight Alaska
Florida West
Freight Runners Express
Kalitta Air
Kalitta Charters II
Lynden Air Cargo
Northern Air Cargo
Polar Air Cargo
Ryan Air Services
Sky Lease Cargo
Southern Air
Tepper Aviation
Transair
UPS Airlines
USA Jet Airlines
Wiggins Airways
Berry Aviation
Charter Air Transport
Delta Private Jets
Dynamic Airways
Eastern Air Lines
Elite Airways
Gryphon Airlines
Key Lime Air
L-3 Flight International Aviation
Miami Air International
NetJets
Northeast Airlines
Omni Air International
Orange Air
Pentastar Aviation
Sierra Pacific Airlines
Songbird Airways
Swift Air
Vision Airlines
World Atlantic Airlines
Xtra Airways
List of airline holding companies
List of defunct airlines of the United States
Alliances and frequent-flyer program
SkyMiles
Airline and subsidiaries
Air marketing brands
Delta Connection
Delta Shuttle
Delta Air Lines destinations
Delta Connection destinations
Northwest Airlines destinations
Richard H. Anderson
Kathy Augustine
Delta Board Council
Deltalina
Uli Derickson
David C. Garrett, Jr.
Jim Gibbons
Gerald Grinstein
Ellen Simonetti
Jim Whitehurst
Collett E. Woolman
Delta Air Lines fleet
Northwest Airlines fleet
History of Delta Air Lines
Wings Alliance
Atlantic Excellence
Delta Heritage Museum
Flight 821 (1969)
1972 Chicago-O'Hare runway collision
Samuel Byck (1974)
Other subsidiaries and assets
AeroMéxico (4.2%)
China Eastern Airlines (3.55%)
DAL Global Services
Delta Connection Academy
Delta TechOps
Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes (3%)
Regional Elite Airline Services
Virgin Atlantic (49%)
Former certificated
airline subsidiaries
Atlantic Southeast Airlines
Chicago and Southern Air Lines
Mesaba Airlines
Western Airlines
Former marketing brands
Delta Express
Legacy air carriers of the United States
Air carriers that operated hub-and-spoke, interstate route networks at the time of the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act
Current legacy carriers
Defunct legacy carriers
Aloha Airlines
Braniff International Airways
Continental Airlines
Hughes Airwest
North Central Airlines
Ozark Air Lines
Southern Airways
Texas International Airlines
Trans World Airlines
List of airlines of the United States
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Pan_American_World_Airways&oldid=724690255"
Use mdy dates from October 2012
Articles to be expanded from September 2014
Pages using web citations with no URL
CS1 errors: dates
Defunct airlines of the United States
Airlines established in 1927
Airlines disestablished in 1991
Former IATA members
History of Key West, Florida
Landmarks in Key West, Florida
Collier Trophy recipients
American companies established in 1927
1991 disestablishments in the United States
Commons category with local link different than on Wikidata
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2470
|
__label__wiki
| 0.892794
| 0.892794
|
The Inside Reel
Movie Reviews, Commentary and Celebrity Interviews
About The Inside Reel
Tag Archives: William Shatner
IR Interview: George Lopez For “Escape From Planet Earth” [Weinstein]
Posted on February 19, 2013 by insidereel
Posted in VIDEO: The Inside Reel Interviews | Tagged animation, Craig Robinson, Escape From Planet Earth, george lopez, inside reel, The Weinstein Company, Thurman, tim wassberg, video interview, William Shatner | Leave a reply
Dramatic Progressions & Comedic Timing: The 2010 CBS Summer TCA Press Tour – Feature
Posted on September 7, 2010 by insidereel
In structure of its new season, CBS understands its structure of comedy, both new and proven with the high performing “Big Bang Theory” but also freshman entries like “Mike & Molly” and “S%&t My Dad Says”. However, in parallel, the network is also embracing sleek hour long programming to structure balancing the high octane elements of “Hawaii Five-O” with the characters drama of “Blue Bloods” starring perennial Tom Selleck.
The Big Bang Theory Entering into a fourth season, the idea becomes to not become complacent in the character structure but also being aware of how finite the experience can be. The chemistry and timing of this series much like “Cheers” or “Night Court” funnels the show from not taking itself too seriously.
Chuck Lorre, the creator of the show, says its inception was a very tortuous path because the writer’s strike abbreviated the first season. With the current coming season, it will be their 4th move in just as many years which, given their success after three seasons, doesn’t worry him too much. His perception is that “our job is to make a good show” insisting that “we grow the crops but we don’t bring them to market”. In terms of Penny & Leonard, he said it was always built-in that they would have a difficult relationship but like the audience, the bond is “fragile”. In terms of writing, you can’t think completely in terms of a season because “there are too many choices”. One specific example is Sheldon’s speeches which are meant to allow a view inside his head. The irony and realization now coming forth is that Penny is domesticating Sheldon which they discovered as they went along since the characters are so monumentally different. The one aspect that remains true is that Leonard’s affection for Sheldon is unspoken which exec producer Bill Prady mirrors saying that what anchors the show is that Leonard is “the center between two worlds” as “he is the character mostly in motion”.
Kaley Cuoco, who plays Penny, follows up this up saying that “none of us really knows what’s going on”. In terms of contract negotiations for the coming seasons, she jokes that she “would do next season for free”. The reaction from the fans makes her “extremely touched” which the boys jump on her for. The relationship with Leonard and its falling out last season she calls “super realistic” which Johnny Galecki mirrors acknowledging his character is the most normal but “doesn’t have the navigation tools” to excel. Cuoco admits that Penny and Sheldon have a special relationship in that they now respect each other.
Jim Parsons, who plays series favorite Sheldon, says that the ideas for his character play simplistic but there are variations and, within that, it is interesting to find the rhythm. He resolutely agrees that their “fan base is distinctive” calling their most recent Comic Con, which they will always attend, a “pep rally”. For him it is always easier when they get to show night where the speeches become “a surprisingly non-thought process” though he admits that “rock/paper/lizard/spock” was never easy.
Simon Helberg, who plays Walowitz, jokes when Kunal Nayymar (also known as “Raj”) mentions the influx of Indian proliferation in Hollywood that “someday Jews will make their mark in show business”. With the love relationship last season which built then faltered (though Lorre says that the love interest is coming back), Simon says that “it’s nice to cut through the sleaze a little bit and get to the character” insisting that there is “a bleeding heart underneath” Walowitz’s charming exterior. His belief is to not ask questions but when pushed about the bromance between Walowitz and Raj, he says that “they love each other” to which Kanal say “non-sexually…mostly”.
After the presentation, discussing finer character points with Johnny Galecki who plays Leonard, he admits these kind of events make him nervous which is probably why he can seem “too-cool-for-school” onstage when it is simply about maintaining face. While the rest of the cast seems to ham it up he reflects that he just loves playing in the character in that he wants people to see the tenderness of Leonard and not the actor behind it. This, in effect, is the hardest job on the show compared to a more showy role like Parsons’ Sheldon. The chemistry of the characters come from the pure basis of the idea but he admits that their evolution is a slow burn that might go on for many years. He understands that he is the view through which people structure their perception of what happens in the show. This is especially true in that he doesn’t wear glasses but yet he has them perched above his brow as we are talking. Galecki is a very thoughtful person which definitely needs to be brought to bear and will be interesting to see perhaps a darker tread in the series to see how it evolves.
Mike & Molly This new series again from the prospect of Chuck Lorre uses the structure again of off-set social groups to motivate comedy from all structures. Since this series follows two overweight people falling in love it provides a more standard structure that allowed “King Of Queens” to flourish.
Chuck Lorre admits doing the pilot was really fun and they are just starting to move on the series with Jim Burrows doing a majority if not all of the directing. In terms of handling his three shows (2 1/2 Men, Big Bang and this one), Lorre says that he is balancing all of this poorly but that it is mostly terrifying. With 2 1/2, it might seem like it is on autopilot but all those scripts need to be written at top level. With “Mike & Molly”, he hopes the humor comes off as “self deprecating with affection”. In terms of success, he says “I felt for a long time that all shows are fundamentally family shows” using examples such as “Cheers” and “Taxi” as primaries adding that both those shows also had “alot of characters and intricacies”.
Mark Roberts who co-created the show with Lorre, says that they talked very early on of comparisons to “Marty”. Mark had been thinking more within the context of two cops in a car show structured within a relationship comedy. The Overeaters Anonymous angle, he admits, was Chuck’s idea.
Billy Gardell, a working stand-up comic, who plays Mike, comes out of the gate with the joke that “my wife is little and I’ve done a little better than I should have”. He goes on to say “everybody has a different tick…mine just happens to be pizza”. In terms of character structure in reference to overeating, he reflects with the idea that “when you don’t deal with emotion, you push it down with a piece of cake”. Ultimately though, for him, the series is a love story adding that he is “humbled, to be at my age and weight in Hollywood” adding that “I got the Willy Wonka ticket”. The press tour is the part, like Galecki, that makes him nervous. Billy admits that he is 40 and that he has been a road comic for 20 years. He is just happy not to be at the Holiday Inn. His point with the concept: “We’re fat…the show’s funny!” adding “What else is there to say?” In terms of what idealism in stand up comedy he brings to the show, Billy says that “I had alot more dysfunction to pull on than just me and weight” explaining that he used “a sense of humor as a defense mechanism” most of his life.
Melissa McCarthy, who plays Molly, adds to Billy’s perception saying “anytime you see a broad spectrum, it is good”. The show, for her too, is not about weight but more about a “lovely relationship, both with Billy and with the family”
After the discussion, getting into finer elements with Billy, he says he is wonderfully content with not “having to play Chuck E. Cheese or the back of an Eckerd Drugs that has been converted into a nightclub”. In terms of the comedic basis, he says his biggest influences on the stage were Richard Pryor and George Carlin. Lately however with “The Honeymooners” all the way up to “Smokey & The Bandit”, it was Jackie Gleason saying “he had a gut but he was cool”. He also pays homage to John Candy whom he says “had a big heart”. Jim Burrows, best known for directing almost all of “Cheers”, is of particular help to Billy who says the seasoned professional “does little tweaks but let’s you know if you’re doing something wrong”. When he first came in for the audition. the concept was still functioning as the buddy cop show. With Lorre’s track record, he said he knew best “not to tell these guys anything”. But being on the stand-up stage is different than being able to do a retake in a taping though “if it doesn’t work, nothing can save you”. In retrospect, he said, he wouldn’t have been ready for this kind of breakthrough in his 20s but always thought he would get the wingman part and not the lead, since right now “thinner guys always get the chicks”. He quietly tells us of one of the first episodes, which he seems very excited about, which is about getting ready for the first date which might hit all the right notes.
The Talk In creating competition programming against ABC’s “The View”, the key is to have a more specific parlay in terms of approachability. With “The Talk” the focus more is around the maternal progression hoping to further capture that thought process with a rather diversified panel.
Sara Gilbert, who brought the project together, said it all came from a new perception. She was a new mom with her partner Allie and went to a group to gain perspective and found a great synergy. Even though she has been acting her whole life with recent stints on “The Big Bang Theory”, this will be the first time “I will be discussing my life”. Being able to talk about one’s relationship is key and she makes the point that “Allie is much taller than I am” and “clothes always look better on her”. She is hoping with her widely varying co-hosts that during their discussions that “it will be alright to interrupt” and long as they don’t “stampede”.
Leah Remini, who co-starred with Kevin James on the hit TV show “King Of Queens”, defends her point of view saying that “sometimes I am very unlikable as a person” but that “anything that comes out of my mouth is who I am”. She jokes that “there is the fear that I could be hated [on air] but I’m hated at home”. The fact, she relates, is that all the hosts on the show are moms that “have trials and tribulations we all go through”. She jokingly admits that “Sara is a better mom” in that “she feeds her kids”. As far as her perception on her relationship with her other half, he says that the most annoying aspect is that what he wants for the holidays or the like is always sex. Ultimately she says, she guesses that it’s good he still wants sex from her. She hopes that in this format she can help by letting women hear a story that makes them laugh.
Sharon Osbourne, well known as businesswoman, wife and mother, says that husband Ozzy probably doesn’t even know she is doing this show calling him “the perfect partner”. While she considers her views very liberal when it comes to kids she ironically is “very conservative” because “there is a fine line you have to take”. Regarding her exacting opinions, she makes the point that “I am not running for mayor” or “looking for votes” but “if people like it, fair enough”.
Julie Chen, rounding out the extension of the pack and who will be taking an abbreviated turn on “The Early Show”, explained her decision to join signifying that “I have a ten-month-old at home and I thought it would be a perfect match” but she could not serve as co-anchor for the morning as well, a feat impossible even for “The Chen-Bot” as she calls herself.
Hawaii Five-0 Reinventing a show with different dynamics and bringing it full throttle into the new century requires a bit of mirth and luck to play the game. Fortunately with a showrunner adept at reboots (Alex Kurtzman with “Star Trek”) and a diversified cast including Alex O’Loughlin (“Moonlight”), Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost”), Grace Park (“Battlestar Galactica”) and movie vet Scott Caan who make his first starring role to TV, the pedigree is high.
Alex Kurtzman, the show runner also responsible for “Fringe”, says in rebooting the series that “it was about keeping the quality level the same”. One of the first questions he said that people ask him in terms of this series is “Why now?” He said what convinced him was Peter Lenkov talking about watching the show with his father. That reflected his thought within the show of a take on family since a major progression is O’Louglin’s McGarrett returning to the island to face his past. Obviously because of “Lost” finishing its run, Hawaii he says has been “wildly receptive” in bringing the show back but says they “had to be sure it was reflected in the right way”. The key, like with “Star Trek”, was that “you have to find what that original experience was about” and then “remain true to the spirit”. It becomes for him “what am I going to keep and what am I going to reinvent?” One of the aspects that they could not change was the original theme song, even explaining that they brought back some of the original musicians.
Peter Lenkov, also an exec on the show, says that his initial progression was taking the cases from week to week as the original show did. The key, in retrospect, was that it had to be the two guys (McGarett and Danno) as the principles with the latter functioning more as a foil. All of the footage is original using their 2nd unit, even to the point where they have a cameraman solely with a Canon 5D picking up cool shots on the fly. They are shooting the office building for the department directly across from where the original 5-O shot but has since become a federal building. They are trying their best to keep the talent, in terms of casting featured extras and guest stars, as local even going so far as to attend acting workshops on the island. What is most interesting for him to portray within the series is that what makes McGarett and Danno is that “they make mistakes” because “we love flawed heroes”. In terms of other cast members, Park and Kim are shooting currently in Hawaii but Lenkov calls Daniel “the unofficial mayor of Waikiki” since he knows everyone there from “Lost”. The story lines, he says, will structure in placing the fact that, in a global arena, Hawaii is the first line of America’s defense in The Pacific especially when threats are being flung from North Korea. Lenkov continues that “there is such global stakes to that region in terms of storytelling” but even on the ground, he points out there are unique problems such as “ice”, meth and human smuggling which in his definition makes for “big crimes and international stakes”. He textures also some connections to the earlier show specificying that O’Loughlin’s McGarrett will be rebuilding his father’s old car.
Alex O’Loughlin, who assumes the role of McGarrett, says that he remembers alot of the original show when he was growing up. In comparison to his earlier series: “Moonlight” and “Three Rivers” which ended abruptly, he says he feels more confident in this progression explaining that there is a reason things work or don’t work. He has seen the pilot and admits “there is something about it”. He pays his homage to Jack Lord’s McGarett saying “I love his hair” and “he started Blue Steel”. His McGarrett, he sees as “stoic in alot of ways” as “a military guy”. The difference in this aspect between his character and that of Caan’s Danno are very apparent. The key for him, as far as a character at the end of the day, is that he has to deliver. On some of the other series, through whatever perceptions, he says “shades get cut” which is “not possible in human nature” because “the more flawed you can make it, the better”.
After dictating during the presentation that when he first read the pilot, he didn’t quite get if he would work, Scott Caan says his fears were quelled when he understood that it is about seeing Danno’s personality. In discussing this aspect one-on-one, he said it came down to the fact also that he didn’t want to leave Los Angeles (which has always been his home). However now he is happy that he did. He only came in for the press tour for 24 hours but says he is already wanting to get back to the set (which was less an aspect of the publicity machine but more that he has gotten to used to the rigors of a TV shooting schedule). Currently they are only one episode beyond the pilot but in future episodes, Caan’s character will reveal his ex-wife as well as kids. In responding about the humor, Caan resolutes that it will be there but more hard-edged. His perception is that on the show, they can do anything but say the F word. The bromance element is, of course, there but the aspect is figuring out what and how it works. In making the move to television, he said he simply committed himself to doing movies for so many years adding that he doesn’t watch network TV because it is “simply not his thing” though he does say he might be back on “Entourage” though he thinks that this might be its last season.
The Defenders This series follows a pair of lawyers in Las Vegas who make sure the motor’s running but aren’t necessarily sure who is driving at any specific point. With the texture of Jim Belushi and Jerry O’ Connell filling the core, the genre specifications allows from some dexterity of play.
Jim Belushi, broaching the character structure, says that the initial interviews he did with defense attorneys just showed him that they’re just guys. They just happen to be doing a job that sometimes some people don’t find savory. Many will represent murderers and gypsies. The characters that these specific guys are based from are the subject of a documentary of the same name made by The Gantz Brothers. What intrigued Belushi is that “these guys are good on the floor but morons with women”. Some of the stories that he has heard, especially when they were shooting in Vegas, push the limit. One he mentions is of a young robber who holds up a liquor store and gets the cash but then asks for some cigarettes. The owner won’t give them to him because the kid is obviously underage and the proprietor doesn’t want to be shut down. The biggest challenge for Belushi was the aspect of the hour-long episodic series. The words here are definitively set in stone for the most part while with sitcoms you are writing every day. What is funny, he says, are that alot of the static sets are in the same location as the ones for “According To Jim”. He says he has much love for the CBS Radford Lot in Studio City. They are on the same stage. He has his same dressing room. There are five sushi restaurants nearby. He is happy. He relates though that shooting the pilot mostly in Vegas was intense. In reference back to “According To Jim”, he says that he had a contract for 8 years. When the plug is pulled on any series, he agrees “those moments are shitty but you get through them” adding that “I got it down to 3 days of morning [when] it used to be six months”.
Jerry O’Connell mirrors his riffing co-star saying that when he saw that there was interest in terms of him doing the show, he went to Jim’s house to meet him. Belushi had been watching the original documentary on these Vegas lawyers with intense interest and after a couple drinks, Jim started acting out the part. O’Connell relays that the transition from docu to TV show is very disimilar in that it mainly only shares the title. He says though, from a professional standpoint, these guys they are playing are fascinating. He also talks about when he used to go with a bunch of friends to Vegas but expresses that now he goes with his wife [Rebecca Romijn] and “we shop”. He speaks of acting across from Belushi with his “Albanian dead eyes” which he calls “chilly on-set but very exciting”. In terms of shooting the pilot, O’Connell had an interesting reaction. The call time was 1am which meant they were shooting until 3pm. He had to buy the no-sleep pulls and “was worried that my performance looked like a crackhead”. He compared it to recently when he was going to law school at night at South Western. He says the reading for that degree was “more than anybody should have to do”.
Blue Bloods This new drama series from two of the executive producers behind “The Sopranos” follows the inherent intensity within a NY power family involved in every aspect of law enforcement from the Police Chief to lead detective to beat cop. Starring CBS maven Tom Selleck who made “Magnum P.I.” there, with Donnie Wahlberg starring as his son alongside Bridget Moynahan as his daughter who works with the D.A.’s office, the possibilities are rife with tension.
Mitchell Burgess, the first of the former “Sopranos” producers, calls the series “the melding of a family drama with a police show” highlighting that their big concern was “going against too small a world” while co-creator Robin Green dictates that it comes down to “the weight and gravity”. For years, on “The Sopranos”, he says they did the anti-hero angle but they “wanted to find what a hero is today”. They discussed other cities in which to place the story but admits that nothing has the aspect of New York, where the show is shot.
In terms of bringing himself into the fold of this series, Tom Selleck, who plays the patriarch and police chief, says that, “first, the script was good, and, two, it was an ensemble that would clearly require talented actors”. While his experience on “Magnum” all those years ago would come up, he says that with that show “he was not tired of it but tired from it”. Initially when he heard thoughts that “Blue Bloods” might be shot somewhere other than NY, he took a specific look and decided that “conflicts make it interesting”. He adds that “I love my ranch and that lifestyle” and that “the location [change] was the biggest challenge” but adds that life “never works the way you plan it”. He relays that he is still working on Jesse Stone and the 7th picture, which was shot in Halifax, will be coming soon as he made sure the production schedule for “Bloods” does not interfere with that production. He says that when CBS gave up their movie-of-the-week, Jesse Stone became a two-hour event, which he is fine with. In terms of his new character he says that it is very important that the character wear the uniform which is indicative of the NY enforcement mentality. He also adds that the Chief has learned to be more diplomatic on the way up. In terms of his producer chops he says that “I don’t butt in…but I have learned things” but continues that “I am pretty good at not throwing my weight around too much”.
Donnie Wahlberg, who plays his son Danny who is a detective on the force, says that he “was attracted to the family element” of the series specifically noting that the initial dinner scene in the pilot jumped out at him because it shows “the character stuff brought into the procedural directly”. He admits that he did play some things differently than he anticipated. He adds that Selleck had “a gaze that reminds me of my dad” in that “my dad is a powerful man but that [certain elements] are always grey”. Aside from that he says that he has never felt more safe as an actor in a job.
S%&t My Dad Says This new comedy sitcom brings the powerhouse of possibility and culturally-skewed tendencies together in the form of William Shatner. The series is actually based on a book of the same name by Justin Halperin who just started writing what his dad would talk about. It became a Twitter sensation.
Bill Shatner is so one of a kind that once he starts his thought process one has to follow it through to the end which might work exceptionally well here if it is done right. He begins with this: “I have problems with electronics”. He continues with the fact that he needs to modulate what he says in that this series “has been an exploration in the immediate language.” He admits that he didn’t want to do another series but that the writing here “very precise” but adds that “physically and mentally” he is the same as the guy he is playing. He sees this character as “very much with it” and “has a snap to the way he speaks”. In ever Shatner fashion, the punchline is “if I am fumbling, it’s me” but explains that “lurching is good”.
With this new outlay, Shatner says that “I am trying to make a character that is coming from a different place”. He says that there is a passion and an anger inside this character which “we don’t quite know” saying that they fumble around with what he actually is aware of. In making reference to his own father, Shatner shares that his dad was “somewhat tactitern”. He explains that the name Shatner is Austrian and somewhat Germanic but adds that with his father there was “a silence and passion underneath”. Shatner then suddenly realizes with mock possibility: “maybe I’m channeling my father” and “wouldn’t that be wonderful”. The word play continues in flagrante with Shatner proudly stating that “this show was born in a twitter” and that “it is all a-twitter” as “an electronic show”. He loves that the show is “ahead of the curve” but still “going in a different direction”.
In terms of joining this electronic era, Shatner says that he has ignored it all until only recently. He recounts starting in live television when the cooling systems for the cameras were as big as a large coffee table. He said now they as actots can be put in Paris without leaving their Warner Brothers shooting stage. He waxes poetic saying that “the miracle and tragedy of our lives is invention” adding that it is “all about survival”.
And as far as the title, he wished they would just call it “Shit”. He says that he brought up kids. He says relating “take a shit…you’ll feel better” is what it is all about (which sent people howling) adding that “it’s a natural function” and that “let’s not pussyfoot”.
Shatner continues with an opus on fatherhood. His dad, he says, was “a man of action” and that “the worst tragedy was him taking me up to a stream in the Podstachy Mountains [in Canada]”. He builds on the fact that “my father fell in the river and lost a fish…a big bass” and that it was never the same. He speaks in relation to the series and life that “there is a warmth and connection between a father and son” but adds that that the key is to not be “overbearing”. The progression of the character he says is “an acting choice” but you have to see the “evolution” because “to condemn heartily all the time doesn’t work”.
In terms of approaching sitcom comedy, originally Shatner says he was “started slow and low and not enough”. The build for for him here entails going “through the work, camera day with an audience and then 200 people [live]” but what is most interesting for him is that the “fourth wall is totally gone”. He adds that now “the audience is aware of the process” calling his new experience “enthralling but chaotic” categorizing himself in the situation of “part minstrel and part actor”.
Justin Halperin, who wrote the book upon which the series is based, says that, in adapting his book they had to find an angle where the premise is “entertaining” because “otherwise who cares?”. He relates that his father doesn’t use the Internet because “ever since [my dad] saw the Sandra Bullock movie ‘The Net’, he’s been scarred”. Halperin admits “it is tough to get my father to a taping” but says that, in terms of comparisons between his father and Shatner, “they have the same warmness”.
Posted in Industry Coverage | Tagged alex kurtzman, Alex O'Loughlin, Billy Gardell, Blue Bloods, cbs, Chuck Lorre, Donnie Wahlberg, Hawaii, Hawaii Five-O, inside reel, Jerry O'Connell, Jim Belushi, Jim Burrows, Jim Parsons, Julie Chen, Justin Halperin, Kaley Cuoco, Kanal Nayymar, Leah Remini, Mark Roberts, McGarrett, Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly, Mitchell Burgess, Peter Lenkov, Robin Green, Sara Gilbert, Scott Caan, sharon osbourne, Shit My Dad Says, Simon Helberg, television, The Defenders, The Early Show, The Gantz Brothers, The Sopranos, The Talk, tim wassberg, Tom Selleck, William Shatner | Leave a reply
BD/DVD Reviews
The Inside Reel First Look
VIDEO: The Inside Reel In The Trenches
VIDEO: The Inside Reel Interviews
VIDEO: The Inside Reel RAW Interviews
VIDEO: The Inside Reel Short Takes
VIDEO: The Inside Reel TV Show
Follow The Inside Reel
IR Interview: Emma Greenwell & Olivia Munn For “The Rook” [Starz] insidereel.com/2019/06/28/the… 2 weeks ago
IR Interview: Kenan Thompson & Jeff Foxworthy For “Bring The Funny” [NBC] insidereel.com/2019/06/28/bri… 2 weeks ago
IR In-The-Trenches: NIGHTMARE CINEMA [Good Deed] insidereel.com/2019/06/28/nig… 2 weeks ago
IR Interview: Derek Frey (Producer) For “Dumbo” [WDSHE] insidereel.com/2019/06/25/der… 3 weeks ago
IR On Location: THE ARTISTS OF ‘MYSTERE’ [Cirque du Soleil/WDSHE] insidereel.com/2019/06/25/ir-… 3 weeks ago
Follow @insidereel
NEW! Like our Facebook Page!
IR Film Review: SPIDERMAN – FAR FROM HOME [Sony/Marvel]
IR Interview: Kenan Thompson & Jeff Foxworthy For “Bring The Funny” [NBC]
IR Interview: Emma Greenwell & Olivia Munn For “The Rook” [Starz]
IR In-The-Trenches: NIGHTMARE CINEMA [Good Deed]
IR Film Review: YESTERDAY [Universal]
Archives Select Month July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008
college television
Emmanuel Itier
fest track
film colleges
Fox Home Entertainment
inside reel
IR In The Trenches
IR RAW
IR Short Takes
Marc Perez
Paramount Home Entertainment
paul wassberg
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Sirk productions
Sirk TV
Sirk TV On The Scene
Sony Pictures Classics
Steve O'Carroll
television review
tim wassberg
tv cable reel
tv colleges
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2471
|
__label__cc
| 0.557699
| 0.442301
|
breadcrumb_arrow News
INTER RAO Lietuva Group announces financial results for 1Q 2018 – Revenues increased by 23 per cent y/y, net profit stayed flat at EUR 2.6 million
Revenues from sales in 1Q 2018 increased by 23 per cent y/y to EUR 59.5 million thanks to higher volume of electricity sold.
Group’s gross profit on sales increased to EUR 5.3 million versus EUR 4.9 million in 1Q 2017.
Consolidated EBITDA amounted to EUR 4.1 million versus 3.8 million in 1Q 2017, while the EBITDA margin reached 6.8 per cent compared to 7.8 per cent a year ago.
Operating profit reached EUR 3.4 million, versus EUR 3.1 million in 1Q 2017.
Group’s net profit amounted to EUR 2.6 million and was equal to the profit generated a year ago.
Electricity sales volume increased to 1 481 GWh, compared to 1 321 GWh in 1Q 2017.
– The first quarter of 2018 was marked by the increase of the electricity prices on the markets. The average price of the electricity sold via the NordPool system in the first 3 months of 2018 reached EUR 42.4/MWh vs. EUR 34.9/MWh a year before, but at the same time the price of power purchases increased as well. The INTER RAO Lietuva Group managed to generate a bit higher gross profit, at EUR 5.3 million, thanks to an increase in the amount of electricity sold in Lithuania. Net profit amounted to EUR 2.6 million, very close to the level recorded in Q1 2017. The standalone net profit of the parent company increased from EUR 2 million in the first 3 months of 2017 to EUR 3.5 million during the same period of 2018. Consolidated EBITDA increased to EUR 4.1 million with the EBITDA margin at 6.8 per cent. Earnings per share were the same as in 2017, EUR 0.13 – says Giedrius Balčiūnas, CEO at INTER RAO Lietuva.
Key figures of IRL Group
Financial figures 1st quarter 2018 1st quarter 2017
Sales (EUR thousand) 59,457 48,515
Gross profit (EUR thousand) 5,275 4,853
Gross profit margin (%) 8.87% 10.00%
Operating profit (EUR thousand) 3,440 3,136
Operating profit margin (%) 5.79% 6.46%
EBITDA (EUR thousand) 4,051 3,762
EBITDA profit margin (%) 6.81% 7.75%
Net profit (EUR thousand) 2,564 2,579
Net profit margin (%) 4.31% 5.32%
Number of shares (thousand) 20,000 20,000
Earnings per share (EUR) 0.13 0.13
Revenue from sales
The total consolidated sales revenue in January-March of 2018 was equal to EUR 59.5 million, 23 per cent more than in the first 3 months of 2017. Total revenue increased on the back of higher amounts of electricity traded, mainly on the Lithuanian market, and an increase in the average price of the electricity in the NordPool system compared to the prices in 1st quarter of 2017.
At the same time, the price of energy purchases also increased y/y in Q1 2018. The Group’s cost electricity purchases in January-March of 2018 amounted to EUR 54.2 million, a 24 per cent increase compared to the first three months of 2017. As a result of increasing the amount of electricity traded, the cost of sales of the Group was higher compared to the 1Q 2017 figure.
Gross profit of the Group in January-March of 2018 amounted to EUR 5.3 million (compared to EUR 4.9 million a year ago), while the gross profit margin decreased to 8.9 per cent (vs. 10 per cent).
Group’s operating profit over the same period increased to EUR 3.4 million from EUR 3.1 million a year ago, while the operating profit margin amounted to 5.6 per cent.
In segment breakdown, the core electricity trade segment managed to increase its operating profit by 29% thanks to higher trade volumes. The segment’s operating margin also increased, by 0.2 percentage points y/y, to 5.4% in 1Q 2018. The power generation segment, in turn, witnessed a decline of revenues and operating profit due to worse meteorological conditions at the Vydmantai wind power plant. As a result, the segment’s contribution to Group operating profit declined to 9.6 per cent in 1Q 2018 from a high of 28.9 per cent a year before.
Operating results by segment
Segment Electricity trade Power generation
(EUR thousand) 1Q 2018 1Q 2017 1Q 2018 1Q 2017
Revenues 58,346 47,020 1,111 1,495
Operating profit 3,139 2,432 301 704
Operating margin 5.4% 5.2% 27.1% 47.1%
Group’s net profit in January-March of 2018 stayed at the same level as a year before and amounted to EUR 2.6 million. The profit margin, however, decreased from 5.3 per cent a year ago to 4.3 per cent in the accounting period.
By providing your personal data you confirm that you have read and understand the terms and conditions of personal data processing as published on the Company’s website (AB „INTER RAO Lietuva“ Data Privacy Policy).
By submitting your personal data, you confirm your consent to the processing of your personal data by the Company in order to provide you with services and to respond to your questions as well as to solve any problems as may arise.
You also confirm that the data submitted by you are accurate and correct and acknowledge that the Company bears no liability for the processing of any excess data you may have provided.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2475
|
__label__cc
| 0.503641
| 0.496359
|
Artists & Styles
Whistler and Nature
Author(s): Patricia de Montfort; Clare Willsdon; Steven Parissien (Editor)
The Anglo-American artist James McNeill Whistler (1834 - 1903) is a household name - a man who inspired and astonished the Victorian world. Less well known, though, is the influence of nature on Whistler's work. This innovative and compelling study reconsiders Whistler's work from the context of his military service and his relationship with 'nature at the margins, ' showing how Whistler's observation of nature and its moods underpinned his haunting visions of nineteenth-century life.
This innovative and compelling study reconsiders Whistler's work from the context of his military service and his relationship with 'nature at the margins.' Whistler came from a family of soldiers and engineers; his father, Major George Washington Whistler, was originally a US military engineer. Drawing and mapmaking were important components of the military training that Whistler acquired as an officer cadet at West Point Academy in 1851-4 and subsequently in the Drawing Department at the US Coast and Geodetic Survey, where he attempted to realize his father's hopes that he would make engineering or architecture his profession. These influences in turn shaped Whistler's attitude towards nature, as expressed in works ranging from his celebrated London 'Nocturnes' to his French coastal scenes - all of which were created after Whistler moved permanently to Europe in 1855.
Whistler's close observation of nature and its moods underpinned his powerful and haunting visions of nineteenth-century life. His images explore the contrasts between the natural and man-made worlds: rivers and wharves, gardens and courtyards, the ideal and the naturalistic. And his singular vison was always defined by his enduring affinity with the makers of railways, bridges, and ships, the cornerstones of Victorian wealth and trade.
Influenced by Rembrandt, Whistler's early etchings of London are notable for their focus on line and topographical accuracy. From the 1860s, his enthusiasm for Japanese art, too, influenced his attitude to perspective and spatial relations between objects. This led him, in his London Nocturnes, to reduce the external world before him to its bare bones. Whistler's smoky images of warehouses, bridges, harbours and tall ships were designed to showcase a new kind of productive, wealth-generating landscape. It is a view of nature constrained by man-made structures: the shadowy outline of the warehouses and chimneys on the far shore; the mast and rigging of a Thames barge in the middle distance.
This absorbing book reassesses a familiar and notoriously colorful artistic figure in a fascinating and pertinent new light, and is an important new contribution to our understanding of the Victorian art world and its physical context.
Publisher : Paul Holberton Publishing
Imprint : Paul Holberton Publishing
Publication date : October 2018
Dimensions : --- length: - '10.25' width: - '8.5' units: - Inches
Author : Patricia de Montfort; Clare Willsdon; Steven Parissien (Editor)
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2477
|
__label__wiki
| 0.744771
| 0.744771
|
The Night Turned Into Day: The Stanley Packamore Murder
24-hour, late night restaurants are a normal, accepted institution in the modern world. While some establishments have discontinued round the clock services, there are several that still offer them. They cater to the late-night crowd – students, second and third shifters, police, doctors, and several others like them who routinely perform their jobs long after much of the world is at rest.
For several years, these kinds of professions didn’t have any kind of places like this where they could eat after a certain hour. Restaurants closed after the majority of their clientele went home and to their beds, and soon followed suit themselves. If someone wanted a meal after that, they were out of luck.
In the late 1800’s, that began to change as lunch wagons began to appear in cities across the nation.
They catered to late-night professions like factory workers and newspapermen who had to be awake after-hours in order to do their jobs. Many of them were mobile, drawn by horses and able to move where ever their owners could make the most money.
Many of them were beautiful, gilded works of art, full of elaborate designs and decoration. They were designed to impress in an age when all art and architecture was meant to impress.
While initially wagons that you walked up to and ordered something to eat, eventually wagons developed that could seat a few people inside, with the server/cook behind a counter.
In 1925, Happy’s Lunch Wagon was the place to go at the intersection of North Main and High Streets in Racine, Wisconsin.
By the 1920’s, lunch wagons had long been falling out of favor in the face of mounting pressure from outside sources, such as competing restaurants. Since shortly after the turn of the century, these night wagons were gradually giving way to diners. While they were often stationary buildings, diners still served the same purpose as their predecessors.
As they declined, those businessmen who still owned and operated night wagons stopped maintaining them as much, and the once gilded beauties fell into disrepair. It isn’t known if Happy’s numbered amongst these, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if it did. This didn’t matter to the patrons, though, who referred to it as a ‘dog wagon’ with what was probably a mixture of fondness and mockery.
The owner, Frank Beyer, would run the counter at Happy’s during the day, but the night shift was left to Stanley Packamore, a Lithuanian-born man in his early 20’s who had come to Racine from Michigan.
Stanley was working his usual shift at the wagon during the early hours of November 12, 1925, when a patron named Ralph Meyer stopped in for some pie. Meyer lived fairly close by and decided to stop in and have a treat before heading back to his house.
Ralph Meyer. Courtesy of the Racine Journal-News.
Meyer sat at the counter and placed his order, while Stanley stepped over to get the pie. As he did, Meyer stood up from his stool for a moment, reaching into his pocket to grab some money.
Suddenly, there was a deafening roar and the world faded away for a few moments. The next thing Meyer knew was that he was across the street from where he had been before, bruised and bleeding, crawling out from underneath the wreckage of something.
As his senses returned to him and he began to look at the neighborhood around him, Meyer quickly realized that something terrible had just happened.
Erwin Aschebrook was in his taxi that night. He was driving near Happy’s, probably hoping to catch a late-night fare or two from someone who was too drunk or too tired to walk home. As he was about to drive past the wagon, the night sky lit up so brightly that it looked like day. A moment later, a deafening explosion sounded, shaking the entire area.
His car was sent skidding across the street as the shockwave roared through the area. Aschebrook fought the wheel for a brief moment, but maintained control of the cab. Windows had been blown out of several buildings.
Concerned, Aschebrook and another taxi driver in the area, George Bischoff, got out of their cars and ran toward Happy’s, where the explosion had seemed to come from. When they arrived, a scene of mass destruction awaited them.
Wreckage from the explosion on North Main. Courtesy of the Racine Journal-News.
Happy’ Lunch Wagon was a ruin; the little building had been shattered into kindling by the powerful explosion.
Windows were blown out of several buildings, and in some places the damage was worse than that. The side wall of the Tire and Battery Service station storeroom had been blown out, as had the front of a soda fountain. Frank Hinsman’s butcher shop also had its storefront blown out, along with several windows and glass counters inside.
Several people, fast asleep in their beds, were awoken by the explosion, only to find themselves covered in window glass and plaster from their walls and ceilings. One of them was Frank Beyer, the owner of Happy’s.
He had literally been tossed out of his bed by the explosion, and woke up to realize that every window in his apartment had been blown out. Beyer quickly got dressed and ran out to see what had happened. One of the first things that he saw was his employee, Stanley Packamore, lying on the sidewalk, mangled and broken.
Stanley Packamore, night cook at Happy’s Lunch Wagon. Courtesy of the Racine Journal-News.
When the explosion had happened, the young cook had been thrown across the street, where he had struck a gasoline pump with enough force to tear off one of his legs and break multiple bones in his body. Almost to add insult to injury, all of his clothes had been torn off by the fury of the blast, leaving him completely nude.
The two taxi drivers, Achebrook and Bischoff, had found him and dug him out of the debris. Beyer ran over to Stanley and tried to speak to him. Horribly injured and only semi-conscious, Stanley was only able to say that there had been another man in the wagon with him before passing out.
Knowing that time was of the essence, Packamore was taken to Bischoff’s cab and taken to a local hospital. Unfortunately, it was already too late. The young cook had slipped into a coma and never woke up, passing away quietly at the hospital.
Meanwhile, authorities began to show up at the scene and shop and began investigating the cause of the explosion. Almost miraculously, no one besides Stanley Packamore was seriously hurt. Meyer was treated for some cuts and bruises, but was otherwise unhurt.
The center of the explosion was determined to be Happy’s itself. A gas explosion was ruled out, which left only one other thing that could cause so much destruction – dynamite. Someone had made a bomb and deliberately blew up Happy’s Lunch Wagon.
The arrow points to the former location of Happy’s Lunch Wagon the day after the explosion. Courtesy of the Racine Journal-News.
The motive for doing so, however, was a lot harder to figure out.
Detectives theorized that the dynamite that was used had been stolen from a nearby quarry, which had reported a burglary shortly before the explosion. One idea was that perhaps the thieves had hidden the explosives under the lunch wagon with the intention of collecting it later, but it had accidentally gone off. No one put much stock in that theory.
More likely perhaps was that someone held a grudge against either Frank Beyer or Stanley Packamore and had planted the bomb to harm them.
Perhaps Stanley had an affair with a married woman, and her angry husband had killed the cook in retaliation. This was ruled out when people who knew Packamore said that he was a quiet man who had only recently gotten his first steady girlfriend.
Yet another theory was that Packamore had given information to police that led to the arrest of a member of a Chicago gangster. However, police more or less ruled it out because they were of the opinion that professional criminals would have hired a bomb expert for the job, and they would have never caused as large an explosion as the one that had just occurred.
Essentially, the police had no idea who had planted the bomb or why. It made no sense, and every theory that they came up with was quickly dismissed by alibis, witness testimony, or lack of evidence. Despite their best efforts, the case quickly grew cold while Stanley Packamore was buried and the people effected by the explosion cleaned up, recovered, and went on with their lives.
A few months later, at the end of January 1926, a Chicago man named M.J. Shiffris was sitting quietly in the dining car of his train, heading south through property owned and maintained by a local country club.
Suddenly, Shiffris felt a burning pain in his neck. He reached a hand to where it hurt, and must have been shocked when it came back covered in blood. As he had sat there, minding his business, someone had shot him in the neck.
He was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital, where doctors patched up his injury. Thankfully, it wasn’t fatal and Shiffis eventually recovered.
The train crew notified authorities, who immediately dispatched several deputies to the country club grounds and the surrounding area where the shots were thought to have come from. They searched everywhere they could, but found no one.
A short time later, another train that had gone through the same area contacted law enforcement, claiming that someone had shot at it as well. Fortunately, no one had been hurt.
The sheriff and his men renewed their search, and even sent extra men. There was someone shooting randomly at trains as they went past the country club, and they needed to stop him. And this time, they did.
While searching the area, authorities found a man walking along the road. They questioned him, and also searched him, finding a revolver in his coat pocket. The deputies arrested him and took him back to the police station. He didn’t resist the officers, but he made sure to tell them that if he had the chance, he would shoot them.
The man was just as cooperative when he was questioned by the sheriff. He identified himself as Richard Roghan, a 26-year old factory worker from Racine, Wisconsin.
Richard Roghan. Courtesy of the Racine Journal-News.
He freely confessed to having shot at the passenger trains earlier that day. Roghan went into detail about the position he had shot from and how he had gotten there. He explained that he had decided to walk back into town after shooting for a while, hitching a ride with a group of other young men that happened by.
After Roghan had eaten lunch, he started walking back out to the country club to shoot at more trains. He was on his way there when he had been arrested.
As it turned out, Roghan was a very talkative man.
He told authorities that he had bought his revolver in St. Louis, and he carried it with him all the time. Roghan confessed to having used it to commit several armed robberies in the area. But most shocking of all was when he said that he had blown up a lunch car in Racine a few months prior.
Roghan said that the cook, Stanley Packamore, had said some bad things about him, although never to his face. Roghan just knew that he was telling other patrons about him.
He decided to scare Packamore, and what better way to do that than with dynamite. Although he had never used it, Roghan had seen farmers use it to blow out stumps in their field while working outside of the city.
Going to a local company that he knew had dynamite, he used a hacksaw to saw off the lock on a storeroom door, forced his way inside, and stole several pounds of dynamite.
Roghan then went back to the area where he had worked, where he tried to purchase blasting caps and detonation cord from a store there. The owner told him that he didn’t have any, but he knew of a farmer who might sell him some.
When he arrived at the farmhouse, Roghan found out that the farmer wasn’t home after talking to his wife. However, she was more than willing to sell him what he needed. With the necessary tools in hand to carry out his crime, Roghan headed back into the city.
Roghan insisted that he never meant to kill Stanley Packamore. He only wanted to scare him a little; teach him a lesson. Although the farmers he had seen had only used a single stick to completely obliterate stumps, Roghan decided to use over 30 pounds of dynamite to frighten him with.
He also insisted that he made sure that he wouldn’t harm anyone else, claiming that he had aborted one attempt when he saw customers were in the wagon. Roghan deliberately waited until the early hours of the morning to crawl under Happy’s and carefully set his bomb in the area underneath the cook’s area.
Roghan lit the fuse, and then ran away as fast as he could. About three blocks away, he heard the explosion. Ralph Meyer, the customer who had been in the wagon at the time of the blast, was later thought to have come in just after Roghan had ignited the fuse.
In a surprise for the sheriff’s department, law enforcement had just solved one of their most prominent cold cases.
One of Roghan’s brothers and a sister came and lent him support, but did not in any way defend his actions. His brother said that Richard had caught Spanish Flu while serving in the army in 1919, and hadn’t been normal since.
Roghan was persuaded by his legal counsel to plead guilty to the shootings and to the death of Stanley Packamore in exchange for a life sentence. He agreed, and the court date was set.
As he stood before the judge, Roghan listened to the charges leveled against him, including the willful murder of Packamore. When asked for his plea, Rogan defiantly shouted, ‘Not Guilty!’
Everyone in the room was astounded. He had already agreed to take the deal, but now all bets were off. The judge dismissed Roghan from the room. After a brief discussion, Roghan explained that he wouldn’t plead guilty because, even with a bomb that had shattered buildings and had been felt blocks away, he insisted that he only meant to scare Packamore, not kill him.
Eventually, his sister was able to persuade him to go back into the courtroom and take the plea. Roghan did, and was sentenced to life in Waupun State Penitentiary. Nearly a year and a half later, Richard Roghan was found to be criminally insane and was transferred to the Central State Hospital, there to live the rest of his life behind bars.
Lunch wagons were a beautiful part of American history. They helped feed thousands of night workers and late-night revelers from all classes and creeds. Gilded wonders, they were a symbol of the age in which they were invented, and set the stage for the food trucks that are so popular in the modern world.
Richard Roghan’s actions not only took the life of an innocent man, but also scarred the memories and peace of mind of dozens of people in Racine. In essence, he stole it from them with his bomb, just as he had stolen from people using his revolver. As a result, his choices, although driven by an underlying insanity, left a dark stain on the history of both Racine and the state of Wisconsin.
You can also ‘subscribe’ to my blog and have these tales sent directly to your favorite inbox, or you can click the ‘Like’ button on the Kitchen Table Historian Facebook page and receive them in your news feed.
Think of it as getting a meal to take home with you.
If you really enjoy these stories, I would ask that you would ‘like’ or recommend it on either WordPress or Facebook. It makes it easier for other people to find me, and helps spread these stories for future generations.
I have a really big table with a lot of chairs, so I’m always looking for new guests.
Racine Steel celebrates 100 years. The Journal Times, 9/19/1992
www.northshoreline.com
http://www.vindustries.com/racinehistory/
Life Sentence For Man Who Shot at Train. Marshfield News-Herald, 1/22/1926
Racine Man Confesses to Bomb Murder. The Capital Times, 1/19/1926
Suspect Held In Packamore Case ; Arrest is Made by Sheriff Herzog. The Journal Times, 1/18/1926
Richard Roghan Declared Insane . The Journal Times, 8/1/1927
Racine Man is Taken to State For Life. The Sheboygan Press, 1/23/1926
Man Confesses Blasting Lunch Car. The Racine Journal-News, 1/19/1926
Roghan Pleads Guilty to Murder. The Racine Journal-News, 1/22/1926
Rogahn’s Sanity Will Be Probed. The Racine Journal-News, 7/13/1927
North Side Rocked By Fatal Blast. The Racine Journal-News, 11/12/1925
Lunch Wagons: The Business of Mobile Food, www.thehenryford.org
Ewbank, Anne. Before Food Trucks, Americans Ate ‘Night Lunch’ From Beautiful Wagons. www.atlasobscura.com, 9/13/2018
Police Think Packamore Was Grudge Victim. The Racine Journal-News, 11/13/1925
One Dead, One Injured in Racine Explosion. Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, 11/12/1925
Bad History, Uncategorized, Wisconsin
bomb, dynamite, Explosion, Lunch Wagon, Racine, Richard Roghan, shooting, Stanley Packamore, Train, Wisconsin
Episode 6: And the Rain Fell, And the Water Rose….
Episode 7: The Night Turned Into Day: The Stanley Packamore Murder
4 thoughts on “The Night Turned Into Day: The Stanley Packamore Murder”
What a bizarre, but interesting story. Poor Stanley!
Thank you! You can’t but help feel sorry for Stanley. All he was doing was trying to make a living and ends up getting dynamited by a mentally unstable person. Shame.
Bridget Graham Arkenberg says:
Thank you for sharing the story of my Great Uncle Stanley Packamore. We were told this story by our father, but never new all of these details. It is nice to fill in some of our family history, as bizarre as it my be.
Thank you for reading, Bridget! I’m glad that I could help you with the story of you family. Your Great Uncle sounds like he was a really good guy. It’s a pity what happened to him.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2479
|
__label__cc
| 0.547112
| 0.452888
|
@LarsenOnFilm @filmspotting Not to be a contrarian, but I don’t think I could come up with 10. 🤭 1 hour ago
Tag Archives: sergio leone
5 Phenomenal Movie Cemetery Scenes
May 6, 2013 by Keith
It’s funny how I happened upon this week’s Phenomenal 5 list. I was in somewhat of a funk, unable to come up with a list that felt fresh. Well sometimes simply looking out your car window can offer up inspiration. Such was the case this week as I list 5 phenomenal movie cemetery scenes. I passed a cemetery and I instantly started thinking on the great movie scenes that have taken place in them. In fact it’s more than you might think. Obviously there are loads of horror films that are right at home in a graveyard. But I’ve also come up with great scenes from other genres. And to make the list more intriguing, I’ve chosen scenes that DO NOT feature a funeral (you’ll read about those in the near future). So considering the plethora of great movie cemetery scenes I would be dead wrong to call this the definitive list. But I feel perfectly comfortable calling these 5 movie cemetery scenes absolutely phenomenal.
#5 – “THE THIRD MAN”
One of my all time favorite classic movies is 1949’s “The Third Man” from Carol Reed. In the film an American writer named Martins (Joseph Cotton) visits Vienna in the wake of World War 2 to find an old friend who has offered him a job. He finds out his friend has been killed in an accident but he begins to suspect murder. He befriends his buddy’s girlfriend named Anna but soon finds out that she and nearly everyone else he meets is involved in the mystery. I don’t want to spoil anything so lets just say the movie ends after a funeral. Now this isn’t a cheat because my scene of choice is the final shot of the movie. It’s a long shot of Anna walking towards the camera with Martins leaning on a cart waiting for her. She walks and walks, finally making it to us but continuing out out of the picture. Martins is left alone and the movie ends on that note. It’s the perfect ending.
#4 – “TERMINATOR 3”
How can I talk about cemetery scenes and not include the ridiculously over-the-top but ridiculously fun scene from “Terminator 3”? This franchise is known for its monster action sequences and this is one of the biggest. Thinking he is visiting his mother’s tomb, the Terminator reveals to John Connor that the casket is actually full of weapons. Arnie then busts out of the mausoleum with the casket full of weapons on his shoulder and a mini gun on his hip. He throws the casket into a hearse and then sprays every police car within 3 miles full of lead. But it doesn’t stop there. The evil terminator then appears and a crazy chase through the cemetery follows. A rocket launcher to her chest and a few broken tombstones later, and we get a wilder ending to what is a great cemetery scene.
#3 – “ARMY OF DARKNESS”
Call it a sentimental choice but I just had to include the wacky cemetery sequence from “Army of Darkness”. You know the story, our “Evil Dead” hero Ash has been sucked back to the medieval past where and the Necronomicon holds the secrets to getting him back home. The problem is the Necronomicon is hidden deep within a spooky old cemetery. Ash makes his way to the center of the graveyard where three books await, two are traps and one is the real book. After a painful process of elimination, Ash finds the real book. All he has to do is say the phrase “Klaatu barada nikto” and he can safely remove it. Of course he completely botches it which triggers the rise of the army of darkness. It’s a hysterical cemetery scene from a great movie.
#2 – “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD”
I hate to keep including this movie in my Phenomenal 5 lists, but I can’t help it. George Romero’s 1968 horror classic “Night of the Living Dead” is such a great movie. Just think, the entire zombie craze as we know it today started in a rural Pennsylvania cemetery during this film’s wonderful opening scene. Barbra and her jerk of a brother Johnny have been making the long trip to visit their father’s grave for several years. But this year it’s a little different. As Johnny is teasing Barbra about her uneasiness in the cemetery they notice a man stumbling their way. As he approaches them he attacks. Johnny fights with the man only to have his head slammed against a rock in the struggle. The man then chases Barbra out of the cemetery which launches this classic horror story.
#1 – “THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY”
Of all the Phenomenal 5 lists I’ve done none have had a more obvious #1 choice than this one. Sergio Leone had an unmatched knack for building up and executing great western showdowns. Perhaps his best takes place in his tasty 1966 spaghetti dish “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”. In a scene destined to take place since the film’s brilliant opening, the good (Clint Eastwood), the bad (Lee Van Cleef), and the ugly (Eli Wallach) come together in a Mexican showdown at Sad Hill Cemetery. With buried gold at stake the three square off in a three-way duel not knowing who can trust who. Leone masterfully soaks the scene in tension with his camera and with Ennio Morricone’s glorious music. And even after the shootout, Leone gives us a classic finale that seals its place at the top of the list.
There are several other fantastic cemetery scenes I hated to leave off. What are your favorites? Please take time to let me know what you agree or disagree with.
Posted in The Phenomenal 5. Tagged army of darkness, arnold schwarzenegger, bruce campbell, clint eastwood, eli wallach, george romero, joseph cotten, lee van cleef, night of the living dead, sergio leone, terminator 3, the third man
The Keith & the Movies Valhalla Induction
April 26, 2013 by Keith
The Keith & the Movies Valhalla is a place of tribute for those movies that I hold in the highest regard. These are films that embody everything that is great about motion pictures. These are the best of the best – movies that I truly love and that stand above the rest. There are many great movies that won’t find their way into these sacred halls. But here you will find those films that I believe personify brilliance in filmmaking, storytelling, and entertainment. These glorious 5 star accomplishments are worthy of special recognition as the very best. Ok, enough of the high drama! In other words, these are my favorite movies of all time, ok?
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968) – I’ve always been picky when it comes to westerns. I grew up around them but I never latched onto them. That was before Sergio Leone showed me what a western could be. His monumental work “Once Upon a Time in the West” from 1968 is hands down my favorite western. Everything from Leone’s gritty signature style and brilliant camerawork to Ennio Morricone’s entrancing score works to perfection.
There are so many memorable scenes in “Once Upon a Time in the West”. From the masterfully conceived train station opening to the intense and anticipated final showdown, the film is filled with one fantastic scene after another. And of course how can I talk about this movie and not mention the cast. A young Charles Bronson plays the mysterious stranger who everybody is trying to figure out. Jason Robards gives the best performance of his career as a scruffy bandit ringleader. Then there’s the breathtakingly beautiful Claudia Cardinale who holds her own with all the tough guys. But it’s Henry Fonda who steals the movie as one of the most detestable villains you’ll find. It’s a role unlike anything Fonda had played at the time which made his performance all the more spectacular. If you haven’t seen this film you should. If you don’t like westerns, it doesn’t matter. A great movie is a great movie and this is a great movie.
“Once Upon a Time in the West” is the fifth inductee into the Keith & the Movies Valhalla. But there are more amazing movies to come in the near future so stay tuned. What are your thoughts on this Sergio Leone classic? Is it worth the accolades it’s received or is it an overrated picture? You now know my opinion. I’d love to hear yours. Take time to share your comments below.
Posted in Movie News and Articles. Tagged charles bronson, claudia cardinale, henry fonda, jason robards, movies, once upon a time in the west, sergio leone, westerns
“DJANGO UNCHAINED” – Breaking down the trailer…
June 7, 2012 by Keith
Everyone has probably seen the new “Django Unchained” trailer that is supposed to hit big screens in front of tomorrow’s “Prometheus”. It’s the new film from Quentin Tarantino that’s set to be released this Christmas. This is a highly anticipated trailer from a highly anticipated film. In fact it’s #8 on my “Most Anticipated Films of 2012” list. But I have to admit, I have mixed feelings when it comes to Tarantino and I also had mixed feelings after seeing the trailer.
Some view Tarantino as a visionary and a filmmaking genius. For me, he has an undeniable style. His visual presentation is very impressive and the way he crafts his stories show off a slick and unique flare for storytelling. But while I think Tarantino is a solid director in terms of style, I’ve never seen him as the writing genius that others have. I think he is a case of style over substance. Now don’t misunderstand me. Not ever movie has to be thick with complexity. There’s nothing wrong with making simple but stylish films. Some have made the case for the underlying themes found in many of Tarantino’s pictures. Some I can see while others are a bit of a stretch. If their were more deeper meaning to his films, they didn’t connect with me. I tend to see his movies as hyper-violent exercises broken down by clever and unique forms of storytelling. In other words, a simple story told with a slick visual style.
This brings me to “Django Unchained”. I was really anxious to see this trailer for several reasons. First, I was interested to see how Tarantino would present the “old west”. Say what you will about him, but Tarantino is a film lover first so the fact that he would invest in creating a modern-day spaghetti western really appealed to me. That brings me to the second reason I was excited about this trailer (and film). I love the spaghetti western genre. Sergio Leone remains one of my favorite directors of all time and his spaghetti westerns remain my favorite westerns of all time. “A Fistful of Dollars”, “For a Few Dollars More”, “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly”, and “Once Upon a Time in the West” are wonderful films and seeing Tarantino tip his hat to them is great.
That being said, the trailer left me feeling mixed. Now let me preface this by saying that I know you don’t judge a movie by a trailer. Just look at the first trailer for “The Avengers”. It was slow and pretty lifeless yet the movie was a fun action romp that I loved. But there were things with the “Django Unchained” trailer that really left me scratching my head. One key issue I had was the jarring shift in tone after Django is, well, unchained. The James Brown music kicks in which I thought was a little self-indulgent. The movie seemed to be flaunting it’s cleverness and style at the cost of setting the mood and tone. I was also surprised at some of the cheesy lines that, again, seems more aimed at a comedy that a spaghetti western. On the flip side, the production value looks fantastic and it doesn’t look as if Tarantino is going to shy away from the grit you’ll find in many of the great spaghetti westerns. Then there’s the fun assortment of characters. Let’s take a look at the big three:
DJANGO – (Jaime Foxx)
My biggest question mark for this entire production was the casting of Jaime Foxx. It’s said that originally Will Smith was sought after for the part but I’m not sure he would be a big step-up from Foxx for this type of role. Foxx is a decent enough actor. I liked him in “Ray” but not as much as most people. I actually thought he was better in “Collateral Damage” and in his sketch comedy work on the TV show “In Living Color”. There are elements to each of these past performances in the “Django Unchained” trailer. But the trailer did nothing to really sell me on Foxx as a genuine western buttkicker. At times it seemed like he was doing straight parody and it didn’t really work for me. Can Foxx handle this role remains the biggest question for me moving ahead.
DR. KING SCHULTZ – (Christoph Waltz)
I love Christoph Waltz. He was the very best thing about Tarantino’s last film “Inglourious Basterds”. So naturally I was drawn to the idea of him playing a German bounty hunter in the wild west. Waltz seems to have a wide range and I have no doubt he will be able to handle this material. He looks right at home with the Schultz character and even with his exposition-heavy contribution to the trailer, I found myself drawn to him. Unfortunately he looks to be softer and friendlier than I hope he turns out to be and he features a gun draw so slow that he would never live through a Sergio Leone duel. But Schultz looks to be an intriguing character and it’s still unclear whether he’s to be trusted or not.
CALVIN CANDIE – (Leonardo DiCaprio)
Talk about an actor that has really shown a range. DiCaprio has proven to be more than capable of handling a wide assortment of roles and he certainly was an interesting choice to play the evil plantation owner Calvin Candie. The first thing we quickly notice is that DiCaprio is having tons of fun with this role. He clearly has a ruthless side but there is a suave and sophisticated charm about him as well. In the trailer DiCaprio shows us a character that seems completely self-absorbed but yet mesmerizing. Plus he has the best line of the entire trailer: “Gentlemen, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention”. Of all that I saw in this trailer, DiCaprio’s character and performance excited me the most.
So there’s a few thought’s on the trailer so many are talking about. Have you seen the “Django Unchained” trailer yet? What were your thoughts?
Posted in Movie News and Articles. Tagged calvin candie, christoph waltz, django, django unchained, dr. king schultz, jaime foxx, leonardo dicaprio, quentin tarantino, sergio leone, spaghetti western, western, will smith
5 Phenomenal Movie Nicknames
There are so many cool and fun things about movies. One of those things is the cool assortment of characters that filmmakers introduce us to. I’ve been thinking about some of these great movie characters lately. As I was thinking on them, I started noticing the many nicknames that characters have had. I thought it would be fun to do a Phenomenal 5 on movie character’s nicknames. The one’s I chose range from funny to cool to down right iconic. Now as always I wouldn’t call this the definitive list. But there’s no denying that these 5 movie nicknames are simply phenomenal.
#5 – BLONDIE
Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach share some fantastic and memorable moments in Sergio Leone’s classic spaghetti western “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”. The three title characters are trying to beat each other to a chest of buried Confederate gold. They scratch, fight, and shoot their way through deserts, civil war battlegrounds, and cemeteries. The movie is actually full of nicknames but none stand out more than the name Tucco (Wallach) gives Eastwood’s character. “Blondie” is funny in that it doesn’t exactly fit a tough-as-nails gunfighter. But it works so well especially in the classic final scene. How can you not love it?
#4 – SHAMPOO DOUGLAS
Before things really get serious in Jeff Nichols’ “Shotgun Stories”, we are introduced to the key characters through some genuinely fun scenes. While “Shampoo” Douglas (G. Alan Wilkins) isn’t one of the main characters, he cracked me up from the first time I saw him and in almost every scene afterwards. He’s part small town redneck, part dense-as fog airhead and you can’t help but laugh at him, the way he talks, and the interesting predicament he finds himself in. Then there’s his nickname. What’s so great about it is that he hardly looks like someone who has used much shampoo. But yet somehow the goofy nickname is a perfect match for this goofy character.
#3 – HARMONICA
Yet another Sergio Leone classic, “Once Upon a Time in the West” may be my favorite western of all time. It features some incredible direction from Leone and a fantastic cast of characters. We meet one of those characters in the brilliant opening scene at the train station. Charles Bronson plays the mysterious gunfighter who makes his presence immediately known. Aside from his quick draw, he stands out for the haunting tune he plays on his harmonica. It clearly has meaning and we see that later in the film. But it’s the on-the-run bandit played by Jason Robards who gives him the simple but perfect nickname “Harmonica”. He’s such a great character and every time someone mentions the harmonica I think of him.
#2 – WILLIAM “BILL THE BUTCHER” CUTTING
Daniel Day-Lewis’ award winning performance in Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York” is memorable for many reasons. Day-Lewis gives the character the same intensity and energy that he always does. He creates a scary and brutal gang leader who also has one of the more interesting nicknames. The name William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting is both funny and intimidating. The fact that his last name is Cutting is pretty funny in itself. But it’s his fondness and skill with knives that really give the nickname it’s pop. We see that he not only knows how to butcher meat, but he’s not afraid to use his knives on his enemies. He’s a great movie character with a movie nickname that really sticks out.
#1 – INDIANA JONES
How can any other nickname top Indiana Jones? Harrison Ford’s iconic action movie character is not only one of the most entertaining movie characters but he’s also known by everyone. We first saw Indiana in 1981 with the classic “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. It was followed by two fun sequels and more recently a pretty bad one. But Indiana’s icon status will never die. It’s a strange and unusual nickname but it’s one that after all these years feels perfect. I mean can you imagine him being called anything else? He may have taken the name from the family dog, but whenever I hear the name Indiana Jones, I’ll always think of the tough and cool archeologist that I grew up wanting to be. Without a doubt, Indiana Jones is the best movie nickname.
There they are. See a movie nickname you disagree with? What are some of your favorite movie nicknames?
Posted in The Phenomenal 5. Tagged charles bronson, clint eastwood, daniel day-lewis, eli wallach, gangs of new york, harrison ford, indiana jones, jason robards, jeff nichols, martin scorsese, once upon a time in the west, sergio leone, shotgun stories, spaghetti western, top 5
REVIEW: “Yojimbo”
Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 classic Yojimbo is a Japanese samurai film that’s not only beautifully hypnotic entertainment but is a master’s class on camera work and film making. Kurosawa creates a gritty and audacious period picture that manages to mix action with small bits of dark comedy while constantly showing off his technical savvy.
Yojimbo was heavily influenced by American westerns from the Japanese village’s dusty, deserted main street to the face-offs reminiscent of classic western one-on-one gun duels. Even more interesting is that it went on to be the inspiration for other westerns including Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars, which is almost a scene by scene replication instead of a remake. Both films tell the story of a mysterious stranger who enters a small town ran by two brutal, warring gangs. Instead of heeding the advice of a local resident, the stranger sees there’s money to be made in the village by playing both sides. Even Clint Eastwood’s Fistful character seems specifically patterned after Yojimbo’s samurai all the way down to his constant beard scratching.
Toshiro Mifune gives an impeccable performance as the solemn wandering samurai. He and Kurosawa collaborated for 16 films with Kurosawa once saying of Mifune ”I am proud of nothing I have done other than with him”. Their creative chemistry is evident in Yojimbo with Kurosawa really focusing on Mifune’s strength of communication through expressions and mannerisms. This is a strong performance.
Yojimbo looks and sounds amazing. Masaru Sato’s magnetic score starts with the opening credits and resonates throughout the picture. The cinematography is fascinating with some cleverly staged camera angles, near perfect camera movement, and beautiful wide-framed shots. The story is pretty basic but very efficient with the exception of a few too many conversations over sake at the restaurant. Yet it’s never boring and more often times mesmerizing.
Yojimbo earns it’s recognition as a classic. With each viewing I gain a better appreciation for the movie and for Kurosawa’s brilliant vision. It’s easy to see why another great director like Sergio Leone would be inspired by Yojimbo. It’s a true motion picture accomplishment and you don’t have to be a cinephile to appreciate it. If you haven’t seen it, make time to. Then follow it up by watching A Fistful of Dollars. You’ll not only see a great film but also appreciate it’s influence.
VERDICT – 5 STARS
Posted in Classic Movie Spotlight, Movie Reviews - Y. Tagged akira kurosawa, fistful of dollars, masaru sato, movie, movie review, samurai, samurai film, sergio leone, toshiro mifune, western
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2489
|
__label__wiki
| 0.752355
| 0.752355
|
There’s a reason most musicals don’t work on film. People in real life, as a rule, don’t break out into song. And there are no orchestras and background choruses on stand-by should they decide they do want to punctuate a conversation with a power ballad. Unless the project is so highly stylized that even Liza Minelli doesn’t think it’s real, musicals in real life settings tend to be well…creepfests.
Seventeen years ago, Steven Bochco decided to do a show combining a police drama and musical theater. It’s like if Reeses’, instead of combining chocolate and peanut butter, combined chocolate and toilet bowl cleanser. COP ROCK was an unmitigated disaster.
Well, I’m proud to announce that COP ROCK is no longer the worst most embarrassing show in the history of television. The monkey is off their back. There is now VIVA LAUGHLIN, so stupendously awful that no show will ever succeed in that time slot for the next 99 years.
In this series they trade cops for a casino operator but it’s the same premise. Actors inexplicably launch into songs and dance numbers. Imagine Warren Beatty in BUGSY suddenly breaking into “I’m a Pepper, You’re a Pepper, Everyone loves Dr. Pepper”. That’s VIVA LAUGHLIN.
It was originally a hit in England but so was THE RICH LIST.
And how does something so utterly absurd get on a major network? Hugh Jackman is one of the executive producers. Network honchos got to have dinner one night with Hugh Jackman – take their picture with him, maybe get him to autograph their cocktail napkins.
I missed the pilot, which I hear was jaw dropping. But I did catch up to episode two (which, considering the ratings) also became the series finale. CBS Berlin called yesterday.
First it started with the now obligatory “Previously on” section (even sitcoms have that now). For three minutes there was this dizzying montage of unrecognizable characters blurting out random phrases. “He’s dead!” “I’ll call her in the morning.” “Did you pick up my cleaning?” “Ace beats a three.” “That Flomax really works!” Thanks. I’m all caught up now.
Then on with the show. Lloyd Owen is the star. Picture Mike Brady’s evil twin who talks like Greg Germann. He speaks in this bad Raymond Chandler dialogue. “Y’know yer problem, you play fair.” And his image as a tough guy isn’t compromised the slightest when he suddenly breaks into “I’m Still Standing” and dances up and down escalators in a pathetic attempt to recreate the Christopher Walken music video.
He has a sidekick. The “Boo Boo” to his “Yogi”. In this case, a schleppy Jewish guy. Who better to fret over the books and debt notices than a Jew? And nice touch having him sing along with “Money, that’s all I want”.
Melanie Griffith (shot lovingly through a filter of cheesecloth) plays a character named Bunny Baxter. That’s really all you need to know except Melanie’s face work came out much better than Candice Bergen’s.
Other names in this series are Nicky Fontana, Jonesy, Ripley, and Cheyenne. It’s as if everyone in Laughlin, Nevada is named after a member of the Village People.
Rounding out the group are Madchen Amick (as long as she doesn’t do comedy I’m in love), some Ryan Seacrest type pretty boy detective, and former U.S. President, Wayne Palmer from 24 (still blending into any background he stands in front of).
The episode began with two detectives spitting out five minutes of the most convoluted exposition I’ve ever heard. It would have been easier for the Nazis to break Navajo codes than to decipher this backstory.
Then an hour of hard-boiled clichés, this Mike Brady/Greg Germann (who leaves visible slime trails wherever he goes) flashy musical numbers sung by people who can’t sing, and the following plotline:
In order to get more people into his establishment, Mike/Greg tries to lure a big high roller from President Palmer’s casino to his. How? By enticing him with a hot chick. Ah, but there’s a delightful twist. He only likes fat chicks. So Mike/Greg enlists the help of an obese employee, who of course doesn’t have a problem with the idea of some weasel she’s never even met sleeping with her. In fact, she’s downright flattered that Mike/Greg asked.
And if that wasn’t scummy and reprehensible enough, there was this exchange of dialogue:
Mike/Greg explains he’d like her to turn on the charm and suck him in and she says, “If he’s that good looking I might do more than suck.”
COP ROCK, please come back! I swear, I’ll never make fun of you again. Or SHOWGIRLS. Or PAINT YOUR WAGON.
By By Ken Levine at 11:44 PM
Sorry, Ken, but it doesn't sound any crazier than the Musical Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which we have preserved on tape it was so funny).
For that matter have you seen "Maximum Bob" or "Suburban Shoot Out"? (1st season of SSO wa the best)
Very funny - crazy, but funny.
Is this the Yanks spoiling Blackpool
in the same way they did with Coupling, Ultraviolet, Absolutely Fabulous, Red Dwarf, etc, yadda, blah, and so on, and the other, and Doctor Who?
(It looks to me like a lot of the flaws come from taking a format that worked very well for a six-episode serial with a beginning, a middle and an end and trying to extrude it into a long-running series by randomly throwing in storylines and characters - surely anybody should have been able to see that wouldnt' work?)
Brock said...
COP ROCK and PAINT YOUR WAGON... omg... i think the only way to beat viva is to combine these two...
Jonathan Morris said...
Don't blame the UK for 'The Hit List'. It wasn't a hit here - it hasn't even been shown here yet.
I'd recommend checking out the original version of 'Blackpool'. Something strange happens to shows when they cross the Atlantic. 'Teachers' left our shores as a single-camera drama and arrived in the USA as a multi-camera sitcom.
Have you ever adapted a UK show for the US?
Hugh Betcha said...
Minnelli. Liza Minnelli. With two n's. Like her dad -- famed Oscar-winning MGM musical director Vincente Minnelli. He did MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, THE BAND WAGON, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and GIGI -- musicals that worked on film.
"Once More With Feeling" was the best Buffy Episode ever :-)
As a special it works I think, because you already like the characters and look at it as if they were staging a play. "Scrubs" does a great job doing musical episodes too, although I didn't like the second one that much (except the "Everything comes down to poo" song ;-) )
I agree...with ONE single exception. "Pennies From Heaven" (Steve Martin, Christopher Walken in an amazing dance number).
Steve Marting threw me the first (couple) time I saw it, expecting his typical fun, but when you tune in to it as dark...it works.
Probably because it is the story of a guy that "buys" all the Busby Berkeley, movie musicals as real.
There is a LOT of there, there.
Bob Hoskins! Bob Hoskins! Not Steve Martin! Bob Hoskins!
I was one of the handful of people who loved COP ROCK, and have watched the entire series twice. I understood why people hated it, but it got me off.
But I'm a muscial freak. I'm sure I annoyed the gentleman I was seated next to at your play this evening when I was singing along with the pre-performance playing of the HOW TO SUCCEED original cast album, but damn it, I know and love those songs,and Abe Burrows for Heaven's sake. I shut up during the play, and didn't even sing along to the NANNY theme song when it cropped up. (as a symbol of professional whoring humiliation. So perfect!)
(BTW, off-topic for a moment. I really enjoyed your play. Much better than the not-dissimilar DIVA that Annie Potts did in Pasadena last year. MUCH. Loved Mike McManus - as usual - and a strong cast overall. The young cute guy even looked good in his one half-nude scene, and I take my male onstage nudity seriously. Folks, if you get a chance to catch it. Do so.)
I loved the BUFFY musical episode, and not because I already loved the characters. In fact, it's one of only two episodes of BUFFY I ever saw.
But VIVA LAUGHLIN, YIKES! I also missed the premiere (Hugh! My darling Hugh!), and I'm afraid I did not make it through the whole second episode. CLICK! Ghastly. Not even a guilty pleasure, like good ole COP ROCK.
I know I say it every year, but this year really is the worst fall season ever. Me wants LOST. February is still so far away.
Oh, to "SK", I saw the first of the two American pilots for RED DWARF, and I did not think they ruined it. They tried to ruin it, and their Rimmer was awful, and Cat was dull, but Bierko made a smooth, sexy Lister I rather enjoyed, KRYTEN was the same actor and the same character as in Britain and he worked, and of course, Jane Leeves was Holly, and a delight. Through amazing manuvering and nightmarish negotiating, Doug Naylor managed to get the cast to insist on using his script instead of the apparently horrible-beyond-belief script the American producers had wanted to use. Fortunately it failed to sell, and Jane was free to do some other show that went quite well, while Robert Llewellyn was free to return to the original series.
The American DOCTOR WHO actually was the reverse of the problem you stated. They took a LONG-running serialized show (It ran for 26 years!) and made a one-off, single episode version that was wrong in every possible way. The current BBC Wales DOCTOR WHO revival is wonderful.
What you describe does accurately state what they did with QUEER AS FOLK, but you know, that one worked.
There have been three American attempts at FAWLTY TOWERS. The first starred Harvey Korman as Basil, and Betty White as Sybil, and they shot the Hotel Inspectors episode pretty much as originally written, with American references replacing the British ones. Sadly, Korman was not up to Cleese's standard by light-years, (Think Steve Martin's Bilko, or Steve Martin's Clouseau.) so it was blah and forgettable. Betty White was good, as always.
The second actually had a six episode run, as AMANDA'S PLACE, with Beatrice Arthur as Basil Fawlty. Yes, they reversed Basil & Sybil's genders, and wrote "Original" scripts tailored to Arthur. It was dreadful.
I recall almost nothing about the third try, beyond the Manuel being played by a very good actor, Rick Batalla, whom I had directed on stage a few years before.
But remember, ALL IN THE FAMILY (And SANFORD AND SON as well, though it's not a series I remember fondly) were Americanized Brit-coms, and they will keep trying to capture that lightening in a bottle forever.
Sorry SK, having seen both Bob Hoskins PENNIES FROM HEAVEN and Steve Martin's, I really perferred Martin's, although Hoskin's was excellent. But you know what? It condensed so well, the original seemed overlong and over-written, and it didn't have Christopher Walken dancing. Martin was no Bilko and no Cleoseau, but he made PENNIES FROM HEAVEN his own.
Of course, I could be prejudiced. My brother did some of the sound editing on the Steve Martin version.
But pretty much anything WITH Christopher Walken is gong to be better than the same thing without Walken, especially if dancing is involved.
All I can do is stand open-mouthed at 'smooth, sexy Lister'.
I mean...
Just...
wizardru said...
Wait, wait, wait...
Viva Laughlin is supposed to be a US version of Blackpool? How....I mean....
Oy.
Tom Quigley said...
Ken, you're dead on in your assessment of this show. I hadn't seen anything so bad since a syndie about 10 years ago called "Acapulco H.E.A.T.".... I was hoping for Hugh Jackman to suddenly morph into his X-Men character just to give the show something worth watching.... And as if to top off a rhubarb-flavored sundae wih a rotten cherry, in the pilot you also had to endure hearing Melanie Griffith warble her way through Blondie's "One Way or Another..." I needed to take two extra-strength Tylenol sfter seeing that....
benson said...
All this 'Americanization' talk reminded of the attempt in the mid 70's to do an American version of "Are you being served". Beane's of Boston, with Alan Sues as Mr. Humphries, Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Slocombe, and John Hillerman as Capt. Peacock.
It'd be fun to see that pilot.
Bitter Animator said...
I've always hated musicals. Partly because I am a straight male but mostly because I hate most things. That said, I think it's a little unfair to say that musicals don't work on film and just cite Cop Rock and this latest travesty.
Women seem to love musicals. And there used to be a ridiculously high number of musicals, most of which seem to get aired at Christmas time. That Moulin Rouge thing did okay, didn't it? Okay, I couldn't watch more than half of it because the strobe editing sent me into a seizure but people seemed to like it.
Maybe it's just that people don't want it as their primetime show?
But I'll tell you something - had Shatner and Nimoy burst into song on Star Trek, I guarantee you the show would never have been cancelled. That would have been television gold.
How many of us forget that "Xena: Warrior Princess" did not one, but two musical episodes before "Buffy"? (It helped that Lucy Lawless is a trained singer with good range, as she showed last year on "Celebrity Duets." Lord, I wish someone would write a good sitcom vehicle for her.)
I'm sad to say that I missed Laughlin. Coz I loves me some bad TV. But the thing I find most curious about the show is how it was marketed. Nowhere in any of the print or TV ads for the show was there ANY mention of the singing and dancing.
Which is fine if you believe that musical TV shows don't really work. But it really does beg the question, "If you're embarrassed that the show has singing and dancing in it, why the hell did you pick it up as a series in the first place?"
I've worked in the TV promo biz for a while and I see this every TV season: a show being marketed as something it really isn't. Or, at the very least, some key aspect of a show being hidden in the ad campaign. The thinking, as retarded as it may be, is that you want to "get people in the door." So, apparently, the best thing to do is promote the show as something you THINK people would watch (as opposed to what the show actually is) and hope that instead of audiences feeling duped or ripped off when they discover that they got a Chef Salad instead of a Steak Dinner, that they will actually be pleasantly surprised with the show. And they'll fall in love anyway.
Or something stupid like that. (I am presuming that there is an actual logic to this, which I realize is adorably naive.)
I'm sure there are people out there who might have enjoyed the show. I did say "might" and I would like to reiterate that I didn't see a moment of either episode. But there could have been an audience for the show. Unfortunately, those people probably had no idea that "Viva Laughlin" had singing and dancing in it, mistaking it for yet another drama set in a casino -- some sort of "Las Vegas"/"CSI" hybrid.
Coz that's the way it was marketed. And as stupid as it might have been to green light the pilot or to order it to series...marketing it as just another drama is even stupider.
estiv said...
I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned the name Dennis Potter. He wrote both the original (Bob Hoskins) version of "Pennies from Heaven" as well as "The Singing Detective," which everyone but Steven Bochco thought Steven Bochco ripped off without attribution for "Cop Rock." Potter's own personal combination of a love of old Hollywood musicals and a grim outlook on life in general made those two works something special, because they were both about exploring the distance between what we want from life and what we usually get. I haven't seen "Blackpool," but it sounds like it's definitely a descendant of his work. This kind of thing can work--he proved it--but it may be even trickier than farce to pull off.
Charles said...
I love musicals. From traditional stage ones to movie adaptations to musical episodes of tv shows. I think South Park: Bigger Longer Uncut is a brilliant parody of movie musicals, and "Once More with Feeling" is my second favorite Buffy episode.
So I was almost genetically predisposed to like Viva Laughlin. But I watched only about 3/4 of the pilot, and none of the second episode.
One of the glaring problems I had with Laughlin is one that I haven't seen anyone else address: This wasn't a musical in almost any traditional or nontraditional sense, in that they left the original vocal tracks intact on the songs they used, often masking the actor's singing. I mean, come on guys. Hugh Jackman has a Tony award for best actor in a musical, and I can't clearly tell if he's singing or if it's the orginal vocalist?
It wasn't just a bad attempt at doing a musical, it was a bad, lazy attempt at doing a musical.
Off topic question:
What do you do when your sitcom leading stars hate each other's guts?
(as rumored for one new sitcom on FOX)
Do you play it up with the plotting?
The Pale Writer said...
anyone remember that old norm macdonald skit on SNL in which he's part of a WEST SIDE STORY-ish gang that suddnely breaks into song... only macdonald doesn't and is openly questioning it? "hey, where's that music coming from? why are you guys singing? we're in a gang, here - we don't sing!"
brill. i miss norm macdonald.
blogward said...
From what I've managed to glean on YouTube of VL, singing doesn't come into it. I've seen better performances by people wearing ipods on the bus.
Couldn't the reason that Viva Laughlin sucked be that the writing, acting, plot, and the music sucked, as opposed to it being a terrible concept?
I actually liked Cop Rock at the time (so yeah, question my taste--at least it was better than NYPD Blue, a show whose popularity always baffled me.) More importantly, the musical episode of Buffy was pure frickin genius--and if you have any doubts just watch it, twice. More. Once More with Feeling was not just perfectly executed--with insanely clever songs, performed unbelievably well by the cast, and colored with the mix of tragic/funny/poignant of Buffy. That particular episode was essential in terms of moving the entire season forward in terms of plot and character; and the choice to use a musical format was not a crazy novelty but felt more like a logical, even inevitable decision.
The point is: can't you think of a handful of ambitious, even crazy-sounding ideas, that in fact worked because of imaginative and flawless execution?
Here's a list of British TV series remade for the US market, and a list of American shows remade for the British market (both via Wikipedia).
It seems to me that in Australia, the show "Number 96" was a soap with more comic relief than your typical 70s U.S. soap. When NBC Americanized it after a lot of hype (this was the Fred Silverman era), lo and behold, it had a laugh track! (It was shot multicam tape like a daytime soap, but the "audience" sounded Carroll Pratt-ish.) NBC didn't promote it as a sitcom, though--no wonder it was just as big a bomb as "Viva Laughlin."
Michael Zand said...
I wrote this right after the premier of Viva Laughlin but didn't get around to posting it.
"Cop Rock" was like the Hale Bopp comet which comes around every 2400 years. I was fortunate enough to see the comet clearly in the beautiful night skies of Kauai. I was not fortunate in that I saw at least two episodes of Stephen Bochco's abortion and the memory still haunts me.
Positive that the comet and Cop Rock were once in a lifetime events, I was ready to take the good with the bad. That is, until Viva Laughlin premiered last night and the ghost of Cop Rock rose from the dead.
Actors singing and dancing badly to rock standards -- Melanie Griffith trying to sing and move while being shot through a mattress to hide all the work. Who told that poor child she could sing?
At least "Showgirls" was glitzy, dreadful and so over the top that it was hilarious. This was just depressing. I happen to love musicals (and I am a straight male) but this will set them back musicals for another twenty years.
At least for "Cop Rock" and most of the other examples people have given here, they wrote new songs that were genuinely intended to advance the story. Not only did this show simply play songs we've heard a million times before, they did it in an incredibly cliched way. ("Viva Las Vegas" for a casino owner? "Sympathy for the Devil" for a, um, devilish guy? Yikes!) And even a karaoke bar lets you supply your own vocals, rather than just playing the old records for you to sing along with. Even if the plot, characters and actors weren't so dull, the music would have sunk this show completely.
A lot of smoke and mirrors with Laughlin. The old department store at Wilshire and Santa Monica was turned into the TV casino. On an exterior scene with President Palmer it was pretty easy for us locals to make out the Beverly Wilshire sign.
Chatsworth doubled for Laughlin exteriors most of the time.
This show was so wrong on so many levels I'm speechless
I liked Mark Lisanti's line on Defamer
"the debut of CBS's conceptually adventurous Viva Laughlin bombed so badly that network corporate overlord Les Moonves may order the execution of everyone involved after its next airing."
Another musical-lovin' straight male here. Seems to me we weren't such a rare breed a couple of decades ago. I've never understood the old "in real life, people don't break into song and dance" argument. Folks who have no problem with stories about superheroes, vampires, lost arks, talking animals, or giant robots from outer space, can't sufficiently suspend their disbelief long enough to enjoy a good musical? Sheesh.
"Good musical" being the key, of course. Sounds like "Viva Laughlin" is simply bad in a way that goes beyond genre. As many here have noted, the Buffy musical episode is sheer genius, both in conception and execution. Original songs help a lot, but the Xena musicals that vp81955 mentions also worked rather well by repurposing oldies (with new lyrics that fit the story).
I'm hoping the success of Disney's "High School Musical" films (which I haven't seen) means many of the younger generation are less squeamish about song-and-dance. Maybe that'll lead to some newer musicals that can stand with the best of the older ones.
Ger Apeldoorn said...
I am not gay and I liked Cop Rock too.
One thing I have always admired about Steve Bochco's work is that he is a smart man, who is afraid of emotion and always tries to find a way to make his work emotional without resorting to obvious tricks. Seen in this light, some of Cop Rock actually works. Like the scene where a cop is shot in a firefight on the street and in the scene where his partner is waiting for the ambulance to arrive knowing it will come to late to save him, he sings for him... or the courtroom scene where the jury sings the accused is guilty to a Randy Newman song. I have to add, I saw the show in the BBC version which was five minutes (and probably one song) longer. If they ever do a DVD (maybe when people stop badmouthing it) I hope they use the longer version.
Where the series went wrong, in my opinion, was that it was the first series to do one story over a whole season. We are used to this now, with series like 24, but on Cop Rock hardly anything ever happened. It seemed as if the songs took up all the space and nothing was left for any story. Bochco did that better a year klater, when he took that is his next trick in Murder One.
I've been looking for copies or a rerun ever since, but never come across it. One of the posters says he saw it twice... where did he see it the second time?
Ger A.
Todd Mueller said...
When picking apart musicals, I think it helps to look at its many flavors.
JUKE BOX MUSICALS use pre-existing songs and can be further broken down into:
MIX TAPE MUSICALS: tunes from multiple sources (VIVA LAUGHLIN, MOULIN ROUGE, THE SINGING DETECTIVE, PENNIES FROM HEAVEN)
GREATEST HITS MUSICAL (BIO): tunes from a single source used to tell that source's story (JERSEY BOYS, BUDDY)
GREATEST HITS MUSICAL (STORY): tunes from a single source grafted to an independent story (MAMA MIA, OUR HOUSE)
GREATEST HITS MUSICAL (REVUE): stuff the story, gimme the music. (THE WORLD GOES ROUND, SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM)
And then, of course, there's the TRADITIONAL MUSICAL, which uses original music and lyrics. (from SHOW BOAT to AVENUE Q)
To Ken's point, while there does indeed seem to be a modern tendency towards the creepfest, it's not impossible to create a non-creepy screen musical in a real life setting. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL seems to have done it. And quite lucratively, I might add. But I think it's important to note that HSM is, in fact, a traditional musical. New music and lyrics (albeit mediocre), specifically built for the story. That, I think, is the key. LAUGHLIN is a juke box musical, a much trickier beast. Not impossible, just trickier.
For my money, If they would have anchored the story in the 50s, during the days of Louis Prima and Sam Butera, and used some of the lesser known jems from that period's fantastic song book (as well as casting the still amazing Keely Smith)... I would have been right there with them, yelling SING, SING, SING!
...and for those of you who didn't get a chance to see it, Ken's play was laugh-tastic. Well worth the 8 bucks.
ger: Cop Rock ran on cable within the last few years, I believe on VH1. They had a marathon showing of the entire series. Unfortunately, I only got to see a few minutes, so I can't weigh in with an opinion.
To which I remind people of Cop Rock's 2 Emmy wins
Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman for its pilot episode.
and to Joe Ann Fogle for Outstanding Editing for a Series - Single Camera Production also for its the pilot episode.
And its other three nominations:
Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics
Ron Boustead (composer/lyricist)
Greg Edmonson (composer/lyricist)
For episode "Oil Of Ol'Lay".
Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
Gregory Hoblit (director)
For the pilot episode.
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series
Mark Server (production mixer)
Robert Appere (re-recording mixer)
Ron Estes (re-recording mixer)
Gary D. Rogers (re-recording mixer)
maven said...
I watched all of VIVA BLACKPOOL and really enjoyed it. So when I heard there was going to be a VIVA LAUGHLIN, I couldn't wait. I think I lasted 5 minutes or half-way through Melanie Griffith's first number.
A & E reran COP ROCK late night about ten years ago, which is when I rewatched it.
SK, take a deep breath. Relax. Yes, Craig Bierko's white, hunky Dave Lister was miles away from Craig Charles's black, scruffy Lister, but they have a similar type of charm, and the characterization worked. And I found both versions of Lister sexy, albeit Charles's in a much less obvious way. And both landed their jokes.
An American ARE YOU BEING SERVED with Alan Sues as Mr. Humphries? Yikes! I'd love to see it, but Alan Sues replacing sweet little John Inman (The greatest last name for a gay actor ever.), there's a sledgehammer being used as a sewing needle. (I may be prejudiced. Inman was a fan of my Tallulah Morehead.) I'll bet John Hillerman was perfect as Captain Peacock. I'm trying not to imagine Charlotte Rae's Mrs. Slocombe making her endless pussy jokes. No one wants to see that.
Jbryant, you have a real point about what audiences accept and don't. But what if Superman flew, AND broke into song? He did in the TV adaptation of the Broadway musical IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S SUPERMAN (Title way too long!) Man, did that suck. Some good songs ("You've Got Possibilities" is from that score.), but a very cheap, juvinile execution, and a charisma-free actor as Superman (Never heard from again.) No one wrote: "You will believe a man can sing."
Tor Y. Harbin said...
That third version of FAWLTY TOWERS: from what I remember, it was called PAYNE and it starred John Larroquette.
Never watched it, but I knew of it.
coake said...
Count me as another straight guy who liked Cop Rock. My memory of it is hazy now, but I do remember a scene around a campfire, where I was surprised to find that Ronny Cox is a pretty good singer.
ajmilner said...
When COP ROCK ran on ABC, David Letterman made this proposal:
1) they start each show by having the cops arrest Bruce Springsteen/Bob Seger/Phil Collins for running a red light or double parking;
2) the cops then spend the next hour fighting bad guys and having shootouts WITHOUT singing;
3) the wrapup of the show should be in traffic court, where the judge tells the real-life guest star rocker, "We'll let you off -- only if you perform a number for us." Rock star then whips out a microphone and sings his Top Ten hit to the delight of the court.
what if Superman flew, AND broke into song? He did in the TV adaptation of the Broadway musical IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S SUPERMAN (Title way too long!) Man, did that suck. Some good songs ("You've Got Possibilities" is from that score.), but a very cheap, juvinile execution, and a charisma-free actor as Superman (Never heard from again.) No one wrote: "You will believe a man can sing."
I have this on a bootleg DVD. As Bart Simpson once said, "I didn't think it was possible, but this both sucks AND blows."
The Crutnacker said...
Perhaps if CBS changes the name of the show to CSI: Laughlin the could have a hit?
Maybe they thought the title said "Viva Laugh-In" and thought it was a revival?
Perhaps they were trying to appeal to the seven people who still watch the Tony Awards by greenlighting a show with Hugh Jackman.
Maybe they thought Hugh Jackman was the character's name and they could do some clever Two and a Half Men sex talk with his name.
I have to agree that this season has sucked. Returning and new shows have bored the crap out of me. CSI sucks this year. Law and Order (all seven of them) sucks this year. Sitcoms all seem to be the same as last year. I know it is a bad year when Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters are the highlight of my week.
I loved Cop Rock, and I really wish they'd release it on DVD.
Of course, I think most of the other fans of Cop Rock already posted here, so we might not make up enough of an audience...
IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S SUPERMAN was actually pretty good in its initial failed Broadway run in 1966, or so I thought when I was 9 1/2 (I saw it with my folks; we drove to NYC from the Lehigh Valley, PA, during Passover). The songs were by Adams & Strouse who had done Bye Bye Birdie. Linda Lavin sang the aforementioned "You've Got Possibilities" (no, she wasn't playing Lois Lane). Oddly enough, the writers of the book of the show (David Newman and Robert Benton) went on to co-write the 1978 Superman feature, which has a lot more to do with the traditional Superman story (the musical had almost no recognizable characters besides Clark and Lois; the big name in the cast, top-billed, was Jack Cassidy as a Daily Planet columnist named Max).
Gottacook
Scrubs got it right.
I even liked the musical Buffy episodes--especially because they made fun of themselves, had fun with it, incorporated it into the story and it wasn't week after week!
Maybe we must suffer this plague now because the execs are getting younger and younger so they have no sense of history. Cop Rock took itself seriously and was week after week...or did it last that long?
Next: Aaron Sorkin Does A Few Good Men: The Musical! Can't wait to see Jack do the big number in Gitmo: It's Raining Enemy Combatants!
Harold X said...
You could tell how clueless the producers of "Viva Laughlin" were when they used "Viva Las Vegas" as their theme song.
Not even "Las Vegas" was that trite -- and they had the chance before the song was a Viagra commercial.
But the whole point about Red Dwarf, the entire joke, the fundamental set-up, was that the last human being alive, the one representative of our race going farther than anyone had ever been into the cosmos, was... scum. A slob whose idea of fine dining was to strain last night's curry through his sock before he had it for breakfast.
To make him somebody you might want to spend time around, hell, to make him somebody you might want to be, misses the entire point.
(I think, this is one of the fundamental differences between UK and US sitcoms and why the remakes so often fail spectacularly: the US have this bizarre idea that people in sitcoms should be people the audience aspires to be*. That applies whatever their circumstances: whether they are living in big clean flats in New York City, which of course would be nice, or stuck in a war zone, where the audience wishes that if they were stuck in a war zone they could be as witty and as profound and get one over on the stupid brass as often as the sitcom characters. The US audience is meant to root for the characters and want them to succeed. Whereas UK sitcoms are about people the audience is meant to hate, and want them to fail. In short: you're not meant to like Lister (except by comparison with the Cat and Rimmer, and that's hardly saying much!), and if you do, something's gone very very wrong. I mean, 'the last human being... and he's a slob' is funny. 'The last human being... and he's a handsome, fine, suave example of a man' -- where's the humour? Where is the funny?)
* There are occasional exceptions, but hardly ever properly: wasn't even Frasier given some redeeming qualities?
John F. Opie said...
Ahhhh, Madchen Amick. The best reason to ever have watched Twin Peaks after the first season. Maybe the only reason.
Who did she annoy to be cast in this one?
Ahhhhhhh. Madchen Amick.
The best reason ever to have watched the second season of Twin Peaks.
Possibly the only reason to do that.
What *did* she do to get cast in this???
Since there appears to be a preponderance of Cop Rock fans on the board, I just wanted to make you aware that a number of songs that were used in that show are used in Randy Newman's Faust (or, maybe, Randy Newman's Faust). Not sure which one they were written for, but the concept album Faust came out well after Cop Rock went off the air, so I'm guessing they were original with Cop Rock.
Also, on the issue of characters bursting into song:
FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS.
One of the best shows on TV this year.
So, all in the execution, rather than the form, perhaps.
SK,
It's not so much that we're supposed to aspire to BE the characters, but rather something my first comedy mentor drilled into my head years back: likeability. "If they like you," he used to tell me, "You can get away with anything." Also, there's the thought that people invite TV characters into their living rooms each week. They want to be sure their charcters are welcome.
Bierko's Lister wasn't suave. He was very attractive looking and he had charm, but he wasn't suave. And Craig Charles is certainly not unattractive either, and has loads of charm.
Have you seen the first American RED DWWARF pilot? I have; in fact, I have a tape of it. The second, in which CAT became a female - BECKER'S Terry Ferrel in fact - I have not seen. I hear it was a mess.
Bierko's Lister was a slob, he just wasn't as big a slob as Craig Charles's. He still ate disgusting foods. He was still a screw-up, but yes, in fine old American TV tradition, the last human being alive was a really handsome slob. And both Listers had charm. (And they had a Kochanski who could actually speak clearly, unlike C.P. Grogan, who seemed barely able to form words.)
Had the series sold and gone on, with Doug Naylor back in England, it would probably have spiralled down into chaos, so I never mourned that it didn't sell, but while it was unquestionably inferior to the original, it wasn't ruined either.
And I don't know how to break it to you, but Craig Charles's Lister was very likable. I have the whole British series on DVD, and before the DVDs came out, I'd taped the entire 8 seasons off the TV. I've watched them, begining to end, multiple times and believe me, the American pilot was superior to the entire 7th and 8th seasons of the original. And even season 6 was full of story retreads. Lister even remarks on it at one point, asking how the same person can keep getting into the exact "same smeg" (messes, for the uninitiated.), because the ideas were used up.
Truely unlikable protagonists on American sit-coms are rare. The two season series BUFFALO BILL with Dabney Coleman was one, BECKER another, and Archie Bunker was the hateful motherload. BUFFALO BILL and BECKER relied on the audiences already liking the star to get past the character's nastiness. Archie Bunker had Edith loving him to make people think that somewhere under all the bile was a good man. (There wasn't though.) And by the time of ARCHIE BUNKER'S PLACE, he had been softened into a loveable old curmudgeon.
Many of your points are true, but if you think RED DWARF survived for 8 seasons witout the viewers loving Lister, and loving him from episode one on, you're wrong. And you just can't pronounce a show you didn't see as terrible. (And here's a fact: for the first two seasons, RED DWARF weas really just an English remake of the extremely American THE ODD COUPLE, only in space 3,000,000 years in the future.)
As for "Ruining" RED DWARF, or any other American TV hack job remake, I would mention Stephen King's reply when asked how he felt about Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING "Ruining" King's book: "He hasn't ruined it. There's my copy right there on that shelf. It's just fine. He just made a bad movie."
Wait a minute! "SK"? Are you Stephen King? or worse, Stanley Kubrick back from the dead?
Aaaaaahhhhh!!!
Original songs help a lot, but the Xena musicals that vp81955 mentions also worked rather well by repurposing oldies (with new lyrics that fit the story).
That was true for the second "Xena" musical ep. The first one had largely original music, and no oldies that I recall.
Charles,
I have a bootleg cd of Randy newsman' songs for Cop Rock (including his own piano demo versions) and you are right. Sandman's Coming is the best that's redone for Faust. But it is not nearly as poignant there. In Cop Rock it's a lullaby sung by a drug addict mother who has fought to get her child back and now resells it for drug money while she is waiting for the man to come and get the kid and give her the money. Sandman's Coming. And in the last verse you realize it's as much about the drug induced haze that she is waiting for as it is about the kid being taken away.
The role is played and sung by Kathleen Wilhoite, a wonderful throaty version. When she says 'don't hate me, baby' before the last verse it's just perfect drama. Which is the big secret why Cop Rock worked when it worked. It provided the songs with a dramatic background, rather than the other way around.
Putting Sandman's Coming in Faust was just another sign of how desperate Randy Newman was witht hat musical.
So perhaps the show of support for Cop Rock indicates that this type of show COULD work. And kudos to the last post-er, I remember getting goosebumps from that very song in that episode.
Maybe the weekly grind is even grindier for a weekly musical than a weekly comedy. Maybe one of the reasons the show flopped was that it was just too hard to execute consistently on a weekly basis....
And by the way--why do so many "non-gay" guys need to be so butch when confessing their love of musicals? What's the big deal?
vp81955, thanks for the correction. Even though we have all the Xena season box sets, I haven't watched all of them by any means. It's quite possible I've seen only the second musical.
anonymous, I think the admissions of being straight started in response to bitter animator's post: "I've always hated musicals. Partly because I am a straight male but mostly because I hate most things." I don't think anyone's trying to sound butch. I mentioned it mainly in support of my point that it wasn't that long ago that a love of musicals didn't necessarily bring one's sexuality into question. But the kneejerk reaction these days seems to be along the lines of bitter animator's comment. Not sure why anyone would think being gay is a prerequisite for enjoying some of the greatest music, lyrics, singing and dancing our culture has produced, but what're ya gonna do?
Viva Laughlin beats out Cop Rock as the worst Tv series of all time? Ummmmm...sorry, maybe as musical Tv goes, but as TV shows go My Mother the Car has to take first place in the Worst Tv Show of all department...
Mike Rinaldi said...
Wow, I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Hull High." It came on the same year as "Cop Rock" but didn't get cancelled quite as quicly, probably because singing teachers and students in a high school was more acceptable to an audience than singing cops. The one thing for which "Hull High" deserves to be remembered is introducing the world to Nancy Valen. One of the most beautiful women ever to grace the planet Earth.
I switched over from baseball to watch the first few minutes of the second episode of Laughlin. I'd heard about the musical aspect and wanted to see a song. And there weren't any songs! Okay, there probably were, but not while I was watching. It was this long-winded exposition and after about five minutes I switched back to baseball because I didn't want to think about these characters. I just wanted to see a song!
I mean that's why CSI: Miami is the most popular show in the world. In the opening montage, before you even see a dead body, guaranteed, there's girl in bikinis. The show's crap, but doggone it, you get your bikinis.
I tuned in to see a musical and didn't a musical number quickly enough.
-Used Listen to Ken Call Orioles Games
Lister was indeed a slob (and yes, that was the entire point of Red Dwarf, which the American remake entirely missed) but he was not scum. He was a very likeable guy (for the most part).
Incidentally, Robert Llewellyn (Kryten) mentions in his wonderful autobiography The Man in the Rubber Mask that the original idea was to cast a short fat slobby Hispanic actor as Lister for the American remake, but then NBC got cold feet, fearing that they'd be blasted for perpetuating negative stereotypes about Hispanic-Americans (again, completely missing the point).
The WGA strike
The CHEERS script that could have ruined us
The Denver Boot
Never think you're great
Mary Tyler Moore Show spoof
The greatest 4 second hits
No more hour episodes of THE OFFICE! Please!
The LA wildfires
The barbeque of DEATH!!!
Don't cry for me, Ellen DeGeneres
Wanna see my play?
Speaking farce-y
Rated R for language
The first scene that launched our career
Charles Emerson Winchester
Things not to do at Disneyland
You're on the air. Now what?
No more Frank.TV ads!!
5 things you don't know about me
the blogger and Torture awards
Checking in on HOUSE
More movies the Farrelly Brothers can destroy
To Sur, with love
You can download my teleseminar... and other fun s...
My favorite screen couple
Questions I didn't get to...
Open letter to the cast of THE OFFICE
Why week two is often weak two
Teleseminar
A Royal mistake
Phil Spector testifies...sort of
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2493
|
__label__wiki
| 0.861253
| 0.861253
|
Multiple Victims Reported Following Florida High School Shooting
Rob Carroll
Thinkstock Photo
Police now have a suspect in custody following a shooting at a Florida high school earlier today that left at least 17 dead according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
The shooting happened around 3 p.m. local time at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Parkland is approximately 50 miles north of Miami.
The Broward County Sheriff's Office said via Twitter that the suspect in custody was not a current student at the school.
According to Broward County Public Schools, the shooting occurred as students were being dismissed from class for the day. The school went on lockdown after reports of gunfire.
Students were dismissed from the school following the arrest of the suspect. Broward County Sheriff's Office announced via Twitter that a staging area for parents was set up at a Marriott hotel in nearby Coral Springs.
According to CNN, the incident today in Florida was the fourth reported shooting at a US middle or high school since the start of 2018.
Today also marks the 10th anniversary of a shooting at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois that left six dead and several injured.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2494
|
__label__cc
| 0.568621
| 0.431379
|
Zero Tolerance for Bullies (Canadian Union of Postal Workers)
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
Download in PDF format: Bulletin 002 Zero Tolerance for Bullies-EN
Zero Tolerance for Bullies
Wednesday May 13 2015
2015-20189/2
The federal government has recently suggested that they may try to criminalize criticism of Israel and its policies, as part of a “zero tolerance” policy on hate speech. Their new definition of hate speech may include support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which is having its intended effect: to exert real pressure on the state of Israel to review and repeal its apartheid policies that oppress the Palestinian people.
CUPW has had constructive debate within the union, and has resolved democratically to support the BDS movement. We work for self-determination and human rights for the Palestinian people and an end to oppression and occupation. As it once did in South Africa, economic divestment and boycott is proving to be an effective part of the international effort.
This spring, more than 70 organizations joined us in signing a statement on defending the right to criticize the state of Israel and support the BDS movement. We stand together with peace organizations, labour organizations, indigenous groups, governments and others.
This attack against free speech is clearly designed to have a chilling effect, and to stifle genuine discussion about this issue. We will not be intimidated by the government’s policies. CUPW will never apologize for standing up for peace and justice everywhere. As long as the occupation continues, CUPW will work towards a peaceful solution which ensures the safety and the dignity of both Israelis and Palestinians. And no Prime Minister will tell us what we are allowed or not allowed to talk about.
Peace and justice for all: the struggle continues.
Mike Palecek
Posted in BDS, CUPW, Free Speech, International Labor
Closing the port for Black lives (Socialist Worker)
Posted on May 4, 2015 | Comments Off on Closing the port for Black lives (Socialist Worker)
REPORT: RAGINA JOHNSON
Closing the port for Black lives
Ragina Johnson reports on the dockworkers’ shutdown of the Port of Oakland to protest the epidemic of police murder across the U.S.
ILWU Local 10 members demonstrate at Oscar Grant Plaza in Oakland in 2010
HUNDREDS OF union members, activists and community groups gathered at the Port of Oakland early on May 1 to protest police terrorism and support the Black Lives Matter movement.
As the crowd grew, news that Baltimore’s lead prosecutor planned to indict the six cops involved in Freddie Gray’s murder was arriving. There was a feeling of vindication in the crowd that there had finally been a step toward justice for the Gray family, people in Baltimore and families struggling for justice against the national epidemic of police violence.
The decision of Oakland dockworkers to shut down the port on May Day in solidarity with the struggle against police brutality continues the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10’s decades-long tradition of militant labor struggles. Local 10 has not only fought around bread-and-butter economic issues for its own members, but has also taken many stands in opposition to racism, war and police brutality. ILWU Local 10 has a well-deserved reputation of taking concrete action in solidarity with community fights.
The rally was called prior to the escalating rebellion in Baltimore around Freddie Gray’s murder. In the lead-up to the event, retired longshore worker Jack Heyman wrote about the importance of dockworkers and labor being part of the struggle against police and state terror:
When police in North Charleston, S.C., killed Walter Scott, a Black worker, the longshore union members there organized protests. ILWU Local 10, which has close relations with the Charleston union, responded with its call to stop work and march on May Day. The South Carolina AFL-CIO commended the ILWU local for its “courageous actions of solidarity with the families” and also is calling for May 1 “actions to protest the continuing unjustifiable killings.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
AS THE rally at the port kicked off in the morning, speakers reminded the crowd about the need to continue fighting in city after city. “These kinds of actions will continue to occur until we see a change,” said Wanda Johnson, who is the mother of Oscar Grant, an unarmed African American man murdered by Bay Area BART police in 2009.
These struggles for justice especially hit home for longshore workers and their families, who are not immune from the epidemic of police terrorism and mass incarceration that has devastated so many communities across the U.S. ILWU members are family to Jeremiah Moore and Richard “Pedie” Perez III, both killed by police in the last couple years. These cases have not received the same attention as some of the more high-profile cases in the Bay Area, but they are just as devastating.
Moore, who was 29 years old and autistic, was killed by a Vallejo police officer in 2012. “This is a citizen issue,” said Moore’s family member Rebecca as she surveyed the crowd holding photos of countless people killed by police. “I’m here to support everyone.”
Last year, Richmond police killed Richard “Pedie” Perez III, who was 24. His father spoke briefly and powerfully to thank the crowd for coming out. “It’s so tough,” he said of the devastating loss that family members wake up to each morning. “Every day I cry.”
Police target African Americans disproportionately because of racist policing practices and the deeper structural and systemic discrimination that oppresses communities of color. Yet the Moore and Perez families are not African American–their tragic loss reveals the fact that the violence of police terrorism affects all working-class and poor people.
Mollie Costello of the Alan Blueford Foundation reminded everyone that we’re coming up on the two-year anniversary of Oakland high school student Alan Blueford’s murder by Oakland police. “We’re here as a community, and we’re here for labor,” she said.
After the speakers finished, the whole crowd chanted together: “Justice for Freddie Gray, justice for Pedie Perez, justice for Oscar Grant, justice for Jeremiah Moore, justice for Alan Blueford.”
In the crowd, there were activists from other unions who had taken the day off to support the Black Lives Matter movement and the movement against police terror. In an interview, one union carpenter, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by conservative elements in Carpenters Union Local 2236, referenced the 1934 general strike in San Francisco that centered on the dockworkers’ struggle:
I think it is important to be educated in history. Regarding Black Lives Matter and police violence, it wasn’t long ago that labor was facing police terror. Labor needs to support these movements now. In 1934, during the San Francisco general strike, tens of thousands of workers went out to protest workers who had been murdered by the police.
This protest in 1934 against the police killing of two workers–what is known as “Bloody Thursday”–helped galvanize other unions to support the dockworkers’ strike and turned the struggle into a general strike that shut down San Francisco. These historic actions by port workers and the broader labor movement led to the unionization of the docks and the formation of the ILWU.
On May 1, dozens of longshore workers, with their banners “An injury to one is and injury to all” and “Stop police terror,” led the march–along with the dockworkers’ drill team–towards Oscar Grant Plaza in downtown Oakland. ILWU members held signs “Justice for Pedie” and wore shirts with the faces of ILWU family members who were victims of police terror.
As the march moved through Oakland, African American families and community membered picked up signs and put them in the windows of their homes. Some also joined the protest, swelling the size of the march to about 1,000. In a touching display of support, grade school kids at two Oakland schools ran out cheering across their playground and fields to meet the march, yelling and chanting while peering through the schools’ fences.
People talked and chanted as they covered the several miles to downtown Oakland. Along the way, many engaged in discussions about how to build labor support for the Black Lives Matter movement and the need to connect the attacks on working people with a struggle against racist police violence. In an interview, ILWU Local 10 member Anthony Leviege pointed out that the movement needs to talk about how the system as a whole stands in the way of justice:
We need to talk about jobs. We should make demands for economic change. These economic problems are what lead to ghettos and police aggression. The police should turn their guns on who the real criminals are–corporations and those running the system. People are getting ground down. We can’t breathe. Police and war are all symbols of how this system just doesn’t work.
The march ended up with a rally at Oscar Grant Plaza, where the number of unions and activists taking part grew to include many Oakland and Berkeley public school teachers, transit workers in the Amalgamated Transit Union 1555, and organizations fighting for a living wage, such as East Bay Organizing Committee and the Fight for 15 Bay Area.
The ILWU action coincided with a rally of Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21, who are organizing for a new municipal workers’ contract with the City of Oakland.
ILWU Local 10 members spoke at Oscar Grant Plaza and expressed solidarity with the rebellion in Baltimore over the murder of Freddie Gray. They connected these struggles to the economic, political and class system that is waging war on all working people and trying to keep African Americans on the bottom rung of society.
“I understand why those kids are out there throwing rocks and bottles,” said Trent Willis, former president and business agent of Local 10. “It’s a result of many generations of people out there facing poverty and violence. We have to understand that this is a class struggle, my union understands that, and that’s why I am proud to be a Local 10 member.”
Clarence Thomas, who recently retired after 30 years as a longshore worker, union activist and former executive board member, expressed the militancy needed for this fight:
The ILWU is in the vanguard of the entire U.S. labor movement. If we want to stop this reign of terror, we have to stop commerce. When workers stop, they shut down America. The supreme task of the U.S. labor movement is to confront the corporations head on and lead a movement of workers and oppressed to build a just and peaceful world.
Comments Off on Closing the port for Black lives (Socialist Worker)
Posted in U.S. Labor News, Zim - Block the Boat - ILWU
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3902 Endorses Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel
Posted on May 1, 2015 | Comments Off on The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3902 Endorses Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel
In a landslide vote at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday 27 April 2015, the Canadian Union for Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3902 voted to endorse the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
CUPE 3902 represents over 7,000 teaching assistants, course instructors, and sessional faculty at the University of Toronto. This vote comes on the heels of the union’s Unit 1 strike earlier this year.
“After impassioned debate, members present at the CUPE 3902 Annual General Meeting on April 27 showed their strong support for the BDS campaign,” said Erin Black, CUPE 3902 chairperson. She added, “The motion of support was carried by a very clear majority.”
During the recent strike at the University of Toronto, Palestinian students and faculty from Al Quds University sent a message of solidarity, and affirmed that the struggle for access to higher education and workers’ rights is a common struggle from Palestine to Turtle Island. CUPE 3902 has now expressed its solidarity with the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli settler colonial and apartheid system.
The resolution included support for the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) divestment campaign which calls on the University of Toronto to divest from companies that facilitate and profit from violations of international law in Palestine. Companies targeted for divestment include Northrop Grumman, Hewlett Packard and Lockheed Martin.
“UTGSU regards this as an important victory for the BDS work on campus and across the country,” said UTGSU BDS Committee chairperson, Susanne Waldorf. “CUPE 3902 members have affirmed their commitment to BDS and the divestment campaign,” added Waldorf.
CUPE 3902 joins CUPE Ontario, CUPE 3903 at York University and CUPE 3906 at McMaster University, which have also passed resolutions endorsing BDS, heeding Palestinian trade unions and popular movements’ calls for international solidarity.
This resolution is a milestone for BDS actions in North America. It supports the Palestinian trade unionist call for a military embargo of Israel, and demands that the University of Toronto sever partnerships with Israeli universities that are complicit in Israel’s colonial and racist apartheid policies and its ongoing violations of Palestinian human rights.
Below is the full text of the CUPE 3902 resolution:
WHEREAS, the Palestinian trade union movement, with support from the Congress of South African Trade Unions and its affiliates, is unanimously calling on trade unions internationally to take immediate action to stop the Israeli massacre in Gaza and hold Israel to account for its crimes against the Palestinian people.
THEREFORE, Be it resolved that CUPE 3902,
1) dissociate from Israeli trade unions which are complicit in the occupation and support the GSU’s divestment campaign;
2) support the Palestinian trade-union movement’s call for a military embargo on Israel;
3) share information with members about the siege and destruction of Gaza;
4) ask members to boycott Israeli commercial products and companies that actively support the violation of human rights;
5) recommend that the University as well as the members of our Local withdraw their participation from partnerships with Israeli universities that actively support the violation of Palestinian human rights.
For media inquiries, contact:
Susanne Waldorf, Chair, UTGSU BDS Committee
divest@utgsu.ca
Comments Off on The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3902 Endorses Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel
Posted in BDS, International Labor
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2499
|
__label__wiki
| 0.748842
| 0.748842
|
Art Museum and Cultural Heritage Law
Pro Bono and Community Service
Alumni News, Health Law, HLI News
$100,000 gift to enhance and expand health law initiatives
HLI News, Health Law
2019 JHLI Health Care Compliance Conference
Art Museum and Cultural Heritage Law, Faculty News, Intellectual Property Law
Recent CIPLIT® faculty achievements
DePaul IP program ranked in preLaw Magazine and U.S. News & World Report
Student News, Health Law, Features
1000 Public Service Hours Driven by Law Grad’s Passion
Experiential Learning, Student News
Law Students Volunteer to Assist Asylum Seekers over Spring Break
College of Law > About > News > International Aviation Law Institute interviews open skies pioneer Paul Mifsud
International Aviation Law Institute interviews open skies pioneer Paul Mifsud
International Aviation Law Institute / 11/20/2015 / Posted in: / Twitter / Facebook /
A marathon three-hour interview with retired KLM executive Paul Mifsud is the eighth installment of the International Aviation Law Institute’s “Conversations with Aviation Leaders” oral history project. Conducted by Professor Brian F. Havel, the institute's director, the wide-ranging interview explores in depth the environment that led to today's international airline alliances and the early history of U.S. "Open Skies" agreements.
Paul Mifsud is best known for his groundbreaking work in devising and concluding the first Open Skies aviation agreement, which was negotiated between the United States and The Netherlands in 1992. For this work, the Queen of the Netherlands named him an Officer of The Netherlands Order of Oranj-Nassau.
Mr. Mifsud served as a trial attorney with the Bureau of Enforcement for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before joining the airline industry with British Airways in 1973. He was with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for 35 years, first as General Counsel, USA and later as Vice President, Government & Legal Affairs, USA. He has published numerous articles and speeches on issues of international trade, public policy, aviation, and international airline alliances, was named 2008 Transportation Lawyer of the Year by the Federal Bar Association, and received the 2015 L. Welch Pogue Lifetime Achievement in Aviation Award from Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.
The interview will soon be posted for viewing alongside the previous seven interviews on the institute's website. The “Conversations” project continues to develop a record of the legal and policy history of the airline industry during the age of global deregulation, as told through the voices and memories of its participants. The project is a valuable resource for the large community of students, scholars, and policymakers interested in understanding the airline industry’s role in the broader deregulatory movement that continues to transform economic policy today.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2507
|
__label__cc
| 0.540755
| 0.459245
|
Days After Resigning from Trump Legal Team, John Dowd Calls Relationship with Mueller ‘Terrific’
by Ronn Blitzer | 9:54 am, March 29th, 2018
John Dowd, who resigned as the lead attorney on President Donald Trump‘s team representing him in Robert Mueller‘s Russia investigation, had some high praise for the Special Counsel.
In a recent interview with the National Law Journal, Dowd discussed the rapport he had with Mueller and the Special Counsel’s office, despite being at odds with one another.
“We had a terrific relationship with Mueller — the best that I can recall in my 50 years of practice,” Dowd said. “It was terrific, completely open, people trusted each other, and we had no misunderstandings.” Dowd has also said that he and Mueller would have regular phone conversations.
That’s a pretty glowing review, considering that Trump himself has been blasting the investigation as a witch hunt on a regular basis.
It’s also ironic that Dowd and Mueller got along so well, considering that he reportedly left Trump’s team because they weren’t all on the same page. While Dowd hasn’t publicly stated his reasons, it’s been said that he grew frustrated that President Trump wouldn’t go along with his strategies. There have also been reports that Trump’s lawyers didn’t always agree with each other regarding the best ways to handle the investigation. Dowd and Jay Sekulow, another of Trump’s personal lawyers, have been against the idea of Trump sitting down for an interview with Mueller’s office. White House counsel Ty Cobb and Trump himself, however, were in favor of an interview.
Given all that, it’s no surprise what Dowd has planned next.
“I think what I’m trying to do is just take it easy, and get some rest.”
[Image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images]
john dowd, Robert Mueller, russia investigation
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2508
|
__label__wiki
| 0.525024
| 0.525024
|
Home Insurance Defense Texas Sugar Land
Sugar Land, Texas Insurance Defense Lawyers
Houston, TX Insurance Defense Attorney with 29 years experience
(713) 588-0446 1001 McKinney
Free ConsultationInsurance Defense, Insurance Claims, Maritime and Workers' Comp
Alicia Maria Matsushima
(713) 236-7792 440 Louisiana Street, Suite 900
Free ConsultationInsurance Defense
Alicia M. Matsushima, PC is a 100% women-minority owned boutique law firm specializing in insurance defense and commercial litigation. Alicia M. Matsushima is licensed in the State of Texas, the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Matsushima is also a Solicitor to the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Ms. Matsushima has practiced law in Texas since 1997 handling insurance cases in trial and appellate courts. Ms. Matsushima has handled claims for commercial general liability, commercial property, automobile, homeowners, products liability, title,...
John Havins
(713) 650-3600 2211 Norfolk St
Insurance Defense, Business, Insurance Claims and Real Estate
I regularly represent business partners who are embroiled in shareholder and partner disputes. I also represent clients regarding the enforceability of non-solicitation, confidentiality, and non-compete provisions found in employment contracts and purchase/sale agreements. I represent a broad spectrum of clients found in the oil and gas, financial services, real estate sales and services, lending, commercial freight forwarding, commercial manufacturing and distribution, telecommunications, insurance, and construction industries. Specialties Shareholder and partner disputes; enforceability of non-solicitation, confidentiality, and non-compete provisions, breach of commercial contracts. Represents clients in the following industries: Oil and gas, real estate sales and services, lending, commercial freight...
Philip Robert Brinson
(713) 490-4834 1900 W. Loop S.
Insurance Defense, Energy, Entertainment & Sports and Products Liability
Philip Robert Brinson is an experienced trial lawyer who possesses unique skills derived from experience outside of the legal fields that have made him not only a trusted advocate for his clients, but also a formidable adversary in the courtroom. Mr. Brinson has extensive legal experience in a variety of practice areas, including hospitality and dram shop, entertainment, premises liability, products liability, professional liability, employment, oil field services, and business and commercial litigation. Mr. Brinson has litigation experience on both sides of the docket in handling infringement actions in copyright and trademark actions in the entertainment and hospitality industries, including...
J. Taylor Elliott
Houston, TX Insurance Defense Lawyer with 3 years experience
(713) 626-1555 5615 Kirby Dr #900
Insurance Defense and Construction
Clint Brasher
Houston, TX Insurance Defense Lawyer with 20 years experience
(888) 791-8211 4101 Washington Avenue
Insurance Defense and Personal Injury
With over 15 years of experience, Attorney Clint Brasher proudly serves residents all throughout the state of Texas. Providing personalized attention and comprehensive legal aid for those seeking assistance with bad faith insurance issues and personal injury matters, there is no case too complex for him to handle. Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and selected as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers, Attorney Brasher is esteemed for his reputation in the legal community. Selected for inclusion in the list of Texas Super Lawyers® Rising Stars for 2005-2006, he is part of an elite...
Arthur Scot Chase
(832) 532-4400 Phoenix Tower
3200 Southwest Freeway, Suite 1100
Free ConsultationInsurance Defense, Business, Insurance Claims and Personal Injury
A. Scot Chase has over twenty-eight years experience in handling civil litigation throughout the state of Texas. He has tried hundreds of cases in state and federal courts and has handled numerous appeals in both federal and state courts of appeal.
Robert Joseph Killeen Jr
(713) 626-5100 1811 Bering Drive
Insurance Defense, Business, Environmental and Personal Injury
Robert Killeen was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1962. He attended Tulane University in New Orleans where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1984, and a Juris Doctor in 1987. Mr. Killeen was admitted to the Louisiana Bar in 1987, and the Texas Bar in 1990. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, United States Court of Federal Claims, United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of Texas, and United States District Courts for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts...
Joseph A. Muckleroy
Stephen Fernelius
(713) 654-5151 1221 McKinney Street, Suite 3200
Insurance Defense, Environmental, Personal Injury and Products Liability
In January 2010, Steve Fernelius founded Fernelius Alvarez PLLC. Steve is a managing member of the firm which is now named Fernelius Simon PLLC. Previously, Steve was a partner in the Houston office of Fulbright & Jaworski LLP—from January 2001 to 2010 and an associate from 1991 to 2001. Steve Fernelius has extensive experience in the development and trial of mass-tort litigation and other high-profile cases. Given the size and complexity of the matters in which Steve has been involved, he has developed considerable skill in managing large teams of legal professionals, often including multiple law firms, in...
Limor Ben-Maier
(713) 353-2000 5847 San Felipe St
Insurance Defense, Appeals, Construction and Employment
Clifton J. McAdams
(713) 403-5421 3200 Buffalo Speedway
Insurance Defense, Energy, International and Products Liability
Patrick M. Kemp
(713) 632-1715 808 Travis Street, Suite 1800
Insurance Defense, Appeals, Business and Insurance Claims
Tamara R. Crawford
Houston, TX Insurance Defense Attorney with 5 years experience
(713) 580-8905 450 Gears Rd
Insurance Defense, Arbitration & Mediation, Business and Employment
Ms. Crawford represents clients in a variety of commercial and business related matters and litigation. Her primary focus is on first party insurance litigation.
Prior to joining Doyen Sebesta & Poelma, LLLP, Ms. Crawford practiced in the Houston area and gained valuable experience by conducting depositions, successfully resolving cases through mediations, and arguing at the district and county level in contested hearings involving commercial litigation matters. Ms. Crawford successfully first chaired her first trial in the Harris County Civil District Court, gaining a favorable judgment after two days of trial.
Ms. Crawford earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from The...
Angela M. Hahn
Insurance Defense, Business, Construction and Products Liability
Angela M. Hahn manages the Austin office of Doyen Sebesta & Poelma, LLLP. With ten years of Mock Trial experience, Ms. Hahn tried more cases before graduating from law school, than most lawyers do in a lifetime. Now, with fifteen years of real-world experience as a practicing civil trial lawyer, she regularly handles matters involving construction defects, product liability, contract disputes, property damage and general negligence claims. Ms. Hahn focuses on large-loss insurance subrogation claims and has developed a passion for lightning-induced fire losses, especially those involving Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST) or Radiant Barriers.
Beyond prosecuting property damage cases, Ms....
James Daniel Woodall
The Woodlands, TX Insurance Defense Lawyer with 20 years experience
(281) 892-1040 26865 I-45 South, Suite 201
The Woodlands, TX 77380
Insurance Defense, Business, Insurance Claims and Personal Injury
Mr. Woodall is a trial attorney with experience in insurance subrogation, coverage and defense litigation, construction law, commercial litigation, labor and employment, and real estate. In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Woodall also provides special counsel services to small and mid-size businesses in a variety of industries such as construction, roofing, manufacturing, and distribution. He is fully dedicated to understanding his clients’ businesses and helping them achieve their goals and objectives through risk management, contract negotiations, reviewing, negotiating and documenting real estate and business transactions, and resolving labor and employment issues.
After graduating from Baylor University in Waco Texas in...
Terence C. McCarthy
Insurance Defense and Business
Mr. McCarthy concentrates primarily on first-party litigation but has also represented clients in a variety of business and commercial matters and litigation.
Prior to joining Doyen Sebesta & Poelma, LLLP, Mr. McCarthy practiced commercial litigation, qui tam litigation, and white-collar defense at Berg and Androphy. He then worked for a boutique firm focusing mainly on health care liability defense.
Mr. McCarthy earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from The University of Texas. After graduating, he spent several years running a successful restaurant in the Austin area. He then attended South Texas College of Law Houston where he graduated cum laude in...
Hal Agron
2002 Timberloch
Free ConsultationInsurance Defense, Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI and Family
Attorney Hal Agron began his career as a criminal prosecutor in the Montgomery County Attorneys Office responsible for defending Montgomery County and its elected officials in State and Federal court. After several years on the criminal side, Hal served as a civil litigator for the county until he left for the public sector in 1994 and began practicing law as in-house counsel for several national insurance carriers. Over the years, Hal Agron has tried and settled countless cases involving misdemeanors and felonies. Much of his success can be attributed to his skills in laying the groundwork and...
Richard Marsh Jr
(713) 880-4363 720 Bayland Ave
Insurance Defense, Arbitration & Mediation, Criminal Defense and Personal Injury
Richard Marsh graduated from Washington & Lee University in 1973 with a degree in Liberal Arts. Mr. Marsh then graduated from South Texas College of Law in 1979. He worked for 3 years as a State of Texas parole officer and then for 3 years as a Harris County probation officer before becoming a private attorney.
William T. "Bill" Sebesta
William T. "Bill" Sebesta is an experienced and accomplished trial lawyer whose practice emphasizes insurance subrogation. After his initial training in insurance defense and bad faith litigation, he then spent 6-1/2 years with Cozen O’Connor’s Dallas office where he was trained in the art of large loss subrogation. In 2004, Bill returned to his hometown of Houston and continued his subrogation practice at a mid-size firm, focusing on energy-related losses.
In January 2007, Bill and Scot Doyen opened the doors of Doyen Sebesta Ltd. LLP, where Bill is in charge of the firm's subrogation practice group. Bill’s broad experience in subrogation...
Jeffrey Fultz
(713) 600-0033 10343 Sam Houston Park Drive
Insurance Defense, Asbestos and Insurance Claims
Jeffrey Pierce Fultz, a native Texan, was raised in Navasota, a small town in southeast Texas. He comes from a family of country lawyers that embody grit, determination and service above self, and is engrained with a tough work ethic and non-elitist, yet confident personality, understanding that the practice of law is a service industry in which a lawyer must be able to identify and relate to all types of individuals, clients and adversaries. His commitment to providing personal attention to his clients and their cases is his top priority and personal brand, whether it be a large...
Milan Marinkovich
The Woodlands, TX Insurance Defense Attorney with 18 years experience
(832) 232-9600 25211 Grogans Mill Road
-Published Cases: Nueces County v. Ferguson, 97 S.W.3d 205, Tex.App. - Corpus Christi, 2002 (No. 13-02-230-CV); Counsel for Appellants Soliz v. Nueces County, 134 S.W.3d 298, Tex.App. - Corpus Christi, 2003 (No. 13-02-197-CV); Counsel for Appellee
Scot G. Doyen
Insurance Defense, Business and Products Liability
Louis Leichter
(713) 966-6945 3700 N Main St
Insurance Defense, Arbitration & Mediation, Business and Personal Injury
Louis Leichter completed his Bachelor's at Vassar College, his Masters at Florida International University, and then completed his JD at Drake University. Prior to starting a private practice, he prosecuted criminal cases as an Assistant County Attorney for Travis County, Texas. After gaining experience, he opened Leichter Law Firm PC and practices administrative, health and criminal law with a focus in the area of licensure and license defense. He advises clients on disciplinary conduct allegations and helps clients get registered for their profession. He is also a member of TAAP, NAADAC, Sustainers Council, Austin Criminal Defense Lawyers Association,...
Donovan Hutchins
(281) 298-9455 25511 Budde Road
Taylor P. Franks
Houston, TX Insurance Defense Attorney with 1 year experience
Robert Constantine Fafatas
(281) 651-2264 8505 Technology Forest Pl.
Insurance Defense, Arbitration & Mediation, Business and Construction
AV rated litigation attorney.
Lance David Sharp
Austin , TX Insurance Defense Attorney with 31 years experience
(512) 407-8800 3307 Northland Dr. Ste 320
Austin , TX 78731
Insurance Defense, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury and Products Liability
Lance Sharp, has been representing individuals in the areas of personal injury and civil litigation for nearly 30 years. He has extensive experience representing victims across the state of Texas. His practice focus is on serious personal injury cases and auto accidents.
In 1993, Lance opened his own office representing individuals in personal injury matters. In 1997, Laura Sharp joined him and formed The Sharp Firm. Since that time Laura and Lance have been a husband and wife team representing victims across Texas. Like his wife, Lance has given back to the legal community. He has served as President of the...
Gregory Scott Cagle
Austin, TX Insurance Defense Lawyer with 20 years experience
(512) 387-8290 7500 Rialto Boulevard, Building 1, Suite 110
Insurance Defense, Business, Products Liability and Real Estate
Baylor Law School
Gregory Cagle is the managing partner of Cagle Carpenter Hazlewood. Gregory concentrates his law practice in civil and complex litigation involving real estate, nonprofit and for-profit corporations, business disputes, construction defects, and residential and commercial community associations. Gregory has extensive litigation experience and has served as lead trial attorney in hundreds of trials in front of judges and juries. Gregory also has extensive experience in representing community associations as general counsel on all aspects of issues involved in the operation and governance of association-governed communities, including management issues, compliance with federal and state laws, interpretation of and compliance...
Donald Lee Crook Jr
San Antonio, TX Insurance Defense Attorney with 27 years experience
(800) 237-3334 5707 W Interstate 10
Mr. Crook received his law degree from St. Mary’s University in 1992, however his career did not start with the law. Mr. Crook first earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Education and History from Texas A&M University and went on to coach football and teach history at San Antonio’s Tom C. Clark High School, following in his father’s footsteps as a longtime coach. Today Mr. Crook is a successful attorney holding the position of Chief of Litigation at Wayne Wright, LLP. He is licensed to practice law in the Texas and in the United States District...
Rex Dwyer
Rockwall, TX Insurance Defense Lawyer with 36 years experience
(972) 771-0108 500 Turtle Cove Blvd
Free ConsultationInsurance Defense, Divorce, Family and Personal Injury
Hi. I'm Rex Dwyer, I have been a practicing attorney for over 35 years. My practice currently serves Rockwall, Texas and the surrounding counties. I practice in the areas of Family Law and Business Litigation. I help people with family issues such as: divorce, child custody, child support and property division and business issues such as: non-competes, real estate litigation, employment litigation and contract litigation.
I opened Dwyer Law Firm in 2003 to serve the Rockwall community and to be closer to my family. I previously worked at a few larger firm's in Houston and Downtown Dallas: Farnsworth & Martin, Patterson...
John Holman Barr
Dallas, TX Insurance Defense Attorney with 38 years experience
(214) 943-0012 203 E Colorado Blvd
Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2015 National Board of Legal Specialty Certification Practice Areas: Personal Injury - Products: Defense (60%), Professional Liability: Defense (20%), Personal Injury - General: Defense (20%) Law School: St. Mary's University School of Law
Ryan Kent McComber
Dallas, TX Insurance Defense Lawyer with 15 years experience
Insurance Defense, Business, Energy and Entertainment & Sports
Mr. McComber is a Partner at Figari & Davenport, LLP whose practice focuses on complex commercial litigation. Mr. McComber has a broad range of experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in contract disputes, TRO and injunctive relief proceedings, health, life, and disability insurance disputes, class actions, oil and gas matters, and litigation involving commercial real estate. Mr. McComber has successfully tried cases in both federal and state courts, and has also represented numerous clients in significant arbitration proceedings.
Michael Robert Parker
Fort Worth, TX Insurance Defense Lawyer with 21 years experience
(817) 567-2296 1200 Summit Avenue
Michael R. Parker completed his law degree from the Whittier Law School in 1999. He is the founder and managing partner of Parker Straus LLP’s Dallas office. His practice areas primarily include complex civil litigation, such as insurance fraud, insurance claims, bad faith defense, civil RICO, SIU, and many more. Prior to managing his own firm, he worked for Liberty Mutual and was a private investigator. He has well-rounded insight and deep legal knowledge, especially in insurance & SIU cases. Known as a leader in his field, he regularly presents on topic that include fraud, coverage, and bad faith issues.
Michael Patrick Lyons
(214) 965-8500 325 N. St. Paul Street
Insurance Defense, Appeals, Consumer and Personal Injury
Hamp Skelton
Austin, TX Insurance Defense Attorney with 37 years experience
(512) 651-7000 248 Addie Roy Rd
#B-302
Free ConsultationInsurance Defense, Appeals, Business and Construction
Hamp Skelton, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, graduated from Princeton University in 1978 and from the University of Texas School of Law in 1981. He has tried lawsuits in Texas for over 37 years. Hamp joined Vinson & Elkins in Houston in 1981, practicing in its commercial litigation section. He moved to Austin in 1986, joining Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. While there, he built a litigation section and served as partner in charge of litigation. His present law firm opened in September, 1991. He and his wife, Karen, have three sons.
Hamp's practice encompasses a wide spectrum of business...
Steven Eugene Clark
(214) 979-1122 1700 Pacific Ave.
Insurance Defense, Business, Construction and Employment
University of Houston - Main Campus
I have over 30 years of experience in cases involving business law, intellectual property, employment and labor law, and personal injury defense.
Charles Bennett Mitchell Jr.
Free ConsultationInsurance Defense, Business, Construction and Personal Injury
Charles Mitchell focuses his practice on business, civil and commercial litigation, family law, first and third party insurance litigation, personal injury, wrongful death and professional malpractice. He has been listed as a Texas Super Lawyer (Thomson Reuters Legal) 2006 - 2013. He was recognized as a Tarrant County Top Attorney by Fort Worth Magazine from 2004–2008 and 2017. Mr. Mitchell is licensed to practice law in state and federal courts in the State of Texas and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also licensed to practice in the state courts of Arkansas. He earned his J.D. degree from St. Mary’s...
John Pringle
(512) 472-8742 807 Brazos Street, Suite 200
Insurance Defense, Administrative, Business and Insurance Claims
John D. Pringle, P.C., is a full-service, general civil practice firm with a concentration in administrative law. The firm is duly organized under the laws of the State of Texas, is centrally located in Austin, Texas and provides state-wide representation. John D. Pringle’s practice emphasizes defense of administrative violation allegations, alcoholic beverage law, health care law, insurance defense, and workers' compensation among others. John D. Pringle represents individuals and businesses before state agencies, the State Office of Administrative Hearings, county courts, districts courts, and appellate courts of the State of Texas.
Clifford Womack
Fort Worth, TX Insurance Defense Attorney with 29 years experience
(817) 546-3888 2701 West Berry St
Insurance Defense and Social Security Disability
I help clients receive the Social Security Disability benefits to which they are entitled by guiding them through every step of the process from initial application through appeals and hearings.
Insurance Defense Attorneys in Nearby Cities
Insurance Defense Attorneys in Nearby Counties
Fort Bend County
The OneCLE Lawyer Directory contains lawyers who have claimed their profiles and are actively seeking clients. Find more Sugar Land, Texas Insurance Defense Lawyers in the Justia Legal Services and Lawyers Directory which includes profiles of more than one million lawyers licensed to practice in the United States, in addition to profiles of legal aid, pro bono and legal service organizations.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2510
|
__label__wiki
| 0.603051
| 0.603051
|
Home Virginia Henrico
Henrico, Virginia Lawyers
Browse By Practice Areas
Find Henrico, Virginia Attorneys by Practice Area
Chris Macturk
Richmond, VA Lawyer with 23 years experience
(804) 793-8200 1500 Forest Ave Suite 117
Free ConsultationArbitration & Mediation, Divorce and Family
An accomplished Richmond divorce and family lawyer, Chris Macturk wanted to change how he priced his services in a way that offered a closer, transparent, and unfettered working relationship with his clients. Often hearing complaints about the uncertainties and anxieties presented by hourly billing, he decided to change his business model and open a firm offering Pre-Agreed Pricing. Evolution Divorce & Family Law was born.
Chris has guided hundreds of individuals through separations, divorces and disputes over children and support. A Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), Chris is also past President of both the Henrico County Bar...
K Matthew Long
Richmond, VA Lawyer with 9 years experience
(804) 755-7599 3957 Westerre Parkway
Free ConsultationBusiness, Construction, Personal Injury and Traffic Tickets
University of Richmond School of Law
I have represented clients in a wide variety of practice areas since 2009. More than anything I see myself as a problem solver. My approach is one of personal representation where clients are promptly updated at every step and phone calls and emails are returned very quickly. I immerse myself in every detail my client’s case and leave no stone unturned.
I maintain an active general practice of law that includes personal injury, civil litigation, business litigation, wrongful death, landlord tenant matters, drafting wills and powers of attorney, and traffic infractions.
I have developed...
Mary A. Napier
Richmond, VA Attorney with 9 years experience
(804) 658-3418 5807 Staples Mill Road
Mary A. Napier, Esquire grew up in Hanover County, and is currently residing in Richmond, Virginia. She graduated with majors in psychology and justice studies from James Madison University before obtaining her juris doctor from Charleston School of Law in South Carolina.
Following law school, she began her career at the law firm of Cravens & Noll, P.C.—a general practice firm with offices in Chesterfield, Henrico and Colonial Heights, Virginia. Mary’s practice is devoted to family law and domestic relations (divorce, adoptions, custody and support).
Mary is an active member of the Virginia State Bar, and maintains an active role with...
Paula Hough
(804) 864-9424 4110 East Parham Rd
The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law and University of Florida
Mrs. Hough graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology and Law. Upon her graduation, Mrs. Hough worked for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association prior to her entering the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. While in law school, Mrs. Hough was awarded the “Eleanor & James Clanton Haynes Memorial Law and Public Policy” fellowship, was a Senior Editor for a Law Journal, and volunteered for the Innocence Project investigating a case of wrongful conviction. During law school, Mrs. Hough also worked full-time as...
Richard A Quitiquit Esquire
(804) 728-2274 2800 N. Parham Road, Ste. 201
Tony concentrates his legal practice to criminal law, including traffic violations and reckless driving. Tony lives just outside of Richmond in Hanover, Virginia. He graduated from Hampden Sydney and the Charleston School of Law. He has been admitted to practice before all courts in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Tony started his legal career as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Halifax, Virginia. After a year prosecuting in Halifax, he moved to the Richmond area and worked again as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Hanover. While serving as an Assistant Commonwealth’s attorney, Tony worked on all types of criminal traffic matters ,...
Charles W. Hazelwood III
Suite F, #102
Free ConsultationCriminal Defense, Estate Planning, Real Estate and Traffic Tickets
I am licensed to practice law in the commonwealth of Virginia. I am a native Virginian and I attended high school at Lake Braddock. I graduated cum laude from the University of South Carolina where I earned a bachelor’s degree majoring in criminal justice. I then graduated from the University of Richmond School of Law. During law school, I interned with the IRS and prosecuted cases at the New Kent County Commonwealth’s Attorney office. Since graduating and becoming licensed, I have focused on estate planning and criminal/traffic defense. My passion for defending and helping his clients has allowed him to...
James Kessel
Henrico, VA Attorney with 16 years experience
(866) 388-1307 11577 West Broad Street
Free ConsultationPersonal Injury and Products Liability
James Mick "Jamie" Kessel has dedicated his career to fighting for the rights of Virginians who have been seriously injured or killed because of the negligence of others. He enjoys being in court and believes each and every case should be handled from the beginning as if it were going to be tried before a jury. Jamie is an experienced trial attorney and has handled cases in State and Federal Courts throughout Virginia. His practice focuses on representing accident victims and their families in cases involving: car wrecks; tractor trailer accidents; wrongful deaths; distracted driving; dog bites; and dangerous premises.
Jamie...
Thomas Francis DellaFera Jr.
Henrico, VA Attorney with 4 years experience
Ext. 701 3420 Pump Road
Free ConsultationConsumer, Personal Injury and Products Liability
Tom graduated from the University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law after receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Mary Washington. His varied legal background began in his final summer at UMW, where he was an intern for Rappahannock Legal Services. While there he worked with indigent clients and attorneys on all manner of cases ranging from civil suits to Social Security appeals to defending evictions.
Prior to graduating from Richmond Law, Tom interned with the Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, where he cut his teeth handling misdemeanors and worked with attorneys to build criminal cases, including felonies. In...
Britney McPheron
(804) 755-7599 3957 Westerre Parkway, Suite 105
Divorce, Domestic Violence, Estate Planning and Family
I represent clients primarily in Family Law matters such as divorce, custody, visitation, spousal and child support, protective orders and the drafting of property settlement agreements.
Having witnessed my own parents’ divorce in my late teens, I have a unique perspective and experience that I am able to provide to my clients. I enjoy being able to counsel them through tough life transitions. Family law issues are some of the most difficult legal issues a person can face and I believe that it is important to treat every person and situation with respect. I am able to listen to my clients...
John C. Shea
Richmond, VA Attorney with 42 years experience
(804) 282-0999 1500 Forest Ave
John C. Shea has been in practice since 1977, focusing his practice exclusively on representation of the injured. Graduating from Wake Forest University in 1974 (Cum Laude), he received his J.D. in 1977 from the University of Richmond School of Law. He has been with Marks & Harrison since that time. His interests are brain injury and tractor-trailer cases.
Caitlin Leigh Riccobono
Richmond, VA Attorney
(912) 304-1012 7330 Staples Mill Rd.
Caitlin Riccobono is a former skilled nursing and long-term care social worker and Counsel at Nixon Law Group. Cait brings her "insider" experience working in healthcare to create practical solutions to client needs. She counsels healthcare providers and entities on a range of issues, including general compliance and risk management, privacy and security, fraud and abuse, provider/payor/patient contracts, and licensing matters. Cait particularly enjoys working with clients in the post-acute sector (home health, hospice, skilled nursing, assisted living) and on matters related to the integration of various technologies—both health-related and mainstream—into healthcare settings. ...
Marc Boyko
Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Divorce and Family
I provide diligent, passionate and personalized representation to clients throughout Central Virginia, including Henrico, Richmond, Chesterfield, Hanover and the surrounding localities.
Joanna Suyes
Joanna L. Suyes focuses her practice on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims. She also handles personal injury matters. When working with clients in SSDI and SSI cases, Joanna can assist with everything from filing the initial application to going through the appeals process, including representing clients in hearings before administrative law judges.
Roxanne C. Millan
Richmond, VA Attorney with 1 year experience
Roxanne C. Millan is a resident of Richmond, Virginia. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Louisiana, Monroe. She completed her juris doctor from T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond.
Roxanne is a member of the Virginia State Bar, as well as its Family and Criminal Law Sections. She also maintains membership in the Metro Richmond Women’s Bar Association, and looks forward to serving active roles both in these bar associations and the greater Richmond community. During law school, she interned with the Ouachita Parish...
Sharon B Ten
Estate Planning and Probate
Kevin T. Hadden
(804) 282-0999 1500 Forest Avenue
Kevin grew up in Greenville, SC before receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia in 2003. Subsequently, Kevin moved to Richmond when he enrolled at the University of Richmond School of Law, graduating in 2007 and serving as President of the Student Bar Association during his third year. Since then, Kevin has concentrated his practice on Personal Injury law. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys exploring the outdoors of Virginia, reading, spending time with his nieces and nephews, and attending college football games.
David K Easlick Jr
(202) 409-4306 3329 Broad Branch Drive
Since 2016, I have been serving as an expert witness and assisting in trials dealing with hazing and Risk Management engendered lawsuits involving fraternities. I have been involved in over 25 matters in the past four years primarily involving hazing and substance abuse related tragedies. I am primarily working on behalf of plaintiffs, but have represented a national fraternity, and two individual defendants.
I am an “anti-hazing and risk management Specialist”. I was the Executive Director of Delta Kappa Epsilon International Fraternity for over 29 years. In such role, I became familiar with just about all conduct by undergraduate young men...
Jacqueline Sharman
Free ConsultationBankruptcy, Business, Divorce and Family
I represent clients in a variety of legal areas. I regularly represent clients all over the Richmond area and I often travel as far east as Virginia Beach, as far north as Spotsylvania, as far west as Charlottesville and as far South as Dinwiddie. I assist clients with obtaining and defending protective orders, uncontested and contested divorce, spousal support, child custody, visitation and support, pre-nuptial agreements, property settlement agreements, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy, criminal defense, business formation and dissolution and general civil litigation.
Richard Davis Mattox III
(804) 451-6033 8545 Patterson Avenue
Appalachian School of Law
Richard “Trey” Mattox III was born and raised in Richmond Virginia, attending high school at Benedictine before graduating from Monacan. After high school he graduated Cum Laude from Virginia Tech in 2008 where he double majored in History and Political Science and minored in Real Estate. In 2011, he obtained his Juris Doctorate from Appalachian School of Law, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Trey is a third generation attorney proudly following in the footsteps of his Richard Mattox predecessors. Trey is a dedicated trial attorney who defends clients charged with major traffic crimes and infractions. Mr. Mattox...
Nicholas Braswell
(804) 977-0764 4124 E Parham Rd #250
Nick T. Wright
(804) 355-8037 1360 E. Parham Rd #100
Free ConsultationCriminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Domestic Violence and Traffic Tickets
Nick is a trial attorney representing those charged with traffic offenses and crimes such as assault and battery, underage possession of alcohol, possession of marijuana, and petty larceny. Before becoming an attorney, Nick attended Virginia Tech where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in Business. He then accepted a full merit scholarship to University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law where he focused his studies on criminal law and litigation. In law school, Nick interned with both the Newport News Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and the Virginia General Assembly for Delegate Jason Miyares of the...
Louis D. Snesil
Louis D. Snesil has been in practice since 1983. After graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1976, he received his J.D. in 1983 from the University of Richmond School of Law. He focuses his practice on workers’ compensation.
Barry Patrick Agnew
Henrico, VA Lawyer with 14 years experience
Personal Injury, Social Security Disability and Workers' Comp
As the managing partner at Agnew & Rosenberger, PLLC, Virginia attorney with offices in Lynchburg, Roanoke, Richmond, Harrisonburg, Vienna, and Norfolk, B. Patrick Agnew concentrates his practice on SSD personal injury, and workers compensation cases. Since 2004, Mr. Agnew has been practicing in the legal field, and he has devoted his entire career to advocating for injured workers. He is a graduate of Liberty University and the Regent University School of Law. Find out more by getting in touch with his firm today.
Gregory R. Hough
Henrico, VA Attorney
(804) 864-9424 4110 East Parham Road
I have over 10 years experience as a criminal defense attorney handling misdemeanors and felonies in Central Virginia. Our office is based in Henrico but we regularly handle cases all over the Richmond Metro Area.
Michele A. Mulligan
(804) 658-3873 2016 John Rolfe Parkway
Insurance Defense, Landlord Tenant, Legal Malpractice and Real Estate
I have a wide-ranging civil litigation practice, including defense of legal malpractice matters, defense before the Virginia State Bar, claims made insurance coverage issues, real estate, business and will disputes. I also represent community associations and landlords in landlord tenant matters.
Tammy Sossei
(804) 593-4141 4114 E. Parham Road
Bankruptcy, Criminal Defense, Divorce and Family
Ryan T. Walker
Ryan T. Walker joined Marks & Harrison in 2014 after having most recently worked for GEICO on the defense side of personal injury cases. Since he was admitted to the Virginia State Bar in 2007, Ryan has practiced exclusively in the area of civil litigation, with an emphasis on personal injury law. He has vast experience in automobile accident litigation.
Mark S. Lindensmith
University of Nebraska - Omaha
Mark S. Lindensmith is a native of Missouri, and he is a 1976 honors graduate of Missouri Western State College. He received his law degree from the University of Nebraska in 1979 and was admitted to the Nebraska State Bar in 1979. He has been a member of the Virginia State Bar since 1981, and he is a member of the American Association for Justice and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.
Alexandra "Sandra" Bowen
Business, Divorce, Family and Juvenile
John C Morgan Jr.
(804) 464-8503 8609 Mayland Drive
Free ConsultationBankruptcy
George Mason University School of Law
I wrote the book, "The Truth About Bankruptcy in Virginia" as a consumer guide to the very basics of bankruptcy, and to assist people with making informed choices about their financial future. Many people who would benefit from filing choose not to because of preconceived notions or bad advice. The book recently received the Literary Distinction Award for Literary Excellence and was featured on the cover of Attorney Magazine. Whether you are an attorney or a potential client, call our offices to get your questions answered. We are always looking for a new one!
D. Bradley Kent Jr.
Brad Kent is a 2012 graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where he double majored in History and Political Science. He received his law degree in May 2015 from the University of Richmond School of Law where he served as Vice President of the Trial Advocacy Board. Brad was also a member of the law school’s Moot Court Board and was honored at his graduation last May when he was selected for membership in the Order of the Barristers for his excellence in trial advocacy. Brad worked as a clerk at Marks & Harrison for over a year before...
Roger T. Creager
Appeals, Insurance Claims and Personal Injury
Ryan Hershey
2229 Pump Road
Ryan Hershey’s practice focuses on Traffic Law and other Litigation matters before the General District and Circuit Courts of Virginia. Beginning as an intern at the Commonwealth’s Attorney Office and working for a notable traffic firm in the Richmond, Virginia area, Ryan has extensive experience and knowledge in handling reckless driving, speeding and other minor-infraction traffic cases, such as Driving on a Suspended License, Failure to Yield, Eluding, Following too Close, and Failure to Maintain Control. He has handled hundreds of cases throughout Virginia in both the Eastern and Western General District and Circuit Courts, including over 20 jurisdictions. Ryan...
John Weiland
1360 E. Parham Rd.
Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Personal Injury and Traffic Tickets
John Weiland is a fast-thinking trial attorney who focuses his practice on criminal and traffic defense. John has successfully represented thousands of reckless driving, DUI / DWI, underage possession of alcohol, and possession of marijuana clients. Before defending those accused of crimes and traffic violations, John litigated complex civil cases in Virginia and Federal courts. This research and writing-intensive background has provided John a unique analytical skill set for applying new, creative and successful legal arguments to otherwise extremely difficult criminal and traffic cases. While in law school, John was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Joseph J. Ellis...
Annalisa Stanton Feinman
(804) 755-7599 3957 Westerre Pkwy, Suite 105
Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Divorce and Domestic Violence
Lee Robert Arzt
(804) 282-9722 8900 Three Chopt Road
Bankruptcy, Business, Divorce and Real Estate
William W. Smith III
Richmond, VA Lawyer with 1 year experience
Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Family and Real Estate
Rose Ann Palmer
(804) 201-4971 4110 E Parham Road
Elder, Family and Social Security Disability
Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center
Scott David Cardani
(804) 755-7599 3957 Westerrre Pkwy
Free ConsultationCriminal Defense, DUI & DWI, Divorce and Domestic Violence
Thanks for taking the time to visit my page. My goal as your attorney is to help you through the difficulty that has come your way. My passion is helping people—to help you get to the other side, so to speak, so that you can move forward with your life. I became a lawyer to help others with the difficulties that life promises. We all need help at some point in our life, whether it is for ourselves or for someone we care for. I like to say we provide shelter or...
Dave Caddell
(804) 355-8037 1360 E. Parham Road, Suite 100
Criminal Defense, DUI & DWI and Traffic Tickets
Former prosecutor in Hanover County who defends DUI/DWI, traffic and criminal cases. Special Counsel to the Courts of Justice Committee for the Virginia House of Delegates.
Attorneys in Nearby Counties
The OneCLE Lawyer Directory contains lawyers who have claimed their profiles and are actively seeking clients. Find more Henrico, Virginia Lawyers in the Justia Legal Services and Lawyers Directory which includes profiles of more than one million lawyers licensed to practice in the United States, in addition to profiles of legal aid, pro bono and legal service organizations.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2511
|
__label__cc
| 0.561678
| 0.438322
|
Air Supremacy II: Re-learning Asymmetry
The Bar Napkin / January 26, 2016
[This is a continuation of a previous article in a series]
There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.
B-17 Flying Fortresses Over Germany in April 1945
The founding fathers of military aviation had an uphill battle in advocating the value of airpower to their doubtful Army and Navy counterparts. Though their approaches (and successes) varied, all of these advocates shared a common underlying theme: airpower, operating in the third dimension, provides an asymmetric advantage in warfare. Almost a century later, have we forgotten this keystone principle?
Joint US doctrine defines asymmetric as “the application of dissimilar strategies, tactics, capabilities, and methods to circumvent or negate an opponent’s strengths while exploiting his weaknesses” (JP 3-15.1). Doctrine covers all types of warfare: nuclear warfare, conventional warfare, irregular warfare, and even hybrid warfare. Interestingly, the only references to asymmetric warfare in current doctrine deals with fighting an asymmetric enemy, not the application of it by friendly forces. In this context, it is time to critically analyze air power in terms tactical and strategic asymmetry.
Tactical asymmetry is probably the most familiar and easily identified; it’s “being tactical.” Sound tactics and counter-tactics based on exploitation, testing, and evaluation permit Airmen to maximize airpower capabilities with the resources they are given. Contrary to most young fighter pilots’ beliefs, “being tactical” is not a desired-end state; it’s a near-term perishable goal at the tactical level. As John Boyd warns us, there is no perfect tactic, and attempts to present a standardized system as a way to gain a winning edge will reveal weaknesses and necessitate another tactic, creating an endless flawed cycle.
There is an important history lesson in tactical asymmetry that every American airpower steward should know. The Korean War marked the last time an American soldier was attacked by an enemy in the air. On April 15, 1953, a U.S. Army position on Cho-do (Cho Island) off the Korean mainland was attacked, killing two U.S. servicemen and wounding 22 more. While the event itself is nothing more than an historic footnote, the real lesson for airpower is derived from the aircraft that attacked this position, an oft-overlooked obscure detail. First built in 1929, the Russian-built Polikarpov Po-2 biplane looked like a World War I relic. Despite its appearance, it had achieved tremendous success on the WWII eastern front. Operated by the Russian 588th Night Bomber Regiment, the two-person biplane carried bombs and a gun, flying at night with a top speed of 94 mph. Attacking from a low-altitude glide profile by shutting the engine off, they achieved complete surprise on enemy forces. The pilots of this all-female regiment were nicknamed the “Night Witches” by the Germans who suffered their relentless attacks.
Polikarpov Po-2 at the Shuttleworth Military Pageant in June 2013
(Photo by Airwolfhound)
The North Koreans employed the Po-2 in this exact same manner against UN forces on the Korean Peninsula. By flying this 20 year-old antique at extremely low (treetop) altitude, it was able to evade air defenses. Despite US fighters having radar and also flying at night, the Po-2’s wood and fabric construction made it comparable to a low-observable F-22 or F-35 today. Combined with its slow airspeed, it was extremely difficult to detect, intercept, and engage. The Po-2 was even credited with a kill during the Korean War when a USAF F-94 was lost while slowing to complete the intercept, stalled, and subsequently crashed. The Po-2 attacked exclusively at night, without notice, and well inside friendly-occupied territory. Though they often attacked parked aircraft ramps (and are credited with numerous P-51 and F-86s destroyed), Po-2s achieved their greatest impact by targeting troop sleeping quarters. US forces nicknamed the Po-2 “Bed-Check Charlie” for the psychological effect it had. The US never developed a meaningful counter-tactic against the Po-2 and it continued to harass UN forces on the Korean peninsula over the entire conflict. The Po-2 and its tactical asymmetry should serve as a reminder to all Airmen.
Whereas battles are fought at the tactical and operational levels, strategic asymmetry ensures wars are won and national interests secured. Recall that preparation for air supremacy prevents air parity and enables the desired end-state: air superiority. Continuously pacing the threat and remaining conscious of asymmetric trade-space should define how to invest and modernize the force. Sometimes good intentions and investments are derailed by a lack of strategic asymmetric vision. Other times, asymmetric vision is stymied by good intentions and lack of investment. The F-22 provides a cautionary tale as to what happens when strategic asymmetric vision is hindered by external influences.
The F-22 is commonly referred to as “game-changing,” and I would agree in the context of tactical asymmetry. Indeed, there is no other fighter that can match its performance or capability in side-by-side, force-on-force comparisons. The original vision for the fifth-generation F-22, exploiting radar vulnerabilities by building a low-observable counter-air fighter force with sensor fusion, was well-intentioned. From any viewpoint, a force of fully-capable 750 F-22 Raptors would have changed the paradigm of counter-air warfare for a generation.
F-22 Raptors on the Flightline at Langley AFB
(USAF Photo, SrA Austin Knox)
Alas, today there are more WWII-era P-51 Mustangs flying than there are F-22s in the world. The F-22 end-strength, less than 190, is also less than the number of USAF VIP aircraft (and A-10s, C-17s, F-15Cs, F-15Es…), relegating them to be yet another low-density, high-demand asset to be managed. Due to this, F-22 units often deploy in small 4-6 plane increments whereas more plentiful fourth-generation fighters deploy in groups of 12-18. F-22 four-ship tactics gave way to more realistic two-ship formations, reducing the formation missile armament by half. This led to a plethora of second-order efforts (and funding requirements) to reinforce this niche fifth-generation force, to include new integration requirements and potentially massive fourth-generation service life extensions/upgrades to augment the fifth generation until the sixth-generation platforms arrive. Alas, the strategic asymmetry of the F-22 has long been lost.
There are many tough decisions ahead for the USAF as the need to modernize becomes more and more imperative. Remaining mindful of the strategic asymmetric advantage is crucial to validating the investments and requirements. Funding for strategic asymmetry should always be prioritized over funding for tactical asymmetry. Are there programs being funded today that have lost most of their original asymmetric advantage (strategic and tactical) due to program delays and issues? Absolutely. Likewise, are there programs that should be funded but are not? Probably.
Relearning asymmetry is critical for Airmen in order to stay mindful of why airpower is a critical enabler of the Joint force and to continue advancing airpower today and in the future. With a foundation of air supremacy and airpower asymmetry, one can begin to comprehend force structure modernization concepts that will ensure air superiority for the next generation.
To be continued in Air Supremacy III: Force Structure Modernization Theory…
Major Mike “Pako” Benitez is an instructor Weapons System Officer in the F-15E Strike Eagle with over 1,000 combat hours spanning multiple deployments. A prior-enlisted Marine and graduate of the US Air Force Weapons School, he has been involved in operational-level crisis action planning in both CENTCOM and EUCOM and has recently completed a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) fellowship.
January 26, 2016 in Airpower. Tags: Advantage, Airpower, Asymmetric, Cho-do, Doctrine, F-22, John Boyd, Korean War, Low Observable, Night Witches, Po-2, Polikarpov, Raptor, Stealth, Strategic, Tactical
Airpower Nation
← Modernization and the Case for Air Supremacy: A Short History
Resisting Temptation: Airpower as the Bedrock of a Solid Counter ISIL Strategy →
One thought on “Air Supremacy II: Re-learning Asymmetry”
picard578 says:
Reblogged this on Defense Issues and commented:
This recalls my old post, but more detailed and better explained:
https://defenseissues.net/2013/10/12/symmetric-and-assymetric-counters/
War is all about counters and counter-counters. It is fought by people, not machines, and people will do everything to avoid being killed. As a result, any kind of attrition-based, symmetric warfare scenario is flawed. Training is paramount, to allow soldiers knowledge necessary to adapt to changing circumstances.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2512
|
__label__wiki
| 0.713854
| 0.713854
|
Posts Tagged ‘creepy
The Fascinating Untold Truth About The Beatles, Manson,Helter Skelter,Roman Polanski and How I Figured Out I’m Rosemary’s Baby
By ledonnarama 15 Comments
Categories: childhood, conspiracy theories, Entertainment, God, Humor, Mental Health, Occult Matters, Satan and Uncategorized
Tags: Aleister Crowley, Anton Lavey, baby, Charles Manson, comedy, conspiracy theories, creepy, depression, Entertainment, funny, God, Helter Skelter, Humor, laugh, Led Zeppelin, ledonna, mental illness, music, occult, Roman Polanski, Rosemary's Baby, Satan, scary, Sharon Tate, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Urban Legends, weird
********AUTHOR’S NOTE: I just want it to be known when I found this piece on the Beatles, I thought of it as a hilarious conspiracy theory, a fun and twisted take on linking together these darker bits of pop culture. I don’t believe in, or subscribe to, the content of the following articles. In my mind, it just made sort of a “news of the weird” thing to laugh at. HA HA HA! See. Just like that. 😀 Thank you!
Yep, that’s ME. Well, at least, that’s how I feel most of the time,lolololololol………. Hey, I was born in 1969, I was adopted…I have 6 toes on each of my cloven feet…
HA! My feet are funky, but not quite to that extent.
So, this is what I read about the Beatles, The Devil, the Manson murders and the Polanski connection. It’s copied from the website http://stargods.org/BeatlesEvil.html.
The Beatles were satanists that had made a pact with the devil, and the bill had to be paid to the coven. Every band that has made a pact with satan has had a member die. Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, The Who, etc. In an interview with Barbara Walters, Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman clearly demonstrated that he was a satanist. In other words he was an errand boy collecting the payment for satan’s bill.
“Alone in my apartment back in Honolulu, I would strip naked and put on Beatles records and pray to Satan to give me the strength. I prayed for demons to enter my body to give me the power to kill” (cited by Evangelist Richard Ciarrocca, Observations, Dec. 1990).
“In his book, The Ultimate Evil, investigator-author Maury Terry writes that between 1966 and 1967, the Satanic cult, the Process Church, ‘sought to recruit the Beatles.'”
The Beatles’ Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album was dedicated to satanist Aleister Crowley. It was released 20 years, nearly to the day, after Crowley’s death in 1947. The title song with the lyrics, “It was twenty years ago today…” On the album cover we see a collection of the Beatles personal heros. Aleister Crowley appears there.
Crowley was born in 1875 and was called the “Great Beast.” He was known to practice ritual child sacrifice regularly, in his role as Satan’s high priest or “Magus.” Crowley died in 1947 due to complications of his huge heroin addiction. Before dying, he succeeded in establishing Satanic covens in many U.S. cities including Hollywood. Kenneth Anger, like Crowley, is a Magus, and appears to be the heir to Crowley. Anger was seventeen years old when Crowley died. In that same year, 1947, Anger was already producing and directing films which, even by today’s standards, reek of pure evil.” – http://www.geocities.com/mmiddleton87/
A key link between the Beatles and the Process Church is Kenneth Anger, a follower of the “founding father” of modern Satanism, Aleister Crowley. Anger, born in 1930, and a child Hollywood movie star, became a devoted disciple of Crowley.
The movie Rosemary’s baby was filmed in the Dakota building were John Lennon was shot to death. It also appears that John Lennon knew the director personally. “The Director of Rosemary’s Baby was Roman Polanski. (At a party in California in 1973, Lennon ‘went berserk, hurling a chair out the window, smashing mirrors, heaving a TV against the wall, and screaming nonsense about film director Roman Polanski being to blame’ – Giuliano)
It’s also interesting to note that when the Beatles went to India to see the Yogi, John Lennon took along Mia Farrow star of the movie Rosemary’s Baby. It would appear that birds of the same occult coven flock together.
Did this nobody Director make a pact with the Hollywood coven in order that he be given a very choice script. So what is the price for fame in the underworld. It is the killing of your baby! This fact is even stressed in the movie. The coven in the movie demand Rosemary’s baby in return for her husband’s success and Hollywood fame.
It was an amazing coincidence that the film had a plot that would be similarly played out a year later – Polanski’s pregnant actress/wife Sharon Tate would be murdered by Charles Manson’s followers.
The murder of his wife appears to be pre-payment for an Academy Award nomination for Polanski’s Best Adapted Screenplay. This movie was a critically-acclaimed and a commercially successful film.
Weeks before Lennon’s death, on his latest album there was a song by Yoko Ono titled Kiss Kiss Kiss. When played backwards one can hear Yoko say, “I shot John Lennon.” This is the same album that John Chapman listened to over and over again! Was Chapman under mind control induced by the album.
Now enter another mind control victim by the name of Charles Manson another santanic bill collector. His followers saw to it that Roman Polanski’s wife was killed along with the baby. In the movie Rosemary’s Baby, it is stressed that there is occult power in babies blood. Could this be the reason why Sharon Tate’s baby was almost taken out of the womb by Susan Aktins Sadie who wanted to cut out the baby, but couldn’t because there hadn’t been time. They wanted to take out the eyes of the people, and squash them against the walls, and cut off their fingers. “We were going to mutilate them, but we didn’t have a chance to.”
Rosemary the main character in the movie, and was to have her baby taken away, had the nickname “Ro.” I wonder what Roman Polanski’s (who in real life had his baby murdered) nick name was? By the way, holly wood is what magicians wands are made from, and stars are the points of light that shine forth Lucifer’s occultist wisdom.
Now that we know Mark Chapman and Manson were receiving messages from albums, let’s take it even further. Remember the Beatles White Album that Charles Manson received his murderous orders from.
Sexy Sadie what have you done
Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme
John Lennon Murder
Coincidences
Roman Polanski movie,
Knife in the Water 1962
George Harrison attacked by man with knife.
All through the movie Help, Ringo Star is often chased by religious fanatics that are armed with a knife.
Susan Atkins was going to remove Sharon Tates baby with a knife.
Notes and Quotes
Sharon Tate’s unborn baby, killed by the Manson family, was named Paul Richard Polanski.
Theatrical Release: Rosemary’s Baby
There is no comfort in the coven of the witch Some very clever doctor went and sterilized the bitch And the only man of energy, (Manson) yes the revolution’s pride (Manson) He trained a hundred women just to kill an unborn child.
—Leonard Cohen-
“No Diamonds in the Mine”
Date of birth (location)
24 January 1943, Dallas, Texas, USA
9 August 1969,
Note the three 9s in this date. Inverted it becomes 666! The number of Rosemary’s baby.
My feeling is that that the Beatles were members of the same Hollywood occult coven that Roman Polanski was. The Movie Rosemary’s Baby was a future template of what was going to happen to Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate. Also the songs recorded by the Beatles seem to indicate that they knew what was going to take place. I believe that songs like Helter Skelter, which Charles Manson felt he got his orders to kill from, were recorded by the Beatles for that express purpose.
As in the movie Rosemary’s Baby, I believe Sharon Tate was manipulated and set up by all the people that she trusted and loved including her own husband. She was the sacrifice to satan for all Polanski’s success. I for one was not fooled by his tears during his interviews.
At some point, Farrow allegedly feared she would be the next victim of the murder spree
1968 excursion to India, and John Lennon of The Beatles wrote ‘Dear Prudence’ (also a song on White Album) for Mia Farrow’s younger sister
Mark Chapman was the name of Lennon’s killer – Winifred Chapman was the maid who had first found the bodies at 10050 Cielo Drive.
And, I also feel that Anton Szandor LaVey, the founder of The Church of Satan – to whom the Family members (especially Susan Atkins)is the leader of the Hollywood Coven.
“HINCKLEY followed as exactly as he possibly could EVERY SINGLE MOVE that Mark David CHAPMAN had made, in the days before CHAPMAN murdered John Lennon.
Even MORE bizarre: at the time of their respective arrests following both shooting incidents, John Hinckley AND Mark David Chapman were each carrying on their person a paperback copy of the J.D. Salinger novel, ’CATCHER IN THE RYE.’ (AS did the MK-Ultra mind-controlled assassin Jerry played by Mel Gibson in the surprisingly revealing movie Conspiracy Theory.)
J.D. Salinger, certainly a gifted author, had SUBSTANTIAL and enduring ties to the U.S. intelligence community; in particular, the CIA. Was the book originally intended to be a mind-control programming tool? It’s hard to say, but not inconceivable.
SO: Hinckley traced Chapman’s footsteps, as it were, in an incredibly eerie AND incredibly REVEALING, scripted tableau; which culminated, as it did with Chapman, in mind-controlled Manchurian Candidate assassin Hinckley shooting his prey on the New York City streets.
Which indeed, brings up yet a FURTHER point. Hinckley FIRST CAME to New York WELL BEFORE his attempt to assassinate Reagan, in order to prepare himself for his assigned role by imitating Chapman’s moves and actions of a few months before.
SO: HOW did Hinckley KNOW, several weeks BEFORE-hand, that Reagan was going to be at the place in New York City were Hinckley would shoot him, AND the DAY and TIME Reagan would be there??
SOMEBODY on the “INSIDE,” who knew Reagan’s schedule some time in advance, positioned Hinckley in New York well before the date of the attempted assassination of Reagan.
Somebody like George BUSH, Sr., maybe? Trying to get a jump on taking over as President? Or, maybe just sending ol’ Ronnie a VERY strong, clear message about who the “boss” really was…
Written by NewsHawk
Recently George Harrison died from cancer. In the murky world of the occult there are many convenient deaths due to cancer. The occult bill collector had already come once in a previous failed attempt to kill Harrison with a knife. I find this rather curios when comparing real life to the Beatle movie called Help. In the movie Ringo is given a ring that makes him the target of a cult which wants to sacrifice him! They continually chase after him with a knife!
SANTA MONICA, December 30, 1999 — Another Beatle victimized by violence.
Ex-Mop Top George Harrison was stabbed at his London-area home today by a knife-wielding intruder, reports say.
Harrison, 56, was stabbed once in the chest before fending off the attacker. His wife, Olivia, suffered minor head injuries in the attack, but did not require hospitalization….The attack, which reportedly took place sometime around 3:30 a.m. London time, was said to have shocked residents of the quiet, upper-class community of Henley-On-Thames. Harrison’s estate was thought to be particularly well guarded. It reportedly featured 24-hour security, patrol dogs and barbed wire fencing. British authorities said they were investigating burglary as a possible motive.
A 33-year-old man — a resident of the Beatles’ own Liverpool — was arrested and booked on suspicion of attempted murder.
Harrison’s stabbing comes 19 years after fellow ex-bandmate John Lennon was shot and killed outside his New York apartment by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman.
By Jim Bartoo, Hollywood.com Staff
Occultists often use so called sacred numbers to bring them power. Sacrifices are often made on the bases of these numbers. Prime sacred numbers are 3, 6, 7, 9, 11. Sacred multiples are 19, 21, 33.
Note the year that Harrison’s attack took place. It was in 1999. Inverted with the number one left out you have 666, the most sacred number of all. He was 56 years old. 5+6= 11 which is a very sacred number. Note too that he is stabbed by a man who just happens to be 33 years old. This too is a very sacred number since it is 3X11. He was also attacked around 3:30 am (33).
Another interesting event was that Prime Minister Chretien of Canada was attacked by a young man with knife too. The man somehow got through the intense home security and found his way in to into the Prime Ministers home late at night. This murder attempt too had failed.
Amazing too is how years later with President Ford in the White House, then Vice President Nelson Rockefeller was just a heartbeat away from becoming leader of the free world. With Rocky as Vice President, if anything should befall Ford at that time, he would instantly become President. Well, time to send in Manson’s followers once again.
One of his followers Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme who steps out in a failed assassination attempt against President Ford. (September 5, 1975) Two weeks later another woman Sara Jane Moore attempts another assassination San Francisco with a handgun. (September 22, 1975)
Squeaky claimed that she did not attempt to kill President Ford, because she never injected a bullet from the handle into the chamber. Was she under mind control? Could she of been programmed just to show up with a gun?
“They’re COMPLETELY ANTI-CHRIST. I mean, I am anti-Christ as well, but they’re so anti-Christ they shock me which isn’t an easy thing.” Derek Taylor, Press Officer for the Beatles
“I believed that he was Satan himself at times” George Martin, Beatles Producer
“Jesus, a garlic-eating, stinking little yellow, greasy fascist bastard catholic Spaniard.” (John Lennon, A Spaniard in the Works, p.14)
“Christianity will go, it will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that. I’m right and will be proved right. You just wait.. . .We’re more powerfull than Jesus ever was..” John Lennon
On the album there is a song called Sexy Sadie. Well it turns out that this was the nickname of Susan Atkins. Now “Sadie Mae Glutz was the alias given to the Family member Susan Atkins by Manson even before the appearance of the White Album song ‘Sexy Sadie!’ –http://www.phinnweb.com/livingroom/rosemary/
It was Sadies testimony in court that brought an end to the Manson family. Now read the lyrics below from the Beatles song Sexy Sadie.
Sexy Sady “White album” Year 1968
You made a fool of everyone
Sexy Sadie ooh what have you done.
Sexy Sadie you broke the rules
You layed it down for all (the court) to see
You layed it down for all to see
Sexy Sadie oooh you broke the rules.
One sunny day the world was waiting for a lover
She came along to turn on everyone
Sexy Sadie the greatest (Manson killer)of them all.
(Susan Atkins was a sexual lover of the Manson family)
Sexy Sadie how did you know
The world was waiting just for you
Sexy Sadie oooh how did you know.
Sexy Sadie you’ll get yours yet
However big you think you are
Sexy Sadie oooh you’ll get yours yet.
Susan Atkins often bragged and boasted.
We gave her everything we owned just to sit at her table
Just a smile would lighten everything
Sexy Sadie she’s the latest and the greatest of them all.
She made a fool of everyone
Sexy Sadie.
Brackets by author.
Another nickname of Susan Atkins was Sadie Mae Glutz
Maggie Mae (Written by Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey)
Album “Let it be” Year 1970
Oh dirty Maggie Mae they have taken her away
And she never walk down Lime Street any more
Oh the judge he guilty found her
For robbing a homeward bounder
That dirty no good robbin’ Maggie Mae
To the port of Liverpool
They returned me to
Two pounds ten a week, that was my pay.
Beatles “Let It Be” Album
Speculation: Could the above lyrics also be a metaphor for black mail?
So why was Sharon Tate chosen to die. My feeling is that Roman Polanski made a pact with the Hollywood coven. This was an exchange for his child so that he be given fame and success. He was a nobody movie director till he was handed a script that would make him an instant success. So why give a major script to a basically unknown director and not a well established director? Why is because of his agreed sacrificial offering that would have to be made in the future. Manson would be the grocery clerk coming for the payment of the bill.
Suasan Atkins Sadie had stated that Sharon Tate had been the last to die because, “She had to watch the others die.” By all accounts, Tate died in excruciating fear and agony. Bugliosi gives Atkins’ account: she was holding Sharon Tate at the time and, “Tex came back and he looked at her and he said, ‘Kill her.” And I killed her… And I just stabbed her and she fell, and I stabbed her again. I don’t know how many times I stabbed her…” Sharon begged for the life of her baby, but Atkins told her, “Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Before he killed him, Charles “Tex” Watson told Voytek Frykowski: ‘I am the Devil and I am here to do the Devil’s business.’” Months later at the trial, Manson’s “disciples” were said to have been utterly under his power.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2515
|
__label__wiki
| 0.674742
| 0.674742
|
9 Questions with Dr. Harry Edwards
Photo By Michael Zagaris/Getty Images
Forward / Dallas Mavericks
Basketball is my first love, but it’s not my only one. From the small town in Iowa where I grew up, to Chapel Hill for college, to the Bay Area and now to Dallas, I’ve been lucky in my life to get to meet a wide variety of people, each with their own beliefs, dreams, habits, and outlooks on the world. Interacting with different people with different stories sparked my curiosity about what makes people not only good at what they do, but good, period. I am drawn to leaders who set out to make positive change in their communities.
In that spirit, I’m doing a series of interviews this season with people who I admire from afar. I want to get to know them better and share our conversations here.
For my first interview, I got to talk to Dr. Harry Edwards, the sociologist and civil rights activist who is maybe best known as the architect of the protest at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. But as I soon found out, there’s a lot more to learn, and admire, about the man.
Dr. Edwards, it’s a real pleasure to talk to you. I can’t think of a better person to launch this interview series with. So let’s get right into it. You’re close with Colin Kaepernick. When’s the last time you and Colin talked?
Dr. Harry Edwards
We exchanged emails just this morning [Thursday, December 7]. And, you know, we discussed quite a few issues, some of which are confidential. But most of the time when people ask me that question they want to know how he’s doing and my response has been consistent: I’m not worried about Kaepernick, I’m worried about the rest of us. Kap knows exactly what he’s doing, where he is in his life, what he’s dedicated to, what’s important. He’s still in the greatest football shape that I’ve ever seen him in and he’s gonna be just fine. But I’m concerned about the rest of us. We are a society now that, to a substantial degree — and in no small measure as a consequence of who’s sitting up in the Oval Office — appears to have lost its way in terms of its fundamental decency, in terms of its commitment to forming that more perfect union. We’re now struggling to determine who and what we are as a society and where we are, where we should be headed, where we want to be headed as a nation. Kap doesn’t have that problem. He understands exactly and precisely who he is. He understands what he envisions as a more perfect union and he is committed to making the sacrifices, to making the statements, to doing what is necessary in order to get there — working from the ground up, beginning with the children and young adults that he meets with, the camps he holds, the conferences he attends.
I hear some people say they just take issue with the kneeling — with Colin’s protest style. To me that feels like they’re kind of deflecting from the main point. What do you say about that?
You know what I say? Go back and look at history. There has never been a protest by an oppressed minority in American society — not the Native Americans taking over Alcatraz, not Jewish people protesting neo-Nazis in this country, not African-Americans in any case in any era at any time — when mainstream America has stood up and said, “Amen, we agree with that protest.” When it comes to black people protesting, mainstream America was not for the March on Washington, it was not for the march across the Pettus Bridge in Selma, it was not for the Freedom Rides, it was not for the school integration protest, it was not for the sit-ins in the 1960s, it was not for the demonstrations in Mexico City in the 1968, it was not for Muhammad Ali’s refusal to be inducted into the military to fight a war that he thought was immoral, illegal and unjustified. There has never been a protest movement for which America in the mainstream stood up and said, “Amen, we need this message.” So it doesn’t make any difference what Colin Kaepernick’s protest style is. If he took a knee on the sidewalk outside of the stadium before the game during the playing of “Chopsticks” and said, “I’m protesting injustice and racism in America, I’m protesting unconscionable incarceration rates, I’m protesting the fact that a black person has three times the chances of being shot by a police officer than a white person in America, I’m protesting what is happening in this society as far as black educational opportunities and the enforcement of black human and civil rights,” you would have an outcry. So when it comes down to people critiquing Colin’s protest style, I ask them one question: Name me one black protest that America has been in favor of. And you know what I get? Crickets. Nothing. They can’t come up with one, because there’s never been one. Therefore, it doesn’t make any difference what Colin’s protest style is. Just shut up and play football — that’s what they really want us to do. They want us to sit down and shut up. That is the reality of protest. And Colin’s not gonna do that.
Photo By Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Images
Nor should he have to. Do you think there’s another sports story right now that isn’t getting enough attention?
I think that the issue of African-Americans in sports’ higher positions really needs to be looked at. I look at Richard Lapchick’s quote-unquote report card on diversity in the NFL, for example. This year the NFL got an A because we have eight black head coaches — equal to the highest number ever in the league — and 43 African-Americans in high positions such as GM and vice president and so forth. But I look at that and wonder, How could one grade it at all? And secondly, What is the meaning of the grade? Because unless you are telling me that Kap is still on the street because those 43 VPs and GMs and eight head coaches all agree with Jerry Jones and Donald Trump that the players who are protesting the summary execution of black people in the streets of this country are “sons of bitches,” then I have to believe that they’re in position but they don’t have power.
You know, there’s a difference between change and progress. Eight head coaches and 43 presidents and GMs and vice presidents, and so forth, is change. But it’s not necessarily progress — unless there’s a carrying over of power and authority in those positions. I’m looking at Kaepernick on the street and that tells me something. It tells me that those people in those higher positions are not exercising authority and power.
We’re hearing, Well they got black coaches and they got black GMs, so if they are not bringing Kap in, then there must be something wrong in terms of his ability to play. You know what? That’s nonsense. You’re telling me that Kaepernick is the worst quarterback prospect that the NFL could call in? You’re telling me that Colin Kaepernick is not only worse than the 32 starters, the 32 backups and the 32 clipboard holders that are occupying quarterback positions in the NFL today, but that he’s so much worse than them that he doesn’t even deserve a tryout for a position? That’s nonsense.
And I’m not saying that getting Kaepernick back into the league is the whole answer to this situation. But I’m saying that by him being on the street — it’s an indication of where we are in terms of the state of diversity in the league. To argue that we could right this whole thing by a black GM or head coach giving Kaepernick a job would be the equivalent of saying that the whole struggle around the Montgomery bus boycott in 1956 would have been corrected if a bus driver was just willing to give Rosa Parks her seat back. Well no, it’s going way beyond that. We have to look at this thing in terms of its broader implications and understand the dynamics of how these circumstances are being put together and projected in the mainstream sports media.
So don’t tell me that the NFL gets an A for diversity. You have a lot of black people in positions of authority who for a fact have neither authority nor power. And if they tried to exercise it they would find themselves on the street with Kaepernick.
You’ve spent most of your life following the evolution of activism in sports. Where do you think we’re at in that evolution?
Well, first of all, I think social media has had the greatest influence on both the trajectory and the impact of activism. I think that without the social media, it would’ve taken years for the activist athletes of today to create that revelatory climate that we have today. At the end of the 1960s, we didn’t have social media where you hit one button — S-E-N-D — and then all of a sudden you had direct connection with millions of people. Today, athletes have that. So Colin Kaepernick and Malcolm Jenkins and Anquan Boldin and LeBron James and Steph Curry and Eric Reid are in touch with more people instantly than Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Bill Russell, Jim Brown, Arthur Ashe, or Curt Flood were probably able to connect with directly throughout their entire activist lives.
The second thing that has happened, particularly among professional athletes, is that unlike the conventional wisdom, which states that the more money an athlete makes the less likely that athlete is to take a stand, because of what he or she has at risk, the reality is that the more money an athlete makes, the more a team is invested in an athlete, the more a product is invested in an athlete as an endorser, so the more latitude and power that athlete has. So, when the CEO of Under Armour came out with a statement that Steph Curry did not approve of, Steph got on the phone and that next day Under Armour took out a full page ad in a Baltimore newspaper essentially apologizing. When athletes determined that Donald Sterling was unacceptable as an owner, they made it very, very clear that they wanted him gone. Within two months, Donald Sterling was gone. That kind of thing was absolutely unimaginable back in the late 1960s.
But something that has changed for the worse, going back to social media, is that the sports establishment can go and find one big-name athlete, who they can either buy or bribe or who may legitimately disagree with the position of protesting athletes, put him on social media and all of a sudden that message goes out to three or four million people. The statement of a big-name athlete who has been bought, sold and paid for, carries the same weight and gravity in social media as an athlete who is putting everything on the line in an effort to contribute toward forming that more perfect union that the Constitution talks about. So we simply have to be aware of that. It’s not a one-sided, one-perspective situation we’re in. We always have to be thinking and analyzing, What is the impact of this? What is the source of it? In whose interests is it being done?
Photo By Jed Jacobsohn/The Players' Tribune
Absolutely. So I saw that you spoke on a panel with Jim Brown last year. Can you tell me a little bit about how that went?
“Jackie was our Ghandi.”
Harry Edwards discusses Jackie Robinson as a pioneer for African-American non-violent protest. (2:05)
It went very well because it gave me an opportunity to express the seminal impact and enduring contribution of black athletes to American society. People forget that W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey were debating over whether blacks should accommodate to segregation, or rely on talent and tests to lead and lift the masses of black people into mainstream competency or whether, in Marcus Garvey’s words, black people should pack up and leave America altogether. While those three brilliant minds were debating those issues, black athletes from Jack Johnson to Jesse Owens to Joe Louis to Paul Robeson were taking on the world. Jack Johnson beat Tommy Burns for the heavyweight championship of the world. Jesse Owens took on the world at the 1936 Olympics along with 17 other black Olympians. Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling, a German who was representing white Aryan superiority. So while these debates were going on within the American context of whether we should accommodate Jim Crow, or whether we should put our talent to the test to raise us into integration, or whether we should separate and leave the country altogether, black athletes were taking on the world. Even the Negro Leagues won 60% of the All-Star exhibition games that they played against white All-Stars from the major leagues. Those white All-Stars knew that not only were black baseball players competent and capable, but in many instances they were superior.
When you move up to Jackie Robinson, he had already engaged black people in nonviolent direct actions 10 years before Dr. King took on the Montgomery bus boycott with nonviolent direct action in 1956, the year Jackie retired. He talks about it in his autobiography. Black people attending Jackie’s games were being trained by clergy and lay community organizers on how to behave when they heard the racial slurs hurled at Jackie by white fans. And how to react when they threw black cats on the field, or when they saw opposing players sliding into second with their spikes up trying to hurt Jackie. How do you behave in the face of that? Well, you do what I do on the field, Jackie was saying. You turn the other cheek because if Jackie got into a fight on the field maybe there’d be dugout-emptying brawl. Or if fans got into a fight in the stands it could spill over into the streets and cause an all-out race riot — and the next thing you know the town is burning and nobody else wants to play the Dodgers. So Jackie Robinson was our Gandhi.
The same with regard to athletes in the late 1960s. Muhammad Ali, Smith and Carlos, Arthur Ashe, Curt Flood, Jim Brown and Bill Russell were talking about a demand for dignity and respect — not just desegregation and access, but dignity and respect in the positions that they were in long before you had Barack Obama running for president. If Ali doesn’t demand respect for his name — Muhammad Ali … I mean he literally got in the ring and beat guys and said, “Call me by my name!” — if he doesn’t demand that, there’s no way that the American people vote into the White House a man with a name like Barack Hussein Obama. So the black athlete has always been a trailblazer in terms of where we needed to go and the process by which we needed to get there.
As an athlete, I’m always thinking about habits and goals and how to achieve the things I want to achieve. What principles and habits have guided you?
My entire life’s pursuit has been to learn to dream with my eyes open — to understand the terrain that I’m moving over, the price to be paid in pursuit of those dreams, those goals, and then to maintain at all costs the courage to continue that pursuit. And one gets to that space through study. Malcolm X said that history is the discipline that best rewards study. Rage is not enough. Anger will not get it done. You have got to be a student of life. You cannot allow your life to be something that just happens to you while you’re doing something else. And from that study will emerge clear paths that you can take to achieve the goals that you set for yourself. A life without goals and awareness and commitment is empty. And I see a lot of empty lives around me. I see lives that have been empty for years and people unfortunately sometimes don’t see it until they get up into my neck of the woods. I was fortunate enough to wake up, to become committed, to understand the dynamics of what needed to be done if my life was going to be meaningful when I was in my 20s. When I organized the Olympic Project for Human Rights I was 24 years old. I literally believed that I could change the world and was fearless. And I didn’t expect to live to my 30s, but that did not moderate one bit my commitment to doing what I did in the late 1960s. My late friend, Maya Angelou, who wrote the forward to my 1980 autobiography, used to tell me all the time that courage is the greatest of all virtues because without it no other virtue is possible. And so I think that athletes and others should keep that in mind. I mean, these are the things that Kap and I have discussed during and after his time with the 49ers — and I’m so proud of him in this fourth wave of athletes carrying out that tradition of athlete contribution.
That is really powerful. Before I let you go, let’s switch gears a bit here for a lighter question. If you could have dinner with anyone, who would you choose and what would you ask?
Oh boy. That’s a tough one. You know who I would love to have dinner with? Michelle Obama. I donated to work as a supporter of Barack both times that he ran for office. But I told him I made it clear that I didn’t vote for him. I told him I voted for the one whose name begins with an M because I knew that as long as Michelle was there he was gonna be all right. And because of the women’s things that are going on right now, which is long overdue, because of the racial issues that are going on now, of all of the political figures in this country today, including Barack, I think she has greater power and potential than any of them. And she’s probably also smart enough not to ever run for office. So if I could sit down and have dinner with anybody, I would want to sit down and have dinner with Mrs. Obama. But of course I would have to get that past Mr. Obama and I don’t think he’d say yes ever since I told him I didn’t vote for him — I voted for her. [Laughs.]
What do you do when you’re not teaching, speaking or writing?
You know, I have a place up on the Mendocino Coast in Northern California. And I go up there and I put on John Coltrane and Miles Davis — I grew up in East St. Louis, literally about a mile from Miles Davis. So I grew up with the music. Sometimes I just go up there and lay back for two or three days and do absolutely nothing. Just listen to jazz and maybe sip some Hennessy, some Rémy Martin, though I generally don’t start that until about 4:30 or five o’clock in the evening. At some point, you have to have a space where you can kind of walk away from it all. Otherwise you will find yourself beaten down by the burden of your own commitments. At some point you have to get into your car and drive away, and I was smart enough and well-positioned enough early on to create that space for me and my family. You’d be surprised that even in the most difficult times how much a walk along the ocean with a pair of headphones on, listening to Kind of Blue, will do for your soul. And a lot of times that is what you have to nurture. Not your brain, not your business, not your calls, but you have to nurture your soul in order to be able to get back to where you need to be and deal with all the other things.
Absolutely, I agree with that. So my last question for you is your advice for young athletes like myself, across all borders, all sports, who want to get involved, who wanna do more. What is your advice for the best ways to get involved and to make a lasting impact — not just do something temporary?
What I would tell young athletes today, especially in the power position that you’re in today — unprecedented in black athlete history — do you homework, study, be careful of who you align yourself with. But when you align yourself with somebody, be able to articulate the entirety of the challenge and explain why you are taking the stand that you are. That has been something that I have struggled to do for the last half century. And I think that to whatever extent I’ve been able to make a contribution, that would be a major part of it. Do your homework, dream with your eyes open, and try to make a contribution beyond the box scores.
I’m often asked, “Are you disappointed that more athletes are not speaking up?” And my response is always no. I’m surprised that the athletes who are speaking up have done their homework so well. Because that’s a hard one to get people to wrap their minds around — that before you step out there, make sure you know how deep the pool is. Before you step out there, make sure you look both ways for oncoming traffic. Before you step out there, realize that you may not be able to step back in the same spot that you left. So do your homework, understand the history, the dynamics, and the trajectory of the issues that you are dealing with. Look around and study what has been done around those issues, especially historically and in the near past. And then try to figure out, How does my voice move things ahead most progressively and most responsibly? Sometimes that’s a matter of joining with other athletes who are making statements, even if it’s a statement such as “I understand what Colin Kaepernick and Malcolm Jenkins and Michael Bennett and these athletes are protesting about because I come from a neighborhood where we have issues with the police.” And by the way, the police are not the issue — the issue is treatment at the hands of the police. Police have a difficult job. They are putting on that uniform, that badge and that gun and going out there every day with a pledge to protect and serve knowing that there’s a certain number of people out there who they’re committed to protecting and serving who want to kill them. That’s a crude description of the job, but that’s the definition of the job. And that can lead to the kind of problems that police lead the nation in: alcoholism, divorce, suicide, mental issues and so forth. And you understand all of that, but you also have to understand that a police officer in South Carolina literally shot a black man in the back running away from him. That’s what we have to correct. So you have to understand all sides of the problem, but you still have to come down on the right side of history and that requires study.
I know you’ve gotta run. It’s been really great to hear your perspective, and I hope we can talk again soon. Thank you very much.
I appreciate your interest, and you can call me any time. And I just want to say, I love your game. We miss you out in Oakland but I love watching your game and I’ll be following you.
Harrison Barnes / Contributor
Big, Small Town: My Introduction to Dallas
Isaiah Thomas / Contributor
This Is for Boston
Tony Allen / Contributor
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2516
|
__label__wiki
| 0.996855
| 0.996855
|
News & Features » Cover Story
What you should know about the 7th District race, one of the most closely watched congressional races in the country.
by Jason Roop
Coffee kicked off the closing lap of congressional candidate Abigail Spanberger's campaign last week, a 10-day, 10-county tour aimed at showcasing her availability and accessibility.
The tour started in Amelia County, toward the southern end of the 7th District, and will take her bouncing through the counties of Powhatan and Goochland, Culpeper and Orange, Chesterfield and Louisa.
It's scheduled to wrap up Friday, leaving four days till Nov. 6.
The morning visit in Amelia at Hatcher's Dining and Catering was one of more than 140 campaign events as of last week for Spanberger, the Democratic candidate challenging Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Dave Brat.
"I always tell people to go compare our calendar and compare the congressman's calendar," says the communications director for the Spanberger campaign, Justin Jones. "The congressman — he's hard to find."
Brat, of course, has been campaigning too. But his on-the-ground efforts seem to pale in comparison to his challenger.
The Brat campaign had no events listed on its Facebook or website last week. Brat's most recent mention of an event was Oct. 20, a Richmond stop with Vice President Mike Pence. And that was in support of someone else's candidacy — 4th District Republican Ryan McAdams, who's trying to unseat Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin.
Scott Elmquist
Republican congressional candidate Dave Brat works the room following a campaign appearance in Ashland in 2014, prior to defeating Eric Cantor.
Television is another story. Radio, too.
Last week Brat appeared on "The Mark Levin Show," was interviewed during "America's Newsroom" on Fox News, chatted with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business and tweeted a thank-you to Fox News host Laura Ingraham for her endorsement.
The coverage helps him get his message out, but it also plays into his critics' story line that Brat revels in media appearances over town halls in his district.
Brat's most recent town hall was Sept. 28 at the Henrico County government complex, which the Washington Post noted was his first in more than a year.
"He hasn't done a lot of focusing on his personal constituency," says Alex Keena, an assistant professor in the department of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University. And town halls really do matter, he notes.
Brat should be familiar with the out-of-touch charge. It's one of the main factors credited for helping Brat, when he was a Randolph-Macon College economics professor, oust longtime U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, who seemed destined to become speaker of the House of Representatives.
The surprise upset, in the 2014 Republican primary, made national headlines. But, Keena wonders, has Brat taken his own availability for granted, leaving him vulnerable to the issue? "It kind of seems like Brat set that trap for himself," he says.
The Spanberger campaign is all too happy to pile on. "It's all-encompassing," Jones says. "Where he's not holding events, he's not being responsive, he's not listening to the needs of the district."
The Brat-Spanberger faceoff has been one of those races watched intently from beyond Virginia as Republicans work to keep their majority in the House of Representatives — and Democrats hope for a blue wave.
Politico wrote that Brat was in the "hot seat" in September, declaring: "Reps. Dave Brat and Scott Perry rode the anti-Obama backlash into Congress. Now they're facing a very different kind of backlash."
The race has been labeled a tossup by Sabato's Crystal Ball, from highly cited political science professor Larry Sabato at the University Center for Politics. "It still feels that way to me," the project's managing editor, Kyle Kondik, said last week.
The 7th District may lean Republican, Kondik says, but Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam came close to carrying it, and Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine also may carry the district in his re-election bid against Republican challenger Corey Stewart.
Another political number-crunching outlet also labels the race a tossup. As of last week, Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight had called a 4-in-7 chance that Brat would win and a 3 in 7 chance that Spanberger would win — or 58.4 percent to 41.6 percent. The projection is based on a weighted average of polls, the site explains, in conjunction with "long-term trends in midterms and presidential approval ratings."
While Brat has made national headlines as vulnerable, Spanberger has earned attention as one of a surge of female candidates across the country, a phenomenon covered locally and nationally. She appeared in Time magazine as early as January.
On Jan. 20, Abigail Spanberger greets supporters at the Women’s March RVA in Carytown. Political observers believe the nomination process for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh could help bring more women to the polls for Spanberger.
Spanberger's background as a former CIA officer also has added a twist to the national security issue — something Republicans generally perform better with, says Stephen Farnsworth, professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington.
"I think that the Democrats generally have been very wise to put candidates forward with a significant national security background," Farnsworth says.
National security has been a big part of the campaign's thrust, along with such issues as health care, immigration and the economy.
Brat trumpets the country's economic boom, giving credit to Trump tax cuts and Republican policies for the prosperity. He wants to end and replace Obamacare, secure the borders, protect Medicare and become more fiscally responsible.
Spanberger also says she wants to protect Medicare, opposing efforts to privatize it. She wants to end gun violence, advocates for more skills-based training programs in public education and wants to let states decide whether to legalize marijuana.
The No. 1 focus, her campaign says, is health care. "It is making sure that those with pre-existing conditions are protected," along with lowering the cost of prescription drugs and making health care affordable and accessible.
It is here where Brat and Spanberger have sparred in debates and campaign ads, with Spanberger saying Brat has voted against the protection of pre-existing conditions.
Brat's campaign says that's false, and that he wants to reduce health-care costs and increase the quality of care using free-market solutions, not the government.
Politifact Virginia weighed in, calling Spanberger's claim "Half True."
Brat supported the proposed American Health Care Act, Politifact said, which would have allowed states "to request a waiver from a popular Obamacare provision barring insurers from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions." But it notes that only a small portion of people would have been at risk.
But whatever causes that the candidates may want to discuss, the issue is how to break through the clutter of the national noise.
"We don't have a lot of good polling, but I still think it's a national race," says Rich Meagher, an associate professor of political science and director of social entrepreneurship at Randolph-Macon College. "And I think what happens in Washington matters more than what happens in the district."
Ash Daniel
Dave Brat held a veterans’ town hall Sept. 28 at the Henrico County government complex. About 70 people showed up.
Nationally, drama has mounted.
There was the hunt for the pipe bomber, last week's synagogue shooting and debate over rhetoric and civility. Thousands of people are marching toward the southern border of the U.S. And both sides harbor fury about the nomination process of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
"I think Kavanaugh's hearing and everything that's surrounded that is just going to re-stoke the fires of the left, of the Democrats," Meagher says. "And it's going to help candidates like Spanberger."
Why? Because it motivates people politically to vote, Meagher says.
Democrats will show up, as will women in big numbers. Brat will turn out his base but not much else — and it doesn't help that Brat has a thin record to run on, without a completely enthusiastic party behind him.
"The energy is all on Spanberger's side," he says, "and it's against Brat."
The other hurdle for Brat is the district itself.
VCU's Keena, who published the book "Gerrymandering in America" in 2016, has been focused on the dynamics of the 7th District's reshuffling in 2016 by a federal court — an effect of racial gerrymandering in Virginia's 3rd District.
"He ends up losing Hanover County and some of his important base of support," Keena says of Brat. That's one way he beat Cantor, he says, "now he's no longer even representing them."
If it weren't for the redistricting, Keena says, Spanberger wouldn't even be in the race. But now it's competitive, with suburban voters in the West End, and those closer to the urban areas of Richmond.
"If the parts of the district closest to Richmond have disproportionate high turnout," U.Va.'s Kondik says, "that's a winning formula for Spanberger."
Campaign ads reflect that thrust. The highest levels of media spending hit last week, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, with Spanberger outspending Brat by $815,797 to $521,944 — all in the key Richmond market.
Campaign contributions also tell a story of a candidate perceived as vulnerable.
Brat raised $1.26 million for his race in 2016, and $1.47 million in 2014, according to OpenSecrets.org, a project of the Center for Responsive Politics.
This time around, he's upped that to $2.36 million, according to the most recent financial records compiled by VPAP.
Spanberger has raised more than twice that amount — $4.95 million.
Add to that the levels of independent spending on the race, which has reached $6.45 million, according to the access project. A little more than $3.55 million has been directed toward messages supporting Brat, with $2.9 million supporting Spanberger.
Spanberger speaks with supporters before a debate with Dan Ward at the First Unitarian Universalist Church on May 29.
Spanberger is working to help traditionally Republican voters — especially women upset with Trump — feel more comfortable in voting for her.
Which explains why Brat works to define Spanberger as a liberal ready to line up behind Rep. Nancy Pelosi, warning that the Trump agenda would be threatened and invoking what he says would be the nightmare of Pelosi as speaker of the House.
Pelosi's name has been invoked many times during the campaign. "One of the things you do is run against the person you wish you were running against," Farnsworth says. "Midterm elections are about bringing up a level of voter motivation."
The Brat campaign was unavailable to Style for an interview, but in a campaign email it sent Friday, the candidate lists questions for which he says the electorate hasn't received answers: What would Spanberger do about the Central American immigrants moving toward the U.S. border? Would she vote to impeach the president? Where does she stand on tax cuts?
Meanwhile, a Spanberger ad hit television last week called "Our Mom," featuring her three young daughters talking about her and ending with Spanberger rounding them up to head out their front door, saying "service to country keeps us strong."
For candidates trying to maximize their appeal, Farnsworth says, "vagueness can be a friend."
For the most part, Meagher says, Spanberger has let Brat do the nationalizing while she can appear as a reasonable person who can beat him.
Spanberger is "keeping the race local," Keena says. "It's very hard to run against a candidate who's rolling up their sleeves and knocking on doors like that." S
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2519
|
__label__wiki
| 0.514921
| 0.514921
|
If you have a job where you do not regularly put in 40 hour weeks, it might be possible to pick up an extra shift or two to make some extra money. This is most often seen in the restaurant business where there are usually dozens of servers working throughout the week, making it likely at least one person will need someone to cover their shift. Weekend and evening restaurant shifts are usually picked up by coworkers quickly since the crowds tend to be larger, leading to more tips.
Online survey taking has been an easy way to make money since the late 90s. Back then, survey companies were often screening those in their database to see who might qualify for certain surveys. Today, you may not see as many emails as you once would have, but those surveys you do qualify for often pay out much more than the paltry ~$1 you would have received in 1999. Potentially you could make an extra $200 per month.
Bloggers can make it big, too. First, you’ll need to set up a site which will become your platform to write on music, fashion, finance or whatever your interest may be. Build a following and readership, and you could catch the attention of companies looking to acquire your site. In 2008, Johns Wu, the founder of Bankaholic.com, sold the site to Bankrate, Inc. for $14.9 million. Entrepreneurial tech site TechCrunch was acquired by AOL in 2010 for $30 million, making its founder, Michael Arrington, a wealthy man.
Having so many options will help any passive income newbie maximize sales, but it’s Merch by Amazon that nets sellers the big bucks. It’s prestigious not only because it’s affiliated with a trillion-dollar company but also because it attracts so much traffic. According to Statista, Amazon.com got 2.6 billion visits worldwide in July 2018 alone. And because it’s so lofty, it takes a lot of elbow grease to become successful on Amazon.
Unused space, such as a garage, can be better than climate controlled storage units for someone looking to store enough furniture to fill a home. If you are not going to use your garage space, consider renting it out to someone who could store their stuff there either long or short-term. Some storage units require at least a three month contract, making a private residence an attractive choice for someone who only needs a place for their things on a month or two basis.
Those who are good with artsy projects could benefit from having an Etsy account and selling their projects online. The website is set up to be a mix of eBay and Pinterest, appealing to those who like craft-type goods that are usually handmade. The top tier of Etsy sellers regularly bring in five figures a month, making art projects their full time job.
Trademark fever has turned merch Facebook groups like Essany’s into a lively forum on intellectual-property law, filled with questions about the various nuances of copyrights. Several groups have self-appointed trademark gurus who respond to these legal questions, often linking to PDFs or Google Docs where they’ve already patiently explained how to use sites like TMHunt to check for conflicts.
The money is most certainly in the list. If you're at all interested in online marketing, setup email software and create a lead magnet that you can use in your sales funnel. Then, build up that list. It's often said that you can expect to earn about $1 per subscriber per month. If you have a list of 10,000 subscribers, that means you can earn roughly around $10,000 per month. You will need to deliver value and not pitch them on every email, but it is a very achievable goal in a short period.
Want to find clients? Check out the list below. Also, look up freelancers in your niche. You can use LinkedIn to find out who freelances. What brands do they work with? Often times, brands work with multiple freelancers. Feel free to send a cold email out to the brand asking if there are any opportunities for freelancing available. If they’re not interested at the time, they might reach out to you in the future.
A common way to earn money on a web page is to put ads on it, such as text ads from Google or other ad networks. You may also rent advertising space on your website, you will probably make more money by doing this but it takes a lot more work. Selling your own ad space requires that you have significant traffic and you must be able to convince potential advertisers.
YouTube has launched the career of many a musician, including Justin Bieber, the teen pop sensation who earned $108 million in the past two years. But have you heard of Karmin, the pop duo who signed a million dollar record deal after their Chris Brown “Look At Me Now” cover went viral? The duo, real-life couple Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan, hit it big when the video gained over 68 million views after its upload in April 2011, propelling Karmin to a million dollar deal with label heavyweight Epic Records just a month later. "Brokenhearted," the lead single from their debut album, has now gone platinum.
Those who love teaching but would prefer to make passive income could consider teaching online courses. With online courses, you can teach topics that go beyond what a tutoring gig for students would teach. If you’re great at building stable relationships, you might create a relationships course. If you’re an ecommerce expert, you might teach a course about dropshipping. There’s no limit to what you can teach. You can also niche down within an industry to teach courses about specific subtopics. For example, instead of teaching public relations you might teach a course about growing your blog traffic.
For those with a large Twitter following, you can make money from your Tweets alone with Sponsored Tweets. You could be paid for sharing a business’s information, recommending restaurants or hotels, or tweeting pictures of you using or wearing products. As with all sponsored posts on social media, businesses will only be prepared to pay you to Tweet if you have a large following that you can influence. So work hard on building up a loyal fan base.
Popular YouTube videos can bring in tens of thousands of dollars in a very short amount of time if they go viral. These videos might be shot with a phone camera and may not even be a minute long, but they provide entertainment value that has rarely been seen elsewhere. Anyone with a YouTube account can sign up for the YouTube Partner Network allowing them to monetize videos.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2521
|
__label__cc
| 0.742724
| 0.257276
|
Published October 2013 by Little, Brown, and Company
Source: bought this one for my Nook
Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.
As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love—and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.
Because, hey, why not completely forget to review the biggest book you read this year, one of your favorite books of the year, one of the best book club choices we've ever had? While I can't say I can any longer speak to the specifics of the book, it has really stayed with me, even after all of this time. So maybe five months later really is the time to put down my thoughts.
Let's just put it out there - even though this book won the Pulitzer Prize, a lot of critics didn't much care for it. They called it "overwritten" and "Dickensian." Those critics are right to an extent; Tartt could easily have cut at least 50 pages and nothing would have been lost (I'm looking at you Las Vegas!). In that way, I'd say it was Dickensian in a bad way (at least Dickens had an excuse - he was getting paid by the word!). On the other hand, it was Dickensian in so many great ways - an orphan boy, dubious guardians, shady friends who may not be the best influence, changes in fortune, and the girl our hero just can't stop loving.
Tartt's writing is impressive. I'm not sure I've ever read a book that was better able to capture the feel of a setting. I swear I could smell dusty smoke after the explosion; Vegas felt desolate and lawless; and New York was two entirely different places - the shining Big Apple, bustling and bright when Theo first lives there but on his return darker, more dangerous, more stifling.
There were so many things I loved about this book: considering how Hobie's benign neglect may have gotten Theo into much more trouble than he might have found himself in with another guardian, the way Tom Cable's and Boris' reappearance made me question the reliability of the narrator, the tiny details and the big, big characters. And then there's a REALLY BIG twist that I did not seeing coming at all. Neither did I have any idea how the book was going to end. Would there be any kind of a finality to Theo's relationship with The Goldfinch?
Despite it's flaws and it's ridiculous length, I really do think I might find myself, someday, rereading The Goldfinch. And that's the biggest compliment I can pay a book.
rhapsodyinbooks November 5, 2014 at 6:44 AM
I think my husband pretty much felt as you did, but I still don't have any interest in reading it. Long, drugs, violence, crime... these are all turn off things to me! But it definitely has a lot of great reviews and of course major prize recognition!
Michelle S November 5, 2014 at 9:21 AM
I received a copy of this last year and still haven't gotten around to reading it. One of these days...
Heather C. November 5, 2014 at 6:38 PM
I've heard good things. Great review.
(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea November 5, 2014 at 8:31 PM
I adored this lengthy novel - glad u did as well.
JaneGS November 6, 2014 at 11:52 AM
I'm so looking forward to finally reading this--you gave a great review that whetted my appetite but didn't have any spoilers (well done!).
I've never thought Dickensian was a pejorative term :)
I hate to be cynical but at times it seems like official critics (not us book bloggers) disparge commerically successful books, just because...
Ti November 6, 2014 at 4:10 PM
I felt the same way. There was one section where it slogged a bit, the drug parts, the drinking, but all in all, the last 5% made it all worthwhile. I want to own a copy and that's saying a lot. I own few books that are keepers.
Literary Feline November 6, 2014 at 4:49 PM
You make this sound so good, Lisa! It is on my TBR pile, so eventually I will get to it. Hopefully this coming year.
Les November 7, 2014 at 6:04 AM
I listened to this on audio. Not sure I loved it (review still in progress), but it has certainly stuck with me. In a word, it was a train wreck. (OK, two words.)
JaneGS February 5, 2015 at 9:58 AM
Great review--this book does stick with you long after you finish it, as your belated review attests to. I need to read up on why the critics didn't care for it--in cases like this, I suspect sour grapes. I really couldn't figure out how it was going to end, but I absolutely loved the ending, which is saying a lot! I feel like many books falter in their conclusion.
As a lover of Victorian literature, the label Dickensian is not a bad thing, and you're summary of why it is Dickensian is brilliant.
Life: It Goes On - November 30
The Paris Wife by Paula McClain
Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward To In 2015
Jane Austen's First Love by Syrie James - Review a...
Jane Austen's First Love Holiday Blog Tour - Guest...
Five Quarters of The Orange by Joanne Harris
Life: It Goes On - November 9
Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Want To Reread
The Good House by Ann Leary
Life: It Goes On (Right?) - November 2
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2524
|
__label__cc
| 0.629434
| 0.370566
|
Archive for the ‘Drama’ Category
Posted: October 28, 2016 in 2016 London Film Festival, Comedy, Drama, Foreign, Reviews
Tags: German Movies, Maren Ade, Peter Simonischek, Sandra Hüller
Saying that Toni Erdmann is a great film is easy. Explaining why is considerably more difficult. Rarely is a movie so obviously good in the viewing and so elusive in the analysis. A simple synopsis yields few clues as to the work’s manifest virtues. A frustrated career woman is forced to deal with the stresses of her job and the unexpected appearance of her practical jokester of a father, and that is essentially the whole show for two hours and forty-two minutes. And it’s in German. And it’s billed as a comedy. That’s what’s known in the business as a “tough sell.”
Maybe, just maybe, Toni Erdmann is the rare contemporary film for which critics and reviewers can play an outsized role in raising awareness so that audiences don’t miss the opportunity to see an indescribably transcendent work. Bottom line: if you love movies, you have to see this one. (more…)
Posted: October 25, 2016 in 2016 London Film Festival, Drama, Reviews
Tags: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Tom Ford
After suffering through a seemingly interminable summer of cinema that offered mediocrity, at best, most weeks, but, more often, a too familiar awfulness of stale, sequeled premises noisily and poorly executed, dedicated film goers have earned an autumn of excellence at the movie theater. We deserve movies like Nocturnal Animals. Tom Ford’s second feature film is everything that was missing from movies this summer. The film is challenging, intelligent, fierce, uncompromising, wrenching, and, most definitely, for adults. And, no, this is not simple Oscar bait material. No one among the A List cast is bravely portraying a disability, nor are we spoon fed a Hollywood interpretation of an important moment in history. Nocturnal Animals is original, in-you-face art. (more…)
Posted: October 22, 2016 in 2016 London Film Festival, Drama, Foreign, Reviews
Tags: Ben Wa balls, Chan-wook Park, Kim Tae-ri, Korean films, Min-hee Kim, Oldboy
The Handmaiden, the latest and most lascivious of offerings from Korean bad boy director/writer Chan-wook Park, gives whole new meaning to the phrase “guilty pleasure.” Many, if not most, will enjoy this wicked, naughty (oh, so naughty) tale of deceit, sexual politics, and betrayal, but be careful: too much enthusiasm for this luscious work may generate suspicion. Are you really so enamored of Park’s decision to transplant the story from the source material, the novel Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, from Dickens’ London to 1930’s Korea? Are you a genuine fan of Asian film noir and relish a pitch black look at the human soul in its quest for money, power, and the upper hand? Or are you simply an educated pervert, engaging in blatant voyeurism, much like the gentlemen who listen to Lady Hideko’s readings of ribald tales at the invitation of her uncle? (more…)
The Eyes of My Mother Review
Posted: September 19, 2016 in 2016 Fantasy FilmFest, Drama, Horror, Reviews
Tags: Diana Agostini, Kika Magalhaes, Nicolas Pesce, Olivia Bond, Paul Nazak, Will Brill
Every year, we invariably hear of one or more movies that “redefine” or “reinvent” the horror genre. Most times, careful viewings of the films in question reveal a slick repackaging of familiar conventions. Often, the redefining is a twist on a twist; the reinvention is a reversal of expectations. Horror fans take these slight alterations in style in stride, noting the degree of success by the extent of the imitations they spawn. The new becomes the old within a relatively short period of time, and the genre is reset. (more…)
Under the Shadow Review
Posted: August 30, 2016 in 2016 Fantasy FilmFest, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Reviews
Tags: Avin Manshadi, Babak Anvari, Bobby Naderi, Iran-Iraq War, Iranian Films, Narges Rashidi
The Iran-Iraq War was an interminable sequence of horrors, largely unseen by the West and then quickly overshadowed by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf War. The conflict stretched from 1980-88 and featured some of the most brutal warfare since the First World War including child soldiers, chemical weapons, trench fighting, human wave offensives, and wide-scale civilian bombing. To set a fantastical horror movie within the horribleness of this conflict would seem to risk trivializing the tragedy, but the eloquent, understated film Under the Shadow amplifies the terrors of the war and the all too real consequences for the populace. (more…)
High-Rise: The Q’s, The A’s, The Review
Posted: May 18, 2016 in 2015 London Film Festival, Drama, Fantasy, Reviews
Tags: Amy Jump, Ben Wheatley, J.G. Ballard, Tom Hiddleston
Q: How many times do you see a movie before you review it?
A: With few exceptions, one viewing is all I get before I pull the trigger. And, with even fewer exceptions, one viewing is generally all I need. And by that, I do not mean that I know all there is to know after a single screening. Rather, it’s unlikely that my basic opinion will change from that initial reaction. One notable exception is The Dark Knight. I’m not sure what it was, but my response after seeing it was, “Meh.” I’ve seen it twice since then and have been awestruck both times. Not sure if it my expectations were too high or if I was just having a bad day, but that’s one time when my first impression was not worth a damn. I really enjoyed Map to the Stars the first time I saw it and decided to use it as a critical experiment. I waited a week and then saw it again before writing a review. The additional viewing provided some nuance, particularly regarding performances, but had little effect on my overall evaluation. Otherwise, too many movies and too little time limits me to one shot per flick. (more…)
Aloys Review
Tags: Film Festivals, Georg Friedrich, Switzerland, Tilde von Overbook, Tobias Nölle
For many, full immersion into a film festival – that is, seeing between 30 and 40 films in the course of less than two weeks – does not seem a pleasurable or meaningful way to spend one’s life, or even one’s vacation. Considering that in 2014, the average number of movie tickets sold per person in the U.S. for the year was 3.7, the idea of seeing that many films in a day is mind boggling for many. Other than an intense love of film, another explanation exists for why someone would travel 11 hours over two flights to a foreign country, spend 12 nights alone in a hotel, only to watch three or four movies per day – which is the thumbnail itinerary for this critic’s February trip to Germany for Berlinale. Invariably, over the course of the festival, at least a hidden treasure emerges, one film, maybe two, that might otherwise go unnoticed or unreleased internationally. At the 2015 Berlinale, Austrian films Homesick and The Last Summer of the Rich were two gems on display that have been seen only sporadically since their premieres.
At the 2016 Berlinale, Aloys, a Swiss feature that defies categorization, but might be best be described as a post-modern detective flick in which an Asperger Sam Spade goes off in search of himself, was the prize that made the trip worthwhile. (more…)
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2531
|
__label__wiki
| 0.761704
| 0.761704
|
Benjamin Verdery and other Yale guitarists play guitar music by Yale composers, including five world premieres
A free preview of Carnegie Hall concert the following night, the program features solo, guitar ensemble, and chamber works by Yale School of Music composers
The Yale School of Music presents Yale Guitar Music Today on Monday, November 8 at 8 pm in Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall (470 College Street). The concert, directed by classical guitar virtuoso Benjamin Verdery, will feature music by Yale-affiliated composers. World premieres by Ezra Laderman, David Lang, Jack Vees, Kathryn Alexander, and Samuel Adams will be performed alongside music by Martin Bresnick, Ingram Marshall, and Benjamin Verdery. In addition to music for solo classical guitar, there will be pieces for varied duos – alto flute and guitar, two electric guitars – and ensembles: guitar quartet, guitar octet, and guitar with string quartet.
According to Benjamin Verdery, “In many respects I believe that now is the golden age of the guitar, and this program will reflect the diversity and the universality of the instrument. The audience will hear the unique voice of each composer and how inventively they write for guitar. The concert, quite simply, will be a guitar event like none I have heard.”
Verdery himself will perform, as will graduate students who have come from around the world to study at the Yale School of Music. Students of Verdery include Ian O’Sullivan ’11MM, Max Zuckerman ’11MM, Steffen Besser ’12MM, Trevor Babb ’12MM, Graham Banfield ’12MM, Arash Noori ’12MM, Alan Pawlowicz ’12MM, and Hermelindo Ruiz ’12MM.
The concert is a special preview of a Yale in New York concert on Tuesday, November 9, in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. David Shifrin is the artistic director of Yale in New York, and Benjamin Verdery is the chair of the guitar department at the Yale School of Music.
Admission to the preview concert is free. For more information, visit music.yale.edu or contact the Yale School of Music concert office at 203 432-4158.
Distinguished as “an American original, an American master” by Guitar Review Magazine, guitarist and composer Benjamin Verdery has enjoyed an innovative and eclectic musical career. Since his 1980 New York debut with his wife, flutist Rie Schmidt, Benjamin has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America and has recorded and performed with such diverse artists as Leo Kottke, Hermann Prey, and John Williams. Benjamin has released over 15 albums, his most recent – Branches (Mushkatweek) – featuring arrangements of works by Bach, Mozart, Strauss, and Hendrix, and the traditional Amazing Grace. Many of Verdery’s compositions have been performed and published over the years, most recently, Now and Ever for David Russell, and Peace, Love and Guitars for John Williams and John Etheridge. Benjamin Verdery is the artistic director of the Yale Guitar Extravaganza and Art of the Guitar at the 92nd Street Y (New York), conducts an annual master class week on the Island of Maui (Hawaii), and is an honorary board member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, Inc. Since 1985, he has been the chair of the guitar department at the Yale School of Music.
benjamin verdery, concerts, guitar, yale in new york
facebook twitter email comments
I would be very pleased to give a concert of my compositions at your school of music.
Anthony Sidney
March 20th, 2014 | anthony sidney
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2534
|
__label__cc
| 0.566436
| 0.433564
|
misterdangerous
Los Angeles City Archives Tour
I went on a tour of the Los Angeles City Archives recently. I’m in search of information and photographs for my next book which is also about Southern California architects.
The archives are in a Brutalist’s building on a sketchy street. [translation: I was apprehensive about parking my car on the street.] Those concrete L-shaped forms are balconies.
This is the view from the third floor balcony looking west.
I’m including this because it states the architects’ names (L.W. Davidson & Associates), who I’ve never heard of before, and the year the building was completed (1981).
There was a nice outdoor eating area for employees on the way to the archives.
This is the unassuming entrance.
Everyone who took the tour seemed to be doing research for a book.
There were not a lot of artifacts on display but I liked this one. It was from the Rose Parade to the city of Los Angeles.
Certain items are held in the vault. This is the vault door.
These are in the vault.
This is the kind of information in the registry of licenses.
These items are also in the vault. There are rows and rows and rows and rows and rows of them.
All the papers from the cities that were annexed by Los Angeles including Eagle Rock, Venice and Hollywood are housed in the vault.
Most of the archives are not housed in the vault but rather on steel shelving that goes almost up to the ceiling.
Here’s another view halfway down one of those long aisles.
This was found on the side of the road by Tom LaBonge and donated to the city.
One of the huge (6 feet by 8 feet?) old photographs of Los Angeles that the archive holds. In the upper center is a long stretch of green space. That’s where Disney Hall, The Broad Museum and other buildings would be built. You can see the Dorthy Chandler Pavilion just to the right of the green space.
A more recent view of the city but there’s no Caltrans’ Building yet.
Michael Holland is the city archivist and he led the tour. He did a great job and I enjoyed it very much. Hopefully, they’ll have some material I can use in my next book.
My book from The History Press, Architects Who Built Southern California, was released on March 11, 2019. It’s 10 chapters with each chapter devoted to a different architect (or architectural firm) including: Harrison Albright, John Austin, Claud Beelman, Elmer Grey, Hudson & Munsell, A. C. Martin, Meyer & Holler, Julia Morgan, Morgan Walls & Clements and Alfred F. Rosenheim.
Los Angeles Downtown News interview
The Downtown News interviewed me in conjunction with my book. The interview turned out great!
Here is a link to the article in The Downtown News:
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/three-questions-with-an-architectural-historian/article_69a02b82-8ca3-11e9-b380-5b67594c081c.html
Frederic Roehrig’s Hotel Green
The Hotel Green, which is also known as Castle Green, had an open house on June 2, 2019. The architect of the hotel is Frederic Roehrig.
This is the brochure handed out at the event.
It has all the information you would ever need to know about the Green Hotel.
The hotel looks idyllic and inviting on this postcard.
Here’s an image of G.G. Green. This image is from Men of the Pacific Coast.
Here’s the hotel on a postcard.
The brochure was full of information.
You enter the grounds of the Hotel Green through this long sidewalk.
The building has a wonderful entrance. It doesn’t disappoint.
This is the lobby. Right inside the door.
The view from the first floor landing of the staircase.
Looking into the lobby from the north.
Looking into the lobby from the south.
There are three large public rooms south of the lobby. This is one of them. It’s the Main Parlor.
This statue was located in the Moorish room. I want it.
The elevator wasn’t in use during the open house. I would have loved to ridden in it. For the experience, of course, but the building has six floors and the steps were exhausting after my initial excitement.
Only one condo had a sign posted with the words “no photography.” Even so I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures inside people’s residences so I didn’t take any.
The doors to the condos are very simple. I like them.
There was a display case with Hotel Green artifacts and this was one of them. Is it a chamber pot?
This was also in the case. I want this plate.
On the first floor landing was this beautiful print of the establishment.
On the top floor was this wonderful light fixture.
The east building was torn down. It looks out of place to me in this postcard view. Maybe, because it’s built right up to the sidewalk and the massing of the building is too overwhelming?
Here’s another very pretty view on a postcard.
I found this image in Western Architect. It’s the same image that’s on one of the previous postcards.
Men of the Pacific Coast: 1902-1903. (1903). San Francisco: The Pacific Art Company.
Green Hotel. (1905, December). Western Architect, (4)12.
Frederic Roehrig's Green Hotel
on June 6, 2019 at 3:24 pm Leave a Comment
Society of Architectural Historians book event
I had a book event, sponsored by the Society of Architectural Historians, at the Santa Monica Public Library. It was held on May 19, 2019. The architectural historians posted an article about my event on their website.
They also included an article about my book event in their newsletter.
The event was held at the Santa Monica Public Library. See the photo below.
Courtesy the Santa Monica Public Library archives. Moore Ruble & Yudell are the architects of the building.
The library created very nice handouts for the event.
The library even advertised my presentation in their elevator. How cool!
That’s me at the event.
There was a good turnout too. Maybe, 50 or 60 people.
I was very happy with how the event turned out. Thanks Santa Monica Public Library for hosting the event and thank you Society of Architectural Historians for letting me speak to your organization.
Skylight Books author event
I had an author event at Skylight Books for my book Architects Who Built Southern California on May 5, 2019. Skylight Books is located at 1818 N. Vermont Ave. in East Hollywood.
Skylight books is housed in a great art deco building on a busy street.
A great mix of people showed up and I liked the people who came out for the event.
They had my books up behind the cashier’s counter. I need to be more animated in my photos. I look like I just woke up from a nap.
Here I am doing my presentation. That’s wonderful Harrison Albright up on the screen.
I enjoyed doing the event and I’m thankful for everyone who showed up. Thanks Skylight Books for hosting the event.
on May 3, 2019 at 6:18 am Leave a Comment
Last Bookstore book event
I had a book event at the Last Bookstore on April 24th at 7:30 p.m. It was for my book Architects Who Built Southern California.
The bookstore is located in the old Citizens National Bank building which opened in 1915.
The event SOLD OUT. I was amazed. I sold 85 books at this event. Super cool. I immortalized my “sold out” status by taking a picture of my computer screen.
People filling up the seats before the event began.
Me, before the event began. I’m starting to look like a Mexican version of Les Nessman from WKRP in Cincinnati.
My slides and laptop were perfect but there were some challenges with the projector at the location. When I told my academic adviser about the slide show problems she said, “They weren’t there to see your slide show. They were there to see you.” I need her to walk around with me on a daily basis to boost my confidence.
I was amazed at how many people turned out.
Two students who used to work in the library I work in showed up at the event. I was thrilled to see them.
It’s at the corner of Fifth and Spring Streets.
It was a great event. I enjoyed being there and I’m thrilled to meet all these people who are just as excited about the subject of Southern California architecture as I am. Thanks to Tennessee for some of the pictures.
Robert B. Stacy-Judd’s Aztec Hotel
The Aztec Hotel, on Foothill Boulevard in Monrovia, opened on September 1, 1925. The building’s architect was Robert B. Stacy-Judd.
Photo taken in 2019.
Stacy-Judd was bigger than life. He wrote books, explored the jungles of Mexico and Central America, designed outlandish buildings and married three times. In the 1920s and 1930s he was like the fictional character Indiana Jones but when Stacy-Judd’s life was drawing to a close he lived alone, was broke and almost blind.
When the Aztec originally opened it was also known as the Monrovia Community Hotel.
According to David Gebhard’s book on the architect — Stacy-Judd was born in London on June 21, 1884. His father, Benjamin Stacy-Judd, was a victualer (a person licensed to sell liquor or someone who sells goods to sea going vessels) which, according to Stacy-Judd, meant his father spent a great deal of time away from home peddling goods. Stacy-Judd stated in an unpublished biography that his parents were very strict disciplinarians and adhered to a time-table for the fundamental aspects of life including waking up, meals and bedtime. What Stacy-Judd remembered most about his father was that he enjoyed strolling around London and his father often took him along.
Gebhard’s book states that Stacy-Judd’s education involved a stint at St. Paul’s School in Knightsbridge, London followed by three years at Campsil Glen boarding School in Scotland. He left Campsil Glen and enrolled at Acton College in London when he was about fourteen which would be in 1895. Gebhard states that despite his father’s disapproval Stacy-Judd responded to an advertisement for an architect’s assistant. The architect was James Thompson whose office was located in West-Cliff-on-the-Sea in Sussex. That was in 1901. Stacy-Judd studied under Thompson’s tutelage for four years and finished in 1905 or 1906. After leaving Thompson’s office Stacy-Judd worked for the Great Northern Railroad Company through 1907 then he held various positions before moving to Canada in 1911 and eventually Los Angeles in the winter of 1921/1922.*
Robert B. Stacy-Judd in 1932. Used with permission: Robert Stacy-Judd papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa Barbara.
A 1920s article that caught my eye had the sub-heading, “Stacy-Judd and Bride to Explore Mayan Ruins in Yucatan with Dirigible.” The article announced that Stacy-Judd would marry Miss Betty Schofield who was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George L. Schofield of Almont Drive in Beverly Hills. The wedding ceremony would take place at the Stacy-Judd designed and Maya inspired First Baptist Church in Ventura (which can be seen on the cover of Gebhard’s book). At the ceremony, the bride wore a navy blue outfit and a corsage of pink camellias and lilies of the valley. She also wore a 2000 year old obsidian and jade pendant “taken from the famous Chicken Itza well in Yucatan, a gift of the bridegroom.”
This was obviously during that transitional archaeological period when explorers still looted some of the riches they found.
The story said after the wedding the two would venture to the Yucatan (for their honeymoon) and search for more treasures and hidden archaeological sites. Their Yucatan honeymoon entourage was scheduled to include a string of motor trucks, a small group of archaeologists, some motion picture cameramen and a small dirigible that could travel above the jungle’s forest.
One of the books Stacy-Judd wrote.
This copy was autographed by him.
The Aztec Hotel. The image is from Pacific Coast Architect.
In an article in Pacific Coast Architect, Stacy-Judd wrote about the design of the building, “As it is not entirely clear what the exact reason was for the peculiar medley of carved pieces, cubes, and the many quaint shapes forming some of the Maya panels, I did not duplicate any particular original panel of the temples, but assembled the curious units to my own fancy.”
He went on to say about the exterior, “The grouping of decorative ornament on the exterior was designed under difficulty. Cost, being a great factor, necessitated curtailment. Yet, there was a large surface to treat. To avoid spottiness, and yet form a continuity, created an aggravating problem. Balance was entirely discarded, as my theory was that the diversification of line would provide a mental link with the next group of ornament.”
Another photo from Pacific Coast Architect. Notice that the building is listed as the Monrovia Community Hotel.
The funding for the building was obtained through subscription. In a newspaper article titled High Budget Marks Set was this sentence, “The Aztec Hotel which is financed by the Community Hotel Corporation a company of citizens who raised the money by popular subscription…”
The hotel opened with a viewing (inspection), which was open to the general public, followed by a dinner-dance in the café which was by invitation only. The hotel was originally constructed with eight apartments and thirty-six rooms. It took almost a year to build and cost approximately $250,000.
Regarding the furnishings in the photographs below — it was reported that Barker Brothers craftsmen, “delved into the history of the ancient tribes of Yucatan and the lower Mexican peninsula and designed each piece of furniture specially to conform with some fancy of the Aztecs, Incas or Toltecs.”
Below are interior images of the lobby
The check-in desk or registration desk is that curved half-wall behind the trestle table.
The hotel is closed but I held my phone up to the front door and took this photograph. In the Pacific Coast Architect article Stacy-Judd said, “The three pendent electric fixtures in the ceilings are original conceptions of mine representing carved stone.”
Stacy-Judd along with Roy Seldon Price and S. Charles Lee, designed many of the homes in Beverly Ridge Estates which is located “above the home of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks and is less than a mile from the Beverly Hills Hotel.”
Stacy-Judd also designed a notable Masonic Temple at 5124 N. Tujunga Avenue in North Hollywood and the Philosophical Research Center in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.
In 1972 a reporter found Stacy-Judd living in his crumbling San Fernando Valley home — a home Stacy-Judd had designed forty years earlier. An apartment building sat on what used to be the front yard of the home so Stacy-Judd lived in the shadow of the apartment building. According to the reporter the interior was cluttered and stuffed with books, mementos and everything else someone would save over a lifetime. Stacy-Judd was 88 years old at this point and lived on Social Security and welfare aid for the blind. A couple, who had dealt with Stacy-Judd when he was younger and in better financial condition, felt sympathy for him and paid the taxes on his house and helped him with food purchases and his utilities.
The reporter asked Stacy-Judd about his loneliness and his life. This was Stacy-Judd’s response,
“I’ve often tried to figure out what happened…my wife…it was so long ago, I really don’t know. I wanted a family but it seems nature was against me, or the world was. I’ve always loved children and I’m very fond of women; I think they have more sympathy, their hearts are softer…
Now that I can’t see anything, it makes it a little difficult, but it doesn’t bother me. I’ve had some rough times, but I don’t regret anything. It’s been a wonderful life.”
Stacy-Judd died three years later on February 10, 1975.
He’s buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California.
I’m not sure what that quote means. There’s a Star Trek episode from 1967 titled “Tomorrow is Yesterday” but I don’t think that’s it. Anything is possible but I’m not seeing Stacy-Judd as a Trekkie.
For more information on Robert Stacy-Judd purchase David Gebhard’s book. That’s the cover above. Gebhard, who was one of the great architectural writers of Los Angeles, details Stacy-Judd’s life and work thoroughly even though his book is a mere 166 pages. Gebhard writes about Stacy-Judd’s fascination with Atlantis and how Stacy-Judd tried to link that mythical continent with the Maya culture. Strange but true. Gebhard also writes about Stacy-Judd’s obsession with creating an American architecture that was based on Maya architecture and looked like Maya architecture. An odd choice for an American architecture but that was what he championed. Stacy-Judd was a showman, like Frank Lloyd Wright, but unlike Wright, Stacy-Judd didn’t know when to cut his losses and move onto a new architectural style.
Stacy-Judd did leave us the Aztec Hotel, though, and for that strange little block in Monrovia we should all be grateful.
Architect takes bride in Ventura. (1932, February 13). Los Angeles Times, p. A3.
Beverly sites on the market. (1927, November 20). Los Angeles Times, p. E4.
Gebhard, D. Robert Stacy-Judd; Maya architecture and the creation of a new style. Santa Barbara: Capra Press. 1993.
High building marks set throughout district. (1924, November 9). Los Angeles Times, p. E1.
New hotel has opening in Monrovia. (1925, September 6). Los Angeles Times, p. F2.
Robert Stacy-Judd services scheduled. (1975, February 13). Los Angeles Times, p. E18.
Seiler, M. (1972, November 30). Reflections on a life of action. Los Angeles Times, p. E1-E5.
Stacy-Judd, R. (1926, November). Maya Architecture. Pacific Coast Architect, 30 (5), 26-31, 53, 57.
Stacy-Judd, R. B. The Ancient Mayas. Los Angeles: Murray & Gee. 1934.
Student of Aztec history will wed. (1932, February 8). Los Angeles Times, p. A1.
*A great deal happened during these eleven years according to Gebhard. Stacy-Judd designed numerous buildings in Canada including the Empire Theater in Edmonton, lived in Minnesota and North Dakota where he also designed buildings and was married to a woman named Anna Veronica in Minneapolis in 1917 that he later divorced in 1922.
Robert B. Stacy-Judd's Aztec Hotel
on April 5, 2019 at 12:00 pm Leave a Comment
Tags: Aztec Hotel, Betty Schofield, David Gebhard, First Baptist Church in Ventura, Monrovia Community Hotel, Philosophical Research Center, Roy Seldon Price, S. Charles Lee
Hennessy & Ingalls Book Event
I did a book event (a forty minute presentation and a book signing) at Hennessy & Ingalls.
It’s on Santa Fe in the Arts District.
About fifteen people showed up and almost all of them bought books. YAY!
It went well but I didn’t take any pictures. Kim Tashman took the pictures below. Thank you Kim!
I enjoyed every minute being there and the guys who work for Hennessy & Ingalls were great.
Thanks to everyone who showed up and to Hennessey & Ingalls for hosting the event. FYI: I am much younger than I appear in these photos.
Hennessy & Ingalls
on March 31, 2019 at 5:00 pm Comments (2)
Vroman’s Author Event
My book Architects Who Built Southern California was released on March 11, 2019 and I had an author event at Vroman’s in Pasadena, California on March 27th.
About thirty people showed up and they were all very nice.
I was a little nervous but everyone was attentive and appeared interested. It helped ease my apprehension.
This photo was taken by Vroman’s Jackie who coordinated my event. She was patient and calming and did a wonderful introduction that included a mention of my fiction book The Odd Fellows which is about the Chupacabra.
Vroman’s has been in Pasadena for a long time. I found this old article about Vroman’s in a 1919 issue of California Southland. That was a 100 years ago. I want all of the furniture in the photograph including the loving cup and the lamp.
(1919, April-May). In a book lover’s eyrie. California Southland, 1(4), 14.
He’s a party dog bought at Vroman’s. Thanks for hosting my event Vroman’s!
Tags: Vromans Author Event
Walker & Eisen’s Commercial Exchange Building
The Commercial Exchange Building at dusk.
The Commercial Exchange Building. Photo taken through my car’s windshield.
Work was completed on the Commercial Exchange Building, located at Olive and Eighth Streets, on May 18, 1924 according to the Los Angeles Times. The William Simpson Construction Company was the contractor for the building and Walker & Eisen were the architects. Walker & Eisen were the architectural firm behind The Fine Arts Building (1926), the United Artists Building (1927) which was also known as the California Petroleum Building and the Sunkist Building (1935).
The Commercial Exchange building was a concrete and steel, height limit building which meant it was 150 feet (in reality 160 feet) and the cost of the building was reported to be $650,000. The Times article reported that the Southern California Telephone Company had leased the second and third floors of the building but there were still no occupants for any of the ground floor retail spaces. The offices above the ground floor were divided into one room, two room or three room office suites. The possibility of a large cafeteria in the basement (similar to the Arcade Building’s cafeteria?) was mentioned in the Times but it is unclear if that plan ever moved forward.
Commercial Exchange Building from the California State Library. The Olive Street side is the narrower side.
Then in 1935 because the city wanted to widen Olive Street the building had to be altered. What most owners would have done is simply cut off five feet (the amount the city deemed necessary) from the end of the building on the Olive Street side. Walker & Eisen drew up plans for this possibility but the owner of the building found this option unsatisfactory. Why? Because the end offices were the biggest offices and they were responsible for the highest rents. The Olive Street facade had three offices on each floor from the second floor to the thirteenth floor.
In order to keep those high rent offices intact George R. Kress of the Kress House Moving Company suggested removing 8 and 1/2 feet — near the center of the building — close to the building’s light court. This plan would also keep the building’s ground floor intact, which had been recently occupied by an Owl Drug Store, and not reduce the square footage of the prime retail space.
From Architecture and Engineer December 1935 showing what would be removed.
The removal of 8 and 1/2 feet of the building, approximately fifty feet from the Olive Street side, was seen as a better solution because it would only reduce the size of two offices on each floor and narrow each floor’s hallway in this particular area. Walker & Eisen, according to an article in Southwest Builder and Contractor, weren’t initially convinced the Kress plan would work. Prominent structural engineers of the time Blaine Noice, Murray Erick and Paul Jeffers were consulted along with the California Institute of Technology’s Professor Martel. Eventually, Kress was able to convince all of them that his plan was doable so the work prior to the move was undertaken including the slicing of the building in half, the excavation of the area beneath the basement and the installation of jacks, steel plates, steel rollers and tracks.
Architect and Engineer stated the most important issues regarding the movement of part of the building to the east after the 8 and 1/2 foot section had been removed:
“One, the maintenance of that portion of the building moved in a level and plumb position at all times; two, the supporting of the column footings under which the Kress Company excavated ten feet below the basement floor line; three, the placing of moving equipment under the footings and the construction of reinforced concrete mat sub-footings of such dimensions as to insure perfect floor alignment of the portion of the building not moved with that of the portion moved keeping in mind the fact that the portion moved would be placed on these newly constructed sub-footings, which must support the immediate load to which it would be subjected, and maintain the same without rising a possibility of the slightest degree of settlement.”
A closer view of the section that was removed. From Architect and Engineer December 1935.
Architect and Engineer, whose article relied heavily on the article in Southwest Builder and Contractor, was in awe of what had been accomplished. When the undertaking was completed Architecture and Engineer listed the endeavor’s statistics.
The section moved was approximately fifty-five feet by fifty feet.
It was thirteen stories and 160 feet tall.
The portion moved weighed an estimated 5,000 tons.
It took nine hours to move it five feet.
Seventy-five men undertook the job with twenty-five devoted to pipes, plumbing and utilities.
The section cut out was 8 and 1/2 feet to allow for the over lapping of the steel in the beams and the floor slabs where the building was re-connected.
One window replaced two windows where the building was reconnected.
“with the exception of a couple of bruised fingers” there were no accidents.
The entire process was completed in 80 days.
The cost of the procedure was $60,000.
The Commercial Exchange Building, at Eighth and Olive Streets, in March 2019. Notice that the cornice has been removed. [Note: the picture I had here seemed very dark so I lightened it and enriched it with color. Now, it looks like a postcard from the 1940s.]
13 story office building cut in half and moved five feet. (1935, December). Architect and Engineer, 123(3), 56-58.
Complete business structure. (1924, May 18). Los Angeles Times, p. D4.
Concrete structure 160 ft. high moved five feet in nine hours. (1935, October 25). Southwest Builder and Contractor, 86 (17), 13-14.
Height-limit building cut for setback lines. (1935, August 29). Los Angeles Times, p. A2.
Note: I have a book coming out on March 11, 2019 from The History Press titled: The Architects Who Built Southern California. It’s 10 chapters with each chapter devoted to a different architect (or architectural firm) including: Harrison Albright, John Austin, Claud Beelman, Elmer Grey, Hudson & Munsell, A. C. Martin, Meyer & Holler, Julia Morgan, Morgan Walls & Clements and Alfred F. Rosenheim.
Walker & Eisen's Commercial Exchange Building
on March 3, 2019 at 9:26 pm Comments (2)
American Bungalow
Angels Flight
Apartment Tour
Arcade Building
Architects Who Built Southern California
Bent-Con
Birth of Motion Pictures
Bryson Apartments
Elmer Grey's Lincoln Shrine
Frank Lloyd Wright in Mason City Iowa
Gamble House
George Elmslie's Capitol Building and Loan
Hollywood Heritage Museum
Hollywood Museum
Last Remaining Seats Orpheum Theater Los Angeles
Lummis House
Metropolitan Theater Los Angeles
Monroe Doctrine Centennial at Exposition Park
Morgan & Walls' Hollenbeck Home for the Aged
Morgan Walls & Clements' Hollywood Terminal Warehouse
Morgan Walls & Morgan's Haas Building
Museum of Failure
Museum of Neon Art
Ocean Liners
Odd Fellows
Odd Fellows' Badges
Odd Fellows' Items
Odd Fellows' Rose Parade Float 2015
Odd Fellows' Seminar in Reno 2017
President U.S. Grant
Schindler House
Scottish Rite Temple Los Angeles
Silent Film Stars
Sports Photographs
Story of the Wreck of the Titanic
Triforium
Ventura California
Visalia Bakersfield and Fresno
Ward and Blohme
William S Hart Park and Museum
Woodbury County Court House Sioux City Iowa
Zepplins and Airships
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2538
|
__label__wiki
| 0.576841
| 0.576841
|
FHA exhausts reserves
by Tami Luhby @Luhby November 16, 2012: 1:49 PM ET
The FHA's capital position has deteriorated.
The Federal Housing Administration has exhausted its reserves, forcing it to institute another round of measures to shore up its finances.
The government agency's capital cushion plummeted to -$16.3 billion at the end of fiscal 2012, according to a study prepared annually by an independent actuary. FHA is scheduled to present the assessment, along with its annual report to Congress, on Friday.
FHA's continued financial troubles may force it to ask taxpayers to bail it out for the first time in its 78-year history. This specter has haunted the agency since 2009, when it first reported that its reserves fell below the threshold of 2% of its loan balances mandated by Congress. The ratio now stands at -1.44%, down from 0.24% last year.
FHA's financial health is being closely monitored because of the vital role it plays in the housing market, particularly during crisis times. The agency doesn't make loans, but it backstops lenders if borrowers stop paying. With this guarantee in place, banks are more likely to offer mortgages to borrowers with lower credit scores or incomes. It also allows prospective homeowners to buy property with downpayments as low as 3.5%.
Last year, FHA insured nearly 16% of home purchases, up from 14.6% a year earlier. In 2010, it had a 19.1% share. During the housing boom, its share hovered in the low single digits. The agency is also vital for minority buyers, backing roughly half of the home purchase mortgages taken out by blacks and Latinos.
Despite the reserves deficit, agency officials insist a bailout might not be needed. The lack of reserves does not mean that FHA has insufficient cash to pay its claims or requires an immediate infusion from the Treasury, according to a statement issued late Thursday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees FHA. The actuarial report said there is only a 5% chance the agency will run out of cash in the next seven years.
The decision about whether FHA needs an infusion will be determined by the calculations used in President Obama's fiscal 2014 budget proposal, released in February, according to HUD. A final decision would not be made until next September.
The HUD statement also pointed to the $11 billion FHA expects to gain from new business in fiscal 2013, which began in October, and to a plan that will add "billions of dollars" to its reserves in coming years.
On Friday, HUD announced a series of changes designed to avoid costly foreclosures, which will improve the FHA's financial position. They include increasing sales of distressed loan pools, further lowering mortgage payments through its foreclosure prevention program and expanding the use of short-sales.
FHA will also increase its annual insurance premium in 2013, which will raise borrowers' costs by $13 a month on average. In addition, it is reversing a policy that eliminates the requirement for borrowers to pay premiums after their loan reached 78% of their original value.
Related: 10 most affordable cities for homebuying
Together, this will return FHA's capital cushion to the plus side within the year and reduce its need for a bailout, according to HUD.
"We will continue to take aggressive steps to protect FHA's financial health while ensuring that FHA continues to perform its historic role of providing access to homeownership for underserved communities and supporting the housing market during tough economic times," Carol Galante, FHA's acting commissioner, said in a statement.
FHA, however, has made positive predictions in the past only to see its financial condition grow weaker and weaker. A year ago, agency officials said rising home prices and an influx of new loans would restore the fund and prevent the need for an infusion of taxpayer cash.
Housing market rebound ... finally!
That prediction proved too rosy. In its statement Thursday, HUD said its home price forecasts are "significantly" lower now as the turnaround happened later than initially projected. Also, the continued decline in interest rates cost FHA revenue as borrowers pay off their mortgages to refinance into lower rates. And, after receiving recommendations from the Government Accountability Office, HUD's Inspector General and others, FHA directed its actuary to change its methodology to better predict how losses affect the value of the reserves.
Looking to bolster its finances in recent years, the agency has increased its insurance premiums, established minimum credit scores for borrowers, required larger downpayments from those with credit scores below 580 and banned sellers from assisting borrowers with the downpayment. It also created an office of risk management and cracked down on lenders with questionable underwriting processes.
But at the same time delinquencies have been on the rise. Some 9.6% of the loans it backs were in delinquency at the end of September, up from 8.7% a year earlier.
This year's report, however, contains the same types of hopeful estimates, said Ed Pinto, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. For instance, it assumes mortgage rates will rise to 6.58% in 2014, roughly double where they are today.
"The risk to the taxpayers is quite large because the projections have such variability in them," he said, saying the agency is in "precarious" financial shape.
CNNMoney (New York) First published November 16, 2012: 12:24 AM ET
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2543
|
__label__wiki
| 0.540621
| 0.540621
|
Archive for the tag “build resilience”
New Study Finds Worrying Climate Trend in Karamoja Over Last 35 Years (20.03.2017)
Released in Kampala today, the ‘Impacts of Climate Change on Food Security and Livelihoods in Karamoja’ found that temperatures have been rising in Karamoja over the last 35 years.
KAMPALA, Uganda, March 20, 2017 – A new study carried out by the Government of Uganda and its partners has found a new weather pattern that threatens to worsen food insecurity in the Karamoja region if no action is taken.
The study found that the average monthly rainfall in the region increased over the last 35 years and that the rainy season is now longer by two months. However, the rains – which now fall from around March to the end of the year – increasingly varied in volumes. This unpredictability was found to undermine agricultural production, thereby threatening to aggravate food insecurity in Karamoja.
The rising temperatures threaten to increase the frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves in the region, therefore reducing availability of water for crops and animals. This too undermines food security.
A large majority of people in Karamoja, particularly women, were not aware that changes to the climate had been taking place over decades, the study states. However, most of the people that had perceived changes to the climate had not taken any action to adapt, typically because they did not know how to do so. Where trees were planted as an adaptation measure, the sale of charcoal and firewood were also a common measure that people took in response to climate-related crop failure.
Sponsored by the Swedish Government, the study was carried out in 2016 by the Ministry of Water and Environment with support from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the CGIAR Consortium’s Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security.
The Uganda Minister for Water and Environment, Sam Cheptoris, said today, “These are significant findings that threaten any hope for Uganda achieving its Vision 2040 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), if no immediate action is taken.”
Cheptoris said that his Ministry was already calling for a national and regional response, advocating for climate change sensitive approaches across all Government sectors, educating the population about climate change, and undertaking emissions profiles.
“Karamoja’s population is heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture, which is highly vulnerable to climate change,” said El Khidir Daloum, WFP Country Director for Uganda. “However, little has been known previously about the impacts of climate change on food security, and in particular, the ability of households in the region to adapt.”
WFP hopes that the findings and recommendations of the study will contribute to efforts toward appropriate adaptation measures while helping to identify policies that will safeguard the most vulnerable communities in Karamoja.
The study recommended that the Government and its partners increase investments in water harvesting and agroforestry schemes, education of the people, improved access to climate change information and the cultivation of drought-resistant crop varieties.
Within the Ministry of Water and Environment, the study was carried out by the Climate Change Department and the Uganda National Meteorological Authority.
Posted in Africa, Agriculture, Civil Service, Climate, Development, Economic Measures, Economy, Ethics, Governance, Government, Law, Leadership, Politics and tagged Abim, Acholi, Adjumani, Agago, Agriculture, Aida Girma, Alhaji Jallow, Ambulances, Amolatar, Amudat, Amuria, Amuru, Animal Industry, Arua, Bananas, Beans, Below Average Production, Bugiri, build resilience, Bukedi, Bukomansimbi, Burundi, Busoga, Buteleja, Bwekataligilya elibiika amasumba, Cassava, Cattle Corridor, Conflict, Delivering Food Assistance, Democratic Republic of Congo, Developing Rural Areas, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, DRC, East Africa, Education, Emergencies, Famine Early Warning System Network, FAO, FEWS NET, FEWSN, Fisheries, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Food Insecurity, Food Security, Gen Salim Saleh, Gen. Salim Selah, GoU, Government of Uganda, Greater Masaka, Groundnuts, Gulu, H. E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, H.E. Yoweri Museveni, Health Services, Hon. Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda, Hon. Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, Hungry People, Insecurity, IPC Phase 2, IPC Phase 3, irish potatoes, Isingirio, Isingiro, Isingiro District, Janet Museveni, Joint Resilience Strategy, Kaabong, Kabale, Kaboko, Kaliro, Kalungu, Kalungu District, Karamoja, Karamoja District, Karomoja, Kenya, Kiruhura, Kiryandongo, Kitgum, Koboko, Koica, Kotido, Lake Albert, Lamwo, Lango, Livestock, Livestock losses, lsingiro, Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni., Lwengo, MAAIF, Maize, Maracha, Market Price, Masindi, Maternal Mortality, Maternal Mortality Ratio, Matooke, Michael Dunford, Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries, Ministry of Disaster Prepardness, Ministry of Health:, Moroto, Moyo, NAADS, Nakapiripirit, Nakapiripirit district, Nakasongola, Napak, National Food Security, National Food Security Awareness Campaign, National Health Sector Development Plan, National Resistance Movement, New-Born, Ngora, Northern Uganda, NRM, NRM Regime, Nutrition, Nwoya, Operation Wealth Creation, OWS, Pader, Pallisa, Parts of Busoga, pastoralists, Peas, PM Ruhakana Rugunda, Poverty, President Museveni, Rakai, Refugees, Reproductive Maternal New-Born Child and Adolescent Health, Resilience Analysis Unit, RMNCAH, Ruhakana Rugunda, Rural Areas, Rwanda, Sam Cheptoris, Security, Serere, Service Delivery, Service Delivery Systems, Sorghum, Soroti, South Sudan, South Sudanese Refugees, Sweet Potatoes, Tanzania, Teso, Turkana, Uganda, UN WFP, UNHCR, Unicef, United Nation, United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, United Nations World Food Programe, Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, Vulnerable, West Nile, WFP, Woman's Children's and Adolescent Health, World Food Programe, World Food Programme, Yields, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Yoweri Museveni, Yumbe, Yumbe District, Zombo.Nebbi | Leave a comment
1.6 million People affected in hunger crisis and other growing issues in the agricultural sector in Uganda!
The Republic of Uganda has certain areas that have been affected with the drought and the lacking rain, which has affected the yields and output of food. The areas that has been in dire straits since El-Nino is in Teso, Karamoja and West Nile; these areas are in different stages, but all as worrying as the 1.6 million people are in a crisis situation, while 26% of all population or 9.3 million people are in a stressed situation. Let’s take a deep breath and look at the numbers coming from the offices of Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda. That has delivered this numbers and they are worrying.
“An estimated 1.6 million people (5% of the total population) are in Crisis situation. Those populations are found in Central 1 (0.58 million); Karamoja (0.12 million), Teso (0.2 million), East Central (0.38 million) and South Western (0.31 million) regions. This population has widening food consumption gaps with deteriorating dietary diversity and high malnutrition rates. They are found in Central 1 (0.58 million), Karamoja (0.12 million), Teso (0.2 million), East Central (0.38 million) and South Western (0.31 million) regions. The affected population includes the poorest households with poor food consumption score, low meal frequencies of up to 1 meal a day and low dietary diversity of less than 3 food groups. They have poor purchasing power as their incomes are low and no food stocks at household level. They are mainly coping through food assistance, remittances from relatives, begging, stealing food, wild food gathering and irreversible sale of productive assets to buy food. This population currently needs assistance to bridge the widening food consumption gaps and avert worsening malnutrition” (Office of the Prime Minister, 2017).
You can wonder what is the plan of the Republic when they know that the people have poor purchasing power, while the dwindling yields of the small-farming in these regions, doesn’t have the purchasing power of central regions. The trades and lacking production has equally hurt these citizens in Teso and Karamoja. Therefore the drought and lacking rain-fall has made the situation worse, as much as the rising refugee camps also getting aid and support from United Nation organization. While the republic have not galvanized agricultural structures and supported the citizens in dire need. This shows that the state has forgotten the reason for its existence. But there are more!
“An estimated 9.3 million people (26% of the total population) are experiencing Stressed situation. Those populations are in East Central (1.88 million); South Western (1.24 million), Teso (1.1 million) and West Nile (1.04 million) regions. This population has minimum adequate food consumption, employing insurance strategies and are unable to afford some essential non-food expenditures. The prolonged dry spell due to La Nina phenomenon coupled with increasing incidences of crop and livestock pests and diseases such as Cassava Brown Streak, Cassava Mosaic, maize stalk borer, striga and Banana Bacterial Wilt grossly affected production reducing the availability and accessibility of food for this population. The low crop and livestock production negatively impacted household food stocks leading to increased reliance on markets for food. Increasing demand from external markets has induced food price increases, making it difficult for poor households to access food from the market. Deteriorating water and pasture conditions mainly in the cattle corridor have resulted in migrations of livestock keepers, reduction in livestock production and increased spread of livestock diseases. The over whelming influx of refugees from South Sudan has increased demand for food and services in West Nile region” (Office of the Prime Minister, 2017).
So it is bad that 1.6 million people are lacking resource, possibility to produce food, but also that the state doesn’t deliver help or aid to the people. The other numbers of affected people, shows even more the systematic defaults of the state to achieve good production of agricultural output, as the problems with crops, livestock and diseases that shown with Cassava Brown Strak, Cassava Mosaic, Maize Stalk Borer, Sriga and Banana Bacterial Wilt. All of these should be worked on and nourished by the state, through agricultural programs that stops the spread of diseases. This should be important at this stage by not only the Office of the Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda. Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Hon. Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja should have used the institutions to find solutions to the added strains in the agricultural industries, together with one of his State Ministers.
That the Ministry of Agriculture and Hon. Ssempijja has been lacking guidance as well as funding, most been shown when the millions of affected citizens are the result of little or no plan on important industry as it is. Where so many work and could need state structures to help and guide. There are lacking instruments and use of government institutions to help out in the dire need. Even find out ways to stop the growing problems that makes such a big part of population affected. When a state has 26% of it affected by various issues and the State can find ways to sort it out, than that should be priority, not to buy airplanes and cut taxes for the MPs, but to fix the agricultural yields and water-irrigation that needs. Peace.
A Publication of the Office of the Prime Minister – Department of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Management – “The Official Government of Uganda Inter- Ministerial/Agencies Monthly National Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning Bulletin
15th FEBRUARY to 15th MARCH 2017” Volume 01. Series No. 01. Issues No. 04.
Posted in Africa, Agriculture, Civil Service, Development, Economic Measures, Economy, Ethics, Governance, Government, Leadership, Politics, Tax, Transparency and tagged 10th Parliament, 10th Parliament of Uganda, 2016 General Election, 2016 General Election Uganda, Aida Girma, Alhaji Jallow, Bana, Banana Bacterial Wilt, Banana Fields, build resilience, Bukahanga County, Bukanga, Cassava, Cassava Brown Streak, Cassava Mosaic, Cattle Corridor, Conflict, Cyperus, Degraded River Bank, Delivering Food Assistance, Developing Rural Areas, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Draught, East Africa, East Central, Education, Emergencies, Famine, FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Food Insecurity, Food Prices, Food Security, Forest Encrachment, GoU, Government of Tanzania, Government of Uganda, H. E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, H.E. Yoweri Museveni, Health Services, Hon. Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda, Hon. Vincent Bamulangaki Sempijja, Hon. Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, Hon. Wafula Oguttu, Hungry People, Invasive Weed, Isingiro, Isingiro Counties, Isingiro District, Isingiro Government Prison, Jeremiah Kamurari, Joint Resilience Strategy, Kagera Water System, Karamoja, Karamoja District, Kashumba, Kizimbi Wetland, Lake Nakivale, Livestock, Livestock losses, Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni., Maize, Maize Stalk Borer, Matooki, Mbarara District Wetland Inventory Report, Michael Dunford, National Resistance Movement, Ngarama, NRM, NRM Regime, Nutrition, PM Ruhakana Rugunda, Poverty, President Museveni, Resilience Analysis Unit, River Kagera, River Rwizi, Rugaaga, Ruhakana Rugunda, Rural Areas, Rushasha, Seasonal Swamps, Security, Service Delivery Systems, South Western, Staff Quarters, Striga, Swamp, Swamp Drainage, Teso, Typha Domingesis, Uganda, UN WFP, Unicef, United Nations World Food Programe, Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, Virgin Area, Vulnerable, Wafula Oguttu, Water Hyacinth, Watering, West Nile, WFP, World Food Programe, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Yoweri Museveni | Leave a comment
UN To Build The Resilience Of Communities In Karamoja (05.02.2016)
FAO, UNICEF and WFP launch joint resilience strategy to improve well-being of Karimojong
KAMPALA – Three United Nations agencies in Uganda are implementing a new multi-year resilience strategy to help transform the lives of vulnerable people in the Karamoja region of North Eastern Uganda.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are combining their efforts to empower households and communities and to strengthen government capacities. Together, they will work to enable the people of Karamoja to recover, reorganize themselves and move forward after experiencing external stresses and disturbances, including droughts or floods.
The Joint Resilience Strategy for Karamoja Region will focus on four areas: diversifying livelihood strategies and intensifying production in order to increase household income and improve food security; improving basic social services to strengthen vulnerable households’ human capital; establishing predictable safety nets; and strengthening disaster risk management support.
The FAO Country Representative, Mr. Alhaji Jallow, said, “This is an extremely significant development. It is a commitment to collaboration, efficiency and demonstration of results in Karamoja.” Working collectively, he said, the agencies will multiply the impact of their work, reduce transaction costs for communities and the government, and allow individual organizations to more powerfully use their experience in strengthening service delivery systems.
Karamoja is vulnerable to multiple stresses and shocks, including climatic, economic, conflict and health-related challenges. According to the regional Resilience Analysis Unit, the main shocks and stresses for Karamoja include erratic and uneven rainfall, livestock disease outbreaks, crop pests, high food prices, food insecurity, livestock losses, inadequate access to education and health services, and inadequate access to water and sanitation.
The Country Representative of UNICEF, Ms. Aida Girma, said, “This collaboration will strengthen basic services for children and women that will increase their resilience to shocks and help to keep them alive, healthy, in school and protected.” She also said that building household resilience cannot be sustained unless the overall system to deliver the services is strengthened.
The acting WFP Country Director, Mr Michael Dunford, said, “While Karamoja continues to face significant socio-economic challenges, partly due to climate change, opportunities for development have never been more ripe. With increased security, reduced poverty levels and a renewed commitment by the government, partners can achieve more through enhanced collaboration.”
Each of the three agencies has more than 20 years’ experience working with communities in Karamoja. Together, they represent 90 percent of the United Nations’ activities in the region.
About FAO
FAO leads international efforts to defeat hunger. It helps countries to modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. FAO focuses special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world’s poor and hungry people. For more information visit: www.fao.orgor follow FAO on Twitter @FAOnews
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org or follow UNICEF on Facebook and Twitter.
WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries. Follow WFP on Twitter @wfp_media @wfp_africa
Posted in Africa, Agriculture, Aid, Business, Civil Service, Development, Governance, Government, Law, Leadership, Politics and tagged Aida Girma, Alhaji Jallow, build resilience, Conflict, Delivering Food Assistance, Developing Rural Areas, East Africa, Education, Emergencies, FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Food Insecurity, Food Security, GoU, Government of Uganda, H. E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Health Services, Hungry People, Joint Resilience Strategy, Karamoja, Karamoja District, Livestock, Livestock losses, Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni., Michael Dunford, National Resistance Movement, NRM, Nutrition, Poverty, President Museveni, Resilience Analysis Unit, Rural Areas, Security, Service Delivery Systems, Uganda, UN WFP, Unicef, United Nations World Food Programe, Vulnerable, WFP, World Food Programe, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni | Leave a comment
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2546
|
__label__wiki
| 0.629738
| 0.629738
|
Tag: desalination
Permanent water crisis for Maldives islanders
Every January, councillors on the central Maldivian island of Baa Atoll Goidhoo switch on the island’s water desalination plant in preparation for the dry season.
In doing so, the council hopes to scrape through the blistering heat of the four-month-long northeastern monsoon without having to rely on others to provide its 700 inhabitants with clean water.
However, this year the council was not able to fire up the plant because of severe budget constraints and maintenance issues.
“The government is not giving us money to repair it. How can we fix and run the plant while we can’t afford its electricity bill?” asked council president Mohamed Amir.
“The households have now run out of water,” Amir said.
“Every dry season we have the same problem.”
Amir had no choice but to notify the National Disaster Management Centre of severe water shortages, becoming one of over 69 islands to have reported droughts this year alone.
Since its inception in 2004 after the Indian Ocean tsunami, the centre has been providing water to about 80 of the Maldives’ 200 inhabited islands each dry season for the last ten years, says Hisaan Hassan, a spokesman for the centre.
The tsunami severely contaminated groundwater in several islands, forcing inhabitants to look up to the skies for rainwater instead.
When a fire in the capital, Malé, cut off water supplies last year, the crisis drew global media attention and prompted the public to ask how prepared the government is for an emergency water cutoff.
However, islanders who face the same problem every year remain hopeless, with no permanent solution in sight.
Environmental consultant and water expert Fathimath Saeedha says that the government needs to immediately come up with strategic, yet island-specific solutions.
Contaminated groundwater
Unlike in Malé, where the groundwater is heavily polluted due to over-consumption, islanders in atolls used to rely on groundwater for consumption.
However, thanks to a rapid population increase and the arrival of appliances such as washing machines, groundwater consumption in the islands has increased above the rate at which groundwater is naturally replenished, said the environment ministry.
In addition, the ministry points the finger towards the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which heavily polluted many islands’ fresh water table, lying one to 1.5 meters below the soil surface. The tsunami killed at least 82 people in the Maldives and caused $470m of damage.
However, a United Nations Environmental Programme tsunami impact study in 2005 estimated that only 39 islands’ groundwater had been suitable for drinking even before the tsunami.
Water expert Saeedha also pointed out that poorly constructed septic tanks in the islands have contributed to water contamination.
“People built septic tanks on their own, which led to domestic waste leaking into the water table,” said Saeedha.
With the groundwater contaminated, inhabitants then had to rely on rainwater for consumption. In 2005, the government provided islands with large numbers of storage tanks to store rainwater.
However, with low average rainfall during the dry season, numerous islands are left in a drought every year, forced to rely on the disaster centre for drinking water.
Ready for droughts
Umar Fikry, another spokesman for the disaster centre, says that it has urged all island councils to inform the centre of water shortages in advance.
“We are prepared and ready for the water shortages every year,” Umar said.
He says that islands usually report water shortages to the centre when they are down to one month’s supply.
However, the National Disaster Management Centre is among those questioning whether the centre should be called upon to deal with shortages every year.
“We spend an average of MVR 5 million (US$ 330,000) on delivering water to the islands [each year]. The problem cannot be solved by the disaster centre alone,” said the centre’s Hisan Hassan.
Hisan believes it is time for everyone from the environment ministry to island councils and the general public to get involved in looking for a permanent solution.
Individuals have to keep in mind this happens every year and focus on better water usage, while councils should work on getting better storage systems in place for the dry season, said Hisaan.
The Environment Ministry meanwhile is running a water programme aiming to create an integrated network of island water storage containers in 30 strategic locations.
Three of the island storage locations have been completed, while seven are undergoing construction. Furthermore the ministry has secured finance to build 14 new desalination plants, it said.
Unsuitable emergency plans
With the disaster centre called upon to provide large quantities of water, some islands have criticised the quality of the water that arrives.
“People did not use the water because there was a pungent smell in it. We should be provided with good quality water,” complained Baa Atoll Dharavandhoo council president Hussein Nazim.
Dharavandhoo is home to one of the busiest regional airports in the country, bringing in tourists from the capital to the atoll’s eight resorts.
Nazim said that he was told that the water arrived from nearby Dhuvaafaru in the storage area of a fishing boat.
Some islanders had to resort to pumping water from households lucky enough to have clean well water, he added.
A resident of nearby Goidhoo said that it is “immensely difficult” to fulfill essential water needs during the dry season.
“Every house has a water tank which runs out during the dry season. Now we have to go to the water plant on the beach through the boiling sun,” she complained.
“Tailor made solutions”
Water expert Faathimath Saeedha says there is no one overall solution to the annual water crisis, with different areas instead needing a “tailor-made solution”.
“Every island has very specific needs which need to be addressed,” she said. “Then only can we reach a permanent solution.”
It is important for the government to come up with a strategic plan to address the root cause of the issues for each island, she said.
Back in Goidhoo, council president Amir has been able to fire up the desalination plant with a “temporary fix which will last the current dry season”.
He believes that the situation will repeat itself again next year, with the councillors forced to resort to the barely functioning water plant, hoping for the best.
Posted on April 8, 2015 April 9, 2015 Author Ismail Humaam HamidCategories Features & Comment, PoliticsTags desalination, Goidhoo, islands, maldives news, National Disaster Management Center, poor groundwater, Water Crisis2 Comments on Permanent water crisis for Maldives islanders
Maamigili integrated water supply scheme launched
A project to bring an integrated water supply system to the island of Maamigili, Alif Dhaal atoll, was launched yesterday.
The project will provide desalinated water through reverse osmosis, and will also incorporate storage tanks for rainwater collection and connections to residents’ homes.
The foundation stone was laid yesterday by Minister of Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim and local MP and businessman Gasim Ibrahim.
The Ministry of Environment has revealed that the project will cost around MVR50 million and should be completed by the end of the year. The scheme will be implemented by the Malé Water and Sewerage Company.
Following the introduction of a pioneering desalination project in Kaafu atoll last week, Minister of State for Environment and Energy Abdul Matheen Mohamed told Minivan News that the government was emphasising integrated systems in order to make the best use of the resources currently available on the islands.
In January, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development chose the Maldives from amongst 80 applicants to receive concessionary loans worth US$6 million (MVR92 million) for a clean energy project which could produce up to 62 million litres of desalinated water per year.
Scarce fresh water supplies have become a growing problem in the Maldives, particularly since the contamination of much of the country’s groundwater following the 2004 tsunami. While rainwater is collected and stored for drinking on the islands, seasonal dry periods often leave locals reliant on outside sources for consistent supply of fresh water.
Posted on February 24, 2014 February 24, 2014 Author Minivan NewsCategories News in BriefTags desalination, Gasim Ibrahim, Maamigili, maldives, maldives news, Minister for Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim, water
Pioneering desalination project launched in the Maldives
The island of Gulhi, in Kaafu atoll, yesterday became the first place in the world to produce desalinated drinking water using waste heat from electricity generation.
The project – a joint venture between state electricity supplier STELCO and UK registered charity the Aquiva Foundation – will produce around 8000 litres of water for local consumption.
“We think this is a fantastic opportunity for the Maldives, but if it works in the Maldives the way we think it will, I think the world will look differently at desalinating water, because all of a sudden you can do it sustainably on a really large scale,” said Aquiva CEO Florian Bollen.
The lack of fresh drinking water in the country’s 190 inhabited islands – made worse with the contamination of groundwater following the 2004 tsunami – leaves most communities reliant on rainwater and vulnerable to shortages during the dry seasons.
However, the dispersed nature of the islands, and the lack of a national grid means that every inhabited island houses its own facilities for electricity generation.
Research carried out by Aquiva prior to the project suggeste that 95 percent of Gulhi’s inhabitants were unhappy with the water supply in the island, which leaves them reliant on impure rainwater for drinking and contaminated ground water for washing.
The UK charity has installed a membrane distillation unit behind the island’s generator which will use the excess heat produced by the cooling system to induce the distilling process.
Sustainable supply
Yesterday’s launch was attended by the Minister for Environment and Energy Dr Mariyam Shakeela, who noted that the improvement of water supply was one of the new government’s 100 day goals.
The ministry has recently inaugurated safe drinking water projects in both Haa Alif and Alif Dhaal as part of its drive to introduce integrated water resource management programmes across the country.
Minister of State for Environment and Energy Abdul Matheen Mohamed told Minivan News today that the government was emphasising integrated systems in order to make the best use of the resources currently available.
“Our policy is to use the available resources as much as possible,” said Matheen. “Just basically to reduce the water costs.”
“What we are doing in the existing islands is using reverse osmosis plants to desalinate the water, which is a very expensive method of getting fresh water. We have to find ways to reduce the water costs.”
The ministry’s programmes also aim to raise local awareness on the protection, conservation, and use of water resources such as groundwater, rainwater, and desalinated water, explained Matheen.
He also noted that an integrated water approach included the use of renewable energy sources, predominantly solar power, which reduce the need to use expensive diesel. Ministry figures for 2012 show that 27 percent of imported fuel was used for electricity generation.
Reverse osmosis systems require fuel which powers a high pressure pump to produce the clean drinking water, a process which Aquiva CEO Bollen also noted was “very high maintenance”.
“You have to have 24 hour engineers on site. With our system, we don’t have any of those pressures. It’s based on very low pressure, it’s very easy to maintain. The staff which usually look after the generators can actually look after the desalination plant. That makes it really applicable to remote small island locations.”
The project will also lead to a reduction of waste – a perennial problem in the Maldives inhabited islands – as reusable containers will be used to collect the distilled water and distribute it to households, before being returned to the desalination plant.
In order to sustain its projects, the Aquiva foundation will provide its services at cost price, with any profits made being reinvested into further projects.
Posted on February 19, 2014 February 20, 2014 Author Daniel BosleyCategories Environment, Society & CultureTags Abdul Matheen Mohamed, Aquiva Foundation, desalination, Florian Bollen, maldives, maldives news, STELCO2 Comments on Pioneering desalination project launched in the Maldives
President inaugurates MWSC Production Centre in Maafushi
President Mohamed Nasheed inaugurated the MWSC’s (Malé Water and Sewerage Company) Production Centre in Maafushi on Saturday, which will provide desalinated water to the residents of the island.
President Nasheed noted the government recognised basic utilities like water and sewerage were essential for the development and prosperity of the people.
He said the government was aiming to provide these services in a sustainable manner, but needed support from the private sector which is why the government is pursuing a policy of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to carry out developmental activities.
President Nasheed also said the government’s wish to create seven provinces was “not for political gain but for the benefit of all citizens.”
He said the government “does not desire to do anything through arguing and fighting in the People’s Majlis,” but is trying to do what is best for the citizens of the country.
He noted if anyone could explain why creating the provinces would obstruct the development of the country, “we are ready to concede.”
Posted on April 18, 2010 Author Minivan NewsCategories News in BriefTags decentralisation, desalination, maafushi, maldives news, male water and sewerage company, MWSC, President Nasheed, production centre, provinces
Gaafaru Wind Farm: the future of Male’s power?
The Gaafaru wind farm project to power the Male’ region will be operational by August 2013, the government has promised, although the cost has already soared to US$370 million from a predicted US$250 million.
The agreement between the State Electricity Company Limited (STELCO) and Falcon Energy to build and run a 75mW wind farm in Gaafaru, North Malé Atoll, should produce enough clean energy for Malé, Hulhulé and a number of resorts to “switch off their existing diesel power generators” according to the President’s Office.
The wind farm will be required to produce an uninterrupted minimum of 45mW. On windy days, “excess electricity…will be used to run a water desalination plant.” On calm days, there will be a gas turbine which can produce up to 50mW of back-up power.
GE Energy is the most likely candidate to supply the wind turbines, and will also be supplying a desalination plant and the 50 mW back-up generator powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The project’s local lead, Omar Manik, told Minivan News the Gaafaru wind farm is expected to completely replace the electricity currently produced and provided by STELCO, and should save the government about US$50 million a year.
Wind speed concerns
According to an American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) 2005 report, the minimum average wind speed needed to run a utility-scale wind power plants is 6 metres per second (21.6 km/h).
The AWEA report states that because “power available in the wind is proportional to the cube of its speed… doubling the wind speed increases the available power by a factor of eight.”
For example, a turbine operating at a site with an average of 20 km/h should produce 33 percent more electricity than a site operating at 19 km/h, because the cube of 20 is larger than the cube of 19.
This means that a difference of just 1 km/h in wind speed could significantly bring down productivity in the wind farm.
According to figures published in a 2003 report by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), North Malé Atoll has an annual average wind speed of 4.9 m/s (17.7 km/h), with the maximum average wind speed recorded of 8 m/s (28.8 km/h).
The Gaafaru wind farm is meanwhile expected to run on a minimum wind speed of 5.7 m/s.
Manik explained that wind farm engineers relied on [a minimum wind speed of] 15 m/s for a utility farm ten years ago, but due to efficiency gains “today it’s 3.5 m/s.”
Most of the data used for the Gaafaru project was collected by Manik, with help from the Department of Meteorology, at both 40 and 80 meters above ground.
Manik noted that the important thing when gathering wind speed data is “how high it is and how much wind there is. The higher you go, the better it is.”
The masts for the wind turbines at Gaafaru will be 80 metres high, with the propellers reaching a diameter of 50 metres. Manik explained “at 80 metres there will be very good wind.”
The wind farm
Manik said a preliminary feasibility study on wind speeds has been conducted and the project is moving forward as planned.
The project is being funded and run by UK-based Falcon Energy Group, but is represents a consortium of four companies; two from the UK, including Falcon Energy, one from Saudi Arabia and one from Holland. Currently, they are surveying wind power and negotiating prices for freight, turbines and gas supply.
The wind farm will use STELCO’s power grid, but will replace its powerplant in Male’.
“The powerhouse in Malé is limited, they have land problems, fuel price problems. We need renewable energy,” Manik explained.
The wind farm should produce from 60-70mW of energy, “which is still higher than what is required by the government,” Manik said. “STELCO will still be the provider. We are selling to them and they are providing.”
The wind farm is expected to run at 85 percent productivity, and any excess energy will be automatically sent to run the desalination plant.
The project’s team is currently analysing how many turbines will be needed to produce the required 45mW of electricity. Manik noted that two 25mW turbines will be more costly than one 50mW turbine.
He said they are looking at turbines that use no oil at all, because “the most important thing for us is not the energy. It’s the coral reef,” and the turbines must therefore be 100 percent environmentally friendly.
They are also studying the pH and moisture levels in the water, Manik said, to prevent corrosion in the turbines. Anti-corrosive zinc tablets will be placed in the mast and the turbines to keep them from rusting.
The turbines will be shipped from Lisbon, Portugal, but it is proving difficult and expensive to ship them to Malé.
Back-up generator and desalination plant
The back-up generator and water desalination plant will be located in Hulhumalé and will be provided by GE. The back-up generator, a gas-powered turbine, will have a production capability of 50mW and should be installed in about eight months.
Energy produced by the back-up is expected to replace STELCO’s electricity by late next year. “The back-up generator will be the first thing to be installed,” Manik said, adding that the most important thing was relieving STELCO from having to purchase more generators next year.
He said they are currently negotiating the gas contract for the back-up with one company in Sri Lanka and one in India. First, they need to know how many gas tanks will be needed and what sizes they will need to be. Building the gas tanks, Manik said, will take about a year.
Because excess wind energy “cannot be bottled or stored,” it must be used. If it is not used, Manik explained, it will lower productivity, so any extra energy will go into powering the desalination plant.
The back-up will most likely run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) since it is the “the best option to get where we want to be: carbon neutral,” Manik said, but noted that petroleum gas (regular cooking gas) has a larger heating capacity and does not pollute the air much more than LNG.
Manik said the water produced in the desalination plant would most likely be sold to Hulhumalé, although the government has previously said it would use it for bottled water.
STELCO and power grids
The clean energy produced by the wind farm will be distributed through STELCO’s existing power grids in Malé, and distributed through new submarine cables. Manik noted the 60 km of submarine cables are very expensive to buy and lay out, and will have to be replaced in about 50 years.
He said the biggest issue with the grids is ensuring the current grids in Malé can handle the amount of energy that will be produced by the wind farm.
“If there are 75mW of power coming into this grid, this grid should handle that,” Manik said. He added that they still need to figure out whether the electricity will be coming in through STELCO’s main power generator or into the four individual grids set out in Malé.
Economics and timelines
Falcon Energy group is investing most of the US$370 million needed to fund this project. Manik noted a lot of that money will be loaned by international banks to Falcon Energy.
“International banks are very keen to invest in the Maldives,” he said, “but they need eighteen months of wind surveys. They are becoming partners, they don’t want to lose their money.”
Manik says although both Falcon Energy and the banks know there is “good wind,” they will only invest once they can see wind data collected over eighteen months, which would ensure the data is varied and accurate.
He said while the remaining wind surveys and the installation of the back-up generator are being conducted, once they have six months of data “to give us full confidence, then we will start planting the foundations for the wind turbines.”
“By the time the eighteen months are up, the turbines should be completed,” he added.
Manik said that while “the government doesn’t come up with any money, when you go into a big project like this, even the receiver has to do something, some work.”
The work he is referring to is the possibility that the government might have to “rearrange” how the clean energy will be brought into the city.
“They may have to lay some cables. Maybe. Minimum investment from the government.”
He said it would help if the project could “tap into” some of the funds recently donated to the country, both in the Donor Conference and the Climate Change Trust Fund, but said that is something they are not really thinking about.
“We have to use what is available now. And we also need to show that we are capable people.”
Manik said the cost of the project has risen from the original figure of US$250 million to US$370 million “because there is no infrastructure here, and it has to be built by us.”
The MoU states that Falcon Energy must provide an uninterrupted power supply to STELCO for twenty years “starting from a given date.”
“It has to always be transparent,” Manik said, “you are working with the government, it has to be clear.”
The wind turbines should be working by June 2013 and the back-up generator should be operational by October 2011.
Correction: the wind mast to carry out further tests is being sent from Portugal, not the turbines.
Posted on April 8, 2010 April 12, 2010 Author Laura Restrepo OrtegaCategories EnvironmentTags desalination, falcon energy group, gaafaru, maldives news, renewable energy, STELCO, wind energy, wind farm, wind speed, wind turbines13 Comments on Gaafaru Wind Farm: the future of Male’s power?
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0021.json.gz/line2547
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.